Black carbon (BC) is a carbonaceous aerosol that is mainly emitted from the incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels and materials. The efficient absorption of solar radiation by BC makes it the dominant insoluble light-absorbing particulate species in the atmosphere. 

BC in snow/ice induces enhanced snow and glacier melting. As over 60% of atmospheric BC is emitted from anthropogenic sources, which directly impacts the distribution and concentration of BC in snow/ice, it is essential to assess the origin of anthropogenic BC transported to the Tibetan Plateau (TP) where there are few direct emissions attributable to local human activities. 

In this study, scientists used a regional climate-atmospheric chemistry model and a set of BC scenarios for quantitative evaluation of the impact of anthropogenic BC from various sources and its climate effects over the TP in 2013. 

The results showed that the model performed well in terms of climatology, aerosol optical properties, and near-surface concentrations, which indicates that this modeling framework is appropriate to characterize anthropogenic BC source-receptor relationships over the TP. 

The simulated surface concentration associated with the anthropogenic sources showed seasonal differences. In the monsoon season, the contribution of anthropogenic BC was less than in the nonmonsoon season. In the nonmonsoon season, westerly winds prevalled and transported BC from central Asia and north India to the western TP. 

Besides, in the monsoon season, BC aerosol was transported to the middle-upper troposphere over the Indo-Gangetic Plain and crossed the Himalayas via southwesterly wind. The majority of anthropogenic BC over the TP was transported from South Asia, which contributed to 40%-80% (mean of 61.3%) of surface BC in the nonmonsoon season, and 10%-50% (mean of 19.4%) in the monsoon season. 

For the northeastern TP, anthropogenic BC from eastern China accounted for less than 10% of the total in the nonmonsoon season but can be up to 50% in the monsoon season. 

Averaged over the TP, the eastern China anthropogenic sources accounted for 6.2% and 8.4% of surface BC in the nonmonsoon and nonsoon seasons, respectively. 

The anthropogenic BC induced negative radiative forcing and cooling effects at the near surface over the TP.