scholarly journals The Wildland Fire Emission Inventory: emission estimates and an evaluation of uncertainty

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 23349-23419
Author(s):  
S. P. Urbanski ◽  
W. M. Hao ◽  
B. Nordgren
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Emission Inventory ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Western United States ◽  
Emission Inventories ◽  
Wildland Fires ◽  
Global Modeling ◽  
Fire Emissions ◽  
Pm2.5 Emissions

Abstract. We present the Wildland Fire Emission Inventory (WFEI), a high resolution model for non-agricultural open biomass burning (hereafter referred to as wildland fires) in the contiguous United States (CONUS). WFEI was used to estimate emissions of CO and PM2.5 for the western United States from 2003–2008. The estimated annual CO emitted ranged from 436 Gg yr−1 in 2004 to 3107 Gg yr−1 in 2007. The extremes in estimated annual PM2.5 emitted were 65 Gg yr−1 in 2004 and 454 Gg yr−1 in 2007. Annual wildland fire emissions were significant compared to other emission sources in the western United States as estimated in a national emission inventory. In the peak fire year of 2007, fire emissions were ~20 % of total CO emissions and ~39 % of total PM2.5 emissions. During the months with the greatest fire activity, wildland fires accounted for the majority of CO and PM2.5 emitted across the study region. The uncertainty in the inventory estimates of CO and PM2.5 emissions (ECO and EPM2.5, respectively) have been quantified across spatial and temporal scales relevant to regional and global modeling applications. The uncertainty in annual, domain wide emissions was 28 % to 51 % for CO and 40 % to 65 % for PM2.5. Sensitivity of the uncertainty in ECO and EPM2.5 to the emission model components depended on scale. At scales relevant to regional modeling applications (Δx = 10 km, Δt = 1 day) WFEI estimates 50 % of total ECO with an uncertainty <133 % and half of total EPM2.5 with an uncertainty <146 %. The uncertainty in ECO and EPM2.5 is significantly reduced at the scale of global modeling applications (Δx = 100 km, Δt = 30 day). Fifty percent of total emissions are estimated with an uncertainty <50 % for CO and <64 % for PM2.5. Uncertainty in the burned area drives the emission uncertainties at regional scales. At global scales the uncertainty in ECO is most sensitive to uncertainties in the fuel load consumed while the uncertainty in the emission factor for PM2.5 drives the EPM2.5 uncertainty. Our uncertainty analysis indicates that the large scale aggregate uncertainties (e.g. annual, CONUS) that are typically reported for biomass burning emission inventories may not be appropriate for evaluating and interpreting results of modeling applications that employ the emission estimates. When feasible, biomass burning emission inventories should be evaluated and reported across the scales for which they are intended to be used.

scholarly journals The wildland fire emission inventory: western United States emission estimates and an evaluation of uncertainty

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (24) ◽  
pp. 12973-13000 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. P. Urbanski ◽  
W. M. Hao ◽  
B. Nordgren
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Emission Factor ◽  
Emission Inventory ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Western United States ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Emission Inventories ◽  
Fuel Loading ◽  
Global Modeling

