A numerical sensitivity study on the  snow-darkening effect by black carbon  deposition over the Arctic in spring

Zhang, Zilu; Zhou, Libo; Zhang, Meigen

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1-2025

Articles | Volume 25, issue 1

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 25, issue 1

Research article

|

03 Jan 2025

Research article |

| 03 Jan 2025

A numerical sensitivity study on the snow-darkening effect by black carbon deposition over the Arctic in spring

Zilu Zhang, Libo Zhou, and Meigen Zhang

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1-2025-supplement

Data sets

ERA5 hourly data on single levels from 1940 to present Copernicus Climate Change Service https://doi.org/10.24381/cds.adbb2d47

NCEP FNL Operational Model Global Tropospheric Analyses, continuing from July 1999 National Centers for Environmental Prediction et al. https://doi.org/10.5065/D6M043C6

CryoSat-2 Level-4 Sea Ice Elevation, Freeboard, and Thickness, Version 1 National Snow and Ice Data Center https://doi.org/10.5067/96JO0KIFDAS8

Terrestrial carbon, water and energy fluxes measured by eddy covariance, and associated biomet variables, at three adjacent tundra ecosystems at Imnavait Creek, Alaska, 2020 S. Bret-Harte et al. https://doi.org/10.18739/A2Z02Z983

Model code and software

A numerical sensitivity study on the snow-darkening effect by black carbon deposition over the Arctic in spring Zilu Zhang et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14543287

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Short summary

By integrating the SNICAR model with Polar-WRF, we find that 50 ng g⁻¹ black carbon (BC) deposition decreases snow albedo, increasing radiative forcing (RF) by 1–4 W m⁻², especially in Greenland, Baffin Island, and eastern Siberia. The impact is strongly linked to BC mass, with deep snowpacks showing greater sensitivity. Snowmelt and land–atmosphere interactions are crucial. High-resolution modelling is necessary to better understand these effects on Arctic climate change.