Light-absorption of dust and elemental carbon in snow in the Indian Himalayas and the Finnish Arctic
Light-absorbing impurities (LAIs) deposited in snow have the potential to substantially affect the snow radiation budget, with subsequent implications for snow melt. To more accurately quantify the snow albedo, the contribution from different LAIs needs to be assessed. Here we estimate the main LAI...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:77c347045a15460cb59f4e2fa0faab8e 2023-05-15T13:11:21+02:00 Light-absorption of dust and elemental carbon in snow in the Indian Himalayas and the Finnish Arctic J. Svensson J. Ström N. Kivekäs N. B. Dkhar S. Tayal V. P. Sharma A. Jutila J. Backman A. Virkkula M. Ruppel A. Hyvärinen A. Kontu H.-R. Hannula M. Leppäranta R. K. Hooda A. Korhola E. Asmi H. Lihavainen 2018-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1403-2018 https://doaj.org/article/77c347045a15460cb59f4e2fa0faab8e EN eng Copernicus Publications https://www.atmos-meas-tech.net/11/1403/2018/amt-11-1403-2018.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1867-1381 https://doaj.org/toc/1867-8548 doi:10.5194/amt-11-1403-2018 1867-1381 1867-8548 https://doaj.org/article/77c347045a15460cb59f4e2fa0faab8e Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, Vol 11, Pp 1403-1416 (2018) Environmental engineering TA170-171 Earthwork. Foundations TA715-787 article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1403-2018 2022-12-31T00:24:57Z Light-absorbing impurities (LAIs) deposited in snow have the potential to substantially affect the snow radiation budget, with subsequent implications for snow melt. To more accurately quantify the snow albedo, the contribution from different LAIs needs to be assessed. Here we estimate the main LAI components, elemental carbon (EC) (as a proxy for black carbon) and mineral dust in snow from the Indian Himalayas and paired the results with snow samples from Arctic Finland. The impurities are collected onto quartz filters and are analyzed thermal–optically for EC, as well as with an additional optical measurement to estimate the light-absorption of dust separately on the filters. Laboratory tests were conducted using substrates containing soot and mineral particles, especially prepared to test the experimental setup. Analyzed ambient snow samples show EC concentrations that are in the same range as presented by previous research, for each respective region. In terms of the mass absorption cross section (MAC) our ambient EC surprisingly had about half of the MAC value compared to our laboratory standard EC (chimney soot), suggesting a less light absorptive EC in the snow, which has consequences for the snow albedo reduction caused by EC. In the Himalayan samples, larger contributions by dust (in the range of 50 % or greater for the light absorption caused by the LAI) highlighted the importance of dust acting as a light absorber in the snow. Moreover, EC concentrations in the Indian samples, acquired from a 120 cm deep snow pit (possibly covering the last five years of snow fall), suggest an increase in both EC and dust deposition. This work emphasizes the complexity in determining the snow albedo, showing that LAI concentrations alone might not be sufficient, but additional transient effects on the light-absorbing properties of the EC need to be considered and studied in the snow. Equally as imperative is the confirmation of the spatial and temporal representativeness of these data by comparing data from several ... Article in Journal/Newspaper albedo Arctic black carbon Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Indian Atmospheric Measurement Techniques 11 3 1403 1416 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental engineering TA170-171 Earthwork. Foundations TA715-787 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental engineering TA170-171 Earthwork. Foundations TA715-787 J. Svensson J. Ström N. Kivekäs N. B. Dkhar S. Tayal V. P. Sharma A. Jutila J. Backman A. Virkkula M. Ruppel A. Hyvärinen A. Kontu H.-R. Hannula M. Leppäranta R. K. Hooda A. Korhola E. Asmi H. Lihavainen Light-absorption of dust and elemental carbon in snow in the Indian Himalayas and the Finnish Arctic |
topic_facet |
Environmental engineering TA170-171 Earthwork. Foundations TA715-787 |
description |
Light-absorbing impurities (LAIs) deposited in snow have the potential to substantially affect the snow radiation budget, with subsequent implications for snow melt. To more accurately quantify the snow albedo, the contribution from different LAIs needs to be assessed. Here we estimate the main LAI components, elemental carbon (EC) (as a proxy for black carbon) and mineral dust in snow from the Indian Himalayas and paired the results with snow samples from Arctic Finland. The impurities are collected onto quartz filters and are analyzed thermal–optically for EC, as well as with an additional optical measurement to estimate the light-absorption of dust separately on the filters. Laboratory tests were conducted using substrates containing soot and mineral particles, especially prepared to test the experimental setup. Analyzed ambient snow samples show EC concentrations that are in the same range as presented by previous research, for each respective region. In terms of the mass absorption cross section (MAC) our ambient EC surprisingly had about half of the MAC value compared to our laboratory standard EC (chimney soot), suggesting a less light absorptive EC in the snow, which has consequences for the snow albedo reduction caused by EC. In the Himalayan samples, larger contributions by dust (in the range of 50 % or greater for the light absorption caused by the LAI) highlighted the importance of dust acting as a light absorber in the snow. Moreover, EC concentrations in the Indian samples, acquired from a 120 cm deep snow pit (possibly covering the last five years of snow fall), suggest an increase in both EC and dust deposition. This work emphasizes the complexity in determining the snow albedo, showing that LAI concentrations alone might not be sufficient, but additional transient effects on the light-absorbing properties of the EC need to be considered and studied in the snow. Equally as imperative is the confirmation of the spatial and temporal representativeness of these data by comparing data from several ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
J. Svensson J. Ström N. Kivekäs N. B. Dkhar S. Tayal V. P. Sharma A. Jutila J. Backman A. Virkkula M. Ruppel A. Hyvärinen A. Kontu H.-R. Hannula M. Leppäranta R. K. Hooda A. Korhola E. Asmi H. Lihavainen |
author_facet |
J. Svensson J. Ström N. Kivekäs N. B. Dkhar S. Tayal V. P. Sharma A. Jutila J. Backman A. Virkkula M. Ruppel A. Hyvärinen A. Kontu H.-R. Hannula M. Leppäranta R. K. Hooda A. Korhola E. Asmi H. Lihavainen |
author_sort |
J. Svensson |
title |
Light-absorption of dust and elemental carbon in snow in the Indian Himalayas and the Finnish Arctic |
title_short |
Light-absorption of dust and elemental carbon in snow in the Indian Himalayas and the Finnish Arctic |
title_full |
Light-absorption of dust and elemental carbon in snow in the Indian Himalayas and the Finnish Arctic |
title_fullStr |
Light-absorption of dust and elemental carbon in snow in the Indian Himalayas and the Finnish Arctic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Light-absorption of dust and elemental carbon in snow in the Indian Himalayas and the Finnish Arctic |
title_sort |
light-absorption of dust and elemental carbon in snow in the indian himalayas and the finnish arctic |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1403-2018 https://doaj.org/article/77c347045a15460cb59f4e2fa0faab8e |
geographic |
Arctic Indian |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Indian |
genre |
albedo Arctic black carbon |
genre_facet |
albedo Arctic black carbon |
op_source |
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, Vol 11, Pp 1403-1416 (2018) |
op_relation |
https://www.atmos-meas-tech.net/11/1403/2018/amt-11-1403-2018.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1867-1381 https://doaj.org/toc/1867-8548 doi:10.5194/amt-11-1403-2018 1867-1381 1867-8548 https://doaj.org/article/77c347045a15460cb59f4e2fa0faab8e |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1403-2018 |
container_title |
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
1403 |
op_container_end_page |
1416 |
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1766246994814173184 |