Abstract. Biomass burning emission inventories serve as critical input for atmospheric chemical transport models that are used to understand the role of biomass fires in the chemical composition of the atmosphere, air quality, and the climate system. Significant progress has been achieved in the development of regional and global biomass burning emission inventories over the past decade using satellite remote sensing technology for fire detection and burned area mapping. However, agreement among biomass burning emission inventories is frequently poor. Furthermore, the uncertainties of the emission estimates are typically not well characterized, particularly at the spatio-temporal scales pertinent to regional air quality modeling. We present the Wildland Fire Emission Inventory (WFEI), a high resolution model for non-agricultural open biomass burning (hereafter referred to as wildland fires, WF) in the contiguous United States (CONUS). The model combines observations from the MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors on the Terra and Aqua satellites, meteorological analyses, fuel loading maps, an emission factor database, and fuel condition and fuel consumption models to estimate emissions from WF. WFEI was used to estimate emissions of CO (ECO) and PM2.5 (EPM2.5) for the western United States from 2003–2008. The uncertainties in the inventory estimates of ECO and EPM2.5 (uECO and uEPM2.5, respectively) have been explored across spatial and temporal scales relevant to regional and global modeling applications. In order to evaluate the uncertainty in our emission estimates across multiple scales we used a figure of merit, the half mass uncertainty, ũEX (where X = CO or PM2.5), defined such that for a given aggregation level 50% of total emissions occurred from elements with uEX ũEX. The sensitivity of the WFEI estimates of ECO and EPM2.5 to uncertainties in mapped fuel loading, fuel consumption, burned area and emission factors have also been examined. The estimated annual, domain wide ECO ranged from 436 Gg yr−1 in 2004 to 3107 Gg yr−1 in 2007. The extremes in estimated annual, domain wide EPM2.5 were 65 Gg yr−1 in 2004 and 454 Gg yr−1 in 2007. Annual WF emissions were a significant share of total emissions from non-WF sources (agriculture, dust, non-WF fire, fuel combustion, industrial processes, transportation, solvent, and miscellaneous) in the western United States as estimated in a national emission inventory. In the peak fire year of 2007, WF emissions were ~20% of total (WF + non-WF) CO emissions and ~39% of total PM2.5 emissions. During the months with the greatest fire activity, WF accounted for the majority of total CO and PM2.5 emitted across the study region. Uncertainties in annual, domain wide emissions was 28% to 51% for CO and 40% to 65% for PM2.5. Sensitivity of ũECO and ũEPM2.5 to the emission model components depended on scale. At scales relevant to regional modeling applications (Δx = 10 km, Δt = 1 day) WFEI estimates 50% of total ECO with an uncertainty <133% and half of total EPM2.5 with an uncertainty <146%. ũECO and ũEPM2.5 are reduced by more than half at the scale of global modeling applications (Δ x = 100 km, Δ t = 30 day) where 50% of total emissions are estimated with an uncertainty <50% for CO and <64% for PM2.5. Uncertainties in the estimates of burned area drives the emission uncertainties at regional scales. At global scales ũECO is most sensitive to uncertainties in the fuel load consumed while the uncertainty in the emission factor for PM2.5 plays the dominant role in ũEPM2.5. Our analysis indicates that the large scale aggregate uncertainties (e.g. the uncertainty in annual CO emitted for CONUS) typically reported for biomass burning emission inventories may not be appropriate for evaluating and interpreting results of regional scale modeling applications that employ the emission estimates. When feasible, biomass burning emission inventories should be evaluated and reported across the scales for which they are intended to be used.

scholarly journals Comparison of Ozone Measurement Methods in Biomass Burning Smoke: An evaluation under field and laboratory conditions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell W. Long ◽  
Andrew Whitehill ◽  
Andrew Habel ◽  
Shawn Urbanski ◽  
Hannah Halliday ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Gas Phase ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
The United States ◽  
Photometric Method ◽  
Wildland Fires ◽  
Fire Plumes ◽  
Fire Smoke ◽  
Field And Laboratory Conditions

Abstract. In recent years wildland fires in the United States have had significant impacts on local and regional air quality and negative human health outcomes. Although the primary health concerns from wildland fires come from fine particulate matter (PM2.5), large increases in ozone (O3) are also observed downwind of wildland fire plumes. Conditions generated in and around wildland fire plumes, including the presence of interfering chemical species, can make the accurate measurement of O3 concentrations using the ultraviolet (UV) photometric method challenging if not impossible. UV photometric method instruments are prone to interferences by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are present at high concentrations in wildland fire smoke. Four different O3 measurement methodologies were deployed in a mobile sampling platform downwind of active prescribed grassland fire lines in Kansas and Oregon and during controlled chamber burns at the United States Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station Fire Sciences Laboratory in Missoula, Montana. We demonstrate that the Federal Reference Method (FRM) nitric oxide (NO) chemiluminescence monitors and Federal Equivalent Method (FEM) gas-phase (NO) chemical scrubber UV photometric O3 monitors are relatively interference-free, even in near-field combustion plumes. In contrast, FEM UV photometric O3 monitors using solid-phase catalytic scrubbers show positive artifacts that are positively correlated with carbon monoxide (CO) and total gas phase hydrocarbons (THC), two indicator species of biomass burning. Of the two catalytic scrubber UV photometric methods evaluated, the instruments that included a Nafion® tube dryer in the sample introduction system had artifacts an order of magnitude smaller than the instrument with no humidity correction. We hypothesize that Nafion®--permeable VOCs (such as aromatic hydrocarbons) could be a significant source of interference for catalytic scrubber UV photometric O3 monitors, and that the inclusion of a Nafion® tube dryer assists with the mitigation of these interferences. The interference-free chemiluminescence FRM method is highly recommended for accurate measurements of O3 in wildland fire plume studies and at regulatory ambient monitoring sites frequently impacted by wildland fire smoke.

