Articles | Volume 12, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3311-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3311-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
16 Oct 2018
Research article |
| 16 Oct 2018
| 16 Oct 2018
19th century glacier retreat in the Alps preceded the emergence of industrial black carbon deposition on high-alpine glaciers
Michael Sigl
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232
Villigen, Switzerland
Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, 3012
Bern, Switzerland
Nerilie J. Abram
Research School of Earth Sciences and the ARC Centre of Excellence for
Climate System Science, Australian National University, Canberra 2601 ACT, Australia
Jacopo Gabrieli
Institute for the Dynamics of the Environmental Sciences, National Research Council (IDPA-CNR), 30172 Venice, Italy
Theo M. Jenk
Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232
Villigen, Switzerland
Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, 3012
Bern, Switzerland
Dimitri Osmont
Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232
Villigen, Switzerland
Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, 3012
Bern, Switzerland
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bern, 3012
Bern, Switzerland
Margit Schwikowski
Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232
Villigen, Switzerland
Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, 3012
Bern, Switzerland
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bern, 3012
Bern, Switzerland
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Discussed (final revised paper)
Latest update: 27 Jun 2025
Short summary
The fast retreat of Alpine glaciers since the mid-19th century documented in photographs is used as a symbol for the human impact on global climate, yet the key driving forces remain elusive. Here we argue that not industrial soot but volcanic eruptions were responsible for an apparently accelerated deglaciation starting in the 1850s. Our findings support a negligible role of human activity in forcing glacier recession at the end of the Little Ice Age, highlighting the role of natural drivers.
The fast retreat of Alpine glaciers since the mid-19th century documented in photographs is used...
