Black carbon aerosols and the third polar ice cap

Menon, Surabi; Koch, D.; Beig, G.; Sahu, Saroj Kumar; Fasullo, John T.; Orlikowski, Daniel

doi:10.5194/acp-10-4559-2010

Cited by 271 publications

(163 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…The southern slope of the Himalayas is directly exposed to Indian emissions and likely receives more BC than the northern slope via the southwesterly and via the southern branch of the winter westerlies that sweep over the south side of the Himalaya-Hindu Kush range (Kaspari et al, 2007;Xu et al, 2009;Yasunari et al, 2010). As suggested by Menon et al (2010), the emissions of particulate matter in India have been increasing over the last few decades and are expected to increase in the future due to rapid industrial growth and slower emission control measures.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Sensitivity studies on the impacts of Tibetan Plateau snowpack pollution on the Asian hydrological cycle and monsoon climate

et al. 2011

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Abstract. The Tibetan Plateau (TP) has long been identified to be critical in regulating the Asian monsoon climate and hydrological cycle. In this modeling study a series of numerical experiments with a global climate model are designed to simulate radiative effect of black carbon (BC) and dust in snow, and to assess the relative impacts of anthropogenic CO 2 and carbonaceous particles in the atmosphere and snow on the snowpack over the TP and subsequent impacts on the Asian monsoon climate and hydrological cycle. Simulations results show a large BC content in snow over the TP, especially the southern slope. Because of the high aerosol content in snow and large incident solar radiation in the low latitude and high elevation, the TP exhibits the largest surface radiative flux changes induced by aerosols (e.g. BC, Dust) in snow compared to any other snow-covered regions in the world.Simulation results show that the aerosol-induced snow albedo perturbations generate surface radiative flux changes of 5-25 W m −2 during spring, with a maximum in April or May. BC-in-snow increases the surface air temperature by around 1.0 • C averaged over the TP and reduces spring snowpack over the TP more than pre-industrial to present CO 2 increase and carbonaceous particles in the atmosphere. As a result, runoff increases during late winter and early spring but decreases during late spring and early summer (i.e. a trend toward earlier melt dates). The snowmelt efficacy, defined as the snowpack reduction per unit degree of warming induced by the forcing agent, is 1-4 times larger for BC-in-snow than CO 2 increase during April-July, indicating that BC-in-snow more efficiently accelerates snowmelt because the increased net solar radiation induced by reduced albedo melts the snow more efficiently than snow melt due to warming in the air.Correspondence to: Y. Qian (yun.qian@pnl.gov)The TP also influences the South (SAM) and East (EAM) Asian monsoon through its dynamical and thermal forcing. Simulation results show that during boreal spring aerosols are transported by southwesterly, causing some particles to reach higher altitude and deposit to the snowpack over the TP. While BC and Organic Matter (OM) in the atmosphere directly absorb sunlight and warm the air, the darkened snow surface polluted by BC absorbs more solar radiation and increases the skin temperature, which warms the air above through sensible heat flux. Both effects enhance the upward motion of air and spur deep convection along the TP during the pre-monsoon season, resulting in earlier onset of the SAM and increase of moisture, cloudiness and convective precipitation over northern India. BC-in-snow has a more significant impact on the EAM in July than CO 2 increase and carbonaceous particles in the atmosphere. Contributed by the significant increase of both sensible heat flux associated with the warm skin temperature and latent heat flux associated with increased soil moisture with long memory,