scholarly journals Sensitivity of tropospheric loads and lifetimes of short lived pollutants to fire emissions

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (16) ◽  
pp. 22639-22676 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Daskalakis ◽  
S. Myriokefalitakis ◽  
M. Kanakidou
Keyword(s):  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Regional Differences ◽  
Input Data ◽  
Emission Inventory ◽  
Feedback Mechanism ◽  
Atmospheric Composition ◽  
Emission Inventories ◽  
Transport Models ◽  
Fire Emissions ◽  
Calculated Load

Abstract. The capability of global Chemistry and Transport Models (CTMs) to simulate atmospheric composition and its spatial and temporal changes highly relies on the input data used by the models, in particular the emission inventories. Biomass burning emissions show large spatial, daily, seasonal and year-to-year variability. In the present study, we applied a global 3-D CTM to evaluate uncertainties in the computed atmospheric composition associated with the use of different biomass burning emissions and identify areas where observational data can improve in reducing these uncertainties. We find the emission inventory choice to be able to introduce regional differences in the calculated load of aerosols up to a factor of 4. Assumptions on the injection height of the biomass burning emissions are found to produce regionally up to 30% differences in the calculated tropospheric lifetimes of pollutants. Computed changes in lifetimes point to a strong chemical feedback mechanism between emissions from biomass burning and isoprene emissions from vegetation that are linked via oxidant chemistry. These interactions reduce isoprene load in the presence of biomass burning emissions by 15%, calculated for the same amount of isoprene emitted into the troposphere. Thus, isoprene load and lifetime are inversely related to the quantities of pollutants emitted by biomass burning. This feedback is shown to be able to increase the effective secondary aerosol yield from isoprene by up to 40%.

scholarly journals Comparison of ozone measurement methods in biomass burning smoke: an evaluation under field and laboratory conditions

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 1783-1800
Author(s):  
Russell W. Long ◽  
Andrew Whitehill ◽  
Andrew Habel ◽  
Shawn Urbanski ◽  
Hannah Halliday ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Gas Phase ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
The United States ◽  
Photometric Method ◽  
Wildland Fires ◽  
Fire Plumes ◽  
Fire Smoke ◽  
Field And Laboratory Conditions

Abstract. In recent years wildland fires in the United States have had significant impacts on local and regional air quality and negative human health outcomes. Although the primary health concerns from wildland fires come from fine particulate matter (PM2.5), large increases in ozone (O3) have been observed downwind of wildland fire plumes (DeBell et al., 2004; Bytnerowicz et al., 2010; Preisler et al., 2010; Jaffe et al., 2012; Bytnerowicz et al., 2013; Jaffe et al., 2013; Lu et al., 2016; Lindaas et al., 2017; McClure and Jaffe, 2018; Liu et al., 2018; Baylon et al., 2018; Buysse et al., 2019). Conditions generated in and around wildland fire plumes, including the presence of interfering chemical species, can make the accurate measurement of O3 concentrations using the ultraviolet (UV) photometric method challenging if not impossible. UV photometric method instruments are prone to interferences by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are present at high concentrations in wildland fire smoke. Four different O3 measurement methodologies were deployed in a mobile sampling platform downwind of active prescribed grassland fire lines in Kansas and Oregon and during controlled chamber burns at the United States Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station Fire Sciences Laboratory in Missoula, Montana. We demonstrate that the Federal Reference Method (FRM) nitric oxide (NO) chemiluminescence monitors and Federal Equivalent Method (FEM) gas-phase (NO) chemical scrubber UV photometric O3 monitors are relatively interference-free, even in near-field combustion plumes. In contrast, FEM UV photometric O3 monitors using solid-phase catalytic scrubbers show positive artifacts that are positively correlated with carbon monoxide (CO) and total gas-phase hydrocarbon (THC), two indicator species of biomass burning. Of the two catalytic scrubber UV photometric methods evaluated, the instruments that included a Nafion® tube dryer in the sample introduction system had artifacts an order of magnitude smaller than the instrument with no humidity correction. We hypothesize that Nafion®-permeating VOCs (such as aromatic hydrocarbons) could be a significant source of interference for catalytic scrubber UV photometric O3 monitors and that the inclusion of a Nafion® tube dryer assists with the mitigation of these interferences. The chemiluminescence FRM method is highly recommended for accurate measurements of O3 in wildland fire plume studies and at regulatory ambient monitoring sites frequently impacted by wildland fire smoke.

