Abstract
Abstract. Wildland fires represent the major source of fine aerosols, i.e., atmospheric particles with diameters <1 μm. The largest numbers of these fires occur in Africa, Asia and South America, but a not negligible fraction also occurs in Eastern Europe and former USSR countries, particularly in the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Besides the impact of large forest fires, recent studies also highlighted the crucial role played by routine agricultural fires in Eastern Europe and Russia on the Arctic atmosphere. An evaluation of the impact of these fires over Europe is currently not available. The assessment of the relative contribution of fires to the European aerosol burden is hampered by the complex mixing of natural and anthropogenic particle types across the continent. In this study we use long term (2002–2007) satellite-based fires and aerosol data coupled to atmospheric trajectory modelling in the attempt to estimate the wildfires contribution to the European aerosol optical thickness (AOT). Based on this dataset, we provide evidence that fires-related aerosols play a major role in shaping the AOT yearly cycle at the continental scale. In general, the regions most impacted by wildfires emissions and/or transport are Eastern and Central Europe as well as Scandinavia. Conversely, a minor impact is found in Western Europe and in the Western Mediterranean. We estimate that in spring 5 to 35% of the European fine fraction AOT (FFAOT) is attributable to wildland fires. The estimated impact maximizes in April (20–35%) in Eastern and Central Europe as well as in Scandinavia and in the Central Mediterranean. An important contribution of wildfires to the FFAOT is also found in summer over most of the continent, particularly in August over Eastern Europe (28%) and the Mediterranean regions, from Turkey (34%) to the Western Mediterranean (25%). Although preliminary, our results suggest that this fires-related, continent-wide haze plays a not negligible role on the European radiation budget, and possibly, on the European air quality, therefore representing a clear target for mitigation.
Highlights
The uncontrolled use of fire for clearing forest and woodland for agriculture is estimated to account for up to 90 % of world’s wildland fires (FAO, 2009)
The majority of the wildland fires in the European area occurs in the croplanddominated regions of Eastern Europe and European Russia, with a major role played by former USSR countries as Ukraine, Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation
This study focuses on the 6-year period 2002–2007 and employs (1) aerosol optical thickness (AOT) data from the MISR sensor on board the NASA-Terra platform (e.g., Martonchik et al, 2009; Kahn et al, 2010), (2) fires data from the MODIS sensor on board the same NASA-Terra platform (e.g., Giglio et al, 2003, 2006), (3) forward trajectories computed by means of the NOAA-HYSPLIT Lagrangian integrated trajectory model (Draxler and Hess, 1998)
Summary
The uncontrolled use of fire for clearing forest and woodland for agriculture is estimated to account for up to 90 % of world’s wildland fires (FAO, 2009). Biomass burning during wildland fires is an important source of trace gases and one of the largest global contributors to accumulation mode aerosols, i.e., atmospheric particles with diameters
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
