Radiative impact of aerosols generated from biomass burning

Technical Report · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1995

OSTI ID:236799

Christopher, S A; Vulcan, D V; Welch, R M

Atmospheric aerosol particles play a vital role in the Earth`s radiative energy budget. They exert a net cooling influence on climate by directly reflecting the solar radiation to space and by modifying the shortwave reflective properties of clouds. Each year, increasing amounts of aerosol particles are released into the atmosphere due to biomass burning, dust storms, forest fires, and volcanic activity. These particles significantly perturb the radiative balance on local, regional, and global scales. While the detection of aerosols over water is a well established procedure, the detection of aerosols over land is often difficult due to the poor contrast between the aerosols and the underlying terrain. In this study, the authors use textural measures in order to detect aerosols generated from biomass burning over South America, using AVHRR data. The regional radiative effects are then examined using ERBE data. Preliminary results show that the net radiative forcing of aerosols is about {minus}36 W/sq m.

• Research Organization: South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, SD (United States)
• OSTI ID: 236799
• Report Number(s): N--96-22144; NASA-CR--200099; NAS--1.26:200099; NIPS--96-07697; CNN: NAGW-3740
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AEROSOLS
BIOMASS
COMBUSTION
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
FORCING FUNCTIONS
RADIATIVE COOLING
REMOTE SENSING
SPECTRAL REFLECTANCE