Changing Planet: Black Carbon
Black carbon contributes to global warming in two ways. When in the atmosphere, it absorbs sunlight and generates heat, warming the air. When deposited on snow and ice, it changes the albedo of the surface, absorbing sunlight and generating heat. This further accelerates warming, since the heat melts snow and ice, revealing a lower albedo surface which continues to absorb sunlight - a vicious cycle of warming.
Click on the video at the left to watch the NBC Learn video - Changing Planet: Black Carbon.
Lesson plan: Changing Planet: Black Carbon - A Dusty Situation
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