Black Carbon Deposition to the Greenland Ice Sheet from Forest Fires in Canada

• Main Authors: Thomas, Jennie L., Polashenski, Christopher M., Soja, Amber, Marelle, Louis, Casey, Kimberly A., Choi, Hyun-Deok, Raut, Jean-Christophe, Wiedinmyer, Christine, Emmons, Louisa K., Fast, Jérome, Pelon, Jacques, Flanner, Mark, Dibb, Jack E.
• Other Authors: TROPO - LATMOS, Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS), Sorbonne Université (SU)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS), ERDC Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), USACE Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College Hanover, National Institute of Aerospace Hampton (NIA), Center for International Climate and Environmental Research Oslo (CICERO), University of Oslo (UiO), National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder (NCAR), Atmospheric Chemistry Observations and Modeling Laboratory (ACOML), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences Ann Arbor (AOSS), University of Michigan Ann Arbor, University of Michigan System-University of Michigan System, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space Durham (EOS), University of New Hampshire (UNH)
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2018
• Subjects: envir; geo; Canada; Greenland; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-02462828

International audience Black carbon (BC) concentrations has been observed in 22 snowpits sampled in the northwest sector of the Greenland ice sheet in April 2014. The pits contain a strong and widespread BC aerosol deposition event, which accumulated in the pits during two snow storms between 27 July and 2 August 2013. This event comprises a significant portion (57% on average across all pits) of total BC deposition measured in the snowpits (~10 month record). We link this deposition event to forest fires burning in Canada during summer 2013 using modeling and remote sensing tools. Specifically, we use high-resolution regional chemical transport modeling (WRF- Chem) combined with high-resolution fire emissions (FINNv1.5) to study aerosol emissions, transport, and deposition to Greenland snow during this event. The model captures the timing of the BC deposition event and shows that fires in Canada were the main source of deposited BC. The potential implications for understanding the influence of BC originating from fires on the optical properties of snow is discussed.