Duringthe summer and winter periods of 2019-2020, we conductedsampling of fine mode ambient aerosols in the western Himalayan glacialregion (WHR; Thajiwas glacier, 2799 m asl), central Himalayan glacialregion (CHR; Gomukh glacier, 3415 m asl), and eastern Himalayan glacialregion (EHR; Zemu glacier, 2700 m asl). We evaluated the aerosol opticalproperties, which included the mass absorption coefficient, mass absorptionefficiency, mass scattering efficiency, absorption angstrom exponent,single scattering albedo, as well as their simple radiative forcingefficiencies. We observed the highest absorption in the near ultraviolet-visiblewavelength range (200-400 nm), with CHR showing the highestabsorption compared to the other two sites, WHR and EHR, respectively.Across the wavelength range of 200-1100 nm, the overall contributionof black carbon to light attenuation was greater than that of browncarbon. However, brown carbon dominated the absorption in the nearUV-visible wavelengths, providing evidence of its non-trivialpresence over the Himalayan region. Additionally, we observed a positiveradiative forcing (W/g), which leads to net warming at these sites.The findings of this ground-based study contribute to our understandingof the light-absorbing nature of carbonaceous aerosols and their impacton the Himalayan glacier regions.

Carbonaceous matter (CM) (such as water-insoluble organic carbon (WIOC), black carbon (BC), and water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC)) has a significant impact on the carbon cycle and radiative forcing (RF) of glacier. Precipitation samples and glacier's snow/ice samples (snowpit, surface snow, and granular ice) (Xiao dongkemadi Glacier) were collected at the Dongkemadi River Basin (DRB) in the central Tibetan Plateau (TP) between May and October 2016 to investigate the characteristics and roles of CM in the TP River Basin. WIOC, BC, and WSOC concentrations in precipitation were relatively higher than that in snowpit, but lower than that in surface snow/ice, with the wet deposition fluxes of 0.10 +/- 0.002, 0.04 +/- 0.001, and 0.12 +/- 0.002 g C m(-2) yr(-1) at DRB, respectively. The positive matrix factorization model identified four major sources (biomass burning source, secondary precursors, secondary aerosol, and dust source) of CM in precipitation at DRB. Two source areas (South Asia and the interior of TP) contributing to the pollution at DRB were identified using a potential source contribution function model, a concentration-weighted trajectory method, and the back-trajectory model. Moreover, the light-absorption by WSOC in the ultraviolet region was 23.0%, 12.1%, and 3.4% relative to the estimated total light-absorption in precipitation, snowpit, and surface snow/ice, respectively. Optical indices analysis revealed that WSOC in snowpit samples presented higher molecular weight, while presented higher aromatic and higher molecule sizes in surface snow/ice and precipitation samples, respectively. RF by WSOC relative to that of BC was estimated to be 17.6 +/- 17.6% for precipitation, 10.9 +/- 5.8% for snowpit, and 10.7 +/- 11.6% for surface snow/ice, respectively, during the melt season in the central TP River Basin. These results help us understand how CM affects glaciers, and they can be utilized to create policies and recommendations that efficiently reduce emissions.

This study inspects the concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) mass and carbonaceous species, including organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC), as well as their thermal fractions in the Indian Himalayan glacier region at the western Himalayan region (WHR; Thajiwas glacier, 2799 m asl), central Himalayan region (CHR; Gomukh glacier, 3415 m asl), and eastern Himalayan region (EHR; Zemu glacier, 2700 m asl) sites, throughout the summer and winter periods of 2019-2020. Ambient PM2.5 samples were collected on quartz fiber filters using a low-volume sampler, followed by carbon (OC and EC) quantification using the IMPROVE_A thermal/optical reflectance methodology. Different seasonal variations in PM2.5 and carbonaceous species levels were found at all three sites investigated. Averaged PM2.5 mass ranged 55-87 mu g m-3 with a mean of 55.45 +/- 16.30 mu g m-3 at WHR, 86.80 +/- 35.73 mu g m-3 at CHR, and 72.61 +/- 24.45 mu g m-3 at EHR. Among the eight carbon fractions, high-temperature OC4 (evolved at 580 degrees C in the helium atmosphere) was the most prevalent carbon fraction, followed by low-temperature OC2 (280 degrees C) and EC1 (580 degrees C at 2% oxygen and 98% helium). Char-EC representing incomplete combustion contributed to 56, 67, and 53% of total EC, whereas soot EC contributed to 38, 26, and 43% of total EC in WHR, CHR, and EHR, respectively. The measured OC/EC ratios imply the presence of secondary organic carbon, whereas char-EC/soot-EC ratios suggested that biomass burning could be the predominant source of carbon at CHR, whereas coal combustion and vehicular emission might be dominant sources at WHR and EHR sites.

Carbonaceous matter has an important impact on glacial retreat in the Tibetan Plateau, further affecting the water resource supply. However, the related studies on carbonaceous matter are still scarce in Geladaindong (GLDD) region, the source of the Yangtze River. Therefore, the concentration, source and variations of carbonaceous matter at Ganglongjiama (GLJM) glacier in GLDD region were investigated during the melting period in 2017, which could deepen our understanding on carbonaceous matter contribution to glacier melting. The results showed that dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration of snowpit samples (283 +/- 200 mu g/L) was much lower than that of precipitation samples (624 +/- 361 mu g/L), indicating that large parts of DOC could be rapidly leached from the snowpit during the melting process. In contrast, refractory black carbon (rBC) concentration measured by Single Particle Soot Photometer of snowpit samples (4.27 +/- 3.15 mu g/L) was much higher than that of precipitation samples (0.97 +/- 0.49 mu g/L). Similarly, DOC with high mass absorption cross- measured at 365 nm value was also likely to enrich in snowpit during the melting process. In addition, it was found that both rBC and DOC with high light-absorbing ability began to leach from the snowpit when melting process became stronger. Therefore, rBC and DOC with high light-absorbing ability exhibited similar behavior during the melting process. Based on relationship among DOC, rBC and K+ in precipitation, the main source of carbonaceous matter in GLJM glacier was biomass burning during the study period. (c) 2019 The Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Carbonaceous matter at glacial region plays important role in river ecosystems fed by glacier and albedo reduction of glacier surface. However, currently, limited knowledge are available on the carbonaceous matter within the glacial region of the Tibetan Plateau (TP). In this study, the data from six snowpits in the glacial region across the TP were reported. The results showed that dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations of snowpit samples of the TP were comparable to those of European Alps and the Arctic. The ratio of DOC to carbonaceous matter (40.25 +/- 8.98%) was lower than that of Alpine glaciers, thus indicating greater particulate carbon content in the TP glacial region. In addition, the DOC was significantly correlated with insoluble particulate carbon (IPC), indicating that IPC and DOC likely came from the same sources. Spatially, the DOC concentration decreased from the north (0.42 +/- 0.29 mg-C L-1) to the south TP (0.15 +/- 0.06 mg-C L-1), which was consistent with variations in the distribution of dust storm on the TP. Principal component analysis of major ions and DOC showed that mineral dust contributed the major part of DOC, followed by biogenic sources such as agriculture and livestock. Finally, based on DOC concentrations and precipitation amounts at different periods, the mean annul flux of DOC in the glacial region of the TP was calculated to be 0.11 +/- 0.05 g-C m(-2) yr(-1). (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.