Grey Tienshan Urumqi Glacier No.1 and light-absorbing impurities

The Tienshan Urumqi Glacier No.1 (TUG1) usually shows “grey” surfaces in summers. Besides known regional warming, what should be responsible for largely reducing its surface albedo and making it look “grey”? A field campaign was conducted on the TUG1 on a selected cloud-free day of 2013 after a snow fall at night. Fresh and aged snow samples were collected in the field, and snow densities, grain sizes, and spectral reflectances were measured. Light-absorbing impurities (LAIs) including black carbon (BC) and dust, and number concentrations and sizes of the insoluble particles (IPs) in the samples were measured in the laboratory. High temperatures in summer probably enhanced the snow ageing. During the snow ageing process, the snow density varied from 243 to 458 kg m−3, associated with the snow grain size varying from 290 to 2500 μm. The concentrations of LAIs in aged snow were significantly higher than those in fresh snow. Dust and BC varied from 16 ppm and 25 ppb in fresh snow to 1507 ppm and 1738 ppb in aged snow, respectively. Large albedo difference between the fresh and aged snow suggests a consequent forcing of 180 W m−2. Simulations under scenarios show that snow ageing, BC, and dust were responsible for 44, 25, and 7 % of the albedo reduction in the accumulation zone, respectively.