Global distribution and warming effect of brown carbon from shipping emissions

Yiyang Sun; Junjun Deng; Fan Zhang; Wei Hu; Yan Zhang; Yingjun Chen; Yunting Xiao; Lehui Cui; Yaxin Liu; Jiaming Zhao; Jialei Zhu

doi:10.1007/s44246-025-00212-w

Global distribution and warming effect of brown carbon from shipping emissions

Yiyang Sun, Junjun Deng, Fan Zhang, Wei Hu, Yan Zhang, Yingjun Chen, Yunting Xiao, Lehui Cui, Yaxin Liu, Jiaming Zhao, Jialei Zhu

School of Geographic Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Emissions of shipping have great influences on atmospheric environment and global climate with the growth of maritime trade. Previous studies identified that shipping black carbon (BC) constitutes the main aerosol component that responsible for light absorption, while shipping organic carbon (OC) was generally considered non-absorbing. Recent studies have indicated that organic components derived from shipping emissions exhibit light absorption at short wavelengths (brown carbon, BrC). However, there is a lack of quantification regarding the absorption effects of shipping BrC. This study investigates the radiative absorption effect (RAE) of shipping BrC, updating models with measured shipping BrC light absorption ability. Surface concentrations of shipping BrC contribute ~ 40% to fossil fuel OC. The global annual average RAE of shipping BrC is +0.15 to +0.36 mW m⁻², peaking in boreal summer. The warming effect of shipping BrC is 8%–19% relative to shipping BC. With the low-sulfur standard, the RAE of shipping BrC increases to +0.52 mW m⁻², which is close to that of shipping BC (+0.52 mW m⁻²) and could offset ~ 40% of direct cooling effect of shipping sulfate. For the radiative absorption of shipping aerosols, BrC is an important part, whose contribution is greater with the upgrade of ship fuels.

Original language	English
Article number	44
Journal	Carbon Research
Volume	4
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s44246-025-00212-w
State	Published - Dec 2025

Keywords

Black carbon
Brown carbon
Light absorption
Radiative effect
Shipping emission

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1007/s44246-025-00212-w

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title = "Global distribution and warming effect of brown carbon from shipping emissions",

abstract = "Emissions of shipping have great influences on atmospheric environment and global climate with the growth of maritime trade. Previous studies identified that shipping black carbon (BC) constitutes the main aerosol component that responsible for light absorption, while shipping organic carbon (OC) was generally considered non-absorbing. Recent studies have indicated that organic components derived from shipping emissions exhibit light absorption at short wavelengths (brown carbon, BrC). However, there is a lack of quantification regarding the absorption effects of shipping BrC. This study investigates the radiative absorption effect (RAE) of shipping BrC, updating models with measured shipping BrC light absorption ability. Surface concentrations of shipping BrC contribute \textasciitilde{} 40\% to fossil fuel OC. The global annual average RAE of shipping BrC is +0.15 to +0.36 mW m⁻2, peaking in boreal summer. The warming effect of shipping BrC is 8\%–19\% relative to shipping BC. With the low-sulfur standard, the RAE of shipping BrC increases to +0.52 mW m⁻2, which is close to that of shipping BC (+0.52 mW m⁻2) and could offset \textasciitilde{} 40\% of direct cooling effect of shipping sulfate. For the radiative absorption of shipping aerosols, BrC is an important part, whose contribution is greater with the upgrade of ship fuels.",

keywords = "Black carbon, Brown carbon, Light absorption, Radiative effect, Shipping emission",

author = "Yiyang Sun and Junjun Deng and Fan Zhang and Wei Hu and Yan Zhang and Yingjun Chen and Yunting Xiao and Lehui Cui and Yaxin Liu and Jiaming Zhao and Jialei Zhu",

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doi = "10.1007/s44246-025-00212-w",

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AU - Sun, Yiyang

AU - Deng, Junjun

AU - Zhang, Fan

AU - Hu, Wei

AU - Zhang, Yan

AU - Chen, Yingjun

AU - Xiao, Yunting

AU - Cui, Lehui

AU - Liu, Yaxin

AU - Zhao, Jiaming

AU - Zhu, Jialei

PY - 2025/12

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N2 - Emissions of shipping have great influences on atmospheric environment and global climate with the growth of maritime trade. Previous studies identified that shipping black carbon (BC) constitutes the main aerosol component that responsible for light absorption, while shipping organic carbon (OC) was generally considered non-absorbing. Recent studies have indicated that organic components derived from shipping emissions exhibit light absorption at short wavelengths (brown carbon, BrC). However, there is a lack of quantification regarding the absorption effects of shipping BrC. This study investigates the radiative absorption effect (RAE) of shipping BrC, updating models with measured shipping BrC light absorption ability. Surface concentrations of shipping BrC contribute ~ 40% to fossil fuel OC. The global annual average RAE of shipping BrC is +0.15 to +0.36 mW m⁻2, peaking in boreal summer. The warming effect of shipping BrC is 8%–19% relative to shipping BC. With the low-sulfur standard, the RAE of shipping BrC increases to +0.52 mW m⁻2, which is close to that of shipping BC (+0.52 mW m⁻2) and could offset ~ 40% of direct cooling effect of shipping sulfate. For the radiative absorption of shipping aerosols, BrC is an important part, whose contribution is greater with the upgrade of ship fuels.

AB - Emissions of shipping have great influences on atmospheric environment and global climate with the growth of maritime trade. Previous studies identified that shipping black carbon (BC) constitutes the main aerosol component that responsible for light absorption, while shipping organic carbon (OC) was generally considered non-absorbing. Recent studies have indicated that organic components derived from shipping emissions exhibit light absorption at short wavelengths (brown carbon, BrC). However, there is a lack of quantification regarding the absorption effects of shipping BrC. This study investigates the radiative absorption effect (RAE) of shipping BrC, updating models with measured shipping BrC light absorption ability. Surface concentrations of shipping BrC contribute ~ 40% to fossil fuel OC. The global annual average RAE of shipping BrC is +0.15 to +0.36 mW m⁻2, peaking in boreal summer. The warming effect of shipping BrC is 8%–19% relative to shipping BC. With the low-sulfur standard, the RAE of shipping BrC increases to +0.52 mW m⁻2, which is close to that of shipping BC (+0.52 mW m⁻2) and could offset ~ 40% of direct cooling effect of shipping sulfate. For the radiative absorption of shipping aerosols, BrC is an important part, whose contribution is greater with the upgrade of ship fuels.

KW - Black carbon

KW - Brown carbon

KW - Light absorption

KW - Radiative effect

KW - Shipping emission

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DO - 10.1007/s44246-025-00212-w

M3 - 文章

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VL - 4

JO - Carbon Research

JF - Carbon Research

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ER -

Global distribution and warming effect of brown carbon from shipping emissions

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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