Collaborative Research: Understanding the chemical and physical variability of smoke using plume spatial gradients: analysis and parameterization for air quality and climate models

Colorado State University, Fort Collins CO

Investigators

Abstract

This project includes an evaluation of observational data from three recent atmospheric chemistry field campaigns to measure pollutants in the plumes of wildfires. The observational data will used to develop and assess a new parameterization for modeling the variability in the pollutant aging processes across wildfire plumes. The new parameterization is expected to improve the predictive capability of air quality and climate models. Recent observations suggest that gradients across a smoke plume include differences in photochemistry, aerosol composition, and aerosol size, likely driven by differences in dilution and UV radiation in different parts of the plume. By studying the differences between the plume edge/core and top/bottom, the investigators expect to provide a better understanding of the variability in aging between different plumes. The System for Atmospheric Modelling (SAM) - Aerosol Simulation Program (ASP) model, developed by Pierce and Alvarado with prior support from NSF, will be used to advance the understanding of pollution- and climate-relevant smoke aging processes. The data that will be used for this project includes: (1) the NSF-funded Western wildfire Experiment for Cloud chemistry, Aerosol absorption, and Nitrogen (WE-CAN) campaign held in July-September 2018; (2) the DOE-supported Biomass Burning Observation Project (BBOP) conducted during June-October 2013; and (3) the Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments and Air Quality (FIREX-AQ) campaign, a joint NASA/NOAA venture, that occurred in the summer of 2019. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.