A 10 year record of black carbon and dust from a Mera Peak ice core (Nepal): variability and potential impact on melting of Himalayan glaciers

Ginot, Patrick; Dumont, Marie; Lim, Saehee; Patris, Nicolas; Taupin, Jean-Denis; Wagnon, Patrick; Gilbert, Adrien; Arnaud, Yves; Marinoni, Angela; Bonasoni, Paolo; Laj, Paolo

doi:10.5194/tc-8-1479-2014

Cited by 86 publications

(97 citation statements)

References 78 publications

(94 reference statements)

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“…mass observations, as discussed by many previous studies (e.g., Ginot et al, 2014;Ménégoz et al, 2014;Qian et al, 2015;Schmale et al, 2017). Our study confirms that BC and dust in snow and ice can darken the surface, further reduce snow albedo, and increase the speed of snow cover melt (e.g., Flanner et al, 2007;Di Mauro et al, 2015;Painter et al, 2007;Qian et al, 2015;Skiles et al, 2015).…”

Section: Limitations and Implications For Snow Cover And Glaciers On supporting

confidence: 77%

“…We did not consider meteorological conditions, including clouds, precipitation, etc. Snow metamorphism was also not considered, and in the simulation, snow grains were assumed to be spherical, like in previous studies (Flanner et al, 2007;Ginot et al, 2014;Schmale et al, 2017). These samples were collected during the winter season, when the snow cover was more stable and continuous, which might not represent the true impurities during the ablation season.…”

Section: Limitations and Implications For Snow Cover And Glaciers On mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Black carbon and mineral dust in snow cover on the Tibetan Plateau

et al. 2018

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Abstract. Snow cover plays a key role for sustaining ecology and society in mountainous regions. Light-absorbing particulates (including black carbon, organic carbon, and mineral dust) deposited on snow can reduce surface albedo and contribute to the near-worldwide melting of snow and ice. This study focused on understanding the role of black carbon and other water-insoluble light-absorbing particulates in the snow cover of the Tibetan Plateau (TP). The results found that the black carbon, organic carbon, and dust concentrations in snow cover generally ranged from 202 to 17 468 ng g −1 , 491 to 13 880 ng g −1 , and 22 to 846 µg g −1 , respectively, with higher concentrations in the central to northern areas of the TP. Back trajectory analysis suggested that the northern TP was influenced mainly by air masses from Central Asia with some Eurasian influence, and air masses in the central and Himalayan region originated mainly from Central and South Asia. The relative biomassburning-sourced black carbon contributions decreased from ∼ 50 % in the southern TP to ∼ 30 % in the northern TP. The relative contribution of black carbon and dust to snow albedo reduction reached approximately 37 and 15 %, respectively. The effect of black carbon and dust reduced the snow cover duration by 3.1 ± 0.1 to 4.4 ± 0.2 days. Meanwhile, the black carbon and dust had important implications for snowmelt water loss over the TP. The findings indicate that the impacts of black carbon and mineral dust need to be properly accounted for in future regional climate projections, particularly in the high-altitude cryosphere.

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Section: Limitations and Implications For Snow Cover And Glaciers On supporting

confidence: 77%

Section: Limitations and Implications For Snow Cover And Glaciers On mentioning

confidence: 99%

Black carbon and mineral dust in snow cover on the Tibetan Plateau

et al. 2018

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“…Sicart and Arnaud, 2007;Schmitt et al, 2015), unlike for example the Himalaya, where a significant amount of literature on this topic exists (e.g. Ramanathan and Carmichael, 2008;Xu et al, 2009;Menon et al, 2010;Kaspari et al, 2011;Qiu, 2013;Ginot et al, 2014). Biomass burning in the Amazon basin, upwind of the tropical Andes, is likely a major source of black carbon deposition in the Andes (Pereira et al, 2011), but emission statistics and inventories over the region, as well as adequate emission, transport and deposition models are largely lacking (Molina et al, 2015).…”

Section: Role Of Aerosols (Black Carbon) and Albedo Feedbackmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid decline of snow and ice in the tropical Andes – Impacts, uncertainties and challenges ahead

