Southwestern U.S. Biomass Burning Smoke Hygroscopicity: The Role of Plant Phenology, Chemical Composition, and Combustion Properties
Abstract
Biomass burning emissions have substantially increased with continued warming and drying in the southwestern U.S., impacting air quality and atmospheric processes. To better quantify impacts of biomass burning aerosols, an extensive laboratory study of fresh smoke emissions was conducted at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Laboratory burn experiments with selected native and invasive southwestern U.S. fuels were used to elucidate the role of fuel type, chemical composition, and ignition method on the hygroscopicity of smoke. Here we focus on a custom controlled relative humidity (RH) nephelometry system using the direct measurement of aerosol light scattering with two nephelometers—one at dry conditions and one at a controlled high RH (RH ~ 85%). Aerosol hygroscopicity was highly variable with the enhancement in light scattering coefficient in the range of 1.02 < f(RH = 85%) < 2.1 and corresponding to the kappa parameter (κneph) ranging from ~0 to 0.18. Hygroscopicity is determined primarily by the fuel's inorganic ion content. For example, invasive halophytes with high inorganic salt content exhibit much greater water uptake than native coniferous species with low inorganic content. Combustion temperature and phase, flaming or smoldering, play a secondary role in the water uptake of smoke. High–temperature ignition methods create flaming conditionsmore »
- Authors:
-
[2];
[2];
[3];
[4];
[4];
[4];
[4];
[4];
[4]
- New Mexico Inst. of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM (United States); Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- New Mexico Inst. of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM (United States)
- Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States)
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1524398
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1438072
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-18-20787
Journal ID: ISSN 2169-897X
- Grant/Contract Number:
- 89233218CNA000001; DE‐AC52‐06NA25396; F265
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 123; Journal Issue: 10; Journal ID: ISSN 2169-897X
- Publisher:
- American Geophysical Union
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; Earth Sciences; hygroscopicity; kappa nephelometer; ecotech nephelometer; biomass burning; southwestern U.S; wildland fires
Citation Formats
Gomez, Samantha Laray, Carrico, C. M., Allen, C., Lam, Jared Tate, Dabli, S., Sullivan, A. P., Aiken, Allison C., Rahn, Thomas A., Romonosky, Dian, Chylek, Petr, Sevanto, Sanna Annika, and Dubey, Manvendra Krishna. Southwestern U.S. Biomass Burning Smoke Hygroscopicity: The Role of Plant Phenology, Chemical Composition, and Combustion Properties. United States: N. p., 2018.
Web. doi:10.1029/2017JD028162.
Gomez, Samantha Laray, Carrico, C. M., Allen, C., Lam, Jared Tate, Dabli, S., Sullivan, A. P., Aiken, Allison C., Rahn, Thomas A., Romonosky, Dian, Chylek, Petr, Sevanto, Sanna Annika, & Dubey, Manvendra Krishna. Southwestern U.S. Biomass Burning Smoke Hygroscopicity: The Role of Plant Phenology, Chemical Composition, and Combustion Properties. United States. https://doi.org/10.1029/2017JD028162
Gomez, Samantha Laray, Carrico, C. M., Allen, C., Lam, Jared Tate, Dabli, S., Sullivan, A. P., Aiken, Allison C., Rahn, Thomas A., Romonosky, Dian, Chylek, Petr, Sevanto, Sanna Annika, and Dubey, Manvendra Krishna. Wed .
"Southwestern U.S. Biomass Burning Smoke Hygroscopicity: The Role of Plant Phenology, Chemical Composition, and Combustion Properties". United States. https://doi.org/10.1029/2017JD028162. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1524398.
