Seasonal features of aerosol particles recorded in snow from Mt. Qomolangma (Everest) and their environmental implications.
To assess the seasonality of aerosol deposition and anthropogenic effects on central Himalayas, a 1.85-m deep snow pit was dug on the northern slope of Mt. Qomolangma (Everest). Based on the morphology and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) signal, totally 1500 particles were classed into 7 groups: soot; aluminosilicates; fly ash; calcium sulfates; Ca/Mg carbonates; metal oxides; and biological particles and carbon fragments. The size distribution and number fractions of different particle groups exhibited distinct seasonal variations between non-monsoon and monsoon periods, which are clearly related to the differences in air mass pathways. Specifically, the relative abundance of soot in non-monsoon period (25%) was much higher than that in monsoon period (14%), indicating Mt. Qomolangma region received more anthropogenic influence in non-monsoon than monsoon period.
Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China. zhiyuancong@itpcas.ac.cn
Zhiyuan
Z
Cong
Shichang
S
Kang
Dahe
D
Qin
D000336:Aerosols / Q000032:analysis*; D000531:Altitude; D000538:Aluminum Silicates / Q000032:analysis; D002119:Calcium Carbonate / Q000032:analysis; D002133:Calcium Sulfate / Q000032:analysis; D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis; D002681:China; D060729:Coal Ash; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis; D012621:Seasons; D012914:Snow / Q000737:chemistry*; D053260:Soot / Q000032:analysis
D000336:Aerosols; D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D060729:Coal Ash; D052638:Particulate Matter; D053260:Soot; C049037:aluminosilicate; D002244:Carbon; D002119:Calcium Carbonate; D002133:Calcium Sulfate