New discovery of brown carbon increases Earth’s temperature

In this study, the scientists describe how carbon emissions from biomass burning in the Northern Hemisphere have accelerated the rate of warming in the Arctic. According to Fu Pingqing, a researcher at Tianjin University, the data analysis and simulation show that the warming effect of brown carbon aerosols over the Arctic is about 30% higher than that of black carbon.

Over the past 50 years, temperatures in the Arctic have increased three times faster than in the rest of the planet, and it seems that wildfires are to blame.

The researchers found that brown carbon produced by burning biomass is responsible for warming with a temperature increase at least twice as high as brown carbon from burning fossil fuels.

In 2017, the Chinese icebreaker Xue Long conducted a study in the Arctic Ocean on aerosol particles floating in the Arctic air and determined the origin of these particles. The scientists on board also studied how brown carbon affects the climate, compared with the dense black carbon obtained from burning fossil fuels at high temperatures.

According to research led by scientist Pho Binh Thanh, forest fires erupted with huge plumes of brown smoke, made up of brown carbon particles suspended in the air. Like black carbon and CO2, brown carbon increases temperature by absorbing solar radiation. Mr. Pho Binh Thanh said that increasing forest fires will emit more brown carbon aerolsol particles, warming the Earth more, thereby leading to more frequent forest fires.