{"id":135892,"date":"2026-07-27T11:07:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T11:07:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/135892\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T11:07:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T11:07:20","slug":"greenlands-coastal-soot-levels-surpass-open-sea-influencing-arctic-climate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/135892\/","title":{"rendered":"Greenland’s Coastal Soot Levels Surpass Open Sea, Influencing Arctic Climate |"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Greenland\u2019sNew research reveals Greenland’s coasts are a major source of black carbon pollution. Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons The Arctic is warming faster than many other parts of the world, and scientists have long recognised that black carbon, also known as soot, is among the pollutants that contribute to this warming. However, a new study found that Greenland\u2019s coasts are a previously underestimated source of black carbon in the Arctic atmosphere.The results of the research, published in Environmental Science & Technology<\/a>, showed that black carbon concentrations were highest in air samples collected near Greenland’s coast compared with those collected over the open ocean.Why black carbon is importantUnlike carbon dioxide, which can remain in the atmosphere for hundreds of years, black carbon is a short-lived pollutant. CJP Jantar Mantar Protest UpdatesIt forms when fuel does not burn completely. Fuels include diesel, coal, wood, and other types of biomass.AMAP<\/a> describes black carbon as a particle that absorbs solar radiation when floating in the atmosphere. Once deposited on snow and ice surfaces, black carbon makes the surface darker, and hence it absorbs heat instead of reflecting solar energy, which results in melting. Scientists say cutting black carbon emissions can produce rapid results because the particle remains in the atmosphere for only days to weeks.Soot particles were measured using a research vesselAccording to the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis<\/a> (CEDA), for the study, scientists travelled aboard the Royal Research Ship Discovery between May and June 2022, collecting atmospheric measurements during a research cruise from Reykjav\u00edk, Iceland, across waters around Greenland and into the Labrador Sea and Davis Strait. Using instruments that can measure individual soot particles, scientists measured black carbon in environments including Greenland\u2019s coasts, the open ocean and the marginal ice zone.As reported by scientists, the maximum median level of refractory black carbon was found in the coastal area of Greenland, where the level was 2.4 nanograms per cubic metre, while in the open ocean it was 1.7 nanograms per cubic metre and in the ice edge it was 0.6 nanograms per cubic metre. This suggests that coastal Greenland was a source of fresh black carbon in the atmosphere.\"Scenic_view_of_Greenland_icebergs_in_Baffin_Bay_in_Disko_Bay_01\"<\/p>\n

This short-lived pollutant accelerates Arctic warming by darkening snow and ice surfaces. Scientists found fresh soot particles near the coast, suggesting local origins. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\n

Fresh pollutants near landIn addition to measuring the quantity of soot, the study also analysed what the particles looked like under the electron microscope. The study found that 54 percent of soot particles near Greenland\u2019s coast were externally mixed, meaning they had not yet mixed with other aerosols in the air.Soot particles farther from the coast were mostly mixed with sea salt and sulfates, indicating that they had travelled farther through the atmosphere. This helped distinguish fresh particles from older ones that had travelled farther.Greenland could be a nearby sourceFor many years, numerous studies were carried out regarding the transport of black carbon to the Arctic from industrialised areas in Europe, Russia, or Canada and Siberian wildfires. Using atmospheric observations and numerical models, the scientists found that air masses reaching the study region had travelled along Greenland\u2019s west coast for a considerable time.According to the scientists, they saw no clear signs that Canadian fires or ship exhaust accounted for the identified pattern during their expedition. Therefore, they believed that Greenland is probably a significant regional source of black carbon in the Arctic marine boundary layer in the summer months. Most of Greenland\u2019s settlements, including Nuuk, Sisimiut, Maniitsoq and Kangerlussuaq, are on the island\u2019s west coast.Significance of the findingAlthough concentrations were relatively low compared with many urban areas, the researchers say even small amounts of soot can have a disproportionate effect in the Arctic. The paper says soot from coastal settlements in Greenland travels through the atmosphere above snow and sea ice. As they travel, the particles become coated with other compounds, which can make them more effective at absorbing light and influencing cloud formation before they reach the ice surface.The researchers also say optical methods used in earlier studies may have overestimated soot concentrations because they perform poorly in very clean environments. The results of the study provide new data that could be used in future climate model development.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New research reveals Greenland’s coasts are a major source of black carbon pollution. Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":135893,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5],"tags":[65792,65791,913,65793,57],"class_list":["post-135892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-greenland","tag-arctic-climate","tag-black-carbon","tag-climate-change","tag-coastal-pollution","tag-greenland"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@dk\/116991626219262742","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}