Pollution influences on atmospheric composition and chemistry at high northern latitudes: Boreal and California forest fire emissions

Abstract. Forest fire emissions have a strong impact on the concentrations of trace gases and aerosols in the atmosphere. In order to quantify the influence of boreal forest fire emissions on the atmospheric composition, the fire seasons of 1997 and 1998 are compared in this paper. Fire activity in 1998 was very strong, especially over Canada and Eastern Siberia, whereas it was much weaker in 1997. According to burned area estimates the burning in 1998 was more than six times as intense as in 1997. Based on hot spot locations derived from ATSR (Along Track Scanning Radiometer) data and official burned area data, fire emissions were estimated and their transport was simulated with a Lagrangian tracer transport model. Siberian and Canadian forest fire tracers were distinguished to investigate the transport of both separately. The fire emissions were transported even over intercontinental distances. Due to the El Niño induced meteorological situation, transport from Siberia to Canada was enhanced in 1998. Siberian fire emissions were transported towards Canada and contributed concentrations more than twice as high as those due to Canada's own CO emissions by fires. In 1998 both tracers arrive at higher latitudes over Europe, which is due to a higher North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index in 1998. The simulated emission plumes are compared to CMDL (Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory) CO2 and CO data, Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) aerosol index (AI) data and Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) tropospheric NO2 and HCHO columns. All the data show clearly enhanced signals during the burning season of 1998 compared to 1997. The results of the model simulation are in good agreement with ground-based as well as satellite-based measurements.

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Boreal forest fires in 1997 and 1998: a seasonal comparison using transport model simulations and measurement data

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions ◽

10.5194/acpd-4-2747-2004 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 2747-2779 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

N. Spichtinger ◽

R. Damoah ◽

S. Eckhardt ◽

C. Forster ◽

P. James ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Boreal Forest ◽

Forest Fire ◽

Transport Model ◽

Hot Spot ◽

Measurement Data ◽

Atmospheric Composition ◽

Burned Area ◽

Strong Impact ◽

Tracer Transport ◽

Fire Emissions

Abstract. Forest fire emissions have a strong impact on the concentrations of trace gases and aerosols in the atmosphere. In order to quantify the influence of boreal forest fire emissions on the atmospheric composition, the fire seasons of 1997 and 1998 are compared in this paper. Fire activity in 1998 was very strong, especially over Canada and Eastern Siberia, whereas it was much weaker in 1997. According to burned area estimates the burning in 1998 was more than six times as intense as in 1997. Based on hot spot locations derived from ATSR (Along Track Scanning Radiometer) data and official burned area data, fire emissions were estimated and their transport was simulated with a Lagrangian tracer transport model. Siberian and Canadian forest fire tracers were distinguished to investigate the transport of both separately. The fire emissions were transported even over intercontinental distances. Due to the El Niño induced meteorological situation, transport from Siberia to Canada was enhanced in 1998. Siberian fire emissions were transported towards Canada and contributed concentrations more than twice as high as those due to Canada's own CO emissions by fires. In 1998 both tracers arrive at higher latitudes over Europe, which is due to a higher North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index in 1998. The simulated emission plumes are compared to CMDL (Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory) CO2 and CO data, Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) aerosol index (AI) data and Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) tropospheric NO2 columns. All the data show clearly enhanced signals during the burning season of 1998 compared to 1997. The results of the model simulation are in good agreement with ground-based as well as satellite-based measurements.

