Emissions from open biomass burning in India: Integrating the inventory approach with high-resolution Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) active-fire and land cover data

Abstract. Biomass burning in the Indochina Peninsula (Indochina) is one of the important ozone sources in the low troposphere over East Asia in springtime. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data show that 20 000 or more active fire detections occurred annually in spring only from 2000 to 2007. In our tracer modeling study, we identify a new mechanism transporting the tracer over Indochina that is significantly different from the vertical transport mechanism over the equatorial areas such as Indonesia and Malaysia. Simulation results demonstrate that the leeside troughs over Indochina play a dominant role in the uplift of the tracer below 3 km, and that the strong westerlies prevailing above 3 km transport the tracer. These fundamental mechanisms have a major impact on the air quality downwind from Indochina over East Asia. The climatological importance of such a leeside trough is also discussed.

Download Full-text

Effect of Using Multi-Year LULC and Monthly LAI Inputs on the Calibration of a Distributed Hydrologic Model

10.20944/preprints202105.0175.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ibrahim Olayode Busari ◽

Mehmet Cüneyd Demirel ◽

Alice Newton

Keyword(s):

Land Cover ◽

Potential Evapotranspiration ◽

Hydrologic Model ◽

Parameter Uncertainties ◽

Area Index ◽

Distributed Hydrologic Model ◽

Land Cover Data ◽

Moderate Resolution ◽

Resolution Imaging ◽

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer

This study explores the use of satellite-based LULC (Land Use / Land Cover) data while simultaneously correcting potential evapotranspiration (PET) input with Leaf Area Index (LAI) to increase the performance of a physically distributed hydrologic model. The mesoscale hydrologic model (mHM) was selected for this purpose due to its unique features. Since LAI input informs the model about vegetation dynamics, we incorporated the LAI based PET correction option together with multi-year LULC data. The Globcover land cover data was selected for the single land cover cases, and hybrid of CORINE (coordination of information on the environment) and MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) land cover datasets were chosen for the cases with multiple land cover datasets. These two datasets complement each other since MODIS has no separate forest class but more frequent (yearly) observations than CORINE. Calibration period spans from 1990 to 2006 and corresponding NSE (Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency) values varies between 0.23 and 0.42, while the validation period spans from 2007 to 2010 and corresponding NSE values are between 0.13 and 0.39. The results revealed that the best performance is obtained when multiple land cover datasets are provided to the model and LAI data is used to correct PET, instead of default aspect-based PET correction in mHM. This study suggests that to minimize errors due to parameter uncertainties in physically distributed hydrologic models, adequate information can be supplied to the model with care taken to avoid over-parameterizing the model.

Download Full-text

Characterising vegetative biomass burning in China using MODIS data

International Journal of Wildland Fire ◽

10.1071/wf12163 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 23 (1) ◽

pp. 69 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Xianlin Qin ◽

Hou Yan ◽

Zihui Zhan ◽

Zengyuan Li

Keyword(s):

Biomass Burning ◽

Forest Fires ◽

Yunnan Province ◽

Heilongjiang Province ◽

Active Fire ◽

Moderate Resolution ◽

Vegetative Biomass ◽

Resolution Imaging ◽

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ◽

Small Forest

For Chinese fire cases, it was established that the active fire data obtained from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 1-km2 spatial resolution and their subsequent analysis are more accurate and spatially precise than those obtained from the statistical fire data collected by the State Forestry Administration (SFA) of P. R. China. Most (37.5%) of the biomass burning detections from 2000 to 2011 were found in croplands, followed by broadleaf forests (21.2%). Three high-density fire regions were found during the 12-year study period: (1) Heilongjiang Province, where many large forest fires occurred in April–May and September–October; (2) Yunnan Province, where many small forest fires occurred in December–May and (3) Guangdong Province and Guangxi Autonomous Regions, where most fires occurred in croplands in November–March. The largest percentage (10.72%) of the total active fire points was in Heilongjiang Province during 2000–2011, followed by Yunnan Province (10.14%), with several fires taking place in February, April and June.

