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Biomass Burning Plume Injection Height Estimates using CALIOP, MODIS and the NASA Langley Trajectory Model

Amber Soja, National Institute of Aerospace / NASA LaRC, amber.j.soja@nasa.gov (Presenter)
Duncan Farilie, NASA LaRC, t.d.fairlie@nasa.gov
David Westberg, SSAI, david.j.westberg@nasa.gov
George Pouliot, EPA, pouliot.george@epamail.epa.gov
James Szykman, EPA, james.j.szykman@nasa.gov
Morgan Silverman, SSAI, morgan.l.silverman@nasa.gov

Historically, fire plume injection heights have been modeled based on Briggs’s stack rise equations, with limited verification data. Currently, there are two instruments, Cloud-Aerosol LIdar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) onboard CALIPSO (afternoon overpass) and Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) onboard TERRA (morning overpass), that can provide the statistics necessary to verify our assumptions and improve fire plume injection height modeling for use in both small- and large-scale models. Plume height methodology and statistics have already been established using MISR data. However, CALIPSO data have not been interrogated and will provide unique datasets that complement the MISR analyses. Together, these unique datasets will offer valuable information that moves us forward in terms of estimating the transport of fire emissions, which has applications for climate change research (black carbon in the Arctic; aerosols and clouds) and for projecting Air Quality warnings.

Specifically, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard TERRA and AQUA, CALIOP and the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) Back Trajectory Model are used to distinguish coincidence in active fires and smoke-filled air parcels. These data are used to build a database linking biomass plume injection heights to atmospheric conditions and fire behavior for the continental United States. Associated variables include ecosystems, fire names (when available), number of detections per day, atmospheric soundings, Fire Radiative Power, area burned and weather variables (i.e. temperature, relative humidity), and these associations are used to explore the relationships between fires, weather and fire plume injection height.

Currently we have the data available to establish statistics between terrestrial fire regimes and atmospheric plume injection and transport, which could have applications for moving the air quality, chemical transport modeling, and climate research communities one step closer to simulating the dynamics that define our planet.

Presentation Type:  Poster

Session:  Science in Support of Decision Making   (Wed 10:00 AM)

Associated Project(s): 

  • Soja, Amber: Wildfire, Ecosystems and Climate in Siberia ...details

Poster Location ID: 247

 


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