文章摘要：
Scientific interest in the climate effects of black carbon (BC) intensified with the publication of Crutzen and Birks’ (1) report dealing with the ejection of large amounts of smoke into the atmosphere after a major nuclear war. A key component of smoke is BC, which is the strongest absorber of visible solar radiation. BC solar absorption became a central issue in climate change research when a synthesis of satellite, in situ, and ground observations concluded (2) that the global solar absorption (i.e., direct radiative forcing, DRF) by atmospheric BC is as much as 0.9 W⋅m−2, second only to the CO2 DRF. BC is also an important component of air pollution, which is plaguing large parts of the world. BC results from poor combustion of fossil fuel, household burning of coal briquettes, wood, and dung as fuel for home heating and cooking practiced by 3 billion people, as well as from agricultural and natural vegetation fires. These fine BC particles thus touch on personal and cultural basics, such as how we cook our food, how we move about, and the quality of the air that we breathe. This air pollution, consisting of BC and other particles, causes worldwide an estimated 7 million premature deaths annually, with most in East and South Asia (3). BC particles are also implicated in large-scale environmental effects, such as melting of the Himalaya and other glaciers (e.g., refs. 4 and 5). BC, along with the coemitted organic aerosols, is a major source of global dimming (2), which has been linked with reduction in precipitation (6).
文章信息：2016.vol 113.no 16.4243-4245
