Gaseous and particulate emissions from the Kuwaiti oil fires

Abstract

During May and June 1991 a major coordinated program was fielded to make observations on the smoke and other emissions from the Kuwaiti oil fires. The program was coordinated by the National Science Foundation and included NOAA, NCAR, DNA and supporting organizations. The research reported in this paper includes analysis of solar absorption and scattering data obtained at Bahrain Airport. Absorption spectra were obtained in the 0.25 to 1.1μ wavelength range and it was possible to identify a number of combustion product molecular species. Several radiometers provided interesting results on absorption and scattering due to smoke, dust and molecules. Detailed meteorological data were available from the Bahrain Airport Meteorological Office and were used for comparison purposes. LOWTRAN 7 calculations of optical transmission were made and, in general, were in agreement with the observations.