II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1538 

To establish a black carbon and other aerosols research program in the 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that supports observations, monitoring, and modeling, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 29, 2009 

Mr. ROCKEFELLER (for himself, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. NELSON of Florida, and 

Mr. BEGICH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation 

A BILL 

To establish a black carbon and other aerosols research program in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that supports observations, monitoring, and modeling, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Black Carbon and 

5 Other Aerosols Research Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this Act are— 

8 (1) to develop a monitoring and research plan— 

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1 (A) to identify natural and anthropogenic 

2 sources of black carbon and other aerosols and 

3 to monitor their atmospheric and deposited con4 centrations on both a temporal and a spatial 

5 scale; 

6 (B) to measure, monitor, model, and assess 

7 black carbon and other aerosols in regard to 

8 their atmospheric concentrations and deposited 

9 forms— 

10 (i) to establish how these substances 

11 impact regional- and global-scale climate 

12 change and air quality; 

13 (ii) to determine their regional im14 pacts, with a focus on the polar regions 

15 and other snow and ice covered areas; and 

16 (iii) to estimate, in the United States 

17 and globally, spatial and temporal black 

18 carbon and other aerosol concentrations, 

19 and deposition trends in collaboration with 

20 the National Institute of Standards and 

21 Technology and other appropriate part22 ners; and 

23 (C) to develop models to assist policy mak24 ers and to increase understanding of— 

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1 (i) the transport and transformation 

2 of black carbon and other aerosols to im3 prove knowledge of their distributions and 

4 climate-forcing properties; and 

5 (ii) the individual and combined roles 

6 of black carbon and other aerosols on re7 gional and global climate change on both a 

8 temporal and a spatial scale; and 

9 (2) to establish a black carbon and other 

10 aerosols monitoring and research program within the 

11 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this Act: 

14 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis15 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 

16 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

17 (2) BLACK CARBON.—The term ‘‘black carbon’’ 

18 means the strongly light absorbing aerosol that— 

19 (A) is composed of fine particles containing 

20 carbon produced by the incomplete combustion 

21 of fossil fuels, biofuel, and biomass and other 

22 activities; 

23 (B) exists in both atmospheric and depos24 ited forms; and 

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1 (C) is sometimes associated with impaired 

2 air quality and climate change. 

3 (3) OTHER AEROSOLS.—The term ‘‘other 

4 aerosols’’ means the components of atmospheric 

5 aerosols, fine particles suspended in air, that con6 tribute to climate-forcing and climate change, in7 cluding inorganic, organic, dust, and carbonaceous 

8 substances, either separately or in combination. 

9 SEC. 4. BLACK CARBON AND OTHER AEROSOLS MONI10 TORING AND RESEARCH PLAN. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall develop 

12 an observation, monitoring, modeling, and research plan 

13 for black carbon and other aerosols that includes— 

14 (1) analysis of gaps in scientific methods and 

15 research on— 

16 (A) black carbon and other aerosols; and 

17 (B) the effect of black carbon, both singly 

18 and in combination with other factors, on cli19 mate change and air quality on both a regional 

20 and a global scale; 

21 (2) identification of priorities for Federal re22 search on black carbon and other aerosols necessary 

23 to understand their role in climate change and air 

24 quality on both a regional and a global scale; 

25 (3) a framework for modeling— 

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1 (A) the temporal and spatial effects of 

2 black carbon and other aerosols on climate, 

3 both singly and in combination, on regional and 

4 global scales and processes; 

5 (B) the transportation and transformation 

6 of black carbon and other aerosols to gain in7 sight into their distribution and climate-forcing 

8 properties; and 

9 (C) the influence of black carbon on clouds 

10 and cloud particles to understand and quantify 

11 their role in large-scale circulation and the hy12 drologic cycle; 

13 (4) appropriate methods that— 

14 (A) identify sources of black carbon and 

15 other aerosols, both anthropogenic and natu16 rally occurring, and 

17 (B) measure, monitor, and increase under18 standing of the atmospheric concentrations and 

19 properties as well as the deposited forms, 

20 on both a temporal and a spatial scale; 

21 (5) a comparative evaluation of the global and 

22 regional climate-forcing properties of black carbon 

23 and other aerosols and their effect on regional and 

24 global climate change and the loss of Arctic sea ice; 

25 and 

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1 (6) observation systems, needs, and assets nec2 essary to develop and implement a black carbon and 

3 other aerosols monitoring and research program 

4 within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad5 ministration. 