@article{osti_1524398,
title = {Southwestern U.S. Biomass Burning Smoke Hygroscopicity: The Role of Plant Phenology, Chemical Composition, and Combustion Properties},
author = {Gomez, Samantha Laray and Carrico, C. M. and Allen, C. and Lam, Jared Tate and Dabli, S. and Sullivan, A. P. and Aiken, Allison C. and Rahn, Thomas A. and Romonosky, Dian and Chylek, Petr and Sevanto, Sanna Annika and Dubey, Manvendra Krishna},
abstractNote = {Biomass burning emissions have substantially increased with continued warming and drying in the southwestern U.S., impacting air quality and atmospheric processes. To better quantify impacts of biomass burning aerosols, an extensive laboratory study of fresh smoke emissions was conducted at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Laboratory burn experiments with selected native and invasive southwestern U.S. fuels were used to elucidate the role of fuel type, chemical composition, and ignition method on the hygroscopicity of smoke. Here we focus on a custom controlled relative humidity (RH) nephelometry system using the direct measurement of aerosol light scattering with two nephelometers—one at dry conditions and one at a controlled high RH (RH ~ 85%). Aerosol hygroscopicity was highly variable with the enhancement in light scattering coefficient in the range of 1.02 < f(RH = 85%) < 2.1 and corresponding to the kappa parameter (κneph) ranging from ~0 to 0.18. Hygroscopicity is determined primarily by the fuel's inorganic ion content. For example, invasive halophytes with high inorganic salt content exhibit much greater water uptake than native coniferous species with low inorganic content. Combustion temperature and phase, flaming or smoldering, play a secondary role in the water uptake of smoke. High–temperature ignition methods create flaming conditions that enhance hygroscopicity while lower–temperature smoldering conditions diminish hygroscopicity. Our results construct an empirical relation between κneph and the inorganic content of the fuel and smoke to predict water uptake.},
doi = {10.1029/2017JD028162},
journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres},
number = 10,
volume = 123,
place = {United States},
year = {2018},
month = {4}
}
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
Other availability
Search WorldCat to find libraries that may hold this journal
Cited by: 2 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science
Web of Science
Figures / Tables:
Figure 1: Southwestern United States Temperature, Precipitation, and Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) from 1895 to 2016 (NOAA)
All figures and tables
(14 total)
Save to My Library
You must Sign In or Create an Account in order to save documents to your library.
Works referenced in this record:
Hygroscopic growth behavior of a carbon-dominated aerosol in Yosemite National Park
journal, March 2005
- Carrico, Christian M.; Kreidenweis, Sonia M.; Malm, William C.
- Atmospheric Environment, Vol. 39, Issue 8
Cloud condensation nucleation activity of biomass burning aerosol
journal, January 2009
- Petters, Markus D.; Carrico, Christian M.; Kreidenweis, Sonia M.
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 114, Issue D22
Biomass burning smoke aerosol properties measured during Fire Laboratory at Missoula Experiments (FLAME)
journal, January 2010
- Levin, E. J. T.; McMeeking, G. R.; Carrico, C. M.
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 115, Issue D18
Distribution and Abundance of Saltcedar and Russian Olive in the Western United States
journal, November 2011
- Nagler, Pamela L.; Glenn, Edward P.; Jarnevich, Catherine S.
- Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, Vol. 30, Issue 6
Climate Change and Future Fire Regimes: Examples from California
journal, August 2016
- Keeley, Jon; Syphard, Alexandra
- Geosciences, Vol. 6, Issue 3
Effect of hygroscopic growth on the aerosol light-scattering coefficient: A review of measurements, techniques and error sources
journal, September 2016
- Titos, G.; Cazorla, A.; Zieger, P.
- Atmospheric Environment, Vol. 141
Aerosol optical properties in the southeastern United States in summer – Part 1: Hygroscopic growth
journal, January 2016
- Brock, Charles A.; Wagner, Nicholas L.; Anderson, Bruce E.
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol. 16, Issue 8
Determination of levoglucosan in biomass combustion aerosol by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection
journal, January 2006
- Engling, Guenter; Carrico, Christian M.; Kreidenweis, Sonia M.
- Atmospheric Environment, Vol. 40
Visibility: Science and Regulation
journal, June 2002
- Watson, John G.
- Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, Vol. 52, Issue 6
A novel method for deriving the aerosol hygroscopicity parameter based only on measurements from a humidified nephelometer system
journal, January 2017
- Kuang, Ye; Zhao, Chunsheng; Tao, Jiangchuan
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol. 17, Issue 11
Observation of Superaggregates from a Reversed Gravity Low-Sooting Flame
journal, January 2012
- Chakrabarty, Rajan K.; Moosmüller, Hans; Garro, Mark A.
- Aerosol Science and Technology, Vol. 46, Issue 1
Smoke-impacted regional haze in California during the summer of 2002
journal, March 2006
- McMeeking, Gavin R.; Kreidenweis, Sonia M.; Lunden, Melissa
- Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Vol. 137, Issue 1-2
Mixtures of pollution, dust, sea salt, and volcanic aerosol during ACE-Asia: Radiative properties as a function of relative humidity
journal, January 2003
- Carrico, Christian M.
