This BBC article covers a new research study published last week in Scientific Reports that focuses on Bolivia’s Zongo Glacier. A team of Brazilian and French researchers looked at black carbon deposits on the surface of this Andean glacier and concluded that the particles were airborne residue of Amazonian fires from hundreds of miles away. The resulting darkening of the glacier is thought to exacerbate its melt, and highlights the far-reaching effects of Amazonian fires not only in the geographic sense, but also in terms of human impact.
Says lead author Dr. Newton de Magalhães Neto, “Amazon deforestation and fires - events that occur mainly in Bolivia, Peru and Brazil - cannot be considered a regional issue. They have social implications at the continental scale, [because] accelerating the loss of glaciers increases the risk of a water crisis and the vulnerability of several Andean communities in response to climate change."