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Abstract:
We analyzed refractory black carbon (rBC) in an ice core spanning 1875e2000 AD from Mt. Muztagh Ata, the Eastern Pamirs, using a Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2). Additionally a pre-existing levoglucosan
record from the same ice core was used to differentiate rBC that originated from open fires, energyrelated
combustion of biomass, and fossil fuel combustion. Mean rBC concentrations increased four-fold
since the mid-1970s and reached maximumvalues at end of the 1980s. The observed decrease of the rBC
concentrations during the 1990s was likely driven by the economic recession of former USSR countries in
Central Asia. Levoglucosan concentrations showed a similar temporal trend to rBC concentrations,
exhibiting a large increase around 1980 AD followed by a decrease in the 1990s that was likely due to a
decrease in energy-related biomass combustion. The time evolution of levoglucosan/rBC ratios indicated
stronger emissions from open fires during the 1940se1950s, while the increase in rBC during the 1980se
1990s was caused from an increase in energy-related combustion of biomass and fossil fuels.
