Abstract
Abstract. Biomass burning plumes containing aerosols from forest fires can be transported long distances, which can ultimately impact climate and air quality in regions far from the source. Interestingly, these fires can inject aerosols other than smoke into the atmosphere, which very few studies have evidenced. Here, we demonstrate a set of case studies of long-range transport of mineral dust aerosols in addition to smoke from numerous fires (including predominantly forest fires and a few grass/shrub fires) in the Pacific Northwest to Colorado, US. These aerosols were detected in Boulder, Colorado, along the Front Range using beta-ray attenuation and energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, and corroborated with satellite-borne lidar observations of smoke and dust. Further, we examined the transport pathways of these aerosols using air mass trajectory analysis and regional- and synoptic-scale meteorological dynamics. Three separate events with poor air quality and increased mass concentrations of metals from biomass burning (S and K) and minerals (Al, Si, Ca, Fe, and Ti) occurred due to the introduction of smoke and dust from regional- and synoptic-scale winds. Cleaner time periods with good air quality and lesser concentrations of biomass burning and mineral metals between the haze events were due to the advection of smoke and dust away from the region. Dust and smoke present in biomass burning haze can have diverse impacts on visibility, health, cloud formation, and surface radiation. Thus, it is important to understand how aerosol populations can be influenced by long-range-transported aerosols, particularly those emitted from large source contributors such as wildfires.
Highlights
Wildfires in both forested and agricultural regions serve as a steady source of pollutants into the atmosphere
Zn and Cu have been shown to originate from wildfires (Yamasoe et al, 2000), the averages were similar – within 1 ng m−3 – and a distinct comparison could not be made within certainty. These metals can be derived from vehicular emissions; their concentrations may be influenced by local traffic (Sternbeck et al, 2002). These results demonstrate the transport of mineral dust and biomass burning aerosol species to the Front Range, which were larger in concentration during poor-airquality/haze events
We have demonstrated the transport of mineral dust and smoke/biomass burning aerosols from wildfires in the Pacific Northwest to the Colorado Front Range using a combination of in situ, remote-sensing, and air parcel modeling techniques
Summary
Wildfires in both forested and agricultural regions serve as a steady source of pollutants into the atmosphere. Wildfires produce large concentrations of aerosols which are injected into the atmosphere or formed in the smoke plume via secondary processes and include carbonaceous species (elemental and organic carbon) (Park et al, 2003; Spracklen et al, 2007) and biogenic heavy metals (including but not limited to Fe, Mn, Cd, Cu, Pb, Cr, and Ni) (Nriagu, 1989; Radojevic, 2003) Soluble inorganic species such as sulphate, nitrate, ammonium, and chloride are found in fire emissions and partitioned to the particle phase through heterogeneous reactions with the gas phase species released during the combustion process (Pio et al, 2008).
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