Anomalous wildfires in 2010 and 2012 on the territory of Russia and supply of black carbon to the Arctic

Abstract

Model estimates of black carbon (BC) concentrations in air were performed for different regions of the Russian Arctic under the conditions of maximal wildfires during summers of 2010 and 2012 on the territory of Russia. Data available from the Federal Forestry Agency of the Russian Federation (Rosleskhoz) on burning areas subject to fires (for different months of 2000–2013) were processed taking into account the quality of combustible material and different fire types. The developing atmospheric BC concentrations in the northern regions were calculated using the back trajectory statistics method for the Kola Peninsula, southeastern Arkhangelsk region, and Nenets, Gydan, and Ust-Lena Nature Reserves. It is shown that the specific circulation conditions in the atmosphere, accompanying extremely strong fires, may hamper transport of atmospheric pollutants to Arctic regions during the fire period. The BC concentrations are, on average, minor in northwestern European Russia (Kola Peninsula) and in the region of Ust-Lena Nature Reserve; and the largest pollution of air in northeastern Europe (region of Nenets Nature Reserve) is due to BC emissions from fires. On the contrary, anthropogenic BC predominates in northwestern Siberia (region of Gydan Nature Reserve). Strong Siberian and Yakutia fires may increase summertime air pollution by black carbon in north Asian Russia by an order of magnitude. The results presented here can be used for the qualitative estimation and comparative analysis of climatic and ecological conditions in different regions of the Russian Arctic.