The Nature of Fire Ash Particles: Microwave Material Properties, Dynamic Behavior, and Temperature Correlation

Abstract

This paper focuses on the investigation of a number of physical and electromagnetic properties of fire generated ash particles, with relation to radar observations of forest fire smoke columns. Emphasis is placed on understanding the physical properties of the ash, which have direct effects on their scattering ability. Coupled with the electromagnetic properties, these physical properties describe the scatter generated when a number of dispersed ash particles are volumetrically interacting with radar signals. Due to their planar geometry, a study of ash particles originating from the eucalyptus genus has been conducted. Particular focus is placed on this genus due to its high population and role in fueling large bushfires within the Australian continent. The fundamental scattering mechanisms required for describing the radar reflectivity in horizontal, vertical, and cross-polarization have been explored by breaking down and analyzing three distinct properties of an individual ash particle. These include its geometric, dynamic, and electromagnetic properties. Statistical distributions from all three areas have been included to aid in the development of modeling tools.