Black carbon （BC） is the most eff ective insoluble light-absorbing particulate （ILAP）, which can strongly absorb solar radiation at visible wavelengths. Once BC is deposited in snow via dry or wet process, even a small amount of BC could signifi cantly decrease snow albedo, enhance absorption of solar radiation, accelerate snow melting, and cause climate feedback. BC is considered the second most important component next to CO2 in terms of global warming. Similarly, mineral dust （MD） is another type of ILAP. So far, little attention has been paid to quantitative measurements of BC and MD deposition on snow surface in the midlatitudes of East Asia, especially over northern China. In this paper, we focus on reviewing several experiments performed for collecting and measuring scavenging BC and MD in the high Asian glaciers over the mountain range （such as the Himalayas） and in seasonal snow over northern China. Results from the surveyed literature indicate that the absorption of ILAP in seasonal snow is dominated by MD in the Qilian Mountains and by local soil dust in the Inner Mongolian region close to dust sources. The detection of BC in snow and ice cores using modern techniques has a large bias and uncertainty when the snow sample is mixed with MD. Evidence also indicates that the reduction of snow albedo by BC and MD perturbations can signifi cantly increase the net surface solar radiation, cause surface air temperature to rise, reduce snow accumulation, and accelerate snow melting.
Emissions of mineral dust and its mixing with anthropogenic air pollutants affect both regional and global climates. Our fieldwork in late spring 2007（April 25-June 15） measured the physical and optical properties of dust storms mixed with local air pollutants at a rural site about 48 km southeast of central Lanzhou. Levels of air pollutants and aerosol optical properties were observed during the experiment, with concentrations of NOx（6.8 ± 3.3 ppb, average ± standard deviation）, CO（694 ± 486 ppb）, SO2（6.2 ±10 ppb）, O3（50.7 ± 13.1 ppb）, and PM10（172 ± 180 μg m-3）, and aerosol scattering coefficient（164 ±89 Mm-1; 1 Mm = 106m） and absorption coefficient（11.7 ± 6.6 Mm-1）, all much lower than the values observed during air pollution episodes in urban areas. During a major dust storm, the mass concentration of PM10 reached 4072 μg m-3, approximately 21-fold higher than in non-dust storm periods. The mixing ratios of trace gases declined noticeably after a cold front passed through. The observed CO/SO2 and CO/NOx ratios during air pollution episodes were 4.2-18.3 and 13.7-80.5, respectively, compared with the corresponding ratios of 38.1-255.7 and 18.0-245.9 during non-pollution periods. Our investigations suggest that dust storms have a significant influence on air quality in areas far from their source, and this large-scale transport of dust and air pollutants produces major uncertainties in the quantification of the global effects of emissions over Northwest China.
