This initiative aims to evaluate the impact of atmospheric deposition of Saharan dust and soot on the snow of the Pyrenees and Sierra Nevada and its relationship with premature melting. The project, launched by the IGME, the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain, has had the support of the Biodiversity Foundation.

The project ‘Contributions of Saharan dust and black carbon in the Pyrenees and Sierra Nevada: do they favour premature snow loss? (AERONIVAL)’ He has investigated the relationship between the deposition of certain types of atmospheric particles (soot and mineral dust) in the snow of our mountains and a possible acceleration of snow melting. Saharan dust, when deposited on the snow cover, causes significant variations (decrease) in albedo values and causes an increase in the melting speed of the snow in our mountains.

In April 2018 there were two extremely intense Saharan dust deposition events, the first at the beginning of April in the Pyrenees area, the second at the end of the month in the Sierra Nevada area. The deposition of Saharan dust particles caused substantial changes in the energy balance of the snow mantle that resulted in a greater capture of incident solar radiation. As a result, the snow melted earlier than would be expected in both cases. The models that have been applied to estimate the durability of the snowpack with and without the presence of this layer of Saharan dust indicate that the melting may have been brought forward by about 6 days.