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Combining fire radiative power observations with the fire weather index improves the estimation of fire emissions

10.5194/acp-2017-790 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Francesca Di Giuseppe ◽

Samuel Rémy ◽

Florian Pappenberger ◽

Fredrik Wetterhall

Keyword(s):

Biomass Burning ◽

Atmospheric Composition ◽

Composition Analysis ◽

Fire Weather ◽

Atmospheric Conditions ◽

Weather Index ◽

Fire Weather Index ◽

Fire Emissions ◽

Radiative Power ◽

Fire Radiative Power

Abstract. The atmospheric composition analysis and forecast for the European Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Services (CAMS) relies on biomass burning fire emission estimates from the Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS). GFAS converts fire radiative power (FRP) observations from MODIS satellites into smoke constituents. Missing observations are filled in using persistence where observed FRP from the previous day are progressed in time until a new observation is recorded. One of the consequences of this assumption is an overestimation of fire duration, which in turn translates into an overestimation of emissions from fires. In this study persistence is replaced by modelled predictions using the Canadian Fire Weather Index (FWI), which describes how atmospheric conditions affect the vegetation moisture content and ultimately fire duration. The skill in predicting emissions from biomass burning is improved with the new technique, which indicates that using an FWI-based model to infer emissions from FRP is better than persistence when observations are not available.

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Production of peroxy nitrates in boreal biomass burning plumes over Canada during the BORTAS campaign

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-16-3485-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 16 (5) ◽

pp. 3485-3497 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Marcella Busilacchio ◽

Piero Di Carlo ◽

Eleonora Aruffo ◽

Fabio Biancofiore ◽

Cesare Dari Salisburgo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Boreal Forest ◽

Forest Fire ◽

Biomass Burning ◽

Forest Fires ◽

Chemical Mechanism ◽

Fire Emissions ◽

Fire Plumes ◽

Peroxy Nitrates ◽

In Fire ◽

The Impact

Abstract. The observations collected during the BOReal forest fires on Tropospheric oxidants over the Atlantic using Aircraft and Satellites (BORTAS) campaign in summer 2011 over Canada are analysed to study the impact of forest fire emissions on the formation of ozone (O3) and total peroxy nitrates ∑PNs, ∑ROONO2). The suite of measurements on board the BAe-146 aircraft, deployed in this campaign, allows us to calculate the production of O3 and of ∑PNs, a long-lived NOx reservoir whose concentration is supposed to be impacted by biomass burning emissions. In fire plumes, profiles of carbon monoxide (CO), which is a well-established tracer of pyrogenic emission, show concentration enhancements that are in strong correspondence with a significant increase of concentrations of ∑PNs, whereas minimal increase of the concentrations of O3 and NO2 is observed. The ∑PN and O3 productions have been calculated using the rate constants of the first- and second-order reactions of volatile organic compound (VOC) oxidation. The ∑PN and O3 productions have also been quantified by 0-D model simulation based on the Master Chemical Mechanism. Both methods show that in fire plumes the average production of ∑PNs and O3 are greater than in the background plumes, but the increase of ∑PN production is more pronounced than the O3 production. The average ∑PN production in fire plumes is from 7 to 12 times greater than in the background, whereas the average O3 production in fire plumes is from 2 to 5 times greater than in the background. These results suggest that, at least for boreal forest fires and for the measurements recorded during the BORTAS campaign, fire emissions impact both the oxidized NOy and O3, but (1 ∑PN production is amplified significantly more than O3 production and (2) in the forest fire plumes the ratio between the O3 production and the ∑PN production is lower than the ratio evaluated in the background air masses, thus confirming that the role played by the ∑PNs produced during biomass burning is significant in the O3 budget. The implication of these observations is that fire emissions in some cases, for example boreal forest fires and in the conditions reported here, may influence more long-lived precursors of O3 than short-lived pollutants, which in turn can be transported and eventually diluted in a wide area.

