“Over 90 percent of the black carbon emitted by nations in the Arctic-region (which lie above 40 degrees latitude), comes from agricultural, forest or peat fires”, said Elena Koblets, Director for Development at Russia-based Bellona Foundation, an international environmental NGO based in Norway, at a UN climate summit side event this week.
When sunlight reaches suspended black carbon particles in the air, it is absorbed as heat, warming the air directly around it. Furthermore, when this sooty residue deposits on snow and ice, it darkens the surface causing the ground to absorb more light as heat and melt at a faster rate than it would otherwise. On a large scale, melt may accelerate the loss of stable water resources in the form of glaciers and snow. It can also cause changes in local ecosystem dynamics with each species responding differently to the changes in snow and ice availability.
Source: New Entrant Black Carbon Finds Little Mention in Copenhagen – Worldwatch Institute
Date: 14 December 2009