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 108, Issue D23
A human-driven decline in global burned area
journal, June 2017
- Andela, N.; Morton, D. C.; Giglio, L.
- Science, Vol. 356, Issue 6345
Mexico city aerosol analysis during MILAGRO using high resolution aerosol mass spectrometry at the urban supersite (T0) – Part 2: Analysis of the biomass burning contribution and the non-fossil carbon fraction
journal, January 2010
- Aiken, A. C.; de Foy, B.; Wiedinmyer, C.
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol. 10, Issue 12
Evaporation of Ammonium Nitrate Aerosol in a Heated Nephelometer: Implications for Field Measurements
journal, October 1997
- Bergin, Michael H.; Ogren, John A.; Schwartz, Stephen E.
- Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 31, Issue 10
Aircraft Instrument for Comprehensive Characterization of Aerosol Optical Properties, Part I: Wavelength-Dependent Optical Extinction and Its Relative Humidity Dependence Measured Using Cavity Ringdown Spectroscopy
journal, November 2011
- Langridge, Justin M.; Richardson, Mathews S.; Lack, Daniel
- Aerosol Science and Technology, Vol. 45, Issue 11
Impacts of increasing aridity and wildfires on aerosol loading in the intermountain Western US
journal, January 2017
- Hallar, A. Gannet; Molotch, Noah P.; Hand, Jenny L.
- Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 12, Issue 1
Measured and modeled humidification factors of fresh smoke particles from biomass burning: role of inorganic constituents
journal, January 2010
- Hand, J. L.; Day, D. E.; McMeeking, G. M.
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol. 10, Issue 13
Acclimation and Adaptive Responses of Woody Plants to Environmental Stresses
journal, April 2002
- Kozlowski, T. T.; Pallardy, S. G.
- The Botanical Review, Vol. 68, Issue 2
Humidification factors from laboratory studies of fresh smoke from biomass fuels
journal, January 2006
- Day, D. E.; Hand, J. L.; Carrico, C. M.
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 111, Issue D22
Smoke aerosol from biomass burning in Mexico: Hygroscopic smoke optical model
journal, March 2001
- Kreidenweis, Sonia M.; Remer, Lorraine A.; Bruintjes, Roelof
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 106, Issue D5
Measurement of ambient aerosols in northern Mexico City by single particle mass spectrometry
journal, January 2007
- Moffet, R. C.; de Foy, B.; Molina, L. T.
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, Vol. 7, Issue 3
First results from light scattering enhancement factor over central Indian Himalayas during GVAX campaign
journal, December 2017
- Dumka, U. C.; Kaskaoutis, D. G.; Sagar, Ram
- Science of The Total Environment, Vol. 605-606
Complex Refractive Indices of Aerosols Retrieved by Continuous Wave-Cavity Ring Down Aerosol Spectrometer
journal, March 2009
- Lang-Yona, N.; Rudich, Y.; Segre, E.
- Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 81, Issue 5
Cloud condensation nuclei activity of fresh primary and aged biomass burning aerosol
text, January 2018
- Engelhart, G. J.; Hennigan, C. J.; Miracolo, M. A.
- Figshare
The Impact of Boreal Forest Fire on Climate Warming
journal, November 2006
- Randerson, J. T.; Liu, H.; Flanner, M. G.
- Science, Vol. 314, Issue 5802
Biological Invasions by Exotic Grasses, the Grass/Fire Cycle, and Global Change
journal, November 1992
- D'Antonio, Carla M.; Vitousek, Peter M.
- Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, Vol. 23, Issue 1
Direct Radiative Forcing by Smoke from Biomass Burning
journal, March 1997
- Hobbs, P. V.
- Science, Vol. 275, Issue 5307
Climate change impacts on fire regimes and key ecosystem services in Rocky Mountain forests
journal, September 2014
- Rocca, Monique E.; Brown, Peter M.; MacDonald, Lee H.
- Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 327
Measurement of ambient aerosols in northern Mexico City by single particle mass spectrometry
journal, January 2008
- Moffet, R. C.; de Foy, B.; Molina, L. T.
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol. 8, Issue 16
Size-Resolved Anhydrosugar Composition in Smoke Aerosol from Controlled Field Burning of Rice Straw
journal, June 2009
- Engling, Guenter; Lee, James J.; Tsai, Yi-Wen
- Aerosol Science and Technology, Vol. 43, Issue 7
Description and evaluation of a new four-mode version of the Modal Aerosol Module (MAM4) within version 5.3 of the Community Atmosphere Model
journal, January 2016
- Liu, X.; Ma, P. -L.; Wang, H.
