Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, 100871, Beijing, China.
The Bartlett School of Construction and Project Management, University of College London, London, WC1E 7HB, UK.
Nat Commun. 2019 Jul 23;10(1):3281. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-10876-9.
Black carbon (BC) aerosols constitute unique and important anthropogenic climate forcers that potentially accelerate the retreat of glaciers over the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau (HTP). Here we show that a large amount of BC emissions produced in India and China-a region of BC emissions to which the HTP is more vulnerable compared with other regions-are related to the consumption of goods and services in the USA and Europe through international trade. These processes lead to a virtual transport pathway of BC from distant regions to the HTP glaciers. From a consumption perspective, the contribution from India to the HTP glaciers shows a rapid increasing trend while the contributions from the USA, Europe, and China decreased over the last decade. International trade aggravates the BC pollution over the HTP glaciers and may cause significant climate change there. Global efforts toward reducing the cascading of BC emissions to Asia, especially the Indian subcontinent, are urgently needed.
黑碳气溶胶是独特且重要的人为气候强迫因子，可能加速喜马拉雅山和青藏高原（HTP）上的冰川消融。本研究表明，与其他地区相比，印度和中国这一黑碳排放区的大量排放物，与美国和欧洲的商品和服务消费有关，这些排放物通过国际贸易到达 HTP 地区。这导致了黑碳从遥远地区向 HTP 冰川的虚拟传输途径。从消费的角度来看，印度对 HTP 冰川的贡献呈现快速增长趋势，而美国、欧洲和中国的贡献在过去十年中呈下降趋势。国际贸易加剧了 HTP 冰川上的黑碳污染，可能导致那里发生重大气候变化。全球迫切需要努力减少黑碳排放向亚洲，特别是向印度次大陆的传递。
