High Temporal Resolution Satellite Observations of Fire Radiative Power
Reveal Link Between Fire Behavior and Aerosol and Gas Emissions
Abstract
Wildfire smoke influences on air quality and atmospheric chemistry have
been underscored by the increasing fire prevalence in recent years, and
yet, the connection between fire, smoke emissions, and the subsequent
transformation of this smoke in the atmosphere remains poorly
constrained. Toward improving these linkages, we present a new method
for coupling high-time-resolution satellite observations of fire
radiative power (FRP) with in situ observations of smoke aerosols and
trace gases. We apply this technique to thirteen fire plumes
comprehensively characterized during the recent FIREX-AQ mission and
show that changes in FRP directly translate into changes in conserved
smoke tracers (CO2, CO, and black carbon aerosol) observed in the
downwind smoke plume. The correlation is particularly strong for CO2
(mean r>0.9). This method is important for untangling the
competing effects of changing fire behavior versus the influence of
dilution and atmospheric processing on the down-wind evolution of
measured smoke properties.