Surface melt in the ablation zone is dominated by atmospheric temperature and surface albedo. We developed a surface mass-balance model with a dynamic component of glacier ice albedo which includes surface properties, clouds and the angle of the sun. The ice albedo reduction is mainly caused by impurity accumulation of non-biological origin such as dust and black carbon ( BC), which is currently not included in other surface mass-balance models. Simulations show that dust from meltout is the main source of impurity mass at the melting glacier ice surface, and current rates of atmospheric deposition of dust play only a minor role. However, for BC the atmospheric deposition is the main source where ice melt rates are below 1 m, and atmospheric deposition is most likely from intercontinental transport due to the scarce population and lack of forests in Greenland.

Light absorbing impurities (LAI) initiate powerful snow albedo feedbacks, yet due to a scarcity of observations and measurements, LAI radiative forcing is often neglected or poorly constrained in climate and hydrological models. To support physically-based modeling of LAI processes, daily measurements of dust and black carbon (BC) stratigraphy, optical grain size, snow density and spectral albedo were collected over the 2013 ablation season in the Rocky Mountains, CO. Surface impurity concentrations exhibited a wide range of values (0.02- 6.0 mg g(-1) pptw) with 98% of mass being deposited by three episodic dust events in April. Even minor dust loading initiated albedo decline, and the negative relationship between dust concentrations and albedo was log-linear. As melt progressed, individual dust layers coalesced and emerged at the snow surface, with minimal mass loss to meltwater scavenging. The observations show that the convergence of dust layers at the surface reduced albedo to 0.3 and snow depth declined similar to 50% faster than other years with similar depth but less dust. The rapid melt led to an unexpected reduction in both grain size and density in uppermost surface layers. BC concentrations covaried with dust concentrations but were several orders of magnitude lower (< 1- 20 ppb).

A regional climate model (RegCM4.3.4) coupled with an aerosol-snow/ice feedback module was used to simulate the deposition of anthropogenic light-absorbing impurities in snow/ice and the potential radiative feedback of black carbon (BC) on temperature and snow cover over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) in 1990-2009. Two experiments driven by ERA-interim reanalysis were performed, i.e., with and without aerosol-snow/ice feedback. Results indicated that the total deposition BC and organic matter (OM) in snow/ice in the monsoon season (May-September) were much more than non-monsoon season (the remainder of the year). The great BC and OM deposition were simulated along the margin of the TP in the non-monsoon season, and the higher deposition values also occurred in the western TP than the other regions during the monsoon period. BC-in-snow/ice decreased surface albedo and caused positive surface radiative forcing (SRF) (3.0-4.5 W m(-2)) over the western TP in the monsoon season. The maximum SRF (5-6 W m(-2)) simulated in the Himalayas and southeastern TP in the non-monsoon season. The surface temperature increased by 0.1-1.5 degrees C and snow water equivalent decreased by 5-25 mm over the TP, which showed similar spatial distributions with the variations of SRF in each season. This study provided a useful tool to investigate the mechanisms involved in the effect of aerosols on climate change and the water cycle in the cryospheric environment of the TP.

Mineral aerosols scatter and absorb incident solar radiation in the atmosphere, and play an important role in the regional climate of High Mountain Asia (the domain includes the Himalayas, Tibetan Plateau, Pamir, Hindu-kush, Karakorum and Tienshan Mountains). Dust deposition on snow/ice can also change the surface albedo, resulting in perturbations in the surface radiation balance. However, most studies that have made quantitative assessments of the climatic effect of mineral aerosols over the High Mountain Asia region did not consider the impact of dust on snow/ice at the surface. In this study, a regional climate model coupled with an aerosol-snow/ice feedback module was used to investigate the emission, distribution, and deposition of dust and the climatic effects of aerosols over High Mountain Asia. Two sets of simulations driven by a reanalysis boundary condition were performed, i.e., with and without dust-climate feedback. Results indicated that the model captured the spatial and temporal features of the climatology and aerosol optical depth (ADD). High dust emission fluxes were simulated in the interior of the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and the Yarlung Tsangpo Valley in March-April-May (MAM), with a decreasing trend during 1990-2009. Dry deposition was controlled by the topography, and its spatial and seasonal features agreed well with the dust emission fluxes. The maximum wet deposition occurred in the western (southern and central) TP in MAM (JJA). A positive surface radiative forcing was induced by dust, including aerosol-snow/ice feedback, resulting in 2-m temperature increases of 0.1-0.5 degrees C over the western TP and Kunlun Mountains in MAM. Mineral dust also caused a decrease of 5-25 mm in the snow water equivalent (SWE) over the western TP, Himalayas, and Pamir Mountains in DJF and MAM. The long-term regional mean radiative forcing via dust deposition on snow showed an rising trend during 1990-2009, which suggested the contribution of aerosols surface radiative effects induced by snow darkening was increased since 1990. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The radiative forcing and climate response due to black carbon (BC) in snow and/or ice were investigated by integrating observed effects of BC on snow/ice albedo into an atmospheric general circulation model (BCC_AGCM2.0.1) developed by the National Climate Center (NCC) of the China Meteorological Administration (CMA). The results show that the global annual mean surface radiative forcing due to BC in snow/ice is +0.042 W m(-2), with maximum forcing found over the Tibetan Plateau and regional mean forcing exceeding +2.8 W m(-2). The global annual mean surface temperature increased 0.071 degrees C due to BC in snow/ice. Positive surface radiative forcing was clearly shown in winter and spring and increased the surface temperature of snow/ice in the Northern Hemisphere. The surface temperatures of snow-covered areas of Eurasia and North America in winter (spring) increased by 0.83 degrees C (0.6 degrees C) and 0.83 degrees C (0.46 degrees C), respectively. Snowmelt rates also increased greatly, leading to earlier snowmelt and peak runoff times. With the rise of surface temperatures in the Arctic, more water vapor could be released into the atmosphere, allowing easier cloud formation, which could lead to higher thermal emittance in the Arctic. However, the total cloud forcing could decrease due to increasing cloud cover, which will offset some of the positive feedback mechanism of the clouds.