A newly published paper by Alia Khan and colleagues compares dissolved black carbon (DBC) concentrations from snow and ice covered ecosystems, including Antarctica. Black carbon deposition occurs from wildfires and anthropogenic sources, and can be transported relatively long distances. The study of black carbon in these sytems is particularly important since these dark particles can absorb more heat than white snow and ice, thus reducing surface albedo and increasing melt rates. It is anticipated that wildfire frequency will increase in future years, thus causing more black carbon deposition to occur, particularly in snow and ice covered regions located near anthropogenic inputs. Relatively high DBC concentrations were found to persist in both pristine and nonpristine Antarctic snow and surface waters. Funding for this work was provided in part by the MCM LTER. Read more about this study in CU's official press release: http://www.colorado.edu/today/2017/06/30/black-carbon-persists-snow-and-ice-around-world