Environment: Human pollution in Antarctica may accelerate snow melting
Nature Communications reports that black carbon pollution in areas where tourists from Antarctica land and near research facilities can increase snowmelt in these areas.The findings suggest that snow masses (snow on the ground) may decrease by 23 millimeters each summer in areas where black carbon has the greatest impact.
Combustion of fossil fuels and biomass produces black carbon.Black carbon absorbs sunlight and warms the atmosphere.When black carbon is deposited on snow, heat is trapped and snowmelt progresses.Human presence in Antarctica has increased significantly in recent decades, and with the recent surge in visitors, the impact of black carbon emissions in Antarctica is likely to have increased, but has not yet been quantified.
Now, Sarah Feron, Raúl Cordero and colleagues have taken snow samples and measured black carbon concentrations in a 2000-kilometer region of the northern Antarctic Peninsula.The northern part of the Antarctic Peninsula consists of areas where most tourists gather and most of their research activities are carried out, and more remote areas.As a result of the measurement, it was found that the snow samples near the research facilities and the areas where tourists landed contained more black carbon than the snow samples in the remote areas. Feron et al. Calculated that snow masses could be reduced by up to 23 millimeters each summer in areas heavily affected by black carbon. Feron et al. Estimate an average of 2016 tourists visiting the South Pole each year during the 2020-5 tourist season, and the amount of black carbon produced by one tourist melts about 3000 tons of snow each summer. It expresses the view that it may contribute to.
Feron et al. Worked on ways to reduce the buildup of black carbon (cleaner energy, the use of hybrid and electric vessels, tourists) to reduce the burden of human activity in the most visited areas of Antarctica. It claims that it is necessary to limit the number of people.
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Reprinted from: "Environment: Antarctica's human pollution can accelerate snowmelt'
