Arctic Soot Speeds Up Greenland Snow Melt

“Dark snow” caused by enormous volumes of soot from burning coal, wood, diesel, and dung is speeding up snow melt across large swaths of northern Greenland, the CBC reports. The soot darkens the snow, so that it absorbs more incoming sunlight and melts more quickly. “What happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic,” says glaciologist Jason Box. “That’s because melting of Greenland will affect sea level rise around the planet.”