Abstract
Abstract. Wildfires raged throughout western Russia and parts of Eastern Europe during a persistent heat wave in the summer of 2010. Anomalously high surface temperatures (35–41 °C) and low relative humidity (9–25 %) from mid-June to mid-August 2010 shown by analysis of radiosonde data from multiple sites in western Russia were ideal conditions for the wildfires to thrive. Measurements of outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) over western Russian indicate persistent subsidence during the heat wave. Daily three-day back-trajectories initiated over Moscow reveal a persistent anti-cyclonic circulation for 18 days in August, coincident with the most intense period of fire activity observed by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). This unfortunate meteorological coincidence allowed transport of polluted air from the region of intense fires to Moscow and the surrounding area. We demonstrate that the 2010 Russian wildfires are unique in the record of observations obtained by remote-sensing instruments on-board NASA satellites: Aura and Aqua (part of the A-Train Constellation) and Terra. Analysis of the distribution of MODIS fire products and aerosol optical thickness (AOT), UV aerosol index (AI) and single-scattering albedo (SSA) from Aura's Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), and total column carbon monoxide (CO) from Aqua's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) show that the region in the center of western Russia surrounding Moscow (52°–58° N, 33°–43° E) is most severely impacted by wildfire emissions. Over this area, AIRS CO, OMI AI, and MODIS AOT are significantly enhanced relative to the historical satellite record during the first 18 days in August when the anti-cyclonic circulation persisted. By mid-August, the anti-cyclonic circulation was replaced with westerly transport over Moscow and vicinity. The heat wave ended as anomalies of surface temperature and relative humidity, and OLR disappeared. After 18 August the fire activity greatly diminished over western Russia and levels of the satellite smoke tracers returned to values typical of previous years.
Highlights
The 2010 Russian wildfires spread dangerously towards populated regions, significantly affecting human health and livelihood
Time series for Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) fire count, fire radiative power (FRP), Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aerosol index (AI) and single-scattering albedo (SSA), MODIS aerosol optical thickness (AOT).55 and AIR COTC are plotted for the 11 July to 31 August 2010 period
Elevated levels of OMI AI, MODIS AOT.55, and Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) COTC over western Russia corresponded to the time period of peak wildfire activity (22 July–18 August 2010) and a persistent anti-cyclonic circulation
Summary
The 2010 Russian wildfires spread dangerously towards populated regions, significantly affecting human health and livelihood. Our region of interest was chosen based on a preliminary analysis of the location of all the MODIS fires counts during August 2010, when the count and FRP reached a maximum, and the geographic extent of the three-day back trajectories from Fig. 3 Dividing this large region into smaller domains (12 in total) facilitates mapping the spatial extent of the observations affected by the wildfires, their magnitude, as well as the temporal range. Time series for MODIS fire count, FRP, OMI AI and SSA, MODIS AOT. and AIR COTC are plotted for the 11 July to 31 August 2010 period All anomalies disappeared by 18 August with the end of the heat wave (Fig. 1)
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