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Fire activity and its influence on Aerosol Optical Depth and Green-House Gases over PEEX area for the last two decades

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-13124 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Larisa Sogacheva ◽

Anu-Maija Sundström ◽

Timo H. Virtanen ◽

Antti Arola ◽

Tuukka Petäjä ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Remote Sensing ◽

Boreal Forest ◽

Atmospheric Composition ◽

Future Climate Change ◽

Individual Species ◽

Modeling Tools ◽

Fire Emissions ◽

Burned Areas ◽

Fire Activity

The Pan-Eurasian Experiment Program (PEEX) is an interdisciplinary scientific program bringing together ground-based in situ and remote sensing observations, satellite measurements and modeling tools aiming to improve the understanding of land-water-atmosphere interactions, feedback mechanisms and their effects on the ecosystem, climate and society in northern Eurasia, Russia and China. In a view of the large area covering thousands of kilometres, large gaps will remain where no or little ground-based observational information will be available. The gap can partly be filled by satellite remote sensing of relevant parameters as regards atmospheric composition.Biomass burning is a violent source of atmospheric pollutants. Fires and corresponding emissions to the atmosphere dramatically change the atmospheric composition in case of long-lasting fire events, which might cover extended areas. In the burned areas, CO2 exchange, as well as emissions of different compounds are getting to higher levels, which might contribute to climate change by changing the radiative budget through the aerosol-cloud interaction and cloud formation. In the boreal forest, after CO2, CO and CH4, the largest emission factors for individual species were formaldehyde, followed by methanol and NO2 (Simpson et al., ACP, 2011). The emitted long-life components, e.g., black carbon, might further be transported to the distant areas and measured at the surface far from the burned areas.In the boreal forest region, fires are very common, very large and produce a lot of smoke. Boreal areas&#160; have been burning regularly for thousands of years and is adapted to fires, which happen most often between May and October. In boreal ecosystems, future increases in air temperature may lengthen the fire season and increase the probability of fires, leading some to hypothesize a positive feedback between warming, fire activity, carbon loss, and future climate change (Kasischke et al., 2000).&#160;&#160;During the last few decades, several burning episodes have been observed over PEEX area by satellites (as fire counts), specifically over Siberia and central Russia.&#160;The following information available from satellites will be utilized to reveal a connection between Fire activity and atmospheric composition for the period 2002-2020 over the PEEX area:<ul><li>- Fire count, FRP and burned areas from MODIS</li> <li>- Absorbing Aerosol Index (AAI), multi-instrument (GOME-2, OMI, TOMS) product</li> <li>- CO from MOPPIT</li> <li>- HCHO and NO2 from OMI</li> </ul>Monthly temperature and humidity fields from ERA5 re-analysis will be also utilized to reveal if a connection exist between climate variables and occurrence and intensity of the forest fires.Kasischke, B. J. Stocks: Fire, Climate Change, and Carbon Cycling in the Boreal Forest. M. M. Cadwellet al.,Eds., Ecological Studies (Springer, New York, 2000)Simpson, I. J., Akagi, S. K., Barletta, B., Blake, N. J., Choi, Y., Diskin, G. S., Fried, A., Fuelberg, H. E., Meinardi, S., Rowland, F. S., Vay, S. A., Weinheimer, A. J., Wennberg, P. O., Wiebring, P., Wisthaler, A., Yang, M., Yokelson, R. J., and Blake, D. R.: Boreal forest fire emissions in fresh Canadian smoke plumes: C1-C10 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), CO2, CO, NO2, NO, HCN and CH3CN, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 6445&#8211;6463, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-6445-2011, 2011.&#160;

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Inter-comparison of elemental and organic carbon mass measurements from three North American national long-term monitoring networks at a co-located site

Atmospheric Measurement Techniques ◽

10.5194/amt-12-4543-2019 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (8) ◽

