Seminar
SPEAKER: Mark Flanner, NCAR
TIME: Wednesday, May 21, 2008, 3:30 p.m.
PLACE: DSRC (NOAA Building) Room 2A-305, 325 Broadway, Boulder
DIRECTIONS: See http://esrl.noaa.gov/csd/seminars/
TITLE: Climate impacts from black carbon in snow
ABSTRACT:
Black carbon (BC) in snow has been shown to have a higher "efficacy", or change in global mean temperature per unit radiative forcing, than any other anthropogenic agent. I will discuss current understanding of this mechanism, including recent reflectance measurements of soot-infused snow, the effect of snow darkening on snow-albedo feedback, and coupling between snow aging and aerosol darkening. Ice core records from Greenland show that BC deposition peaked in the early 20th century, but there are indications that mid- and high-latitude emissions have increased during the last decade. We will explore possible impacts of these elevated emissions on springtime snow cover and polar climate.