Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Optical And Physicochemical Properties Of Atmospherically Processed Brown Carbon Using Novel First-Principle Instrumentation, Benjamin Sumlin

McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Atmospheric processing of brown carbon (BrC) – a class of spherical, internally-mixed, light-absorbing organic aerosol – emitted from smoldering biomass combustion is an understudied phenomenon with implications for climate science, air quality models, and satellite retrieval algorithms. BrC aerosols have received significant attention as a strong contributor to atmospheric light absorption in the shorter visible wavelengths and a driver of UV photochemistry. Their complex refractive indices (m=n+ik), size distributions, and carbon oxidation states dictate their optical properties, atmospheric residence times, and chemical interactions, respectively. There is currently a gap in our understanding of these fundamental particle properties and their evolution …