Biomass Burning Plumes in the Vicinity of the California Coast: Airborne Characterization of Physicochemical Properties, Heating Rates, and Spatiotemporal Features
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Authors
Mardi, Ali Hossein
Dadashazar, Hossein
MacDonald, Alexander B.
Braun, Rachel A.
Crosbie, Ewan
Xian, Peng
Thorsen, Tyler J.
Coggon, Matthew M.
Fenn, Marta A.
Ferrare, Richard A.
Subjects
Advisors
Date of Issue
2018-12
Date
Publisher
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Language
Abstract
This study characterizes in situ airborne properties associated with biomass burning (BB)
plumes in the vicinity of the California coast. Out of 231 total aircraft soundings in July–August 2013 and
2016, 81 were impacted by BB layers. A number of vertical characteristics of BB layers are summarized in this
work (altitude, location relative to cloud top height, thickness, number of vertically adjacent layers,
interlayer distances) in addition to differences in vertical aerosol concentration profiles due to either surface
type (e.g., land or ocean) or time of day. Significant BB layer stratification occurred, especially over ocean
versus land, with the majority of layers in the free troposphere and within 100 m of the boundary layer top.
Heating rate profiles demonstrated the combined effect of cloud and BB layers and their mutual
interactions, with enhanced heating in BB layers with clouds present underneath. Aerosol size distribution
data are summarized below and above the boundary layer, with a notable finding being enhanced
concentrations of supermicrometer particles in BB conditions. A plume aging case study revealed the
dominance of organics in the free troposphere, with secondary production of inorganic and organic species
and coagulation as a function of distance from fire source up to 450 km. Rather than higher horizontal and
vertical resolution, a new smoke injection height method was the source of improved agreement for the
vertical distribution of BB aerosol in the Navy Aerosol Analysis and Prediction System model when
compared to airborne data.
Type
Article
Description
The article of record as published may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2018JD029134
Series/Report No
Department
Organization
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Office of Naval Research
Funding
Office of Naval Research N00014-10-1-0811
N00014-11-1-0783
N00014-10-1-0200
N00014-04-1-0118
N00014-16-1- 2567
NASA grant NNX14AP75G
N00014-11-1-0783
N00014-10-1-0200
N00014-04-1-0118
N00014-16-1- 2567
NASA grant NNX14AP75G
Format
23 p.
Citation
Mardi, A. H., Dadashazar, H., MacDonald,
A. B., Braun, R. A., Crosbie, E., Xian, P.,
et al. (2018). Biomass burning plumes in
the vicinity of the California coast:
Airborne characterization of
physicochemical properties, heating
rates, and spatiotemporal features.
Journal of Geophysical Research:
Atmospheres, 123, 13,560–13,582.
Distribution Statement
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.