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Kokkola, T.* ; Sipkens, T.A.* ; Paul, A.* ; Shukla, D. ; Ihalainen, M.* ; Das, A. ; Scott, J.* ; Passig, J. ; Kalamašņikovs, A. ; Etzien, U.* ; Fang, Z.* ; Mikkonen, S.* ; Hartikainen, A.* ; Luostari, V.* ; Mukherjee, A.* ; Czech, H. ; Sklorz, M. ; Buchholz, B.* ; Streibel, T. ; Hohaus, T.* ; Rudich, Y.* ; Johan Øvrevik,* ; Zimmermann, R. ; Corbin, J.C.* ; Sippula, O.*

Highly light-absorbing particle emissions from low-sulfur marine fuels.

npj clim. atmos. sci. 9:108 (2026)
Publ. Version/Full Text DOI
Open Access Gold
Creative Commons Lizenzvertrag
Particulate matter (PM) from marine traffic interacts with solar radiation and clouds, ultimately influencingEarth’s radiative balance. Ships operated with conventional fossil fuel oils emit light-absorbingcarbonaceous PM that offsets aerosol-driven cooling and can even exert a net positive radiative forcing,i.e. warming effect. Radiative properties of PM are possibly further altered by atmospheric aging processes,the effects of which are not fully understood. We present black carbon (BC) emission factors (EF) andoptical properties of fresh and photochemically aged particle emissions from a marine engine, operatedusing low-sulfur heavy fuel oil (LS-HFO) and marine gas oil (MGO), complying with recent maritime sulfurregulations by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The fresh particle emissions comprised mostlyBC, with average BC EFs of 144 and 43.2 mg/kWh for LS-HFO and MGO, respectively. Light absorptionwas mostly attributed to BC in particles from both fuels, with absorption Ångström exponent (AAE) values0.9–1.0 (interquartile range), and 870 nm single scattering albedo (SSA) values 0.15–0.24 during the fullcycles. Fresh LS-HFO emissions exhibited lower SSA values than those of high-sulfur fuels reported inliterature, primarily associated with reduced sulfate emissions. Photochemical aging led to an absorptionenhancement (Eabs) of 1.2–1.5 and an increase in SSA relative to fresh emissions, although SSA remainedbelow 0.5, and the estimated direct radiative forcing effect stayed positive. Our results show that sulfur-compliant marine fuels can emit highly absorbing particles with an atmospheric warming potential, which ismostly maintained even after photochemical aging.
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Publication type Article: Journal article
Document type Scientific Article
Keywords Radiative Forcing ; Radiative Transfer ; Absorption (acoustics) ; Fossil Fuel ; Greenhouse Gas ; Particulates ; Particle (ecology) ; Albedo (alchemy) ; Cloud Albedo; Radiative Absorption Enhancements; Laser-induced Incandescence; Thermal-optical Analysis; Black Carbon Particles; Particulate Matter; Chemical-composition; Source Apportionment; Elemental Carbon; Brown Carbon; Sea-ice
ISSN (print) / ISBN 2397-3722
e-ISSN 2397-3722
Journal npj climate and atmospheric science
Quellenangaben Volume: 9, Issue: 1, Pages: , Article Number: 108 Supplement: ,
Publisher Springer
Publishing Place London
Reviewing status Peer reviewed
Institute(s) Cooperation Group Comprehensive Molecular Analytics (CMA)
Grants Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) - SFB 1477 "Light-Matter Interactions at Interfaces"
Research Council of Finland "Black and Brown Carbon in the Atmosphere and the Cryosphere"
European Union Horizon 2020 project ULTRHAS
Transport Canada
Research Council of Finland "Competitive funding to strengthen university research profiles