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

Wang, Mo; Xu, Bin; Cao, Junji; Tie, Xuexi; Wang, Hailong; Zhang, Rudong; Qian, Yun; Rasch, Philip J.; Zhao, Shuyu; Wu, Guangjian; Zhao, Huabiao; Joswiak, Daniel R.; Li, Jiule; Xie, Ying

doi:10.5194/acp-15-1191-2015

Cited by 74 publications

(93 citation statements)

References 81 publications

(96 reference statements)

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“…Due to its light-absorbing properties (Andreae and Gelencsér, 2006;Bahaur et al, 2012;Yan et al, 2016), OC in snow cover can also absorb solar radiation and reduce the surface albedo. Previous studies indicated that OC was responsible for more than 10-40 % of the light absorption Doherty et al, 2010;Lin et al, 2014;Wang et al, 2015). Not considering OC in snow will underestimate the LAP impact on albedo reduction and RF, and this should not be ignored in the future.…”

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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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 mentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2018

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“…East Asia has a dominant contribution in the monsoon, post-monsoon and winter seasons, while South Asia dominates in the pre-monsoon season (Table 3). As discussed by Wang et al (2015), circulation patterns during the monsoon and non-monsoon seasons largely determine the seasonal variations in the transport of aerosols from the different major sources to the southeastern TP. Strong precipitation during the monsoon season can substantially remove atmospheric BC during the transport, especially from South Asia.…”

Section: Source Apportionments Of Carbonaceous Aerosolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Generally, sampled carbonaceous aerosols can be divided into elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) using the thermal-optical reflectance (TOR) method (Cao et al, 2010;Chow et al, 1993). EC is also known as BC when measured using optical methods or in aerosol-climate modeling studies (e.g., Cheng et al, 2011a;Ming et al, 2013;Xu et al, 2009b;Wang et al, 2014Wang et al, , 2015. Moreover, in the low-latitude and high-elevation areas, extensive incoming solar radiation and large amount of carbonaceous aerosol deposited on snowpack and glaciers result in surface albedo reduction and the retreat of glaciers in the TP, and this further affects Asian hydrological cycle and monsoon climate (Qian et al, 2011;Qu et al, 2014;Li et al, 2016a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal variation and light absorption property of carbonaceous aerosol in a typical glacier region of the southeastern Tibetan Plateau

et al. 2018

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Abstract. Deposition and accumulation of light-absorbing carbonaceous aerosol on glacier surfaces can alter the energy balance of glaciers. In this study, 2 years (December 2014 to December 2016) of continuous observations of carbonaceous aerosols in the glacierized region of the Mt. Yulong and Ganhaizi (GHZ) basin are analyzed. The average elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) concentrations were 1.51 ± 0.93 and 2.57 ± 1.32 µg m −3 , respectively. Although the annual mean OC / EC ratio was 2.45 ± 1.96, monthly mean EC concentrations during the post-monsoon season were even higher than OC in the high altitudes (approximately 5000 m a.s.l.) of Mt. Yulong. Strong photochemical reactions and local tourism activities were likely the main factors inducing high OC / EC ratios in the Mt. Yulong region during the monsoon season. The mean mass absorption efficiency (MAE) of EC, measured for the first time in Mt. Yulong, at 632 nm with a thermal-optical carbon analyzer using the filter-based method, was 6.82 ± 0.73 m 2 g −1 , comparable with the results from other studies. Strong seasonal and spatial variations of EC MAE were largely related to the OC abundance. Source attribution analysis using a global aerosol-climate model, equipped with a black carbon (BC) source tagging technique, suggests that East Asia emissions, including local sources, have the dominant contribution (over 50 %) to annual mean near-surface BC in the Mt. Yulong area. There is also a strong seasonal variation in the regional source apportionment. South Asia has the largest contribution to near-surface BC during the premonsoon season, while East Asia dominates the monsoon season and post-monsoon season. Results in this study have great implications for accurately evaluating the influences of carbonaceous matter on glacial melting and water resource supply in glacierization areas.

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“…WSOC and IPC can significantly reduce glacier albedo and accelerate glacier melting by absorbing more solar radiation (Flanner et al, 2009;Doherty et al, 2013;Wang et al, 2015;Li et al, 2016a;Niu et al, 2017a, b). WSOC has been proven to be absorbing sunlight at ultraviolet wavelengths (200-800 nm) (Andreae and Gelencser, 2006;Chen and Bond, 2010;Cheng et al, 2011;Bosch et al, 2014;Li et al, 2016a), and the radiative forcing caused by WSOC was estimated to account for 2-10% relative to black carbon (BC) in atmospheric aerosols in a typical pollution area of North China (Kirillova et al, 2014a) and about 10% at Laohugou (LHG) glacier, northern Tibetan Plateau (TP) (Yan et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%