Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Resources on Black Carbon



Dear Colleagues,

Please find below digest on ‘Black Carbon’, ‘Special Issue’ (04 February 2011), prepared for members of Mountain Forum and Mountain Partnership network.

 Regards,
Asia Pacific Mountain Network (APMN) team

 P.S: Compiled links to news, events, opportunities, and resources are regularly updated on our del.icio.us page. Please add apmn.media to your network. Also available on our bit.ly page http://bit.ly/bundles/apmnmedia/a.

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1.       Black Carbon a Significant Factor in Melting of Himalayan Glaciers
03 February 2011
The fact that glaciers in the Himalayan Mountains are thinning is not disputed. However, few researchers have attempted to rigorously examine and quantify the causes. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientist Surabi Menon set out to isolate the impacts of the most commonly blamed culprit greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide—from other particles in the air that may be causing the melting.

2.       Cell phone cameras help monitor atmospheric black carbon
01 February 2011
Jyoti Madhusoodanan, mongabay.com
Tracking the giant black carbon footprint in the Himalayas just became a whole lot easier. Using simple cell phone cameras, scientists have brought microscopic air pollutants into plain view for local people. In a study from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, V. Ramanathan and colleagues are working with local villagers in Northern India to monitor local atmospheric levels of black carbon, using photographs of quartz filters taken with cell phone cameras.

3.       Reducing black carbon buys time
05 January 2011
The success of California’s clean air laws in reducing numbers of black carbon particles in the atmosphere has major implications for mitigating climate change on a global scale, according to one of America’s top climate scientists. Veerabhadran (Ram) Ramanathan of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California reported on recent findings during a press conference at the American Geophysical Union’s Fall Meeting in San Francisco in December.

4.       California Clean Truck Laws Cut Black Carbon in Half
29 December 2010
ClimateBiz Staff
Black carbon is caused by diesel engines, cooking stoves, forest fires and the burning of fossil fuels. The particles absorb heat while in the atmosphere and darken surfaces when they eventually end up on snow or ice. But laws in California for cleaner fuels and diesel truck engines has had a positive impact on the state's air quality and warming potential.

5.       Black Carbon Declines with Diesel Emissions
20 December 2010
Elizabeth K. Wilson
A study of the pollutant black carbon shows that stricter pollutant emission regulations in California over the past 20 years have led to a 50% reduction in concentrations of the substance. The reduction correlates directly with a reduction in emissions from burning diesel fuel, V. Ramanathan.

6.       90% of Himalayan Glacier Melting Caused by Aerosols & Black Carbon
02 September 2010
Matthew McDermott, New York, NY
The article goes on to caution that black carbon may be an even larger contributor than that though--perhaps as much as four times higher Menon says--because data inventories used in the simulations report less black carbon than what has been measured at several monitoring stations in India.Unfortunately though, this measured data is not complete enough to be incorporated into these particular climate models.

7.       Black Carbon' Crackdown Offers Fast-Action Solution to Slow Warming
17 March 2010
Stacy Feldman, solveclimatenews.com
Fixes in developing countries are just as available, and at relatively little cost. They include replacing polluting cook stoves with solar-powered efficient ones at around $20 a pop, and reducing agricultural fires in the spring when Arctic ice is most affected by black carbon.

8.       Black carbon a significant factor in melting of Himalayan glaciers
04 February 2010
The fact that glaciers in the Himalayan Mountains are thinning is not disputed. However, few researchers have attempted to rigourously examine and quantify the causes. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientist Surabi Menon set out to isolate the impacts of the most commonly blamed culprit - greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide - from other particles in the air that may be causing the melting.

9.       EPA wins crucial victory in carbon regulation legal fight
13 December 2010
By BusinessGreen staff
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has secured a major victory in the long-running legal battle challenging its right to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

10.   Black Carbon Deposits on Himalayan Ice Threaten Earth's "Third Pole"
14 December 2009
Black soot deposited on Tibetan glaciers has contributed significantly to the retreat of the world's largest non-polar ice masses, according to new research by scientists from NASA and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Soot absorbs incoming solar radiation and can speed glacial melting when deposited on snow in sufficient quantities.