Vuille

Carey

Huggel

et al. 2018

Earth-Science Reviews

233

213

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Glaciers in the tropical Andes have been retreating for the past several decades, leading to a temporary increase in dry season water supply downstream. Projected future glacier shrinkage, however, will lead to a long-term reduction in dry season river discharge from glacierized catchments. This glacier retreat is closely related to the observed increase in high-elevation, surface air temperature in the region. Future projections using a simple freezing level height-equilibrium-line altitude scaling approach suggest that glaciers in the inner tropics, such as Antizana in Ecuador, may be most vulnerable to future warming while glaciers in the more arid outer tropics, such as Zongo in Bolivia, may persist, albeit in a smaller size, throughout the 21st century regardless of emission scenario. Nonetheless many uncertainties persist, most notably problems with accurate snowfall measurements in the glacier accumulation zone, uncertainties in establishing accurate thickness measurements on glaciers, unknown future changes associated with local-scale circulation and cloud cover affecting glacier energy balance, the role of aerosols and in particular black carbon deposition on Andean glaciers, and the role of groundwater and aquifers interacting with glacier meltwater.The reduction in water supply for export-oriented agriculture, mining, hydropower production and human consumption are the most commonly discussed concerns associated with glacier retreat, but many other aspects including glacial hazards, tourism and recreation, and ecosystem integrity are also affected by glacier retreat. Social and political problems surrounding water allocation for subsistence farming have led to conflicts due to lack of adequate water governance. Local water management practices in many regions reflect cultural belief systems, perceptions and spiritual values and glacier retreat in some places is seen as a threat to these local livelihoods.Comprehensive adaptation strategies, if they are to be successful, therefore need to consider science, policy, culture and practice, and involve local populations. Planning needs to be based not only on future scenarios derived from physically-based numerical models, but must also consider societal needs, economic agendas, political conflicts, socioeconomic inequality and cultural values. This review elaborates on the need for adaptation as well as the challenges and constraints many adaptation projects are faced with, and lays out future directions where opportunities exist to develop successful, culturally acceptable and sustainable adaptation strategies.

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“…Based on a 10-year record of mineral dust and BC concentrations, retrieved from an ice core at Mera Peak, Nepalese Himalaya, Ginot et al (2014) found that lightabsorbing particulates cause up to 26 % of the total annual surface melting. Another study performed at Mera Peak shows that mineral dust dominates absorption and may reduce the albedo of snow by up to 40 % (Kaspari et al, 2014).…”

Section: J Gabbi Et Al: Impact Of Saharan Dust and Black Carbon On mentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of Saharan dust and black carbon on albedo and long-term mass balance of an Alpine glacier

Gabbi¹,

Huss

Bauder³

et al. 2015

The Cryosphere

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Abstract. Light-absorbing impurities in snow and ice control glacier melt as shortwave radiation represents the main component of the surface energy balance. Here, we investigate the long-term effect of snow impurities, i.e., mineral dust and black carbon (BC), on albedo and glacier mass balance. The analysis was performed over the period 1914-2014 for two sites on Claridenfirn, Swiss Alps, where an outstanding 100-year record of seasonal mass balance measurements is available. Information on atmospheric deposition of mineral dust and BC over the last century was retrieved from two firn/ice cores of high-alpine sites. A combined mass balance and snow/firn layer model was employed to assess the effects of melt and accumulation processes on the impurity concentration at the surface and thus on albedo and glacier mass balance. Compared to pure snow conditions, the presence of Saharan dust and BC lowered the mean annual albedo by 0.04-0.06 depending on the location on the glacier. Consequently, annual melt was increased by 15-19 %, and the mean annual mass balance was reduced by about 280-490 mm w.e. BC clearly dominated absorption which is about 3 times higher than that of mineral dust. The upper site has experienced mainly positive mass balances and impurity layers were continuously buried whereas at the lower site, surface albedo was more strongly influenced by re-exposure of dust and BC-enriched layers due to frequent years with negative mass balances.

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A 10 year record of black carbon and dust from a Mera Peak ice core (Nepal): variability and potential impact on melting of Himalayan glaciers

Cited by 86 publications

References 78 publications

Black carbon and mineral dust in snow cover on the Tibetan Plateau

Black carbon and mineral dust in snow cover on the Tibetan Plateau

Rapid decline of snow and ice in the tropical Andes – Impacts, uncertainties and challenges ahead

The impact of Saharan dust and black carbon on albedo and long-term mass balance of an Alpine glacier

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