scholarly journals Top-down estimates of biomass burning emissions of black carbon in the Western United States

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 28067-28115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. H. Mao ◽  
Q. B. Li ◽  
J. T. Randerson ◽  
D. Chen ◽  
L. Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Black Carbon ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Western United States ◽  
A Posteriori ◽  
Fire Emissions ◽  
Skill Scores ◽  
Simulated Surface

Abstract. We estimate biomass burning emissions of black carbon (BC) in the western United States (WUS) for May–October 2006 by inverting surface BC concentrations from the Interagency Monitoring of PROtected Visual Environment (IMPROVE) network using a global chemical transport model. We first improve the spatiotemporal distributions of the BC emissions from the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFEDv2) using 8-day active fire counts from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) from a 3 yr period (2005–2007). The resulting emissions are then used as the a priori for the inversion analyses. The adjustment primarily shifts emissions from late to early and middle summer (33% decrease in September-October and 56% increase in June–August). The adjusted emissions lead to non-negligible increases in the simulated surface BC concentrations in early and middle summer at sites below 2 km. We conduct analytical inversions at both 2° × 2.5° and 0.5° × 0.667° (nested over North America) horizontal resolutions. Simulated surface BC concentrations with the a posteriori emissions capture the observed major fire episodes at many sites and substantial enhancements at the 1–2 and 2–3 km altitude ranges. The a posteriori emissions lead to substantial bias reductions in the simulated surface BC concentrations (~ 50% on average) at both resolutions and significant increases in the Taylor skill scores (86% at 2° × 2.5° and 132% at 0.5° × 0.667°). We find that the inversion is rather sensitive to the model resolution. The a posteriori biomass burning emissions increase by factors of 4.7 from the inversion at 2° × 2.5° and 2.8 at 0.5° × 0.667°, while as the a posteriori anthropogenic emissions decrease by 48% and 36%, respectively, relative to their corresponding a priori emissions. The two a posteriori estimates differ largest in biomass burning emissions in California and the Southwest (a factor of 5.9) and in the Pacific Northwest (a factor of 2).

scholarly journals Emission Inventory Processing of Biomass Burning from A Global Dataset for Air Quality Modeling

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernesto Pino-Cortés ◽  
Samuel Carrasco ◽  
Luis A. Díaz-Robles ◽  
Francisco Cubillos ◽  
Fidel Vallejo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Emission Inventory ◽  
Sparse Matrix ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Air Quality Modeling ◽  
Simulation Software ◽  
Atmospheric Pollutants ◽  
Fire Emissions ◽  
Quality Modeling

Wildfires generate large amounts of atmospheric pollutants yearly. The development of an emissions inventory for this activity is a challenge today, mainly to perform modeling of air quality. There are free available databases with historical information about this source. The main goal of this study was to process the results of biomass burning emissions for the year 2014 from the Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS). The pollutants studied were the black carbon, the organic carbon, fine and coarse particulate matter, respectively. The inputs were pre-formatted to enter to the simulation software of the emission inventory. In this case, the Sparse Matrix Operator Kernel Emissions (SMOKE) was used and the values obtained in various cities were analyzed. As a result, the spatial distribution of the forest fire emissions in the Southern Hemisphere was achieved, with the polar stereographic projection. The highest emissions were located in the African continent, followed by the northern region of Australia. Future air quality modeling at a local level could apply the results and the methodology of this study. The biomass burning emissions could add a better performance of the results and more knowledge on the effect of this source.

