The Effects of High Latitude Dust on Arctic Atmosphere
Science Reports published a study on November 6, which profiles the vertical distribution of dusts in the Arctic atmosphere. Read the full study here. From the abstract:
“High Latitude Dust (HLD) contributes 5% to the global dust budget, but HLD measurements are sparse. Dust observations from Iceland provide dust aerosol distributions during the Arctic winter for the first time, profiling dust storms as well as clean air conditions. Five winter dust storms were captured during harsh conditions…Dust sources in the Arctic are active during the winter and produce large amounts of particulate matter dispersed over long distances and high altitudes. HLD contributes to Arctic air pollution and has the potential to influence ice nucleation in mixed-phase clouds and Arctic amplification.”
For more on high latitude dust impacts, read How Dust From Receding Glaciers Is Affecting the Climate on GlacierHub.
The First Proglacial River Sediment Inventory
As glaciers retreat, sediments are exposed, making proglacial rivers one of the most sediment-rich areas in the world. From the abstract of a study published in the 2019 book Geomorphology of Proglacial Systems:
“Deglaciation since the Little Ice Age has exposed only a small areal proportion of alpine catchments, but these proglacial systems are disproportionately important as sediment sources. Indeed sediment yields from proglacial rivers are amongst the highest measured anywhere in the World. Motivated by a desire to understand where exactly within catchments this sediment is coming from and how it might evolve, this chapter presents the first digital inventories of proglacial systems and the first comparative inter- and intra-catchment comparison of their geometry, topography and geomorphology.”
The e-book by Springer is available here.
Glacier Fluctuations Key to New Zealand Paleoclimate Record
A new study, published in Science Direct on November 1, traces the fluctuations in some New Zealand glaciers over the last 10,000-plus years, showing the significance for contemporary issues of climate change. From the abstract:
“Geological records of past glacier extent can yield important constraints on the timing and magnitude of pre-historic climate change. Here we present a cosmogenic Helium-3 moraine chronology from Mt. Ruapehu in central North Island, New Zealand that records fluctuations of New Zealand’s northernmost glaciers over the last 14,000 years.”
Read the full study here.
Read More on GlacierHub:
Photo Friday: GIF Shows Dramatic Reduction of Gergeti Glacier, Georgia
Mountain Summit Issues Call for Action on Climate Change
Video of the Week: Hellish Bike Race Down French Alpine Glacier
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