A Warmer World Will Be a Hazier One

Aerosols, tiny solid and liquid particles suspended in the atmosphere, impact the environment by affecting air quality and alter the Earth's radiative balance by either scattering or absorbing sunlight to varying degrees.  What impact does climate change, induced by greenhouse gases (GHGs), have on the aerosol "burden"--the total mass of aerosols in a vertical column of air?

Past research done on climate models has found inconsistent results.  Depending on the model, climate change was associated with an increase or decrease in aerosol burden.  But a new study using the newest and state-of-the-art computer models, published today in Nature Climate Change, shows that under climate change associated with GHG-induced warming most aerosol species will register a robust increase, with implications for future air quality.

"Our work on the models shows that nearly all aerosol species will increase under GHG-induced climate change," said climatologist Robert J. Allen, an assistant professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of California, Riverside and the lead author of the research paper.  "This includes natural aerosols, like dust and sea salt, and also anthropogenic aerosols, like sulfate, black carbon and primary organic matter.  Stricter reductions in aerosol emissions will be necessary for attaining a desired level of air quality through the 21st century."

Read more at A Warmer World Will Be a Hazier One