Biomass burning aerosol absorbs and scatters solar radiation, and can alter cloud optical properties, thus playing a significant role in the global radiation budget. The influence of biomass burning aerosol is particularly pronounced at regional scales. While there is significant uncertainty in the magnitude and composition of biomass burning emissions, a seldom-discussed topic is the influence of assumed emission heights on the lifetime, burden, and radiative effects of biomass burning aerosol.

Many global models assume either a linear distribution of biomass burning emissions over the vertical profile, or injection of all emissions at a single level. Neither of these approaches is satisfactory as biomass burning emission heights are known to vary both spatially and temporally.

Here, the global ACCESS-CM2 model is used to examine the influence of biomass burning emission heights on aerosol lifetime, burden, and the subsequent radiative impacts.