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I. Cintron Rodriguez, M. Mazurek, H. Grothe:
"Measurements of black carbon and its impact over Vatnajökull Ice Cap in southeast Iceland on 2018";
Poster: AGU Fall Meeting 2018, Washington DC; 10.12.2018 - 14.12.2018.

Surface snow measurements of black carbon (BC) were carried out in the spring of 2018 at Svínafelljökull, an outlet glacier of the Vatnajökull Ice Cap (VIC) in southeast Iceland. The average annual rate of mass change of VIC (-1.34± 0.12 m w.e. a−1), during the period of 2002-2010, is among the highest mass loss rates globally in the 21st century. The Svínafelljökull has retreated 800m and lost 30% of its 1890 volume. Light-absorbing particles, such as black carbon (BC), dust and brown carbon (BrC), alter the snow melt and optical properties. This impact on snow reflectivity decline can be a major contributor to the regional accelerated melting seen in recent years. Current atmospheric models potentially underestimate the presence of light absorbing aerosols (LAA) in the Arctic region. Direct measurements of LAA, specifically BC, are very scarce. Three surface sites were selected for collecting snow surface samples and mobile albedo measurements. Our focus is to investigate how much of the observed change in snowmelt in southeast Iceland can be attributed to the deposition of LAA, such as BC, using the Snow, Ice, and Aerosol Radiative (SNICAR) model. Results from BC mass concentration distribution using the Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) will be discussed.