Download Full-text

The impacts of recent drought on fire, forest loss, and regional smoke emissions in lowland Bolivia

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-15-4317-2018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 15 (14) ◽

pp. 4317-4331 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Joshua P. Heyer ◽

Mitchell J. Power ◽

Robert D. Field ◽

Margreet J. E. van Marle

Keyword(s):

Human Activities ◽

Global Climate ◽

Forest Loss ◽

Fire Emissions ◽

Active Fire ◽

Land Cover Data ◽

Moderate Resolution ◽

Resolution Imaging ◽

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ◽

Southwestern Amazonia

Abstract. In the southern Amazon relationships have been established among drought, human activities that cause forest loss, fire, and smoke emissions. We explore the impacts of recent drought on fire, forest loss, and atmospheric visibility in lowland Bolivia. To assess human influence on fire, we consider climate, fire, and vegetation dynamics in an area largely excluded from human activities since 1979, Noel Kempff Mercado National Park (NK) in northeastern Bolivia. We use data from five sources: the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Collection 6 active fire product (2001–2015) (MODIS C6), Global Fire WEather Database (GFWED) data (1982–2015), MODIS land cover data (2001–2010), MODIS forest loss data (2000–2012), and the regional extinction coefficient for the southwestern Amazon (i.e., Bext), which is derived from horizontal visibility data from surface stations at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) level (1973–2015). The Bext is affected by smoke and acts as a proxy for visibility and regional fire emissions. In lowland Bolivia from 2001 to 2015, interannual Drought Code (DC) variability was linked to fire activity, while from 1982 to 2015, interannual DC variability was linked to Bext. From 2001 to 2015, the Bext and MODIS C6 active fire data for lowland Bolivia captured fire seasonality, and covaried between low- and high-fire years. Consistent with previous studies, our results suggest Bext can be used as a longer-term proxy of regional fire emissions in southwestern Amazonia. Overall, our study found drought conditions were the dominant control on interannual fire variability in lowland Bolivia, and fires within NK were limited to the Cerrado and seasonally inundated wetland biomes. Our results suggest lowland Bolivian tropical forests were susceptible to human activities that may have amplified fire during drought. Human activities and drought need to be considered in future projections of southern Amazonian fire, in regard to carbon emissions and global climate.

Download Full-text

MODIS 3 km aerosol product: applications over land in an urban/suburban region

Atmospheric Measurement Techniques Discussions ◽

10.5194/amtd-6-1683-2013 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 1683-1716 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

L. A. Munchak ◽

R. C. Levy ◽

S. Mattoo ◽

L. A. Remer ◽

B. N. Holben ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Urban Areas ◽

High Spectral Resolution ◽

New Information ◽

Land Cover Data ◽

Moderate Resolution ◽

Resolution Imaging ◽

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ◽

Langley Research Center ◽

High Spectral Resolution Lidar ◽

Error Envelope

Abstract. MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments aboard the Terra and Aqua satellites have provided a rich dataset of aerosol information at a 10 km spatial scale. Although originally intended for climate applications, the air quality community quickly became interested in using the MODIS aerosol data. However, 10 km resolution is not sufficient to resolve local scale aerosol features. With this in mind, MODIS Collection 6 is including a global aerosol product with a 3 km resolution. Here, we evaluate the 3 km product over the Baltimore/Washington D.C., USA, corridor during the summer of 2011, by comparing with spatially dense data collected as part of the DISCOVER-AQ campaign; these data were measured by the NASA Langley Research Center airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) and a network of 44 sun photometers (SP) spaced approximately 10 km apart. The HSRL instrument shows that AOD can vary by up to 0.2 within a single 10 km MODIS pixel, meaning that higher resolution satellite retrievals may help to characterize aerosol spatial distributions in this region. Different techniques for validating a high-resolution aerosol product against SP measurements are considered. Although the 10 km product is more statistically reliable than the 3 km product, the 3 km product still performs acceptably, with more than two-thirds of MODIS/SP collocations falling within the expected error envelope with high correlation (R > 0.90). The 3 km product can better resolve aerosol gradients and retrieve closer to clouds and shorelines than the 10 km product, but tends to show more significant noise especially in urban areas. This urban degradation is quantified using ancillary land cover data. Overall, we show that the MODIS 3 km product adds new information to the existing set of satellite derived aerosol products and validates well over the region, but due to noise and problems in urban areas, should be treated with some degree of caution.

