TS.2.2 Aerosols
Direct aerosol radiative forcing is now considerably better quantified than previously and represents a major advance in understanding since the time of the TAR, when several components had a very low level of scientific understanding. A total direct aerosol radiative forcing combined across all aerosol types can now be given for the first time as –0.5 ± 0.4 W m–2, with a medium-low level of scientific understanding. Atmospheric models have improved and many now represent all aerosol components of significance. Aerosols vary considerably in their properties that affect the extent to which they absorb and scatter radiation, and thus different types may have a net cooling or warming effect. Industrial aerosol consisting mainly of a mixture of sulphates, organic and black carbon, nitrates and industrial dust is clearly discernible over many continental regions of the NH. Improved in situ, satellite and surface-based measurements (see Figure TS.4) have enabled verification of global aerosol model simulations. These improvements allow quantification of the total direct aerosol radiative forcing for the first time, representing an important advance since the TAR. The direct radiative forcing for individual species remains less certain and is estimated from models to be –0.4 ± 0.2 W m–2 for sulphate, –0.05 ± 0.05 W m–2 for fossil fuel organic carbon, +0.2 ± 0.15 W m–2 for fossil fuel black carbon, +0.03 ± 0.12 W m–2 for biomass burning, –0.1 ± 0.1 W m–2 for nitrate and –0.1 ± 0.2 W m–2 for mineral dust. Two recent emission inventory studies support data from ice cores and suggest that global anthropogenic sulphate emissions decreased over the 1980 to 2000 period and that the geographic distribution of sulphate forcing has also changed. {2.4, 6.6}
Significant changes in the estimates of the direct radiative forcing due to biomass-burning, nitrate and mineral dust aerosols have occurred since the TAR. For biomass-burning aerosol, the estimated direct radiative forcing is now revised from being negative to near zero due to the estimate being strongly influenced by the occurrence of these aerosols over clouds. For the first time, the radiative forcing due to nitrate aerosol is given. For mineral dust, the range in the direct radiative forcing is reduced due to a reduction in the estimate of its anthropogenic fraction. {2.4}
Anthropogenic aerosols effects on water clouds cause an indirect cloud albedo effect (referred to as the first indirect effect in the TAR), which has a best estimate for the first time of –0.7 [–0.3 to –1.8] W m–2. The number of global model estimates of the albedo effect for liquid water clouds has increased substantially since the TAR, and the estimates have been evaluated in a more rigorous way. The estimate for this radiative forcing comes from multiple model studies incorporating more aerosol species and describing aerosol-cloud interaction processes in greater detail. Model studies including more aerosol species or constrained by satellite observations tend to yield a relatively weaker cloud albedo effect. Despite the advances and progress since the TAR and the reduction in the spread of the estimate of the forcing, there remain large uncertainties in both measurements and modelling of processes, leading to a low level of scientific understanding, which is an elevation from the very low rank in the TAR. {2.4, 7.5, 9.2}
Other effects of aerosol include a cloud lifetime effect, a semi-direct effect and aerosol-ice cloud interactions. These are considered to be part of the climate response rather than radiative forcings. {2.4, 7.5}