Multiyear analysis of amazonian biomass burning smoke radiative forcing of climate

[1] Seven years analysis of clear-sky aerosol direct radiative forcing is presented for two locations in the Amazon Region heavily impacted by biomass burning emissions. During the dry season, the monthly average direct forcing at the top of the atmosphere, deduced from measurements, varied from -5 to -12 W/m2 and at the surface from -21 to -74 W/m2, with the difference associated with absorption of sunlight by the smoke aerosol layer. The spatial distribution of the forcings over Amazonia showed that they affect an area over 1.2–2.6 million square kilometers.