GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 29, NO. 23, 2098, doi:10.
1029/2002GL015662, 2002
Aerosol black carbon over a tropical coastal station in India
S. Suresh Babu and K. Krishna Moorthy
Space Physics Laboratory, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Trivandrum, India
Received 12 June 2002; revised 27 July 2002; accepted 5 August 2002; published 5 December 2002.
[1] Extensive ground based measurements of aerosol Black
Carbon (BC) and size segregated aerosol mass concentration
(total) were carried out (during August 2000 to October
2001) for the first time at a tropical coastal station,
Trivandrum, India. BC depicted diurnal (with a nocturnal
peak and mid-after noon low) and seasonal variations
(highest during local winter and lowest during monsoon).
The diurnal variations were closely associated with the
boundary-layer dynamics. Daily mean BC concentration as
high as 6 mg m 3 was observed on several occasions. Mass
apportionment showed a BC share ranging from 3% to as
high as 12% to the total aerosol mass, depending on the
season. The presence of such large amount of BC over land
might influence the regional aerosol forcing. INDEX
TERMS: 0305 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Aerosols
and particles (0345, 4801); 1610 Global Change: Atmosphere
(0315, 0325); 0345 Atmospheric Composition and Structure:
Pollution—urban and regional (0305); 3322 Meteorology and
Atmospheric Dynamics: Land/atmosphere interactions.
Citation: Babu, S. S., and K. K. Moorthy, Aerosol black carbon
over a tropical coastal station in India, Geophys. Res. Lett., 29(23),
2098, doi:10.1029/2002GL015662, 2002.
1. Introduction
[2] Aerosol Black Carbon (BC), the optically absorbing
part of carbonaceous aerosols, is the major anthropogenic
component of atmospheric aerosol system which has sig-
nificantly different optical and radiative properties, as com-
pared to the other normal constituents. Due to its large
absorption over a wide wavelength range, it could offset
significantly or even reverse the ‘‘white house’’ effect, due
to aerosol scattering [Schwartz, 1996; Haywood and Shine,
1997]. All the recent major field campaigns of the last
decade have ascertained the importance of BC in climate
change studies [Ramanathan et al., 2001a]. Burning of
biomass and fossil fuels, automobile exhaust, aircraft emis-
sions and forest fires are the chief sources of BC. Significant
amount of BC, if present in rain clouds, can lead to
increased absorption of solar radiation, resulting in heating
and eventually ‘‘burn off’’ of the clouds [Ackerman et al,
2000]. Being mostly in the sub micron range, it is easily
inhaled and can be a health hazard [Horvath, 1993]. Due to
its environmental and climate significances, as well as
anthropogenic nature of its origin, characterisation of BC
is attracting considerable interest in the recent years [Han-
sen et al., 2000]. Over the Indian landmass systematic and
extensive observations leading to its characterisation are
almost non-existent. The recent Indian Ocean Experiment
(INDOEX) has measured significant amounts of BC over
Copyright 2002 by the American Geophysical Union.
0094-8276/02/2002GL015662
13 - 1
tropical Indian Ocean [Lelieveld et al., 2001; Ramanathan
et al., 2001a; Krishnan and Ramanathan, 2002].
[3] In this paper, we present for the first time from a
tropical coastal location in India (Trivandrum, 8.55N;
77E), the results of comprehensive measurements of aero-
sol BC, simultaneous with total aerosol mass concentration
obtained using a 10-channel Quartz Crystal Microbalance
(QCM) impactor. The temporal characteristics and its asso-
ciation to prevailing atmospheric processes are examined.
The mass-fraction of BC, its annual variation, and their
possible implications are discussed.
2. Experimental Set Up and Database
[4] Continuous and near-real-time measurements of the
mass concentration of aerosol BC were carried out for 15
months from August 2000 to October 2001, using an
Aethalometer; model AE-21 of Magee Scientific, USA.
The instrument aspirates ambient air from an altitude of 3
m above the ground using its inlet tube and its pump. The BC
mass concentration is estimated by measuring the change in
the transmittance of a quartz filter tape, on to which the
particles impinge. Details are available elsewhere [Babu and
Moorthy, 2001; http://www.mageesci.com/Aethalometer_
book_2009.pdf ]. The instrument was operated at a time base
of 5 min, round the clock. The sampling location was
Thumba, Trivandrum, situated 10 km north west of the
city of Trivandrum (with a population of 1 million); 500
m east off the Arabian Sea Coast. The location is a fairly flat,
sandy, coastal terrain with scattered vegetation. More details
are given in an earlier paper [Pillai and Moorthy, 2001].
