Cited research Geophys. Res. Lett. doi:10.1029/2010GL042895 (2010)

Atmospheric aerosols such as black carbon that absorb solar radiation can affect precipitation in opposing ways: by heating up the atmosphere and decreasing precipitation, and by heating the ground surface and boosting it. To determine the overall effect, Yi Ming and his co-workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Princeton, New Jersey, used a coupled general circulation–ocean model to simulate the response to increased black carbon levels.

They found that the net effect on global mean precipitation is slightly negative but is too small to outweigh the predicted 2–3% increase in global precipitation per degree of greenhouse warming. However, absorbent aerosols could have a more pronounced impact on patterns of wind and moisture circulation than carbon dioxide or aerosols that merely scatter solar radiation, the authors suggest. Q.S.