With so much snow on the ground — and much of sticking around from previous storms — a lot of what’s out there is a slushy brown, black or worse.
New research has learned more about the environmental implications of that darkened snow. And previous research has shown snow is good at absorbing, and transporting, pollutants.
University of Waterloo researchers found that the sooty black pollution trapped in snow can change how sunlight reaches the ground, affecting plant life underneath. The source of the pollution, black carbon, is emitted by the incomplete burning of fossil fuels and comes from vehicle exhausts and industrial smokestacks…