The Importance of Elemental Carbon Session Summary

Abstract

I would like to take this opportunity to summarize the first session. The title of this session was the importance of elemental carbon, or other particulate carbonaceous material, in the atmosphere. I think from the discussion this morning by Professor Charlson we can view the carbon component of the aerosol as a universal part of the general phenomenon in the atmosphere, not just an urban pollution question. As part of the general aerosol, particulate carbon is exposed naturally to all of the physical processes that influence aerosol behavior in the atmosphere. We also have had some allusion to the fact that the carbon in the atmosphere is chemically reactive in some way, either as a catalyst for other reactions or as a reactant itself, whereby it is oxidized to a chain of products.