Observed high-altitude warming and snow cover retreat over Tibet and the Himalayas enhanced by black carbon aerosols

Xu, Y.; Ramanathan, V.; Washington, W. M.

doi:10.5194/acp-16-1303-2016

Title: Observed high-altitude warming and snow cover retreat over Tibet and the Himalayas enhanced by black carbon aerosols

Journal Article · Fri Feb 05 00:00:00 EST 2016 · Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-1303-2016· OSTI ID:1236999

; Ramanathan, V.; Washington, W. M.

Himalayan mountain glaciers and the snowpack over the Tibetan Plateau provide the headwater of several major rivers in Asia. In situ observations of snow cover extent since the 1960s suggest that the snowpack in the region have retreated significantly, accompanied by a surface warming of 2–2.5°C observed over the peak altitudes (5000 m). Using a high-resolution ocean–atmosphere global climate model and an observationally constrained black carbon (BC) aerosol forcing, we attribute the observed altitude dependence of the warming trends as well as the spatial pattern of reductions in snow depths and snow cover extent to various anthropogenic factors. At the Tibetan Plateau altitudes, the increase in atmospheric CO₂ concentration exerted a warming of 1.7°C, BC 1.3°C where as cooling aerosols cause about 0.7°C cooling, bringing the net simulated warming consistent with the anomalously large observed warming. We therefore conclude that BC together with CO₂ has contributed to the snow retreat trends. In particular, BC increase is the major factor in the strong elevation dependence of the observed surface warming. The atmospheric warming by BC as well as its surface darkening of snow is coupled with the positive snow albedo feedbacks to account for the disproportionately large role of BC in high-elevation regions. Here, these findings reveal that BC impact needs to be properly accounted for in future regional climate projections, in particular on high-altitude cryosphere.

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Research Organization:: University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)

Grant/Contract Number:: FC02-97ER62402

OSTI ID:: 1236999

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1253624

Journal Information:: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online), Journal Name: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online) Vol. 16 Journal Issue: 3; ISSN 1680-7324

Publisher:: Copernicus Publications, EGUCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: Germany

Language:: English

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Cited by: 80 works

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