scholarly journals Evaluating the performance of pyrogenic and biogenic emission inventories against one decade of space-based formaldehyde columns

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 16981-17036 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Stavrakou ◽  
J.-F. Müller ◽  
I. De Smedt ◽  
M. Van Roozendael ◽  
G. R. van der Werf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Amazon Basin ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Chemical Mechanism ◽  
Emission Inventories ◽  
Chemical Transport Model ◽  
Emissions Inventory ◽  
Fire Emissions

Abstract. A new one-decade dataset of formaldehyde (HCHO) columns retrieved from GOME and SCIAMACHY is compared with HCHO columns simulated by an updated version of the IMAGES global chemical transport model. This model version includes an optimized chemical scheme with respect to HCHO production, where the short-term and final HCHO yields from pyrogenically emitted non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) are estimated from the Master Chemical Mechanism (MCM) and an explicit speciation profile of pyrogenic emissions. The model is driven by the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED) version 1 or 2 for biomass burning, whereas biogenic emissions are provided either by the Global Emissions Inventory Activity (GEIA), or by a newly developed inventory based on the Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGAN) algorithms driven by meteorological fields from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). The comparisons focus on tropical ecosystems, North America and China, which experience strong biogenic and biomass burning NMVOC emissions reflected in the enhanced measured HCHO columns. These comparisons aim at testing the ability of the model to reproduce the observed features of the HCHO distribution on the global scale and at providing a first assessment of the performance of the current emission inventories. The high correlation coefficients (r>0.8) between the observed and simulated columns over most regions indicate a very good consistency between the model, the implemented inventories and the HCHO dataset. The use of the MEGAN-ECMWF inventory improves the model/data agreement in almost all regions, but biases persist over parts of Africa and the Northern Australia. Although neither GFED version is consistent with the data over all regions, a better match is achieved over Indonesia and Southern Africa when GFEDv2 is used, but GFEDv1 succeeds better in getting the correct seasonal patterns and intensities of the fire episodes over the Amazon basin, as reflected by the higher correlations calculated in this region.

scholarly journals Modeling Regional-Scale Wildland Fire Emissions with the Wildland Fire Emissions Information System*

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (16) ◽  
pp. 1-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy H. F. French ◽  
Donald McKenzie ◽  
Tyler Erickson ◽  
Benjamin Koziol ◽  
Michael Billmire ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Information System ◽  
North America ◽  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
The United States ◽  
Fire Emissions ◽  
The U.S ◽  
The Web

Abstract As carbon modeling tools become more comprehensive, spatial data are needed to improve quantitative maps of carbon emissions from fire. The Wildland Fire Emissions Information System (WFEIS) provides mapped estimates of carbon emissions from historical forest fires in the United States through a web browser. WFEIS improves access to data and provides a consistent approach to estimating emissions at landscape, regional, and continental scales. The system taps into data and tools developed by the U.S. Forest Service to describe fuels, fuel loadings, and fuel consumption and merges information from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration on fire location and timing. Currently, WFEIS provides web access to Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) burned area for North America and U.S. fire-perimeter maps from the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity products from the USGS, overlays them on 1-km fuel maps for the United States, and calculates fuel consumption and emissions with an open-source version of the Consume model. Mapped fuel moisture is derived from daily meteorological data from remote automated weather stations. In addition to tabular output results, WFEIS produces multiple vector and raster formats. This paper provides an overview of the WFEIS system, including the web-based system functionality and datasets used for emissions estimates. WFEIS operates on the web and is built using open-source software components that work with open international standards such as keyhole markup language (KML). Examples of emissions outputs from WFEIS are presented showing that the system provides results that vary widely across the many ecosystems of North America and are consistent with previous emissions modeling estimates and products.

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