Latitudinal distribution of aerosol black carbon and its mass fraction to composite aerosols over peninsular India during winter season

During a land campaign to characterise the spatial distribution of aerosols over peninsular India during the winter season, extensive, collocated, and spatially resolved measurements of mass concentration of the composite aerosols (MT) as well as that (MB) of aerosol Black Carbon (BC) were made over different environments (coastal, industrial, urban, village, remote, semiarid) of the western peninsular India. High concentrations of BC, >2.5 μg m−3, were observed along the west coast, from ∼8°N up to 14.5°N, and moderate values (1.0 to 2.5 μg m−3) over inland regions from 15 to 18°N. Latitudinally, BC concentration decreased from south to north, @∼160 ng m−3 for every degree increase in latitude. The spatial pattern of BC mass fraction differed from that of MB, with regions of high (8 to 16%) ratios spreading more interior, implying higher fractional load of BC at locations where the BC concentrations remain lower