The Mt Ruapehu eruption in 2007. This is the original image used to mislead readers of Mother Jones that it depicted “dark snow” in the Himalayas covered by industrial dust and soil blown from thousands of miles away. But the ash had come just a few hundred metres from the crater. I can scarcely imagine the gargantuan storm of dust that might retain this density after flying through the air for thousands of kilometres. Talk about a nuclear winter.
A story on Mother Jones last July by John Vidal described the world’s highest glacier, Khumbu, turning visibly darker as particles of fine dust, blown by fierce winds, settled on the bright, fresh snow. “One-week-old snow was turning black and brown before my eyes,” said American geologist Ulyana Horodyskyj. Unfortunately she lacked the presence of mind to make a photographic record of this startling event. Continue Reading →
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