6 (b) ADVISORY PANEL.—The Administrator shall es7 tablish a Black Carbon and Other Aerosols Advisory Panel 

8 to assist in the development and implementation of the 

9 plan. 

10 (c) REPORT.—No later than 270 days after the date 

11 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 

12 a report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, 

13 and Transportation and the House of Representatives 

14 Committee on Science and Technology describing the plan 

15 required by subsection (a). 

16 SEC. 5. BLACK CARBON AND OTHER AEROSOLS RESEARCH 

17 AND MONITORING PROGRAM. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall establish 

19 and maintain a black carbon and other aerosols moni20 toring and research program that combines observations, 

21 research, monitoring, modeling, and other activities within 

22 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

23 consistent with the plan required by section 4(a), that in24 cludes— 

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1 (1) coordinated monitoring and research activi2 ties to improve understanding of the sources, atmos3 pheric concentrations, deposited forms, and inter4 actions among black carbon and other aerosols that 

5 influence their contribution to climate change proc6 esses on both a regional and a global scale; 

7 (2) strategic modeling activities that improve 

8 understanding of— 

9 (A) the transportation and transformation 

10 of aerosols, to improve knowledge of their dis11 tributions and climate-forcing properties; and 

12 (B) the separate and combined roles of 

13 black carbon and other aerosols in regional and 

14 global climate change and air quality, on re15 gional, global and temporal scales, to improve 

16 understanding of these substances and their 

17 roles in climate change; 

18 (3) educational opportunities that— 

19 (A) encourage an interdisciplinary and 

20 international approach to exploring the associ21 ated sources and impacts of black carbon and 

22 other aerosols; and 

23 (B) increase interactions between the 

24 measurement and modeling communities in 

25 order to optimize use of available data; 

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1 (4) public outreach activities that improve un2 derstanding of the current scientific knowledge of 

3 black carbon and other aerosols and their impact on 

4 climate change; 

5 (5) coordination of black carbon and other 

6 aerosols monitoring research with the National Insti7 tute of Standards and Technology and other appro8 priate international and national government agen9 cies, private entities, and others; and 

10 (6) an assessment of the role black carbon and 

11 other aerosols have in regional and global climate 

12 change and air quality. 

13 (b) GRANT PROGRAM.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es15 tablish a grant program to provide grants for critical 

16 research and projects that improve the ability to 

17 measure, monitor, model, and assess black carbon 

18 and other aerosols with respect to their atmospheric 

19 concentrations and deposited forms, including re20 search that supports means of reducing the impacts 

21 of black carbon and other aerosols on climate. 

22 (2) CONSULTATION WITH PANEL.—The Admin23 istrator shall consult with the Black Carbon and 

24 Other Aerosols Advisory Panel, and shall work coop25 eratively with the National Institute of Standards 

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1 and Technology and other Federal agencies, to es2 tablish criteria for such research and projects. 

3 (3) PARTICIPATION BY FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

4 Federal agencies may collaborate with, and partici5 pate in, such research and projects to the extent re6 quested by the grant recipient. 

7 (4) AWARD PROCESS.—Grants under this sub8 section shall be awarded extramurally through a 

9 competitive peer-reviewed, merit-based process that 

10 may be conducted jointly with other Federal agen11 cies working on black carbon and aerosols and their 

12 role in and relationship to climate change. 

13 (c) COORDINATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES.—The 

14 Administrator shall coordinate development of the plan 

15 under section 4 and the monitoring and research program 

16 under subsection (a) of this section with the National In17 stitute of Standards and Technology and other relevant 

18 Federal agencies. 

19 (d) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—In conducting the 

20 program, the Administrator may execute and perform 

21 such contracts, leases, grants, or cooperative agreements 

22 as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act 

23 on such terms as the Administrator considers appropriate. 

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1 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Ad3 ministrator for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2015— 

4 (1) $10,000,000 for grants under section 5(b); 

5 and 

6 (2) $10,000,000 for the National Oceanic and 

7 Atmospheric Administration to carry out the other 

8 provisions of this Act. 

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