Historical Changes of Black Carbon in Snow and Its Radiative Forcing in CMIP6 Models

Black carbon in snow (BCS) has a significant impact on global climate and is an important component of Earth system modeling. Here, we provide a comprehensive evaluation of BCS simulations in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) and its radiative forcing on a global scale. Overa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Atmosphere
Main Authors: Yang Chen, Xuejing Li, Yuxuan Xing, Shirui Yan, Dongyou Wu, Tenglong Shi, Jiecan Cui, Xueying Zhang, Xiaoying Niu
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022
Subjects:
black carbon
snow
radiative forcing
CMIP6
Meteorology. Climatology
QC851-999
Antarc*
Antarctica
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13111774
https://doaj.org/article/af2872a96a204b168eb246cdeedfbf54
Description
Summary:Black carbon in snow (BCS) has a significant impact on global climate and is an important component of Earth system modeling. Here, we provide a comprehensive evaluation of BCS simulations in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) and its radiative forcing on a global scale. Overall, the multi-model mean generally captures the characteristics of BCS spatial patterns, with maximum concentrations in East Asia and the Tibetan Plateau (~120 ng·g −1 ), and the lowest in Antarctica (~0.05 ng·g −1 ). The BCS concentrations in all CMIP6 multi-model mean and individual models generally exhibit a temporally increasing trend globally, with particularly large increases after the 1940s. In terms of seasonal cycles, individual models are generally consistent in most regions. Globally, BCS concentrations are highest around January and lowest in September. The albedo reduction in the Tibetan Plateau and East Asia simulated by the CMIP6 multi-model mean reached ~0.06 in 2014 and may influence climate more than expected.

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