You can still submit your abstract to the International Aerosol Conference 2026 to take place in Xi'an, China.

Submission deadline has been extended to 15 March 2026 โ„น๏ธ

Join our session โ€“ B-6: Standardisation and traceability for the measurement of #BlackCarbon by means of optical methods โšซ

https://www.iac2026.cn/#/scientific-topic/B

#AirQuality #AirPollution #Aerosols

๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿ”ฌ Our last publication from last year:

We put together tens of studies on the mass absorption cross section (MAC) of atmospheric #BlackCarbon aerosols. Large uncertainties in MAC values are mostly due to artifacts of the measurement techniques.

๐Ÿ“„ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41612-025-01288-2

#AtmosphericScience #AirPollution #ClimateCrisis

Mass absorption cross-section of ambient black carbon aerosols - a review - npj Climate and Atmospheric Science

An accurate assessment of black carbon (BC) climate and health impacts requires knowledge of its mass absorption cross-section (MACBC) โ€“ a parameter linking optical and mass measurements. The mean MACBC for freshly emitted soot typically spans a narrow range of 8โ€‰ยฑโ€‰1โ€‰m2โ€‰gโป1 at 550โ€‰nm1,2 but is modified by subsequent atmospheric aging. Determination of MACBC requires simultaneous measurements of aerosol light-absorption coefficient (ฮฒabs) and BC mass. Here, we compile 230 measured MACBC values from 80 atmospheric studies and explore the effects of sampling location, study duration, instrumentation, and measurement wavelength. The compiled data set shows a broad variability in MACBC values (a factor of about 200%). We conclude that this variability is attributable to a combination of the above-mentioned effects with additional instrumental uncertainties (e.g., cross-sensitivities and/or inadequate instrument calibration). The current state of knowledge does not support the use of simplistic generalizations or assumptions about MACBC in the atmosphere, motivating a recommendation to further improve and standardize measurement practices.

Nature
Are you attending #EAC2025 next week?
Make sure you don't miss the BC Symposium, where I will be joining a panel of experts to discuss the challenges and perspectives of #BlackCarbon measurements

We are glad to announce that we will be chairing a session at the 2026 International Aerosol Conference #IAC2026. The session will focus on the #standardisation and traceability of #BlackCarbon measurements using optical methods. I am happy to be doing this with my collaborators, Kostas Eleftheriadis and Yue Liu.

We look forward to receiving your contributions! ๐Ÿ“„

http://www.iac2026.cn/?sid=3742&mid=954&v=100#!c/show/a/index/

Image credit: Samule Sun

Fraser River feels the burn: Wildfires spiking pollutants and altering ocean carbon | The-14

Wildfires near the Fraser River are spiking heavy metals & nutrients in water, harming aquatic life and altering how ocean carbon is stored, new research warns.

The-14 Pictures
Just arrived to the Schneefernerhaus research station in Bavaria where we will install a couple of instruments to measure #BlackCarbon

The Clean Air Fund just published a detailed policy report on #BlackCarbon

"Tackling Black Carbon: How to Unlock Fast Climate and Clean Air Benefits"

https://www.cleanairfund.org/resource/tackling-black-carbon-report/

#ClimateCrisis #AirQuality

Tackling Black Carbon: How to Unlock Fast Climate and Clean Air Benefits

This report highlights how to cut black emissions rapidly, and at scale, delivering near-immediate climate gains while improving air quality.

Clean Air Fund

We are working towards SI traceability for #BlackCarbon measurements. Find more details in our recently updated Publishable Summary:
https://zenodo.org/records/14929832

#ClimateCrisis #AirQuality

Publishable Summary for 22NRM02 STANBC: Standardisation of Black Carbon aerosol metrics for air quality and climate modelling

Publishable Summary for 22NRM02 STANBC: Standardisation of Black Carbon aerosol metrics for air quality and climate modelling

Zenodo

Researchers quantify solar absorption by black carbon in fire clouds

"Black carbon injected into the lower stratosphere by recent pyroCb events in Canada and Australia have traveled around the globe, persisted for months, and altered dynamic circulation and radiative forcing across large regions "

https://phys.org/news/2024-07-quantify-solar-absorption-black-carbon.html

#climate #ClimateScience #ClimateEmergency #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateBreakdown #ExtremeWeather #BlackCarbon

Researchers quantify solar absorption by black carbon in fire clouds

In an actively warming world, large-scale wildfires are becoming more common. These wildfires emit black carbon to our atmosphere, one of the most potent short-lived atmospheric warming agents. This is because of its strong sunlight absorption characteristics. But scientists have yet to get a handle on the extent of atmospheric warming caused by black carbon in pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) clouds that develop from high-intensity wildfires.

Phys.org

The M9 version of our project's publishable summary is already available on zenodo:
https://zenodo.org/records/11209224

#AirQuality #Aerosols #BlackCarbon

Publishable Summary for 22NRM02 STANBC: Standardisation of Black Carbon aerosol metrics for air quality and climate modelling

Publishable Summary for 22NRM02 STANBC: Standardisation of Black Carbon aerosol metrics for air quality and climate modelling

Zenodo