Download Full-text

Inter-calibration of polar imager solar channels using SEVIRI

Atmospheric Measurement Techniques Discussions ◽

10.5194/amtd-6-3215-2013 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 3215-3247 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

J. F. Meirink ◽

R. A. Roebeling ◽

P. Stammes

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

Spectral Response ◽

Calibration Method ◽

Infrared Imager ◽

Moderate Resolution ◽

Resolution Imaging ◽

Aqua Satellite ◽

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ◽

Direct Inter ◽

Very High

Abstract. Accurate calibration of satellite imagers is a prerequisite for using their measurements in climate applications. Here we present a method for the inter-calibration of geostationary and polar-orbiting imager solar channels based on regressions of collocated near-nadir radiances. Specific attention is paid to correcting for differences in spectral response between instruments. The method is used to calibrate the solar channels of the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) on the geostationary Meteosat satellite with corresponding channels of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the polar-orbiting Aqua satellite. The SEVIRI operational calibration is found to be stable during the years 2004 to 2009 but off by −8, −6, and +3.5% for channels 1 (0.6 μm), 2 (0.8 μm), and 3 (1.6 μm), respectively. These results are robust for a range of choices that can be made regarding data collocation and selection, as long as the viewing and illumination geometries of the two instruments are matched. Uncertainties in the inter-calibration method are estimated to be 1% for channel 1 and 1.5% for channels 2 and 3. A specific application of the method is the inter-calibration of polar imagers using SEVIRI as a transfer instrument. This offers an alternative to direct inter-calibration, which in general has to rely on high-latitude collocations. Using this method we have tied MODIS-Terra and Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) instruments on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellites 17 and 18 to MODIS-Aqua for the years 2007 to 2009. While reflectances of the two MODIS instruments differ less than 2% for all channels considered, deviations of an existing AVHRR calibration from MODIS-Aqua reach −3.5 and +2.5% for the 0.8 and 1.6 μm channels, respectively.

Download Full-text

Observations of Supermicron-Sized Aerosols Originating from Biomass Burning in South Central Africa

10.5194/acp-2021-414 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Rose Marie Miller ◽

Greg M. McFarquhar ◽

Robert M. Rauber ◽

Joseph R. O'Brien ◽

Siddhant Gupta ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Black Carbon ◽

Biomass Burning ◽

Single Particle ◽

Central Africa ◽

Submicron Particles ◽

Back Trajectories ◽

Active Fire ◽

South Central ◽

Moderate Resolution ◽

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer

Abstract. During the three years of the ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS (ORACLES) campaign, the NASA Orion P-3 was equipped with a 2D-Stereo (2D-S) probe that imaged particles with maximum dimension (D) ranging from 10 < D < 1280 µm. The 2D-S recorded supermicron-sized aerosol particles (SAPs) outside of clouds within biomass burning plumes during flights over the Southeast Atlantic off Africa’s coast. Numerous SAPs with 10 < D < 1520 µm were observed in 2017 and 2018 at altitudes between 1230 m and 3500 m, 1000 km from the coastline mostly between 7–11° S. No SAPs were observed in 2016 as flights were conducted further south and further from the coastline. Number concentrations of black carbon (rBC) measured by a single particle soot photometer ranged from 200 to 1200 cm−3 when SAPs were observed. Transmission electron microscopy images of submicron particulates, collected on Holey carbon grid filters, revealed particles with potassium salts, black carbon and organics while energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy spectra detected potassium, a tracer for biomass burning, indicating that the submicron particles originated from biomass burning in addition to black carbon. NOAA Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) three-day back trajectories show a source in northern Angola for times when large SAPs were observed. Fire Information for Resource Management System Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 6 active fire maps showed extensive biomass burning at these locations. Given the back trajectories, the high number concentrations of rBC, and the presence of elemental tracers indicative of biomass burning, it is hypothesized that the SAPs imaged by the 2D-S are examples of unburned plant material previously seen in biomass burning smoke close to the source.

