Knowra Black carbon Black carbon Black carbon is a strongly light-absorbing component of soot produced by incomplete combustion of carbon-containing fuels. It warms the atmosphere and darkens snow and ice when deposited on them.
Incomplete combustion : Combustion in which fuel does not oxidize fully to carbon dioxide and water, producing substances such as soot and carbon monoxide. Insufficient oxygen or mixing during combustion creates the soot particles that contain black carbon.
Biomass burning : The burning of living or recently living vegetation, including wildfires and agricultural fires. Fires release black carbon, with emissions varying by fuel, moisture, and burning conditions.
Short-lived climate pollutant : An atmospheric pollutant that remains in the atmosphere much less time than carbon dioxide while affecting climate or health. Black carbon generally persists for days to weeks, so its climate effects respond relatively quickly to emission changes.
Aethalometer : An instrument that estimates light-absorbing aerosol concentrations by measuring how particles collected on a filter attenuate light. Aethalometers are widely used to track black-carbon-related absorption in air.
Soot : A dark particulate residue formed by incomplete combustion, consisting of carbonaceous particles and other substances. Black carbon is a light-absorbing component of soot, not a synonym for the entire mixture.
Diesel engine : An internal-combustion engine that ignites fuel by compressing air until it becomes hot. Diesel exhaust has been a major source of black carbon in many populated regions.
Arctic amplification : The phenomenon in which the Arctic warms faster than the global average. Black carbon transported north can warm the air and darken snow, contributing to Arctic warming.
Thermal-optical analysis : A method that heats a particle sample in controlled atmospheres and uses optical correction to quantify carbon fractions. It distinguishes operationally defined elemental and organic carbon in samples containing soot.
Aerosol : A suspension of solid particles or liquid droplets in a gas. Airborne black carbon behaves as an aerosol whose atmospheric effects depend on its size and mixing.
Residential solid-fuel combustion : The burning of fuels such as wood, coal, or dung for household cooking and heating. Inefficient stoves and fires can emit substantial black carbon close to where people live.
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