pp. 4543-4560 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Tak W. Chan ◽

Lin Huang ◽

Kulbir Banwait ◽

Wendy Zhang ◽

Darrell Ernst ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Forest Fire ◽

Monitoring Network ◽

Total Carbon ◽

Carbonaceous Aerosol ◽

Thermal Method ◽

Monitoring Networks ◽

Sample Collection ◽

Fire Emissions ◽

Additional Information

Abstract. Carbonaceous aerosol is a major contributor to the total aerosol load and being monitored by diverse measurement approaches. Here, 10 years (2005–2015) of continuous carbonaceous aerosol measurements collected at the Centre of Atmospheric Research Experiments (CARE) in Egbert, Ontario, Canada, on quartz-fiber filters by three independent networks (Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments, IMPROVE; Canadian Air and Precipitation Monitoring Network, CAPMoN; and Canadian Aerosol Baseline Measurement, CABM) were compared. Specifically, the study evaluated how differences in sample collection and analysis affected the concentrations of total carbon (TC), organic carbon (OC), and elemental carbon (EC). Results show that different carbonaceous fractions measured by various networks were consistent and comparable in general among the three networks over the 10-year period, even with different sampling systems/frequencies, analytical protocols, and artifact corrections. The CAPMoN TC, OC, and EC obtained from the DRI model 2001 thermal–optical carbon analyzer following the IMPROVE-TOR protocol (denoted as DRI-TOR) method were lower than those determined from the IMPROVE_A TOR method by 17 %, 14 %, and 18 %, respectively. When using transmittance for charring correction, the corresponding carbonaceous fractions obtained from the Sunset-TOT were lower by as much as 30 %, 15 %, and 75 %, respectively. In comparison, the CABM TC, OC, and EC obtained from a thermal method, EnCan-Total-900 (ECT9), were higher than the corresponding fractions from IMPROVE_A TOR by 20 %–30 %, 0 %–15 %, and 60 %–80 %, respectively. Ambient OC and EC concentrations were found to increase when ambient temperature exceeded 10 ∘C. These increased ambient concentrations of OC during summer were possibly attributed to secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation and forest fire emissions, while elevated EC concentrations were potentially influenced by forest fire emissions and increased vehicle emissions. Results also show that the pyrolyzed organic carbon (POC) obtained from the ECT9 protocol could provide additional information on SOA although more research is still needed.

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Assessing skill of operational forest fire emissions model

Eos ◽

10.1029/2012eo430015 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 93 (43) ◽

pp. 436-436

Author(s):

Colin Schultz

Keyword(s):

Forest Fire ◽

Fire Emissions

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Satellite-Based Analysis of Fire Events and Transport of Emissions in the Arctic

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-18506 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Anu-Maija Sundström ◽

Tomi Karppinen ◽

Antti Arola ◽

Larisa Sogacheva ◽

Hannakaisa Lindqvist ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Greenhouse Gases ◽

Forest Fire ◽

Forest Fires ◽

Arctic Region ◽

Satellite Observations ◽

The Arctic ◽

Radiative Balance ◽

Fire Emissions ◽

Smoke Plumes ◽

Absorbing Aerosols

Climate change is proceeding fastest in the Arctic region. During past years Arctic summers have been warmer and drier elevating the risk for extensive forest fire episodes. In fact, satellite observations show, that during past two summers (2018, 2019) an increase is seen in the number of fires occurring above the Arctic Circle, especially in Siberia. While human-induced emissions of long-lived greenhouse gases are the main driving factor of global warming, short-lived climate forcers or pollutants emitted from the forest fires are also playing an important role especially in the Arctic. Absorbing aerosols can cause direct arctic warming locally. They can also alter radiative balance when depositing onto snow/ice and decreasing the surface albedo, resulting in subsequent warming. Aerosol-cloud interaction feedbacks can also enhance warming. Forest fire emissions also affect local air quality and photochemical processes in the atmosphere. For example, CO contributes to the formation of tropospheric ozone and affects the abundance of greenhouse gases such as methane and CO2.This study focuses on analyzing fire episodes in the Arctic for the past 10 years, as well as investigating the transport of forest fire CO and smoke aerosols to the Arctic. Smoke plumes and their transport are analyzed using Absorbing Aerosol Index (AAI) from several satellite instruments: GOME-2 onboard Metop A and B, OMI onboard Aura, and TROPOMI onboard Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite. Observations of CO are obtained from IASI (Metop A and B) as well as from TROPOMI, while the fire observations are obtained from MODIS instruments onboard Aqua and Terra, as well as from VIIRS onboard Suomi NPP. &#160;In addition, observations e.g. from a space-borne lidar, CALIPSO, is used to obtain vertical distribution of smoke and to estimate plume heights.