Being located within the rocket launch facility of Indian
Space Research Organisation, there are no significant indus-
trial or domestic combustion activities for several kilometres
around the station and hence the BC values are more
representative of the region (at least in a meso-scale).
[5] Complementary data on ambient total aerosol mass
concentration (Mt) were obtained from near simultaneous,
but less frequent measurements, using the QCM impactor
(type PC-2 of California measurements). The QCM data,
collected at nearly hourly intervals on 4 to 5 days a month
with the sampling duration varying between 3 and 5 min,
yielded total mass concentration and mass size distribution
(in the size range 0.05 to 25 mm) during each measurement
[Pillai and Moorthy, 2001]. Further, data on meteorological
parameters such as wind speed, direction, temperature and
relative humidity were obtained from instruments (at 17 m)
on a meteorological tower, located nearby. Daily rainfall was
also measured at the meteorological facility.
3. Results and Discussions
3.1. Temporal Variations – Annual Variations
[6] BC, in general, exhibited well-defined diurnal as well
as significant annual variations (Figure 1). Large concen-
13 - 2 BABU AND MOORTHY: AEROSOL BLACK CARBON OVER A TROPICAL COASTAL STATION IN INDIA
trations toccur during the months December – March of the
year. Generally, dry conditions prevail during this period,
with scanty rains (the total rainfall being 10% of the
annual), large diurnal oscillations in ambient temperature
and a prevailing continental airmass. Low BC concentrations
(<3 mg m 3) occur during the monsoon months of June to
September, when the station experiences extensive and wide-
spread rainfall totalling to 1000 mm (60% of the annual)
and is under the influence of a strong marine airmass [Pillai
and Moorthy, 2001]. During the dry months the mean BC
concentration is 5 mg m 3. During the monsoon months,
when its concentration is the lowest, average BC level is 1.5
mg m 3; which is comparable to the mean BC levels reported
for the suburban site, Uniontown, (at 340 m MSL) during
August 1990 [Allen et al., 1999] and the more recent mean
values [Chen et al., 2001] for another suburban site in
Maryland, USA but higher than that reported for a remote
island location [Bhugwant et al., 2001]. Based on INDOEX
measurements from Goa, Leon et al. [2001] reported an
average value of 3 ± 0.7 mg m 3 for the winter months.
Our winter values are higher than this. Besides the annual
variations, there is a well-defined diurnal variation with a
broad nocturnal peak from 2100 to 0200 local time. It then
reaches a low value at  0400, followed by a gradual increase
and a sharp peak around 0700– 0800. The BC concentration
decreases subsequently and the diurnal minimum is attained
in the late afternoon (1400 –1600 LT). The diurnal variation
is more pronounced during winter, when the diurnal ampli-
tude is more by a factor of 10 compared to the monsoon
months when the diurnal amplitude is typically 3.
[7] Annual variation in BC is important, as it helps the
estimation of regional radiative impacts with increased
accuracy. Some of the earlier observations [e.g., Chen et
al., 2001] did not find any significant annual variations,
whereas our studies show strong annual variations with a
maximum to minimum ratio >3. As the measurement loca-
tion is not highly industrialised and is not subjected to
Figure 1. Temporal variations of BC at Trivandrum.
Months 1 to 12 stand for January to December. BC values
for identical months in 2000 and 2001 are averaged.
Figure 2. The annual variations of BC (solid points with
error bars) concentration along with (a) the annual variations
of the monthly total rainfall (8), (b) the annual variations of
monthly mean diurnal temperature change (~).
seasonal anthropogenic activities, the observed seasonal
changes would be more associated with the synoptic mete-
orology and long range transport. In Figure 2 the annual
variations in the BC concentration is shown along with the
annual variations of the monthly total rainfall (2(a)) and the
monthly mean values of the diurnal temperature change,
T,
(the difference between the maximum and minimum temper-
atures) in 2b. In both the panels, the individual points with
error bars represents the daily mean values of BC and its
standard deviation. Being a tropical and coastal station,
extremes in temperature do not occur, the lowest temperature
does not go below 19C (in winter) and the highest temper-
ature (in summer) hardly exceeds 37C. Nevertheless max-
imum diurnal amplitude occurs during winter (December to
February) when
T  15C. During this period, the rainfall
is scanty (bottom panel). Periods of highest BC concentra-
tions are associated with those of high
T and low rainfall.
