Radiocarbon Fingerprinting Black Carbon Source History in the Himalayas

Abstract Black carbon (BC) is considered as an important contributor to the Himalayan glaciers melt in the past few decades. However, the long‐term source apportionment of BC remains unclear. Here we present the first radiocarbon ( 14 C)‐based annual variation of BC source apportionment in an ice core spanning the period of 1959–2012 drilled from the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau, a receptor site of South Asia outflow. We find fossil fuel combustion is a major contribution (73% ± 5%), yet the biomass burning fraction ( ƒ biomass ) has grown from 24% ± 4% to 30% ± 4% since 1990. Intriguingly, we further find the ƒ biomass demonstrating a robust correlation with South Asian wildfires linked to climate oscillations. Thus, for mitigating BC impacts on Himalayan glaciers, South Asia's transition from fossil fuels to clean energy is a more efficient and urgent strategy than reducing residential biomass burning.

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Publication Details

Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Published
2025-02-13
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1029/2024gl113764
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.11

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article

Radiocarbon Fingerprinting Black Carbon Source History in the Himalayas

Huabiao Zhao, Baiqing Xu, Jiule Li, Anning Cui et al.
1 citations
Geophysical Research Letters
Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics
1.11
article

Radiocarbon Fingerprinting Black Carbon Source History in the Himalayas

Huabiao Zhao, Baiqing Xu, Jiule Li, Anning Cui, Sanyuan Zhu, Hailong Wang, Zhen Li, Jun Li, Mo Wang
article en
1 citations

Abstract

Abstract Black carbon (BC) is considered as an important contributor to the Himalayan glaciers melt in the past few decades. However, the long‐term source apportionment of BC remains unclear. Here we present the first radiocarbon ( 14 C)‐based annual variation of BC source apportionment in an ice core spanning the period of 1959–2012 drilled from the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau, a receptor site of South Asia outflow. We find fossil fuel combustion is a major contribution (73% ± 5%), yet the biomass burning fraction ( ƒ biomass ) has grown from 24% ± 4% to 30% ± 4% since 1990. Intriguingly, we further find the ƒ biomass demonstrating a robust correlation with South Asian wildfires linked to climate oscillations. Thus, for mitigating BC impacts on Himalayan glaciers, South Asia's transition from fossil fuels to clean energy is a more efficient and urgent strategy than reducing residential biomass burning.

Geophysical Research LettersVol. 52(4)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (US), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry (CN), Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources (CN), Institute of Geology and Geophysics (CN), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Openalex Percentile: Top 27%
Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics
1.11
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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