Light-absorbing impurities accelerate glacier melt in the Central Tibetan Plateau

Li, Xiaofei; Kang, Shichang; He, Xiaobo; Qu, Bin; Tripathee, Lekhendra; Jing, Zhefan; Paudyal, Rukumesh; Li, Yang; Zhang, Yulan; Yan, Fangping; Li, Gang; Li, Chaoliu

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.02.169

Cited by 105 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Dust was the most significant contributor to albedo reduction when mixed inside the snow and ice or when the glacier was covered in bare ice. In our case BC was a more influential factor than dust during a similar study period to that reported by Li et al (2017), indicating that BC plays a major role in albedo reduction.…”

Section: Snow Albedo Reductionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…The majority of samples were from the ablation zone of the glaciers. Strong melting of surface snow and ice in the ablation zone could lead to BC enrichment and high-BC concentrations, as observed by Li et al (2017) for glaciers on the southern Tibetan Plateau. The sampling season (May to September in our study) is an important factor because rapid enrichment occurs as snowmelts during the melting season.…”

Section: Bc Oc and Dust Concentrationsmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…The dust mass on the filters was calculated from the mass difference in weight before and after sampling (Kaspari et al, 2014;Li et al, 2017).…”

Section: Dust Oc and Bc Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The three methods considered the most effective for measuring BC and water-insoluble OC concentrations in snow are thermal optical analysis, filter-based analysis, and single-particle soot photometer analysis (Ming et al, 2008). The thermal optical (filter-based) analysis method has been used by many researchers (e.g., Li et al, 2017) and was chosen for the study. This is an indirect method for measuring BC and OC on sampled filters; it follows Beer's law and uses the stepwise combustion of the particles deposited on quartz filters (Boparai et al, 2008), followed by the measurement of light transmission and/or reflectance of the filters.…”

Section: Dust Oc and Bc Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A number of authors have described the concentration and impacts of light-absorbing particles in the Tibetan glaciers (for example Qian et al, 2015;Wang et al, 2015;Li et al, 2017;Niu et al, 2017). However, until now, no studies have been published relating to the concentration of light-absorbing aerosols in the surface snow and ice of northern Pakistan, and although several authors have investigated transport pathways over the Himalayan region (e.g., Babu et al, 2011 for the western trans-Himalayas; Lu et al, 2012 for the Tibetan Plateau and Himalayas), little is known about the potential sources and transport pathways of pollutants affecting the Pakistan area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Concentrations and source regions of light-absorbing particles in snow/ice in northern Pakistan and their impact on snow albedo

et al. 2018

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Abstract. Black carbon (BC), water-insoluble organic carbon (OC), and mineral dust are important particles in snow and ice which significantly reduce albedo and accelerate melting. Surface snow and ice samples were collected from the Karakoram-Himalayan region of northern Pakistan during 2015 and 2016 in summer (six glaciers), autumn (two glaciers), and winter (six mountain valleys). The average BC concentration overall was 2130 ± 1560 ng g −1 in summer samples, 2883 ± 3439 ng g −1 in autumn samples, and 992 ± 883 ng g −1 in winter samples. The average waterinsoluble OC concentration overall was 1839 ± 1108 ng g −1 in summer samples, 1423 ± 208 ng g −1 in autumn samples, and 1342 ± 672 ng g −1 in winter samples. The overall concentration of BC, OC, and dust in aged snow samples collected during the summer campaign was higher than the concentration in ice samples. The values are relatively high compared to reports by others for the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau. This is probably the result of taking more representative samples at lower elevation where deposition is higher and the effects of ageing and enrichment are more marked. A reduction in snow albedo of 0.1-8.3 % for fresh snow and 0.9-32.5 % for aged snow was calculated for selected solar zenith angles during daytime using the Snow, Ice, and Aerosol Radiation (SNICAR) model. The daily mean albedo was reduced by 0.07-12.0 %. The calculated radiative forcing ranged from 0.16 to 43.45 W m −2 depending on snow type, solar zenith angle, and location. The potential source regions of the deposited pollutants were identified using spatial variance in wind vector maps, emission inventories coupled with backward air trajectories, and simple region-tagged chemical transport modeling. Central, south, and west Asia were the major sources of pollutants during the sampling months, with only a small contribution from east Asia. Analysis based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF-STEM) chemical transport model identified a significant contribution (more than 70 %) from south Asia at selected sites. Research into the presence and effect of pollutants in the glaciated areas of Pakistan is economically significant because the surface water resources in the country mainly depend on the rivers (the Indus and its tributaries) that flow from this glaciated area.

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Section: Snow Albedo Reductionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Bc Oc and Dust Concentrationsmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…The dust mass on the filters was calculated from the mass difference in weight before and after sampling (Kaspari et al, 2014;Li et al, 2017).…”

Section: Dust Oc and Bc Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Dust Oc and Bc Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Concentrations and source regions of light-absorbing particles in snow/ice in northern Pakistan and their impact on snow albedo

et al. 2018

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Light‐absorbing impurities enhance glacier albedo reduction in the southeastern Tibetan plateau

et al. 2017

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Light‐absorbing impurities (LAIs) in snow of the southeastern Tibetan Plateau (TP) and their climatic impacts are of interest not only because this region borders areas affected by the South Asian atmospheric brown clouds but also because the seasonal snow and glacier melt from this region form important headwaters of large rivers. In this study, we collected surface snow and snowpit samples from four glaciers in the southeastern TP in June 2015 to investigate the comprehensive observational data set of LAIs. Results showed that the LAI concentrations were much higher in the aged snow and granular ice than in the fresh snow and snowpits due to postdepositional processes. Impurity concentrations fluctuated across snowpits, with maximum LAI concentrations frequently occurring toward the bottom of snowpits. Based on the SNow ICe Aerosol Radiative model, the albedo simulation indicated that black carbon and dust account for approximately 20% of the albedo reduction relative to clean snow. The radiative forcing caused by black carbon and dust deposition on the glaciers were between 1.0–141 W m−2 and 1.5–120 W m−2, respectively. Black carbon (BC) played a larger role in albedo reduction and radiative forcing than dust in the study area, enhancing approximately 15% of glacier melt. Analysis based on the Fire INventory from NCAR indicated that nonbiomass‐burning sources of BC played an important role in the total BC deposition, especially during the monsoon season. This study suggests that eliminating anthropogenic BC could mitigate glacier melt in the future of the southeastern TP.

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Transport Mechanisms, Potential Sources, and Radiative Impacts of Black Carbon Aerosols on the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau Glaciers

Tripathee

Gul

Kang

et al. 2021

Air Pollution and Its Complications

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Light-absorbing impurities accelerate glacier melt in the Central Tibetan Plateau

Cited by 105 publications

References 52 publications

Concentrations and source regions of light-absorbing particles in snow/ice in northern Pakistan and their impact on snow albedo

Concentrations and source regions of light-absorbing particles in snow/ice in northern Pakistan and their impact on snow albedo

Light‐absorbing impurities enhance glacier albedo reduction in the southeastern Tibetan plateau

Transport Mechanisms, Potential Sources, and Radiative Impacts of Black Carbon Aerosols on the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau Glaciers

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