Thanks to David Diner, David Nelson and Yang Chen (JPL) and Ralph Kahn (NASA/Goddard) Research funded by NSF and EPA Overview of the 2002 North American Plume Injection Heights Maria Val Martin, Jennifer A. Logan and Rose Yevich Harvard University Fok -Yan Leung Washington State University MISR Plumes

Large area burned over North America in 2002  “2002 fire season was one of the biggest of the past half century”, Ecology and Economic Research Department  3,000,000 ha burned in U.S. and 2,500,000 ha in Canada  1 billion $ to suppress fires in the lower 48 states NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center MODIS Rapid Response Project (NASA/GSFC and University of Maryland)

 ha, June 8-22, 2002  30 miles from Denver and Colorado Springs Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Vedal et al., Env Res, 2006 The Hayman fire, Colorado Hayman fire caused worst air quality ever in Denver June 8, 2002June 9, 2002 PM 10 = 372 μg/m 3 PM 2.5 = 200 μg/m 3 PM 10 = 40 μg/m 3 PM 2.5 = 10 μg/m 3

Boreal Wildfires Boreal wildfire emissions perturb hemispheric CO Kasischke et al., JGR 2005 Average Northern Hemisphere CO from NOAA/GMD stations Annual running average

Gillett et al., GRL, year means Area burned in Canada has increased since the 1960s Increasing area burned and frequency of fires Westerling et al., Science, 2007 Increased fire frequency over western U.S. since last decades

Obtain better estimates of injection heights from forest fires  Use of MISR data to determine the dependence of plume height on meteorology, area burned and fuel characteristics Assess the effects on atmospheric composition  Use CTM GEOS-Chem to examine the regional influences of fires on trace gases and aerosols and hemispheric scale effects McNally Fire (CA) Objectives and Approach

2002 North American Plumes  488 plumes digitalized with MINX v1.0  340 plumes analyzed  February--November 2002  56% located in AK and Can, 36% in lower 48 states and 8% in Mexico and Puerto Rico Meteorology  GEOS-4 2x2.5 resolution  PBL, pressures and temperature interpolated to MISR overpass time PBL Potential Temperature Vertical Gradient Relationship between atmospheric stability and observed plume heights [Kahn et al., 2007]

Plume Heights and Height of PBL m MISR wind- corrected median heights Quebec fires 250,000 Ha July 2-10, 2002 km Number of Pixels PBL Stratified profile Plume trapped at stable layer Median Height = 1103 m

km Hayman Fire (CO) 56,000 ha June 8-10 & June % burned with high severity Median Height=4156 m Plume Heights and Height of PBL Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Weak stratified profilePlume trapped at stable layer Number of Pixels PBL

Rodeo Fire (AZ) 104,000 Ha June 18-July 7 Median Height = 3997 m Plume Heights and Height of PBL Neutral profilePlume dispersed vertically PBL

km Moose Creek (AK) 2,100 ha BJ Bay Comp (GA) 49, 600 ha Median Height = 1133 m Median Height = 968 m Plume Heights and Height of PBL Stratified profile Plume trapped below PBL Stratified profilePlume trapped below PBL

Kahn et al, GRL, in press Number Plumes Mode Distribution [Plume- PBL] Height > 0 km [Plume- PBL] Height > 0.5 km % 5-17 % Plume Heights and Height of PBL peak-= km % 24-30% Boreal wildfire smoke injection heights in 2002 similar behavior as 2004… peak-= km Median Heights Heights Normalized by Total Pixel Count % plumes injected above PBL in 2004 over AK and Can

2002AK and Can Number Plumes193 Mode Distribution [Plume-PBL] Height > 0 km24-30% [Plume-PBL] Height > 0.5 km6-9% AK and Can Plume Heights and Height of PBL Injection heights over the lower 48 states and Mexico/Puerto Rico

2002AK and CanLower 48Subtropical Number Plumes Mode Distribution [Plume-PBL] Height > 0 km24-30%38-45%42-56% [Plume-PBL] Height > 0.5 km6-9%17-20%20-23% AK and Can Lower 48 Subtropical Plume Heights and Height of PBL Larger fraction of plumes above PBL in lower 48 states and subtropical fires Injection heights over the lower 48 states and Mexico/Puerto Rico

Kg dry matter/m 2 Poor correlation between injection heights and fuel loading Plume Heights and Fuel Consumption Fuel Loading Map (0.025x0.025 resolution) and Plume Median Heights Rodeo Fire (AZ) and Hayman Fire (CO)

Summary  MISR was able to detect plumes with different fire characteristics (stability, severity, and fuel loading)  The 2002 North American plumes show that about 6-20% fire plumes reach the FT  Higher fraction of plumes found above boundary layer for the lower 48 states and subtropical region  Poor correlation between injection height and fuel consumption for the lower 48 states fires, perhaps atmospheric stability is more important On-going work:  Parameterization of injection heights of emissions from forest fires in GEOS-Chem