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JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH,
VOL. 109,
D06213,
doi:10.1029/2003JD004169,
2004
Atmospheric tar balls: Particles from biomass and biofuel burning
Mihály Pósfai
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Veszprém, Veszprém, Hungary
András Gelencsér
Air Chemistry Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Veszprém, Hungary
Renáta Simonics
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Veszprém, Veszprém, Hungary
Krisztina Arató
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Veszprém, Veszprém, Hungary
Jia Li
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
Peter V. Hobbs
Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Peter R. Buseck
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
Abstract
“Tar balls” are amorphous, carbonaceous spherules that occur in the tropospheric aerosol as a result of biomass and biofuel
burning. They form a distinct group of particles with diameters typically between 30 and 500 nm and readily identifiable with
electron microscopy. Their lack of a turbostratic microstructure distinguishes them from soot, and their morphology and composition
(∼90 mol % carbon) renders them distinct from other carbonaceous particles. Tar balls are particularly abundant in slightly
aged (minutes to hours old) biomass smoke, indicating that they likely form by gas-to-particle conversion within smoke plumes.
The material of tar balls is initially hygroscopic; however, the particles become largely insoluble as a result of free radical
polymerization of their organic molecules. Consequently, tar balls are primarily externally mixed with other particle types,
and they do not appreciably increase in size during aging. When tar balls coagulate with water-bearing particles, their material
may partly dissolve and no longer be recognizable as distinct particles. Tar balls may contain organic compounds that absorb
sunlight. They are an important, previously unrecognized type of carbonaceous (organic) atmospheric particle.
Received 17
September
2003;
accepted 14
January
2004;
published 27
March
2004.
Index Terms: 0305 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Aerosols and particles (0345, 4801); 0315 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Biosphere/atmosphere interactions; 0345 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Pollution—urban and regional (0305); 0365 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Troposphere—composition and chemistry.
Read Full Article (file size: 479237 bytes) Cited by
Citation: Pósfai, M., A. Gelencsér, R. Simonics, K. Arató, J. Li, P. V. Hobbs, and P. R. Buseck
(2004),
Atmospheric tar balls: Particles from biomass and biofuel burning,
J. Geophys. Res.,
109,
D06213,
doi:10.1029/2003JD004169.
Copyright 2004 by the American Geophysical Union.
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