What properties do sulfur particles possess that allow them to reflect the sun's rays back to space, like those in the 1991 Pinatubo eruption? I couldn't find websites that have this information =.=. (Must have been my very bad research skills)

 

Is black carbon another aerosol that can reflect light besides acting as cloud condensation nuclei? Many sources keep citing sulfate particles without black carbon particles as aerosols that can encourage global dimming.

 

Please help me out here! Thank you =).

because they are reflective in the IR range. simple as that. the reflect because they are reflective.

Particles are basically dust. If what they are made of either absorbs or reflects light, they will cause dimming. Sulfur is not transparent, hence sulfur particles will absorb light.

 

If you make particles small enough, larger wavelengths will pass right through them (an effect of the wave nature of light), and might have other strange effects. To be an aerosol, I would expect the sulfur particles to be small, so it might have weird effects.