Similarly the periods of lowest BC occurs during monsoon
months when
T is low (10C) and rainfall is consistently
high. The correlation analysis shows that monthly averaged
BC is positively correlated (coefficient +0.77) with
T and
negatively (coefficient 0.74) correlated with monthly total
rainfall. Moreover, during the period from November to
March the station is generally under the influence of a
continental airmass while during May to September the
airmass changes to clean marine associated with the mon-
soon. Considering that the extent of anthropogenic activity is
not seasonal the bottom panel of Figure 2 is indicative of the
effect of washout during the monsoon months. High differ-
ential heating of the land coupled with the possible transport
from continental regions (further inland to Trivandrum)
enhance it during the dry months. Further, BC emissions
(particularly from heavy-duty diesel engines of trucks)
increase with increase in ambient air temperature [Chen et
al., 2001] and this would also be important during the dry
months. From modelling studies, Reddy and Venkataraman
[1999] have shown that the average atmospheric residence
 BABU AND MOORTHY: AEROSOL BLACK CARBON OVER A TROPICAL COASTAL STATION IN INDIA
Figure 3. Diurnal variation of BC concentration (top
panel), wind direction (middle panel) and wind speed
(bottom panel), averaged for a month. The vertical bars
through the points are the standard deviation of the mean.
Dashed vertical lines in the top panel show the local sunrise
and sunset times for the 15th of the month.
time of BC is about 7 to 10 days during dry periods
compared to 5 days or less during wet periods. Longer
residence times lead to higher concentrations.
3.2. Diurnal Variations
[8] Typical variation is shown in Figure 3 (top panel) for
January 2001. The monthly mean values of wind direction
and speed are shown in the bottom panels. The diurnal
variations are associated with local boundary layer dynamics
[Babu and Moorthy, 2001]. Being located near the coast, the
station is subjected to the land/sea breeze activity, partic-
ularly during continental airmass periods. As the land air is
more contaminated with BC its level increases during night-
time when land breeze prevails. Further, as the nocturnal
boundary layer is shallower than its daytime counter part by a
factor of 3 [Kunhikrishnan et al., 1993], and as the wind
speeds are lower during night, there is a rapid reduction in the
ventilation coefficient. This results in the confinement of
aerosols and a consequent increase in its concentration
during early night period. As night advances, the progressive
reduction in anthropogenic activities in the urban area result
in a reduction in BC generation, while the particles closer to
the surface are lost by sedimentation. There is a gradual build
up in BC from the morning and a sharp peak occurs between
7:00 and 9:00 LT almost an hour after the local sunrise. This
arises from the combined effects of (i) the well-known
fumigation effect in the boundary layer, which brings-in
aerosols from the nocturnal residual layer shortly after the
sunrise [Stull, 1988] and (ii) the morning build up of local
anthropogenic activities in the urban area from where the
wind is still directed. As the day advances, the increased solar
heating leads to deeper and more turbulent boundary layer
13 - 3
leading to a faster dispersion and hence a dilution of BC near
the surface. This is strengthened by the reversal of surface
winds to sea breeze. Similar diurnal variations are reported
for BC (as well as other trace species such as CO) at
continental sites [Allen et al., 1999; Chen et al., 2001]. An
opposite pattern with a midday peak is observed at a high
altitude (2.5 km MSL) location [Bhugwant et al., 2001],
ascribed to the upward transport of BC due to elevation of the
boundary layer. It may however be noted that the BC may not
be totally lost from the atmosphere; but only is re-distributed
over a larger spatial extend by the boundary layer dynamics,
and hence has distinct impacts from radiative and health
perspectives. The daytime dilution of BC is advantageous
from the health perspective making the ambient air cleaner.
But, as BC gets transported to higher heights their radiative
forcing efficiency increases compared to the values when
they are near the surface (Haywood and Shine [1997]).
