Radiocarbon Fingerprinting Black Carbon Source History in the Himalayas

Wang, Mo; Wang, Hailong; Xu, Baiqing; Li, Zhen; Zhao, Huabiao; Li, Jiule; Cui, Anning; Zhu, Sanyuan; Li, Jun

doi:10.1029/2024GL113764

Title: Radiocarbon Fingerprinting Black Carbon Source History in the Himalayas

Journal Article · Thu Feb 13 00:00:00 UTC 2025 · Geophysical Research Letters

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL113764 · OSTI ID:2526654

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Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Lanzhou (China)
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Guangzhou (China)

Black carbon (BC) is considered as an important contributor to the Himalayan glaciers melt in the past few decades. However, the long-term source apportionment of BC remains unclear. Here we present the first radiocarbon (¹⁴C)-based annual variation of BC source apportionment in an ice core spanning the period of 1959–2012 drilled from the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau, a receptor site of South Asia outflow. We find fossil fuel combustion is a major contribution (73% ± 5%), yet the biomass burning fraction (ƒ_biomass) has grown from 24% ± 4% to 30% ± 4% since 1990. Intriguingly, we further find the ƒ_biomass demonstrating a robust correlation with South Asian wildfires linked to climate oscillations. Thus, for mitigating BC impacts on Himalayan glaciers, South Asia's transition from fossil fuels to clean energy is a more efficient and urgent strategy than reducing residential biomass burning.

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Research Organization:: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-76RL01830

OSTI ID:: 2526654

Report Number(s):: PNNL-SA--208277

Journal Information:: Geophysical Research Letters, Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 52; ISSN 1944-8007; ISSN 0094-8276

Publisher:: American Geophysical Union (AGU)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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