A sensitivity study on modeling black carbon in snow and its radiative forcing over the Arctic and Northern China

Qian, Yun; Wang, Hailong; Zhang, Rudong; Flanner, M.; Rasch, Philip J.

doi:10.1088/1748-9326/9/6/064001

Cited by 74 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Another reason for the inconsistency of BC mass mixing ratios in snow and near-surface BC concentrations in the atmosphere may be related to the compensating errors in BC deposition and snowfall. This inconsistency may also be related to snow aging and melting and BC-in-snow accumulation and flushing out, which are associated with large uncertainties (Flanner et al, 2007;Qian et al, 2014).…”

Section: Aerosol-in-snow Concentrationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of absorbing aerosol deposition on snowpack and hydrologic cycle in the Rocky Mountain region based on variable-resolution CESM (VR-CESM) simulations

Liu

Lin

et al. 2018

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

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Abstract. The deposition of light-absorbing aerosols (LAAs), such as black carbon (BC) and dust, onto snow cover has been suggested to reduce the snow albedo and modulate the snowpack and consequent hydrologic cycle. In this study we use the variable-resolution Community Earth System Model (VR-CESM) with a regionally refined highresolution (0.125 • ) grid to quantify the impacts of LAAs in snow in the Rocky Mountain region during the period 1981-2005. We first evaluate the model simulation of LAA concentrations both near the surface and in snow and then investigate the snowpack and runoff changes induced by LAAs in snow. The model simulates similar magnitudes of near-surface atmospheric dust concentrations as observations in the Rocky Mountain region. Although the model underestimates near-surface atmospheric BC concentrations, the model overestimates BC-in-snow concentrations by 35 % on average. The regional mean surface radiative effect (SRE) due to LAAs in snow reaches up to 0.6-1.7 W m −2 in spring, and dust contributes to about 21-42 % of total SRE. Due to positive snow albedo feedbacks induced by the LAA SRE, snow water equivalent is reduced by 2-50 mm and snow cover fraction by 5-20 % in the two regions around the mountains (eastern Snake River Plain and southwestern Wyoming), corresponding to an increase in surface air temperature by 0.9-1.1 • C. During the snow melting period, LAAs accelerate the hydrologic cycle with monthly runoff increases of 0.15-1.00 mm day −1 in April-May and reductions of 0.04-0.18 mm day −1 in June-July in the mountainous regions. Of all the mountainous regions, the Southern Rockies experience the largest reduction of total runoff by 15 % during the later stage of snowmelt (i.e., June and July). Compared to previous studies based on field observations, our estimation of dust-induced SRE is generally 1 order of magnitude smaller in the Southern Rockies, which is ascribed to the omission of larger dust particles (with the diameter > 10 µm) in the model. This calls for the inclusion of larger dust particles in the model to reduce the discrepancies. Overall these results highlight the potentially important role of LAA interactions with snowpack and the subsequent impacts on the hydrologic cycles across the Rocky Mountains.

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Section: Aerosol-in-snow Concentrationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of absorbing aerosol deposition on snowpack and hydrologic cycle in the Rocky Mountain region based on variable-resolution CESM (VR-CESM) simulations

Liu

Lin

et al. 2018

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

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“…The effect of BC in snow on surface albedo reduction and the resultant positive radiative forcing have been widely addressed and reported (e.g., Warren and Wiscombe, 1980;Clarke and Noone, 1985;Hansen and Nazarenko, 2004;Hadley and Kirchstetter, 2012;Flanner et al, 2007;McConnell et al, 2007;Ming et al, 2008;Kaspari et al, 2011;Qian et al, 2011Qian et al, , 2014Qian et al, , 2015. In contrast, the impact of OC in snow has not been widely assessed because of its relatively weak light absorption over the entire spectrum compared to BC, and because of large uncertainties associated with OC light-absorbing properties and measurements of OC in snow.…”

Section: Radiative Forcing Induced By Carbonaceous Aerosols In Tibetamentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbonaceous aerosols recorded in a southeastern Tibetan glacier: analysis of temporal variations and model estimates of sources and radiative forcing

Wang

Cao

et al. 2015

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

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Abstract. High temporal resolution measurements of black carbon (BC) and organic carbon (OC) covering the time period of in an ice core over the southeastern Tibetan Plateau show a distinct seasonal dependence of BC and OC with higher respective concentrations but a lower OC / BC ratio in the non-monsoon season than during the summer monsoon. We use a global aerosol-climate model, in which BC emitted from different source regions can be explicitly tracked, to quantify BC source-receptor relationships between four Asian source regions and the southeastern Tibetan Plateau as a receptor. The model results show that South Asia has the largest contribution to the presentday (1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005) mean BC deposition at the ice-core drilling site during the non-monsoon season (October to May) (81 %) and all year round (74 %), followed by East Asia (14 % to the non-monsoon mean and 21 % to the annual mean). The icecore record also indicates stable and relatively low BC and OC deposition fluxes from the late 1950s to 1980, followed by an overall increase to recent years. This trend is consistent with the BC and OC emission inventories and the fuel consumption of South Asia (as the primary contributor to annual mean BC deposition). Moreover, the increasing trend of the OC / BC ratio since the early 1990s indicates a growing contribution of coal combustion and/or biomass burning to the emissions. The estimated radiative forcing induced by BC and OC impurities in snow has increased since 1980, suggesting an increasing potential influence of carbonaceous aerosols on the Tibetan glacier melting and the availability of water resources in the surrounding regions. Our study indicates that more attention to OC is merited because of its non-negligible light absorption and the recent rapid increases evident in the ice-core record.

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“…Zhang et al: Black carbon and mineral dust in snow cover on the Tibetan Plateau Arctic (Flanner, 2013;Qian et al, 2014), Greenland , the Alps (Painter et al, 2013;Yasunari et al, 2015), and the Tibetan Plateau (TP) Jacobi et al, 2015;Ji et al, 2015;Ménégoz et al, 2014). The snow albedo feedback of BC may also be an important driver accelerating glacial retreat and snow cover melt (Painter et al, 2013;Skiles et al, 2015;Xu et al, 2009).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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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A sensitivity study on modeling black carbon in snow and its radiative forcing over the Arctic and Northern China

Cited by 74 publications

References 44 publications

Impacts of absorbing aerosol deposition on snowpack and hydrologic cycle in the Rocky Mountain region based on variable-resolution CESM (VR-CESM) simulations

Impacts of absorbing aerosol deposition on snowpack and hydrologic cycle in the Rocky Mountain region based on variable-resolution CESM (VR-CESM) simulations

Carbonaceous aerosols recorded in a southeastern Tibetan glacier: analysis of temporal variations and model estimates of sources and radiative forcing

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

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