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1.       21-25, March 2011
Fourth International Training School on Atmospheric Brown Clouds, Call for applications, Kathmandu, Nepal
The 4th International Training School on Atmospheric Brown Clouds (ABC) will be conducted in Kathmandu, Nepal during 21-25 March 2011. Senior students in Masters and PhD Programs, Post Doctoral Fellows and Young Scientists involved in atmospheric research are invited to apply. Send a short CV and a brief description of research. There will be two other important meetings. The participants of the training school may also benefit from the parts of these meetings.
Deadline: 20 February 2011
Event website: http://bit.ly/fMj4Dr

2.       24 July 2011
Carbon Materials for Energy Storage and Generation A Carbon Journal Workshop, Shanghai, China
This one day workshop, organized by Carbon Journal, will cover the latest carbon material developments for batteries, electrochemical capacitors, fuel cells, hydrogen and methane storage, solar cells and related technologies, with a focus on new or emerging materials challenges. Registration fee: USD 150
Deadline: Rolling
Contact: Shaun Gamble, carbonworkshop2011@elsevier.com
Event website: http://bit.ly/eeIuQY


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1.       Vacancies at Centre for clean air policy, Mexico-Based Representative/Policy Analyst and many more
CCAP seeks talented individuals from diverse backgrounds to join its growing policy and analytical staff. Please follow the specific instructions on how to apply for the job in which you are interested.
Deadline: 11 February 2011

2.       PhD research position: Local air quality monitoring strategies with heterogeneous networks of low-cost and mobile sensors
This PhD research will focus on the development and application of techniques to enable the use of intelligent heterogeneous networks of low-cost and mobile sensors for air quality.
Deadline: Rolling
Contact: Jan Theunis, Tel. + 32 14 33 53 72, GSM + 32 475 68 02 42, jan.theunis@vito.be

3.       Research Funding for Doctoral Students from Developing countries at University of Ghent , Belgium
With support from its “Special Research Fund” (BOF), Ghent University wishes to support university research groups or research centres in developing countries in their aim to grow into excellent research centres by upgrading local academic personnel.
Deadline: 15 March 2011
Contact: BOF@UGent.be


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1.       Clean Air Task Force, USA
Nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring clean air and healthy environments through scientific research, public education, and legal advocacy. The Clean Air Task Force is working to protect air quality and the earth's climate.

2.       Center for Clean Air Policy, USA
The organization is dedicated to the development of economically sound and environmentally robust solutions to both local air quality and global climate problems.

3.       Clean Air Network Nepal (CANN), Nepal
CANN has setup a secretariat at Clean Energy Nepal (CEN), a non-government organization actively involved in air quality management and also formed a core group. CANN has over 90 members including 35 organizational members and a fairly active discussion group on the list serves

4.       Clear The Air, Hong Kong
Clear the Air is a charity organisation committed to improving air quality in Hong Kong.


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1.       Black Carbon: An Overlooked Climate Factor

2.       Bahner, M.A.; Weitz, K.A.; Zapata, A.; Use of Black Carbon and Organic Carbon Inventories for Projections and Mitigation Analysis

3.       Black and White: Soot on Ice

4.       United States Regulatory Solutions for Reduction of Black Carbon Emissions

5.       New Study Shows Ways to Reduce Black Carbon from Arctic Shipping

6.       An Analysis of Black Carbon Mitigation as a Response to Climate Change, by Dr. W. David Montgomery, Robert E. Baron and Dr. Sugandha D. Tuladhar. Released by the Copenhagen Consensus Center, August 14 2009

7.       A Perspective Paper on Black Carbon Mitigation as a Response to Climate Change, by Dr. Milind Kandlikar, Conor C. O. Reynolds and Andrew P. Grieshop. Released by the Copenhagen Consensus Center, August 14 2009

8.       Black Carbon: A Review and Policy Recommendations

9.       New U.S. EPA Regulations Lead to ASTM Standard for Carbon Black Carbon Content

10.   Black Carbon – the elephant in the Arctic?

11.   New ASTM Carbon Black Standard Inspired by New U.S. EPA Regulations

12.   Climate Change, Black Carbon & Clean Diesel

13.   Black Carbon Soot's Climate Warming Effect May Be Canceled by Its Increasing Cloud Production

14.   Black Carbon Pollution from Fossil Fuels Causes Twice the Warming As Burning Biomass

15.   Black Carbon May Be Planet's Second Most Potent GHG

16.   Black Soot Coating Himalayan Glaciers is Accelerating Melting

17.   Everest and Himalayan Glaciers Could Vanish By 2035, Imperiling a Billion People

18.   University of Iowa - Health Science (2010, July 30). Black carbon implicated in global warming. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 3, 2011, from

19.   Atmospheric science: Black carbon and brown clouds

20.   Black Carbon Deposits on Himalayan Ice Threaten Earth’s "Third Pole"

21.   Black soot and the survival of Tibetan glaciers

22.   Cleaning Up Black Carbon Provides Instant Benefits against Global Warming

23.   How to Stop Black Carbon

24.   Black carbon aerosols and the third polar ice cap

25.   Koch, D., and J. Hansen 2005; Distant origins of Arctic black carbon: A Goddard Institute for Space Studies ModelE experiment. J. Geophys. Res. 110, D04204

26.   Black Carbon sources, regulation and abatement options in Denmark

27.   MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET for Carbon black provided courtesy of Astlett Rubber Inc.

28.   Black Carbon Monitors

29.   New Study Turns Up the Heat on Soot's Role in Himalayan Warming

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