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The TP is located close to regions in South and East Asia that have been and are predicted to continue to be the largest sources of BC in the world Menon et al, 2010). For example, the Indian sub-continent, especially the Indo-Gangetic Plain, is one of the largest BC emission sources in the world (Ramanathan et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensitivity studies on the impacts of Tibetan Plateau snowpack pollution on the Asian hydrological cycle and monsoon climate

et al. 2011

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“…Uncertainty in aerosol removal processes and transport and missing anthropogenic SOA and nitrate formation may all contribute to underestimation of aerosol mass. Nevertheless, previous modelling studies have also suggested that residential emission data sets underestimate emissions (Park et al, 2005;Koch et al, 2009;Ganguly et al, 2009;Menon et al, 2010;Bergström et al, 2012;Nair et al, 2012;Fu et al, 2012;Moorthy et al, 2013;Bond et al, 2013;Pan et al, 2015). The ACCMIP and MACCity emission data sets are constructed using national data on fuel use, which implies uniform per capita fuel consumption at the country level.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Firstly, emission factors for RSF combustion derived from laboratory experiments are often less than those derived under ambient conditions (Roden et al, 2009). Secondly, models typically underestimate observed aerosol absorption optical depth, BC, and OC over regions associated with large RSF emissions such as in South and East Asia (Park et al, 2005;Koch et al, 2009;Ganguly et al, 2009;Menon et al, 2010;Nair et al, 2012;Fu et al, 2012;Moorthy et al, 2013;Bond et al, 2013;Pan et al, 2015). A further complication is that residential emissions, particularly from residential heating, also exhibit seasonal variability (Aunan et al, 2009;Stohl et al, 2013), but this is rarely implemented within global modelling studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of residential combustion emissions on atmospheric aerosol, human health, and climate

et al. 2016

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Abstract. Combustion of fuels in the residential sector for cooking and heating results in the emission of aerosol and aerosol precursors impacting air quality, human health, and climate. Residential emissions are dominated by the combustion of solid fuels. We use a global aerosol microphysics model to simulate the impact of residential fuel combustion on atmospheric aerosol for the year 2000. The model underestimates black carbon (BC) and organic carbon (OC) mass concentrations observed over Asia, Eastern Europe, and Africa, with better prediction when carbonaceous emissions from the residential sector are doubled. Observed seasonal variability of BC and OC concentrations are better simulated when residential emissions include a seasonal cycle. The largest contributions of residential emissions to annual surface mean particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) concentrations are simulated for East Asia, South Asia, and Eastern Europe. We use a concentration response function to estimate the human health impact due to long-term exposure to ambient PM 2.5 from residential emissions. We estimate global annual excess adult (> 30 years of age) premature mortality (due to both cardiopulmonary disease and lung cancer) to be 308 000 (113 300-497 000, 5th to 95th percentile uncertainty range) for monthly varying residential emissions and 517 000 (192 000-827 000) when residential carbonaceous emissions are doubled. Mortality due to residential emissions is greatest in Asia, with China and India accounting for 50 % of simulated global excess mortality. Using an offline radiative transfer model we estimate that residential emissions exert a global annual mean direct radiative effect between −66 and +21 mW m −2 , with sensitivity to the residential emission flux and the assumed ratio of BC, OC, and SO 2 emissions. Residential emissions exert a global annual mean first aerosol indirect effect of between −52 and −16 mW m −2 , which is sensitive to the assumed size distribution of carbonaceous emissions. Overall, our results demonstrate that reducing residential combustion emissions would have substantial benefits for human health through reductions in ambient PM 2.5 concentrations.

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“…For example, Kopacz et al (2011) estimated RF of 5-15 W m −2 due to BC within the snow-covered areas of Himalaya and the TP, whereas Flanner et al (2007) and Qian et al (2011) estimated peak values of BC effects exceeding 20 W m −2 for some parts of the TP. Menon et al (2010) and Ménégoz et al (2014) proposed that BC in snow caused a significant part of the decrease of the snow cover extent or duration observed on the TP during the last decade. Ji et al (2016b) found a positive surface RF was induced by dust, which caused a decrease of 5-25 mm w.e.…”

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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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Black carbon aerosols and the third polar ice cap

Cited by 271 publications

References 37 publications

Sensitivity studies on the impacts of Tibetan Plateau snowpack pollution on the Asian hydrological cycle and monsoon climate

Sensitivity studies on the impacts of Tibetan Plateau snowpack pollution on the Asian hydrological cycle and monsoon climate

The impact of residential combustion emissions on atmospheric aerosol, human health, and climate

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

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