The Influence of Fire-Induced Surface Changes on the Diurnal Temperature Changes over the Hayman Fire Scar

Abstract

AbstractDuring the 2010 Bio–Hydro–Atmosphere Interactions of Energy, Aerosols, Carbon, H2O, and Nitrogen (BEACHON) experiment in Colorado, nighttime temperatures over a site within the 2002 “Hayman” fire scar were considerably warmer than over the “Manitou” site that was located outside the fire scar. Temperature differences reached up to 7 K at the surface and extended to an average of 500 m AGL. Afternoon temperatures through the planetary boundary layer (PBL) were similar at the two locations. PBL growth during the day was more rapid at Manitou until 1300 local time, after which the two daytime PBLs had similar temperatures and depths. Observations were taken in fair weather, with weak winds. Runs of the Advanced Research version of the Weather Research and Forecasting model (ARW-WRF) coupled to the Noah-MP land surface model suggest that the fire-induced loss of surface and soil organic matter accounted for the 3–4-K warming at Hayman relative to its prefire state, more than compensating for the cooling due to the fire-induced change in vegetation from forest to grassland. Modeled surface fluxes and soil temperature and moisture changes were consistent with observational studies comparing several-year-old fire scars with adjacent unaffected forests. The remaining difference between the two sites is likely from cold-air pooling at Manitou. It was necessary to increase vertical resolution and replace terrain-following diffusion with horizontal diffusion in ARW-WRF to better capture nighttime near-surface temperature and winds. Daytime PBL growth and afternoon temperature profiles were reasonably reproduced by the basic run with postfire conditions. Winds above the surface were only fairly represented, and refinements made to capture cold pooling degraded daytime temperature profiles slightly.