Rowe, Penny M.Cordero, Raul R.Warren, Stephen G.Stewart, EmilyDoherty, Sarah J.Pankow, AlecSchrempf, MichaelCasassa, GinoCarrasco, JorgePizarro, JaimeMacDonell, ShelleyDamiani, AlessandroLambert, FabriceRondanelli, RobertoHuneeus, NicolasFernandoy, FranciscoNeshyba, Steven2021-11-082021-11-082019-12Scientific Reports Volume 9, Issue 11 December 2019 Article number 40082045-2322http://repositorio.unab.cl/xmlui/handle/ria/20792Indexación: ScopuVertical profiles of black carbon (BC) and other light-absorbing impurities were measured in seasonal snow and permanent snowfields in the Chilean Andes during Austral winters 2015 and 2016, at 22 sites between latitudes 18°S and 41°S. The samples were analyzed for spectrally-resolved visible light absorption. For surface snow, the average mass mixing ratio of BC was 15 ng/g in northern Chile (18–33°S), 28 ng/g near Santiago (a major city near latitude 33°S, where urban pollution plays a significant role), and 13 ng/g in southern Chile (33–41°S). The regional average vertically-integrated loading of BC was 207 µg/m 2 in the north, 780 µg/m 2 near Santiago, and 2500 µg/m 2 in the south, where the snow season was longer and the snow was deeper. For samples collected at locations where there had been no new snowfall for a week or more, the BC concentration in surface snow was high (~10–100 ng/g) and the sub-surface snow was comparatively clean, indicating the dominance of dry deposition of BC. Mean albedo reductions due to light-absorbing impurities were 0.0150, 0.0160, and 0.0077 for snow grain radii of 100 µm for northern Chile, the region near Santiago, and southern Chile; respective mean radiative forcings for the winter months were 2.8, 1.4, and 0.6 W/m 2 . In northern Chile, our measurements indicate that light-absorption by impurities in snow was dominated by dust rather than BC. © 2019, The Author(s).enBrown CarbonBiomass BurningRadiative ForcingArtículoAtribución 4.0 Internacional (CC BY 4.0)10.1038/s41598-019-39312-0