Have you ever been to Antarctica? Just a couple of decades ago, less than ten thousand people visited the southernmost continent each year, but now visitors have increased to nearly 75,000. However, the large number of tourists comes at a price- we are leaving large black carbon footprints behind from the exhaust of cruise ships and other machinery. What is Black Carbon? Black carbon, or soot as it is more commonly known, is formed by the incomplete burning of fossil fuels such as coal from power plants, automobiles, and other equipment.