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HIGH-MOUNTAIN ASIA

A darker cryosphere in a warming world

Nature Climate Change volume 10, pages 979–980 (2020)Cite this article

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Dust and black carbon deposition in high-mountain Asia darkens snow and ice, increases sunlight absorption and causes melt — a reinforcing feedback. Now research shows the increasing importance of dust over black carbon at higher altitude, and the sensitivity of aerosol transport and delivery to Arctic sea-ice melt.

The glaciers and snowpack of high-mountain Asia serve as an important water resource throughout the region, and understanding how climate warming and anthropogenic activity will impact seasonal melt and perennial glacier longevity is important. Aerosol deposition on pristine snow and ice is a key component of this1, as they act as light-absorbing particles (LAPs) that darken and warm the surface, causing a reinforcing feedback that melts the snow and ice, exposes darker ground underneath and leads to further warming. Writing in Nature Climate Change, two author teams investigate LAP deposition in high-mountain Asia. Chandan Sarangi and colleagues2 find that dust dominates black carbon deposition at higher altitudes, implying a shift in aerosol type as snow lines shift higher with warming. Fei Li and co-authors3 identify a mechanism by which reduced Arctic sea ice increases aerosol transport to the Tibetan Plateau. Together, these studies improve understanding of the deposition of aerosols at high altitude as well as the large-scale mechanisms controlling their delivery.

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Fig. 1: Mineral dust and snow algae darken high-mountain snow.

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  1. Institute of Polar Sciences, National Research Council, Venice, Italy

    Biagio Di Mauro

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  1. Biagio Di Mauro
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Correspondence to Biagio Di Mauro.

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Di Mauro, B. A darker cryosphere in a warming world. Nat. Clim. Chang. 10, 979–980 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-00911-9

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