Abstract
We present an analysis of over 23,000 globally distributed wildfire smoke plume injection heights derived from Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) space-based, multi-angle stereo imaging. Both pixel-weighted and aerosol optical depth (AOD)-weighted results are given, stratified by region, biome, and month or season. This offers an observational resource for assessing first-principle plume-rise modelling, and can provide some constraints on smoke dispersion modelling for climate and air quality applications. The main limitation is that the satellite is in a sun-synchronous orbit, crossing the equator at about 10:30 a.m. local time on the day side. Overall, plumes occur preferentially during the northern mid-latitude burning season, and the vast majority inject smoke near-surface. However, the heavily forested regions of North and South America, and Africa produce the most frequent elevated plumes and the highest AOD values; some smoke is injected to altitudes well above 2 km in nearly all regions and biomes. Planetary boundary layer (PBL) versus free troposphere injection is a critical factor affecting smoke dispersion and environmental impact, and is affected by both the smoke injection height and the PBL height; an example assessment is made here, but constraining the PBL height for this application warrants further work.
Highlights
The altitude at which wildfire smoke is injected into the atmosphere is an important predictor of how long smoke will stay aloft, how far it will travel, and its environmental impact
The majority of smoke plumes remain within the planetary boundary layer (PBL), and many modelling efforts assume all smoke is introduced into this well-mixed, near-surface atmospheric layer, some larger fires produce both great quantities of biomass burning particles, and sufficient buoyancy to inject them to higher elevations
We present an analysis of over 23,000 wildfire smoke plume injection heights derived from Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) space-based, multi-angle stereo imaging
Summary
The altitude at which wildfire smoke is injected into the atmosphere is an important predictor of how long smoke will stay aloft, how far it will travel, and its environmental impact. Val Martin et al [4] looked more broadly at MISR plumes for all of North America over five years, and showed that, conservatively, between 4% and 12% of fires overall injected above the PBL. They noted there were distinct biome and season-related patterns (e.g., as much as 25% was injected aloft by shrubland fires), as well as significant interannual variability. A further conclusion reached by several of these early studies is that when smoke is injected into the free troposphere, it tends to accumulate within layers of relative atmospheric stability aloft [4,10]
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