- Geoscientific Model Development, Vol. 9, Issue 2
Ecological Restoration of Southwestern Ponderosa pine Ecosystems: a Broad Perspective
journal, October 2002
- Allen, Craig D.; Savage, Melissa; Falk, Donald A.
- Ecological Applications, Vol. 12, Issue 5
Emission of trace gases and aerosols from biomass burning
journal, December 2001
- Andreae, M. O.; Merlet, P.
- Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Vol. 15, Issue 4
Mechanisms of plant survival and mortality during drought: why do some plants survive while others succumb to drought?
journal, June 2008
- McDowell, Nate; Pockman, William T.; Allen, Craig D.
- New Phytologist, Vol. 178, Issue 4
A single parameter representation of hygroscopic growth and cloud condensation nucleus activity
journal, January 2007
- Petters, M. D.; Kreidenweis, S. M.
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol. 7, Issue 8
Woodsmoke Health Effects: A Review
journal, January 2007
- Naeher, Luke P.; Brauer, Michael; Lipsett, Michael
- Inhalation Toxicology, Vol. 19, Issue 1
Spatial and monthly trends in speciated fine particle concentration in the United States: SPECIATED FINE PARTICLE CONCENTRATION
journal, February 2004
- Malm, William C.; Schichtel, Bret A.; Pitchford, Marc L.
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 109, Issue D3
Determining Aerosol Radiative Properties Using the TSI 3563 Integrating Nephelometer
journal, January 1998
- Anderson, Theodore L.; Ogren, John A.
- Aerosol Science and Technology, Vol. 29, Issue 1
Comparative ecophysiology of Tamarix ramosissima and native trees in western U.S. riparian zones
journal, May 2005
- Glenn, Edward P.; Nagler, Pamela L.
- Journal of Arid Environments, Vol. 61, Issue 3
Aerosol hygroscopicity and cloud droplet activation of extracts of filters from biomass burning experiments
journal, January 2008
- Carrico, Christian M.; Petters, Markus D.; Kreidenweis, Sonia M.
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 113, Issue D8
Humidification factors of aerosols from biomass burning in Brazil
journal, December 1998
- Kotchenruther, Robert A.; Hobbs, Peter V.
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 103, Issue D24
Characterization of organic ambient aerosol during MIRAGE 2006 on three platforms
journal, January 2009
- Gilardoni, S.; Liu, S.; Takahama, S.
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol. 9, Issue 15
Genome downsizing, physiological novelty, and the global dominance of flowering plants
journal, January 2018
- Simonin, Kevin A.; Roddy, Adam B.
- PLOS Biology, Vol. 16, Issue 1
On underestimation of global vulnerability to tree mortality and forest die-off from hotter drought in the Anthropocene
journal, August 2015
- Allen, Craig D.; Breshears, David D.; McDowell, Nate G.
- Ecosphere, Vol. 6, Issue 8
Hygroscopic properties of potassium chloride and its internal mixtures with organic compounds relevant to biomass burning aerosol particles
journal, February 2017
- Jing, Bo; Peng, Chao; Wang, Yidan
- Scientific Reports, Vol. 7, Issue 1
Impact, Biology, and Ecology of Saltcedar ( Tamarix spp.) in the Southwestern United States
journal, June 1998
- Di Tomaso, Joseph M.
- Weed Technology, Vol. 12, Issue 2
A method for smoke marker measurements and its potential application for determining the contribution of biomass burning from wildfires and prescribed fires to ambient PM 2.5 organic carbon
journal, January 2008
- Sullivan, A. P.; Holden, A. S.; Patterson, L. A.
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 113, Issue D22
Fire in the Earth System
journal, April 2009
- Bowman, D. M. J. S.; Balch, J. K.; Artaxo, P.
- Science, Vol. 324, Issue 5926
Water uptake and chemical composition of fresh aerosols generated in open burning of biomass
journal, January 2010
- Carrico, C. M.; Petters, M. D.; Kreidenweis, S. M.
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol. 10, Issue 11
Water, climate change, and sustainability in the southwest
journal, December 2010
- MacDonald, G. M.
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 107, Issue 50
The origin of the savanna biome
journal, November 2006
- Beerling, David J.; Osborne, Colin P.
- Global Change Biology, Vol. 12, Issue 11
Warming and Earlier Spring Increase Western U.S. Forest Wildfire Activity
journal, August 2006
- Westerling, A. L.
