Abstract
Abstract. The SAFIRED (Savannah Fires in the Early Dry Season) campaign took place from 29 May until 30 June 2014 at the Australian Tropical Atmospheric Research Station (ATARS) in the Northern Territory, Australia. The purpose of this campaign was to investigate emissions from fires in the early dry season in northern Australia. Measurements were made of biomass burning aerosols, volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic carbons, greenhouse gases, radon, speciated atmospheric mercury and trace metals. Aspects of the biomass burning aerosol emissions investigated included; emission factors of various species, physical and chemical aerosol properties, aerosol aging, micronutrient supply to the ocean, nucleation, and aerosol water uptake. Over the course of the month-long campaign, biomass burning signals were prevalent and emissions from several large single burning events were observed at ATARS.Biomass burning emissions dominated the gas and aerosol concentrations in this region. Dry season fires are extremely frequent and widespread across the northern region of Australia, which suggests that the measured aerosol and gaseous emissions at ATARS are likely representative of signals across the entire region of north Australia. Air mass forward trajectories show that these biomass burning emissions are carried north-west over the Timor Sea and could influence the atmosphere over Indonesia and the tropical atmosphere over the Indian Ocean. Here we present characteristics of the biomass burning observed at the sampling site and provide an overview of the more specific outcomes of the SAFIRED campaign.
Highlights
Tropical north Australia is dominated by savannah ecosystems
Thousands of fires were observed during the period of the SAFIRED campaign in Australia by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensors on the Terra and Aqua NASA satellites
Dry season aerosol iron solubility in tropical northern Australia Emissions of selected semivolatile organic chemicals from forest and savannah fires Biomass burning and biogenic aerosols in northern Australia during the SAFIRED campaign Composition, size and cloud condensation nuclei activity of biomass burning aerosol from northern Australian savannah fires Emission factors of trace gases and particles from tropical savanna fires in Australia Atmospheric mercury in the southern hemisphere tropics: seasonal and diurnal variations and influence of inter-hemispheric transport observed, chlorides made up the largest component of inorganic aerosol
Summary
Tropical north Australia is dominated by savannah ecosystems. This region consists of dense native and exotic grasslands and scattered trees and shrubs. Emissions from fires in the savannah regions of northern Australia are the most significant regional source of greenhouse and other trace gases, as well as atmospheric aerosol. The state of organics in biomass burning aerosols can vary significantly due to the type of plant material burned and the characteristics of the fires themselves, as well as through aging processes in the atmosphere The effects of these emissions on radiative forcing are complex. Biomass burning has been shown to be a significant source of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), despite typically being composed of weakly hygroscopic substances (Lawson et al, 2015), due to the high number of particles emitted This can result in a change in cloud droplet concentrations and volume, thereby influencing cloud formation, albedo and lifetime. – To assess the fractional solubility of aerosol iron and other trace metals in this region in the context of the potential supply of micronutrients required for marine primary production in the ocean
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