Radiative effects of the smoke clouds from the Kuwait oil fires

Abstract

The radiative effects of the smoke from the Kuwait oil fires were assessed by measuring downwelling and upwelling solar flux, as well as spectral solar extinction beneath, above, and within the smoke plume. Radiative flux divergence measurements were made to determine smoke‐induced heating and cooling rates. Seven radiation flight missions were undertaken between May 16 and June 2, 1991, to characterize the plume between the source region in Kuwait and approximately 200 km south, near Manama, Bahrain. We present results from one flight representative of conditions of the composite plume. On May 18, 1991, in a homogeneous, well‐mixed region of smoke approximately 100 km downstream of the fires, visible optical depths as high as 2 were measured, at which time transmission to the surface was 8%, while 78% of the solar radiation was absorbed by the smoke. The calculated instantaneous heating rate inside the plume reached 24 K/d. While these effects are probably typical of those regions in the Persian Gulf area directly covered by the smoke, there is no evidence to suggest significant climatic effects in other regions.