The impact of biomass burning on the tropospheric distribution of CO during the 1984 maps experiment
- Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)
- Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States)
The purpose of the work reported here was to use a global, three-dimensional tropospheric chemistry model to analyze and evaluate carbon monoxide (CO) experimental data. The data was obtained from the Measurement of Air Pollution by Satellites (MAPS) program. The model was used to investigate the role of biomass burning on the global distribution of CO during early October 1984. Global simulations of CO emissions, transport, and chemistry were made using archived meteorological data. To allow direct comparison with the MAPS data, the model results were column-weighted. The model CO distribution had several similarities with the MAPS data. Major maxima of CO mixing ratios occur over southern Africa and South America in the model and in MAPS measurements. Modeled and MAPS CO values compare favorably over Europe and eastern Asia. A major difference between the modeled distribution and the MAPS data was the location of the maximum over South America. This difference may be the result of differences in actual emissions or may be due to differences in the location of modeled and actual convective activity. Another significant difference was that the model showed a distinct plume of CO emanating from eastern North America while the MAPS data does not. To further test the accuracy of the model simulation, the results were compared to three other measurements of CO data that were taken during the same time period or that should be representative of conditions in remote areas. 9 refs., 2 figs., 3 tabs.
- OSTI ID:
- 535159
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-960146--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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