Black Carbon on EARTH Magazine

Ice (Re)Cap: February 2016

Fri, 15 Jan 2016 08:33:28 -0500

Based on a study of New Zealand's Franz Josef Glacier, researchers have developed a novel numerical law to describe glacial erosion rates on Earth. Credit: Frédéric Herman.

From Antarctica to the Arctic; from polar caps, permafrost and glaciers to ocean-rafted sea ice; and from burly bears to cold-loving microbes, fascinating science is found in every nook and crevasse of Earth’s cryosphere, and new findings are announced often. Here are a few of the latest updates.

Aerosols help mitigate ill effects of Amazon fires

Mon, 21 Sep 2015 10:54:42 -0400

Taken by NASA's Aqua satellite, this image shows deforested areas and active forest fires (red dots) in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso on Aug. 12, 2007. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/Jesse Allen.

Forest fires across the Amazon Basin — many of which are set intentionally to clear land for human use — burn thousands of square kilometers each year, releasing roughly 240 billion kilograms of stored carbon to the atmosphere. According to a new study, however, the vast amounts of black carbon and other aerosolized particles also sent into the skies by such fires offset much of this carbon loss by stimulating increased photosynthesis.

Of char and carbon: The story of a buried soil

Tue, 02 Sep 2014 12:43:55 -0400

Erosion on the U.S. Great Plains reveals a buried, carbon-rich layer of fossil soil. Researchers recently found that buried fossil soils contain significant amounts of black carbon. Credit: Joseph Mason.

The so-called Brady soil — a dark horizon up to a meter thick that underlies much of Kansas and Nebraska — is widespread but often unseen. The layer is a paleosol, or fossil soil, that formed about 15,500 to 13,500 years ago when the region was a stable grassland built atop dunes of thick, wind-blown loess. That changed when the Laurentide Ice Sheet retreated and dunes swallowed the grasslands.

Still in a haze: What we don't know about black carbon

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Black carbon — fine particles of soot in the atmosphere produced from the burning of fossil fuels or biomass — has been known to be a health hazard for decades, a major contributor to the thick hazes of pollution hovering over cities around the world. But over the last decade, scientists have been examining in increasing detail the various ways in which these particles contribute to another hazard: heating up the planet.