Black carbon footprint of human presence in Antarctica
Cordero, Raul R.
Universidad de Santiago de Chile
Sepulveda, Edgardo
Universidad de Santiago de Chile
Feron, Sarah
Universidad de Santiago de Chile
Damiani, Alessandro
Chiba University
Fernandoy, Francisco
Universidad Andres Bello
Neshyba, Steven
Univ Puget Sound
Rowe, Penny M.
NorthWest Research Associates
Asencio, Valentina
Select Carbon Pty Ltd
Alfonso, Juan A.
Inst Venezolano Invest Cient IVIC
Llanillo, Pedro
Helmholtz Association
Wachter, Paul
Helmholtz Association
Seckmeyer, Gunther
Leibniz University Hannover
Stepanova, Marina
Universidad de Santiago de Chile
Carrera, Juan M.
Universidad de Santiago de Chile
Jorquera, Jose
Universidad de Santiago de Chile
Wang, Chenghao
Stanford University
Malhotra, Avni
University of Zurich
Dana, Jacob
Western Washington University
Khan, Alia L.
Western Washington University
Casassa, Gino
Journal
Nature Communications
ISSN
2041-1723
Open Access
gold
Volume
13
The snow surrounding research facilities and shore tourist-landing sites in Antarctica was found to be darker than elsewhere in the continent, which suggests that local emissions of black carbon are accelerating seasonal snowmelt in impacted regions. Black carbon (BC) from fossil fuel and biomass combustion darkens the snow and makes it melt sooner. The BC footprint of research activities and tourism in Antarctica has likely increased as human presence in the continent has surged in recent decades. Here, we report on measurements of the BC concentration in snow samples from 28 sites across a transect of about 2,000 km from the northern tip of Antarctica (62 degrees S) to the southern Ellsworth Mountains (79 degrees S). Our surveys show that BC content in snow surrounding research facilities and popular shore tourist-landing sites is considerably above background levels measured elsewhere in the continent. The resulting radiative forcing is accelerating snow melting and shrinking the snowpack on BC-impacted areas on the Antarctic Peninsula and associated archipelagos by up to 23 mm water equivalent (w.e.) every summer.
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Type
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Format
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