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Comparison of approaches for reporting forest fire-related biomass loss and greenhouse gas emissions in southern Europe

International Journal of Wildland Fire ◽

10.1071/wf12011 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 22 (6) ◽

pp. 730 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Maria Vincenza Chiriacò ◽

Lucia Perugini ◽

Dora Cimini ◽

Enrico D'Amato ◽

Riccardo Valentini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Forest Fire ◽

Forest Fires ◽

Fire Effects ◽

Southern Europe ◽

Gas Emissions ◽

Fire Emissions ◽

Biomass Loss ◽

Mediterranean Forest Ecosystems

Wildfires are the most common disturbances in Mediterranean forest ecosystems that cause significant emissions of greenhouse gases as a result of biomass burning. Despite this, there is reasonably high uncertainty regarding the actual fraction of burnt biomass and the related CO2 and non-CO2 gas emissions released during forest fires. The aim of this paper is to compare existing methodologies adopted in the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory reports of five of the most fire-affected countries of southern Europe (Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, France) with those proposed in the literature, to operationally estimate forest fire emissions, and to discuss current perspectives on reducing uncertainties in reporting activities for the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry sector under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. Five selected approaches have been experimentally applied for the estimation of burnt biomass in forest fire events that occurred in Italy in the period 2008–2010. Approaches based on nominal rates of biomass loss can lead to an overly conservative value or, conversely, to underestimation of the fraction of burnt biomass. Uncertainties can be greatly reduced by an operational method able to assess inter-annual and local variability of fire effects on fire-affected forest types.

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Impact of Mexico City emissions on regional air quality from MOZART-4 simulations

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions ◽

10.5194/acpd-10-3457-2010 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 3457-3498 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

L. K. Emmons ◽

E. C. Apel ◽

J.-F. Lamarque ◽

P. G. Hess ◽

M. Avery ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Mexico City ◽

Production Efficiency ◽

Transport Model ◽

Ozone Production ◽

Atmospheric Composition ◽

Chemical Transport Model ◽

Model Calculations ◽

Fire Emissions ◽

Regional Air Quality

Abstract. An extensive set of measurements was made in and around Mexico City as part of the MILAGRO (Megacity Initiative: Local and Global Research Observations) experiments in March 2006. Simulations with the Model for Ozone and Related Chemical Tracers, version 4 (MOZART-4), a global chemical transport model, have been used to provide a regional context for these observations and assist in their interpretation. These MOZART-4 simulations reproduce the aircraft observations generally well, but some differences in the modeled volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the observations result from incorrect VOC speciation assumed for the emission inventories. The different types of CO sources represented in the model have been "tagged" to quantify the contributions of regions outside Mexico, as well as the various emissions sectors within Mexico, to the regional air quality of Mexico. This analysis indicates open fires have some, but not a dominant, impact on the atmospheric composition in the region around Mexico City, when averaged over the month. However, considerable variation in the fire contribution (2–15% of total CO) is seen during the month. The transport and photochemical aging of Mexico City emissions were studied using tags of CO emissions for each day, showing that typically the air near Mexico City was a combination of many ages. Ozone production in MOZART-4 is shown to agree well with the net production rates from box model calculations constrained by the MILAGRO aircraft measurements. Ozone production efficiency derived from the ratio of Ox to NOz is higher in MOZART-4 than in the observations for moderately polluted air. OH reactivity determined from the MOZART-4 results shows the same increase in relative importance of oxygenated VOCs downwind of Mexico City as the reactivity inferred from the observations. The amount of ozone produced by emissions from Mexico City and surrounding areas has been quantified in the model by tracking NO emissions, showing little influence beyond Mexico's borders, and also relatively minor influence from fire emissions on the monthly average tropospheric ozone column.

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