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Title: Regional Influence of Aerosol Emissions from Wildfires Driven by Combustion Efficiency: Insights from the BBOP Campaign

Journal Article · · Environmental Science and Technology
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [2];  [8];  [2];  [9];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [10];  [8];  [10];  [8];  [5] more »;  [1] « less
  1. Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States). Department of Environmental Toxicology
  2. Aerodyne Research Inc., Billerica, MA (United States)
  3. University of Washington, Bothell, WA (United States). School of Science and Technology; University of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States). Department of Atmospheric Sciences
  4. Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Environmental and Climate Sciences Department
  5. Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Environmental and Climate Sciences Department
  6. University of Washington, Bothell, WA (United States). School of Science and Technology; University of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States). Department of Atmospheric Sciences; Gradient, Seattle, WA (United States)
  7. University of Washington, Bothell, WA (United States). School of Science and Technology
  8. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Atmospheric Science and Global Change Div. (ASGC)
  9. Univ. of Montana, Missoula, MT (United States). Department of Chemistry
  10. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Earth and Environmental Sciences Division
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Wildfires are important contributors to atmospheric aerosols and a large source of emissions that impact regional air quality and global climate. In this study, the regional and nearfield influences of wildfire emissions on ambient aerosol concentration and chemical properties in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States were studied using real-time measurements from a fixed ground site located in Central Oregon at the Mt. Bachelor Observatory (~2700 m a.s.l.) as well as near their sources using an aircraft. In addition, the regional characteristics of biomass burning aerosols were found to depend strongly on the modified combustion efficiency (MCE), an index of the combustion processes of a fire. Organic aerosol emissions had negative correlations with MCE, whereas the oxidation state of organic aerosol increased with MCE and plume aging. The relationships between the aerosol properties and MCE were consistent between fresh emissions (~1 h old) and emissions sampled after atmospheric transport (6–45 h), suggesting that biomass burning organic aerosol concentration and chemical properties were strongly influenced by combustion processes at the source and conserved to a significant extent during regional transport. In conclusion, these results suggest that MCE can be a useful metric for describing aerosol properties of wildfire emissions and their impacts on regional air quality and global climate.

Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0014620; SC0007178; SC0014287; AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1336079
Report Number(s):
BNL-112467-2016-JA; R&D Project: 2016-BNL-EE630EECA-Budg; KP1701000
Journal Information:
Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 50, Issue 16; ISSN 0013-936X
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 78 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (15)

Campaign datasets for Biomass Burning Observation Project (BBOP) dataset January 2014
Spherical tarball particles form through rapid chemical and physical changes of organic matter in biomass-burning smoke journal September 2019
The influence of local oil exploration and regional wildfires on summer 2015 aerosol over the North Slope of Alaska journal January 2018
In situ measurements of trace gases, PM, and aerosol optical properties during the 2017 NW US wildfire smoke event journal January 2019
Formation and evolution of tar balls from northwestern US wildfires journal January 2018
Regional influence of wildfires on aerosol chemistry in the western US and insights into atmospheric aging of biomass burning organic aerosol journal January 2017
Physical and optical properties of aged biomass burning aerosol from wildfires in Siberia and the Western USA at the Mt. Bachelor Observatory journal January 2016
Emission of trace gases and aerosols from biomass burning – an updated assessment journal January 2019
Major secondary aerosol formation in southern African open biomass burning plumes journal June 2018
Contributions of biomass-burning, urban, and biogenic emissions to the concentrations and light-absorbing properties of particulate matter in central Amazonia during the dry season journal January 2019
Highly controlled, reproducible measurements of aerosol emissions from combustion of a common African biofuel source journal January 2018
Impact of Biomass Burning Plumes on Photolysis Rates and Ozone Formation at the Mount Bachelor Observatory journal February 2018
Secondary organic aerosol production from local emissions dominates the organic aerosol budget over Seoul, South Korea, during KORUS-AQ journal January 2018
Free tropospheric aerosols at the Mt. Bachelor Observatory: more oxidized and higher sulfate content compared to boundary layer aerosols journal January 2019
Free Tropospheric Aerosols at the Mt. Bachelor Observatory: More Oxidized and Higher Sulfate Content Compared to Boundary Layer Aerosols journal September 2018

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