Drought-induced biomass burning as a source of black carbon to the central Himalaya since 1781 CE as reconstructed from the Dasuopu ice core
Himalayan glaciers are melting due to atmospheric warming, with the potential to limit access to water for more than 25 % of the global population that resides in these glacier meltwater catchments. Black carbon has been implicated as a factor that is contributing to Himalayan glacier melt, but its...
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ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:acp90229 2023-05-15T16:38:45+02:00 Drought-induced biomass burning as a source of black carbon to the central Himalaya since 1781 CE as reconstructed from the Dasuopu ice core Barker, Joel D. Kaspari, Susan Gabrielli, Paolo Wegner, Anna Beaudon, Emilie Sierra-Hernández, M. Roxana Thompson, Lonnie 2021-04-13 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5615-2021 https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/21/5615/2021/ eng eng doi:10.5194/acp-21-5615-2021 https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/21/5615/2021/ eISSN: 1680-7324 Text 2021 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5615-2021 2021-04-19T16:22:15Z Himalayan glaciers are melting due to atmospheric warming, with the potential to limit access to water for more than 25 % of the global population that resides in these glacier meltwater catchments. Black carbon has been implicated as a factor that is contributing to Himalayan glacier melt, but its sources and mechanisms of delivery to the Himalayas remain controversial. Here, we provide a 211-year ice core record spanning 1781–1992 CE for refractory black carbon (rBC) deposition from the Dasuopu glacier ice core that has to date provided the highest-elevation ice core record (7200 m). We report an average rBC concentration of 1.5 µg L −1 ( SD=5.0 , n =1628 ) over the 211-year period. An increase in the frequency and magnitude of rBC deposition occurs after 1877 CE, accompanied by decreased snow accumulation associated with a shift in the North Atlantic Oscillation Index to a positive phase. Typically, rBC is deposited onto Dasuopu glacier during the non-monsoon season, and short-lived increases in rBC concentration are associated with periods of drought within neighboring regions in northwestern India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Using a combination of spectral and back-trajectory analyses, as well as a comparison with a concurrent analysis of trace metals at equivalent depths in the same ice core, we show that biomass burning resulting from dry conditions is a source of rBC to the central Himalaya and is responsible for deposition that is up to 60 times higher than the average rBC concentration over the time period analyzed. We suggest that biomass burning is a significant source of rBC to the central Himalaya and that the rBC record can be used to identify periods of drought in nearby regions that are upwind of Dasuopu glacier. Text ice core North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation Copernicus Publications: E-Journals Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 21 7 5615 5633 |
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English |
description |
Himalayan glaciers are melting due to atmospheric warming, with the potential to limit access to water for more than 25 % of the global population that resides in these glacier meltwater catchments. Black carbon has been implicated as a factor that is contributing to Himalayan glacier melt, but its sources and mechanisms of delivery to the Himalayas remain controversial. Here, we provide a 211-year ice core record spanning 1781–1992 CE for refractory black carbon (rBC) deposition from the Dasuopu glacier ice core that has to date provided the highest-elevation ice core record (7200 m). We report an average rBC concentration of 1.5 µg L −1 ( SD=5.0 , n =1628 ) over the 211-year period. An increase in the frequency and magnitude of rBC deposition occurs after 1877 CE, accompanied by decreased snow accumulation associated with a shift in the North Atlantic Oscillation Index to a positive phase. Typically, rBC is deposited onto Dasuopu glacier during the non-monsoon season, and short-lived increases in rBC concentration are associated with periods of drought within neighboring regions in northwestern India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Using a combination of spectral and back-trajectory analyses, as well as a comparison with a concurrent analysis of trace metals at equivalent depths in the same ice core, we show that biomass burning resulting from dry conditions is a source of rBC to the central Himalaya and is responsible for deposition that is up to 60 times higher than the average rBC concentration over the time period analyzed. We suggest that biomass burning is a significant source of rBC to the central Himalaya and that the rBC record can be used to identify periods of drought in nearby regions that are upwind of Dasuopu glacier. |
format |
Text |
author |
Barker, Joel D. Kaspari, Susan Gabrielli, Paolo Wegner, Anna Beaudon, Emilie Sierra-Hernández, M. Roxana Thompson, Lonnie |
spellingShingle |
Barker, Joel D. Kaspari, Susan Gabrielli, Paolo Wegner, Anna Beaudon, Emilie Sierra-Hernández, M. Roxana Thompson, Lonnie Drought-induced biomass burning as a source of black carbon to the central Himalaya since 1781 CE as reconstructed from the Dasuopu ice core |
author_facet |
Barker, Joel D. Kaspari, Susan Gabrielli, Paolo Wegner, Anna Beaudon, Emilie Sierra-Hernández, M. Roxana Thompson, Lonnie |
author_sort |
Barker, Joel D. |
title |
Drought-induced biomass burning as a source of black carbon to the central Himalaya since 1781 CE as reconstructed from the Dasuopu ice core |
title_short |
Drought-induced biomass burning as a source of black carbon to the central Himalaya since 1781 CE as reconstructed from the Dasuopu ice core |
title_full |
Drought-induced biomass burning as a source of black carbon to the central Himalaya since 1781 CE as reconstructed from the Dasuopu ice core |
title_fullStr |
Drought-induced biomass burning as a source of black carbon to the central Himalaya since 1781 CE as reconstructed from the Dasuopu ice core |
title_full_unstemmed |
Drought-induced biomass burning as a source of black carbon to the central Himalaya since 1781 CE as reconstructed from the Dasuopu ice core |
title_sort |
drought-induced biomass burning as a source of black carbon to the central himalaya since 1781 ce as reconstructed from the dasuopu ice core |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5615-2021 https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/21/5615/2021/ |
genre |
ice core North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation |
genre_facet |
ice core North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation |
op_source |
eISSN: 1680-7324 |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/acp-21-5615-2021 https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/21/5615/2021/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5615-2021 |
container_title |
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
container_volume |
21 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
5615 |
op_container_end_page |
5633 |
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1766029075446497280 |