Download Full-text

Evaluating the skill of high-resolution WRF-Chem simulations in describing drivers of aerosol direct climate forcing on the regional scale

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-16-397-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 397-416 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

P. Crippa ◽

R. C. Sullivan ◽

A. Thota ◽

S. C. Pryor

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

Spatial Correlation ◽

Radiative Forcing ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Climate Forcing ◽

Spatiotemporal Variability ◽

Aerosol Loading ◽

Moderate Resolution ◽

Resolution Imaging ◽

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer

Abstract. Assessing the ability of global and regional models to describe aerosol optical properties is essential to reducing uncertainty in aerosol direct radiative forcing in the contemporary climate and to improving confidence in future projections. Here we evaluate the performance of high-resolution simulations conducted using the Weather Research and Forecasting model with coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) in capturing spatiotemporal variability of aerosol optical depth (AOD) and the Ångström exponent (AE) by comparison with ground- and space-based remotely sensed observations. WRF-Chem is run over eastern North America at a resolution of 12 km for a representative year (2008). A systematic positive bias in simulated AOD relative to observations is found (annual mean fractional bias (MFB) is 0.15 and 0.50 relative to MODIS (MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and AERONET, respectively), whereas the spatial variability is well captured during most months. The spatial correlation of observed and simulated AOD shows a clear seasonal cycle with highest correlation during summer months (r = 0.5–0.7) when the aerosol loading is large and more observations are available. The model is biased towards the simulation of coarse-mode aerosols (annual MFB for AE  =  −0.10 relative to MODIS and −0.59 for AERONET), but the spatial correlation for AE with observations is 0.3–0.5 during most months, despite the fact that AE is retrieved with higher uncertainty from the remote-sensing observations. WRF-Chem also exhibits high skill in identifying areas of extreme and non-extreme aerosol loading, and its ability to correctly simulate the location and relative intensity of extreme aerosol events (i.e., AOD  >  75th percentile) varies between 30 and 70 % during winter and summer months, respectively.

Download Full-text

New simple approach to understand the spatial and vertical distribution of biomass burning CO emission based on the MOPITT vertical measurements

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-9220 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Chuyong Lin ◽

Jason Cohen

Keyword(s):

South America ◽

Biomass Burning ◽

Large Scale ◽

Central Africa ◽

Western Africa ◽

Moderate Resolution ◽

Resolution Imaging ◽

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ◽

Significant Spread ◽

Spatial And Vertical Distribution

<p>A simple variance-maximization approach, based on 19 years of weekly Moderate Resolution Imaging spectroradiometer (MOPITT) CO vertical measurements, was employed to quantify the spatial distribution of the global seasonal biomass burning region. Results demonstrate there are a few large-scale and typical biomass burning regions responsible for most of the biomass burning emissions throughout the world, with the largest of these such regions located in Amazonian South America, Western Africa, Indonesia, and Northern Southeast Asia (Eastern India, Northern Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Eastern Bangladesh), which are highly associated with the results of Global Fire Emission Database(GFED). The CO is primarily lofted to and spreads downwind at 800mb or 700mb with three exceptions: The Maritime Continent and South America where there is significant spread at 300mb consistent with known deep- and pyro-convection; and Southern Africa where there is significant spread at 600mb. The total mass of CO lofted into the free troposphere ranges from 46% over Central Africa to 92% over Australia.</p>

Download Full-text

Forecasting Carbon Monoxide on a Global Scale for the ATom-1 Aircraft Mission: Insights from Airborne and Satellite Observations and Modeling

10.5194/acp-2018-150 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Sarah A. Strode ◽

Junhua Liu ◽

Leslie Lait ◽

Róisín Commane ◽

Bruce Daube ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Biomass Burning ◽

Optical Thickness ◽

Global Scale ◽

Satellite Observations ◽

Aerosol Optical Thickness ◽

Large Contribution ◽

Moderate Resolution ◽

Resolution Imaging ◽

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ◽

Typical Summer

Abstract. GEOS-5 forecasts and analyses show considerable skill in predicting and simulating the CO distribution and the timing of CO enhancements observed during the ATom-1 aircraft mission. Using tagged tracers for CO, we find a dominant contribution from non-biomass burning sources along the ATom transects except over the tropical Atlantic, where African biomass burning makes a large contribution to the CO concentration. One of the goals of ATom is to provide a chemical climatology over the oceans, so it is important to consider whether August 2016 was representative of typical summer conditions. Using satellite observations of 700 hPa and column CO from the Measurement of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) instrument, 215 hPa CO from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS), and aerosol optical thickness from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), we find that CO concentrations and aerosol optical thickness in August 2016 were within the observed range of the satellite observations, but below the decadal median for many of the regions sampled. This suggests that the ATom-1 measurements may represent relatively clean but not exceptional conditions for lower tropospheric CO.

Download Full-text