- Science, Vol. 313, Issue 5789
Mechanisms of Salinity Tolerance
journal, June 2008
- Munns, Rana; Tester, Mark
- Annual Review of Plant Biology, Vol. 59, Issue 1
Cloud condensation nuclei activity of fresh primary and aged biomass burning aerosol
journal, January 2012
- Engelhart, G. J.; Hennigan, C. J.; Miracolo, M. A.
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol. 12, Issue 15
Ice nuclei emissions from biomass burning
journal, January 2009
- Petters, Markus D.; Parsons, Matthew T.; Prenni, Anthony J.
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 114, Issue D7
Low hygroscopicity of ambient fresh carbonaceous aerosols from pyrotechnics smoke
journal, April 2018
- Carrico, Christian M.; Gomez, Samantha L.; Dubey, Manvendra K.
- Atmospheric Environment, Vol. 178
Airborne characterization of smoke marker ratios from prescribed burning
journal, January 2014
- Sullivan, A. P.; May, A. A.; Lee, T.
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol. 14, Issue 19
Rapidly evolving ultrafine and fine mode biomass smoke physical properties: Comparing laboratory and field results: Rapidly Evolving Biomass Smoke
journal, May 2016
- Carrico, Christian M.; Prenni, Anthony J.; Kreidenweis, Sonia M.
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 121, Issue 10
A three-dimensional sectional representation of aerosol mixing state for simulating optical properties and cloud condensation nuclei: Aerosol Mixing State Representation
journal, May 2016
- Ching, Joseph; Zaveri, Rahul A.; Easter, Richard C.
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 121, Issue 10
Seven years of aerosol scattering hygroscopic growth measurements from SGP: Factors influencing water uptake
journal, September 2017
- Jefferson, A.; Hageman, D.; Morrow, H.
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 122, Issue 17
Ambient observations of hygroscopic growth factor and f (RH) below 1: Case studies from surface and airborne measurements: Sub-1 Hygroscopicity Field Measurements
journal, November 2016
- Shingler, Taylor; Sorooshian, Armin; Ortega, Amber
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 121, Issue 22
High resilience of the mycorrhizal community to prescribed seasonal burnings in eastern Mediterranean woodlands
journal, January 2021
- Livne-Luzon, Stav; Shemesh, Hagai; Osem, Yagil
- Mycorrhiza, Vol. 31, Issue 2
Cloud condensation nuclei activity of fresh primary and aged biomass burning aerosol
text, January 2012
- Engelhart, G. J.; Hennigan, C. J.; Miracolo, M. A.
- Carnegie Mellon University
Mexico city aerosol analysis during MILAGRO using high resolution aerosol mass spectrometry at the urban supersite (T0) – Part 2: Analysis of the biomass burning contribution and the non-fossil carbon fraction
text, January 2010
- Aiken, Allison C.; De Foy, Benjamin; Wiedinmyer, Christine
- ETH Zurich
A single parameter representation of hygroscopic growth and cloud condensation nucleus activity
journal, January 2006
- Petters, M. D.; Kreidenweis, S. M.
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, Vol. 6, Issue 5
Mexico city aerosol analysis during MILAGRO using high resolution aerosol mass spectrometry at the urban supersite (T0) - Part 2: Analysis of the biomass burning contribution and the non-fossil carbon fraction
text, January 2010
- Wiedinmyer, C.; Zheng, J.; Volkamer, R.
- European Geosciences Union
Works referencing / citing this record:
Optical Properties of Laboratory and Ambient Biomass Burning Aerosols: Elucidating Black, Brown, and Organic Carbon Components and Mixing Regimes
journal, May 2019
- Romonosky, Dian E.; Gomez, Samantha L.; Lam, Jared
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 124, Issue 9
Progress and Challenges in Quantifying Wildfire Smoke Emissions, Their Properties, Transport, and Atmospheric Impacts
journal, December 2019
- Sokolik, I. N.; Soja, A. J.; DeMott, P. J.
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 124, Issue 23
Mie Scattering Captures Observed Optical Properties of Ambient Biomass Burning Plumes Assuming Uniform Black, Brown, and Organic Carbon Mixtures
journal, November 2019
- Chylek, Petr; Lee, James E.; Romonosky, Dian E.
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 124, Issue 21
Figures / Tables found in this record:
Figures/Tables have been extracted from DOE-funded journal article accepted manuscripts.