3.3. Mass Fraction of BC
[9] Even though BC contributes only a few percent to the
total aerosol mass, it can produce significant radiative
effects. Jacobson [2001] points out that magnitude of the
direct radiative forcing due to BC can exceed that due to
methane, thereby making it an important species contribu-
ting to global warming. Recent INDOEX measurements
have reported 14% of BC in fine aerosol dry mass and 10%
in coarse aerosol dry mass in the marine boundary layer
[Lelieveld et al., 2001; Ramanathan et al, 2001b].
[10] Apportionment of BC is thus very important in
modelling aerosol radiative properties. Such estimates are
virtually non-existent for Indian locations. We used the Mt
obtained using the QCM in conjunction with that of BC (Mb)
to estimate the BC fraction. As the QCM data were quite less
frequent than the Aethalometer data, we used the monthly
mean values of Mb and Mt to evaluate the ratio Mb/Mt. The
month-to-month variation of this fraction is shown in
Figure 4. The share of BC to total mass is very high (> 9%)
Figure 4. Annual variation of BC mass fraction to total
mass concentration.
13 - 4 BABU AND MOORTHY: AEROSOL BLACK CARBON OVER A TROPICAL COASTAL STATION IN INDIA
during dry months (December to March) and lowest during
monsoon months (3 to 4%). The dry-month values are
higher than that expected for an urban location. Even the
lowest values are higher than the values for continental
average model [Hess et al., 1998], and are comparable to a
continental polluted atmosphere. Such large share of BC can
have serious implications on surface and atmospheric radia-
tive forcing. A mere 6% of soot contributes 11% to the aerosol
optical depth [Satheesh et al., 1999]; a 35% reduction in total
solar radiation over the ocean surface and an increase of
50% in atmospheric heating [Podgorny et al., 2000]. Over
land the impact would be higher [Haywood and Shine, 1997].
[11] Here a mention of the uncertainty in the derived BC
mass-fraction is warranted. Extensive field studies using the
Aethalometer for BC measurements and their intercompar-
ison with other analytical techniques have yielded excellent
agreement [Allen et al., 1999; Im et al., 2001]. Considering
these along with our operational configuration of the
Aethalometer, we attribute an uncertainty of 10% (with a
minimum of 100 ng m 3) for the BC mass. This is also
comparable to the uncertainty in the Mt estimates using the
QCM. Combining these two the overall uncertainty in the
BC mass-fraction would be 14%.
[12] The large annual variation in BC fraction in our study
cannot be fully attributed to local anthropogenic activity, (as
there are no seasonally preferred combustion activities in and
around the study region). It should be a combined effect of
synoptic meteorology (see 3.1.) and long-range transport.
From Along Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) data, Leon
et al. [2001] reported a substantial increase in the occurrence
of forest fires over India during January – March period.
These, though occur very far away from our location, could
still be important due to the increased atmospheric life time of
BC in dry months, the continental nature of the airmass and
the potential role of trajectories [Jha and Krishnamurti,
1999]. Further, the number of vehicles in India has increased
from 2 million during 1970 to 38 million during 1998
[Satheesh, 2002]. Consequent increase in emissions would
be contributors to the regional aerosol loading.
[13] The large amount of BC raises the following issues.
The reduction in solar flux at the surface due to scattering
and absorption might reduce the sensible heat flux, and
reduce the amount of photo synthetically active radiation
reaching the surface, which would in turn affect the crop
production. The lower atmospheric heating due to BC
absorption simultaneous with surface reduction in solar flux
would intensify low-level inversion, which would slow
down convection and in turn cloud formation. These effects
are likely to influence regional aerosol radiative forcing.
4. Conclusions
1. Average BC concentration at Trivandrum is compar-
able to the values reported for suburban locations.
2. The share of BC to the total mass concentration varies
from 10% during dry months to 3% during monsoon
months. The high values though are lower than those
reported during the INDOEX, are higher than the model
values for ‘continental polluted’ aerosols types.
3. BC exhibits well-defined diurnal and annual varia-
tions. Diurnal variations are mainly attributed to local
factors and boundary layer dynamics, whereas annual
variations are more associated with airmass types.
[14] Acknowledgments. This work was a part of the Geosphere
Biosphere Programme of the Indian Space Research Organization. We
thank the reviewers and Prof. R. Sridharan (SPL) for useful comments.
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S. S. Babu and K. K. Moorthy, Space Physics Laboratory, Vikram
Sarabhai Space Centre, Trivandrum 695022, India. (k-k-moorthy@eth.net)