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 Monday, December 5, 2011 Is Black Carbon Underestimated as a Global Warming Agent? Researchers at Scripps to discuss results of Project Surya, an initiative to study the climate effects of reducing biomass burning and soot emissions Scripps Institution of Oceanography / University of California, San Diego Satellites have measured black carbon emissions generated by millions of wood-burning stoves throughout the developing world, but a project taking place in India's Uttar Pradesh province suggests the atmospheric heating effect of these soot emissions are at least twice as large as reported by many IPCC models. Veerabhadran Ramanathan At the 2011 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco (A14C-01 · Monday, Dec. 5, 4-4:30 p.m. Room 3004), Ramanathan will report on results from the pilot phase of Project Surya, a multi-dimensional endeavor to measure the climatic and social effects of replacing traditional cooking methods with cleaner ones. The province in which the project is taking place lies within the Indo-Gangetic Plains region in northern India where air pollution from urban and rural sources frequently amasses. Project Surya scientists argue that mitigating black carbon emissions from its chief sources can provide immediate benefits in the fight to stop warming from producing profound negative effects on society and the natural world. This benefit would complement improvements in public health afforded by cleaner air and, according to recent studies, likely increases in crop yields.  Satellite aerosol optical depth (AOD) for the period between Oct. 1, 2009 and April 14, 2010, over India shows the increased thickness of air pollution over the Indo-Gangetic Plain in the northeasetern portion of the country. In a second study recently submitted for publication, Project Surya researchers concluded that certain forced-draft cookstoves-ones they intend to substitute for traditional wood- or dung-burning stoves-are capable of reducing black carbon emissions by as much as three or four times. The Surya team has also recently completed two studies addressing the project's data collection methods. One reported the successful demonstration of a reporting system in which residents at the test site submitted ground-level measurements of ambient black carbon levels using cell phones supplied by the researchers. A second paper currently in review demonstrates that during dry winter months when air pollution remains confined to lower altitudes, Surya researchers will be able to measure from satellites the effects of introducing clean-burning cookstoves. The change in cooking methods is anticipated to create a black carbon "hole" in which diminished aerosol thickness should be measurable from space. # # # Note to broadcast and cable producers: University of California, San Diego provides an on-campus satellite uplink facility for live or pre-recorded television interviews. Please phone or e-mail the media contact listed above to arrange an interview.
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