Abstract
Understanding the combustion dynamics of fuels, and the generation and propagation of smoke in a wildland fire, can inform short-range and long-range pollutant transport models, and help address and mitigate air quality concerns in communities. Smoldering smoke can cause health issues in nearby valley bottoms, and can create hazardous road conditions due to low-visibility. We studied near-field smoke dynamics in a prescribed fire of 3.4 hectares of land in a boreal black spruce forest in central Alberta. Smoke generated from the fire was monitored through a network of five field-deployable micro sensor systems. Sensors were placed within 500–1000 m of the fire area at various angles in downwind. Smoke generated from flaming and smoldering combustions showed distinct characteristics. The propagation rates of flaming and smoldering smoke, based on the fine particulate (PM2.5) component, were 0.8 and 0.2 m/s, respectively. The flaming smoke was characterized by sharp rise of PM2.5 in air with concentrations of up to 940 µg/m3, followed by an exponential decay with a half-life of ~10 min. Smoldering combustion related smoke contributed to PM2.5 concentrations above 1000 µg/m3 with slower decay half-life of ~18 min. PM2.5 emissions from the burn area during flaming and smoldering phases, integrated over the combustion duration of 2.5 h, were ~15 and ~16 kilograms, respectively, as estimated by our mass balance model.
Highlights
Smoke created from wildland fires causes air quality concerns for communities across NorthAmerica
The forest area was predominantly covered by black spruce, with canopy closure of over 50%
We have analyzed the dynamics of smoke propagation in a prescribed wildland fire at Pelican
Summary
Smoke created from wildland fires causes air quality concerns for communities across NorthAmerica. Smoke created from wildland fires causes air quality concerns for communities across North. Fine particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters of less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5 ) emitted from wildland fires can enhance the ambient concentration levels by orders of magnitude, and is generally regarded as the most important concern from wildfire smoke [6]. In Alberta, the last five years’ average of wildland fires is above 200,000 hectares/year, with 883,411 hectares of land burned by 989 fires in the year of 2019 [7].
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