The radiative impact of organic aerosols (OA) is a large source of uncertainty in estimating the global direct radiative effect (DRE) of aerosols. This radiative impact includes not only light scattering but also light absorption from a subclass of OA referred to as brown carbon (BrC). However the absorption properties of BrC are poorly understood leading to large uncertainties in modelling studies. To obtain observational constraints from measurements, a simple Absorption Ångström Exponent (AAE) method is often used to separate the contribution of BrC absorption from that of black carbon (BC). However, this attribution method is based on assumptions regardingmore the spectral dependence of BC that are often violated in the ambient atmosphere. Here we develop a new method that decreases the uncertainties associated with estimating BrC absorption. By applying this method to multi-wavelength absorption aerosol optical depth (AAOD) measurements at AERONET sites worldwide and surface aerosol absorption measurements at multiple ambient sites, we estimate that BrC globally contributes 6-40% of the absorption at 440nm. We find that the mass absorption coefficient of OA (OA-MAC) is positively correlated with BC/OA mass ratio. Based on the variability of BC properties and BC/OA emission ratio, we estimate a range of 0.05-1.2 m 2/g for OA-MAC at 440nm. Using the combination of AERONET and OMI UV absorption observations we estimate that the AAE 388/440nm for BrC is generally 4 world-wide, with a smaller value in Europe (
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