Black Carbon and Himalaya
Black Carbon (BC) has a noticeable history over the past 150 years in Hindu-Kush-Himalayan (HKH) and Tibetan Plateau (TP), from pre-industry to modern periods. An analysis on Mt. Everest ice core during 1860–2000 and based on Single Particle Soot Photometer demonstrates that BC concentration from 1975-2000 shows about 3-fold increase compared to the background level of 1860-1975, indicating BC from anthropogenic source has been introduced and transported to highland of Himalayas. What is black carbon BC is derived from incomplete combustion of organic matter from both natural and anthropogenic sources, in the form of carbonaceous aerosols, heating the aerosol-planetary boundary layer with a net warming effect by absorbing and scattering sunlight. BC can also be deposited onto snow and ice, darkening the surfaces and reducing their albedo feedback . Both mechanisms ar...