27 Oct 2026
| 27 Oct 2026
Status: this preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
Brief communication: Dose-dependent enhancement of snow mass loss by biomass-burning carbonaceous particles on a tropical Andean glacier
Abstract. We conducted a replicated 9 h field experiment on Artesonraju Glacier, Peru, to quantify snow mass loss under surface loadings (0–1052.3 mg m⁻²) of biomass-burning-derived carbonaceous particles. Common background snow minimized mineral-dust confounding and isolated the incremental effect of added combustion-derived particles. Total snow mass loss increased almost linearly with loading (R² = 0.997), with a sensitivity of 0.0089 mm w.e. per mg m⁻². Drainage-related mass loss increased by 1.2 ± 0.9 % at 10.5 mg m⁻² and 14.7 ± 6.0 % at 1052.3 mg m⁻². These results show that fire-derived particles can measurably enhance tropical Andean glacier snow loss.
Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this paper. While Copernicus Publications makes every effort to include appropriate place names, the final responsibility lies with the authors. Views expressed in the text are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.
