New Zealand Southern Alps Blanketed by Red Australian Dust During 2019/2020 Severe Bushfire and Dust Event

Autor: V. Holly L. Winton, Bruce L. A. Charlier, Ben H. Jolly, Heather Purdie, Brian Anderson, John E. Hunt, Ruzica Dadic, Sally Taylor, Lynda Petherick, Phil M. Novis
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: Geophysical Research Letters, Vol 51, Iss 23, Pp n/a-n/a (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1944-8007
0094-8276
DOI: 10.1029/2024GL112782
Popis: Abstract Episodic deposition of light absorbing impurities on glaciers reduces albedo and exacerbates snow melt. In 2019/2020 a devastating Australian bushfire and desert dust event combined with favorable meteorological conditions transported an unprecedented mass of impurities across the Tasman Sea turning the Southern Alps of Aotearoa New Zealand red. Here we use time lapse cameras, airmass back trajectories, snow impurity geochemistry, and remote sensing to quantify the timing, provenance, and mass deposition of the event. Deposited in late November 2019, the impurities were dominated by mineral dust with a distinct southeastern Australian geochemical fingerprint. The event deposited ∼4,500 ± 500 tons of red dust to Southern Alps permanent snow and ice with a mean dust mass concentration of 6.5 ± 0.7 g m−2. A southeast Australian desert dust storm generated by the same type of meteorological conditions as the 2020 New Year bushfires was the main driver of the glacier discoloration.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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