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Characterization and source apportionment of black carbon over a valley glacier at transitional climatic zone of the central-western Himalaya

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Abstract

Sufficient site-level observations are needed to resolve the discrepancies between in situ and space-based observations for reliable climate mitigation and adaptation strategies. Resolving such discrepancies from climate-sensitive and understudied Himalaya is the priority for the Indian sub-continent. This study investigates characteristics and dynamics of equivalent black carbon aerosol (eBC) including sources over a glaciated valley at the transitional climate zone between central and western Himalaya. Thermo-topographic factors influencing valley-scale dynamics of eBC were observed by coupled measurements on instantaneous eBC (Aethalometer) and meteorological state parameters at a high altitude (4000 m asl) in the Indian Himalaya covering an annual cycle (October 2015 to August 2016). Results indicate a very large variation (38–5638 ng m−3) in mean daily BC concentration (308 ± 37 ng m−3). Seasonally, the eBC concentration was found highest during the pre-monsoon (1276 ± 115 ng m−3) and lowest during the monsoon season (308 ± 37 ng m−3). In contrast, the magnitude was comparable during winter and post-monsoon seasons (400–500 ng m−3). BC-induced mean annual radiative forcing at the atmosphere was + 10.1 ± 3.0 W m−2. These results indicate a substantial eBC burden over the region even at this high tropospheric altitude in this pristine glacier environment. On the other hand, the diurnal-scale variability in eBC concentration is primarily governed by high-altitude meteorological processes. Further, source apportionment analyses underscore the seasonal scale influence of monsoon and westerly circulation systems.

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Acknowledgements

We express our thanks to the Director, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, for providing facilities for the research work. The valuable suggestions of Dr. Prashant Hegde (SPL, Thiruvanantpuram) and Dr. K. K. Moorthy (IISc, Bangalore) are gratefully acknowledged. We would like to appreciate Sh. Mohit Singhal and Dr. Purushottam Garge for few data analyses. The authors are also highly thankful to the anonymous reviewers for their fruitful & valuable comments.

Funding

We received financial support from the Department of Science and Technology (DST, Government of India).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Glaciology, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, India

    Indira Karakoti, Nilendu Singh & Akhilesh Chandra Gairola

  2. Uttranchal University, 248007, Dehradun, India

    Indira Karakoti

  3. Currently at the University of Bolzano, 39100, Bolzano, Italy

    Nilendu Singh

  4. Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, India

    Tanuj Shukla

  5. Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, India

    D. P. Dobhal

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  1. Indira Karakoti
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Contributions

“Indira Karakoti” analysed the data, wrote the manuscript, and prepared the figures. “Nilendu Singh” wrote some parts of manuscript and prepared some of the figures. “Tanuj Shukla” analysed the data and edited the figures. “Akhilesh Chandra Gairola” collected the data. “D.P. Dobhal” reviewed the manuscript. Finally, all the authors reviewed the paper.

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Correspondence to Indira Karakoti.

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Karakoti, I., Singh, N., Shukla, T. et al. Characterization and source apportionment of black carbon over a valley glacier at transitional climatic zone of the central-western Himalaya. Theor Appl Climatol 151, 1383–1397 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-022-04313-z

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