Relative contribution of mineral dust versus black carbon to Third Pole glacier melting

Large-scale glaciers in the Third Pole are experiencing significant thinning and retreat, partly due to the increased deposition of black carbon (BC) and mineral dust (MD). At present, BC is generally considered a more important contributing factor than MD to glacier melting. Based on a deep analysis of published data, the relative contribution of MD versus BC to snow/ice melting increases rapidly, because BC is more likely than MD to be discharged during the melting process. As a result, the contribution of MD to glacier melting is comparable to or even higher than that of BC when the glacier surface appears as aged snow and bare ice. The importance of MD to glacier melting must therefore be emphasized in the water tower of Asia.