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Published January 23, 2024 | Version Published
Journal Article Open

Parameterizations of US wildfire and prescribed fire emission ratios and emission factors based on FIREX-AQ aircraft measurements

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon Forschungszentrum Jülich
  • 2. ROR icon Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences
  • 3. ROR icon National Center for Atmospheric Research
  • 4. ROR icon California Institute of Technology
  • 5. ROR icon Google (United States)
  • 6. ROR icon University of California, Irvine
  • 7. ROR icon Université Savoie Mont Blanc
  • 8. ROR icon University of Colorado Boulder
  • 9. ROR icon Goddard Space Flight Center
  • 10. ROR icon University of Maryland, Baltimore County
  • 11. ROR icon Langley Research Center
  • 12. ROR icon Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research
  • 13. ROR icon Environmental Protection Agency
  • 14. ROR icon University of Pittsburgh
  • 15. ROR icon Georgia Institute of Technology
  • 16. ROR icon University of Maryland, College Park
  • 17. ROR icon Colorado State University
  • 18. AGI/AAAS Congressional Science Fellow, Washing D.C., USA
  • 19. ROR icon Colgate University
  • 20. ROR icon Aerodyne Research
  • 21. ROR icon Johns Hopkins University
  • 22. ROR icon Weber State University
  • 23. ROR icon University of Oslo
  • 24. ROR icon Universität Innsbruck
  • 25. ROR icon Ionicon Analytik (Austria)
  • 26. ROR icon Yokohama City University
  • 27. ROR icon University of Montana
  • 28. ROR icon Universities Space Research Association
  • 29. ROR icon German Aerospace Center
  • 30. ROR icon Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz
  • 31. Earth Observing Laboratory, NCAR, Boulder, CO, USA
  • 32. ROR icon Washington University in St. Louis

Abstract

Extensive airborne measurements of non-methane organic gases (NMOGs), methane, nitrogen oxides, reduced nitrogen species, and aerosol emissions from US wild and prescribed fires were conducted during the 2019 NOAA/NASA Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments and Air Quality campaign (FIREX-AQ). Here, we report the atmospheric enhancement ratios (ERs) and inferred emission factors (EFs) for compounds measured on board the NASA DC-8 research aircraft for nine wildfires and one prescribed fire, which encompass a range of vegetation types.

We use photochemical proxies to identify young smoke and reduce the effects of chemical degradation on our emissions calculations. ERs and EFs calculated from FIREX-AQ observations agree within a factor of 2, with values reported from previous laboratory and field studies for more than 80 % of the carbon- and nitrogen-containing species. Wildfire emissions are parameterized based on correlations of the sum of NMOGs with reactive nitrogen oxides (NOy) to modified combustion efficiency (MCE) as well as other chemical signatures indicative of flaming/smoldering combustion, including carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and black carbon aerosol. The sum of primary NMOG EFs correlates to MCE with an R2 of 0.68 and a slope of −296 ± 51 g kg−1, consistent with previous studies. The sum of the NMOG mixing ratios correlates well with CO with an R2 of 0.98 and a slope of 137 ± 4 ppbv of NMOGs per parts per million by volume (ppmv) of CO, demonstrating that primary NMOG emissions can be estimated from CO. Individual nitrogen-containing species correlate better with NO2, NOy, and black carbon than with CO. More than half of the NOy in fresh plumes is NO2 with an R2 of 0.95 and a ratio of NO2 to NOy of 0.55 ± 0.05 ppbv ppbv−1, highlighting that fast photochemistry had already occurred in the sampled fire plumes. The ratio of NOy to the sum of NMOGs follows trends observed in laboratory experiments and increases exponentially with MCE, due to increased emission of key nitrogen species and reduced emission of NMOGs at higher MCE during flaming combustion. These parameterizations will provide more accurate boundary conditions for modeling and satellite studies of fire plume chemistry and evolution to predict the downwind formation of secondary pollutants, including ozone and secondary organic aerosol.

Copyright and License

© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union.

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank the NOAA/NASA FIREX-AQ science and aircraft operation teams.

Funding

Georgios I. Gkatzelis, Matthew M. Coggon, Chelsea E. Stockwell, Megan M. Bela, Ilann Bourgeois, Joseph M. Katich, Aaron Lamplugh, Stuart A. McKeen, J. Andrew Neuman, Jeff Peischl, Pamela S. Rickly, Michael A. Robinson, Rebecca H. Schwantes, Caroline C. Womack, and Carsten Warneke were supported by the NOAA cooperative agreement with CIRES (grant no. NA17OAR4320101). Robert J. Yokelson and Vanessa Selimovic were supported by NOAA (grant no. NA16OAR4310100) and NSF (grant no. 1748266). Jakob Lindaas, Glenn M. Wolfe, Reem Hannun, Jason M. St. Clair, and Thomas F. Hanisco were supported by the NASA Tropospheric Composition Program and NOAA Climate Program Office's Atmospheric Chemistry, Carbon Cycle and Climate (AC4) program (grant no. NA17OAR4310004). Demetrios Pagonis, Benjamin A. Nault, Hongyu Guo, Pedro Campuzano-Jost, Douglas A. Day, Melinda K. Schueneman, and Jose L. Jimenez were supported by NASA (grant nos. 80NSSC18K0630 and 80NSSC21K1451). Alan Fried was supported by NASA TCP (grant no. 80NSSC18K0628). The University of Innsbruck team was supported by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation, and Technology (BMVIT, FFG, ASAP). Felix Piel received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program (IMPACT EU ITN (grant no. 674911)). Lu Xu, Krystal T. Vasquez, Hannah Allen, John D. Crounse, and Paul O. Wennberg were supported by NASA (grant nos. 80NSSC18K0660 and 80NSSC21K1704). This material is based upon work supported by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, sponsored by the National Science Foundation under cooperative agreement (grant no. 1852977).

The article processing charges for this open-access publication were covered by the Forschungszentrum Jülich.

Data Availability

All measurements reported here can be accessed in the NASA FIREX-AQ data repository (Atmospheric Science Data Center, 2019) through the following link: https://www-air.larc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/ArcView/firexaq (Langley Research Center, 2023).

Supplemental Material

The supplement related to this article is available online at: https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-929-2024-supplement.

Contributions

CW, JPS, SSB, and JHC designed research; all authors performed measurements and advised research; and GIG and MMC wrote the paper with comments from all authors.

Conflict of Interest

At least one of the (co-)authors is a member of the editorial board of Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. The peer-review process was guided by an independent editor, and the authors also have no other competing interests to declare.

Additional Information

This paper was edited by Manvendra Krishna Dubey and reviewed by two anonymous referees.

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Additional details

Related works

Is new version of
Discussion Paper: 10.5194/egusphere-2023-1439 (DOI)
Is supplemented by
Dataset: 10.5194/acp-24-929-2024-supplement (DOI)
Dataset: https://www-air.larc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/ArcView/firexaq (URL)

Funding

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NA17OAR4320101
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NA16OAR4310100
National Science Foundation
AGS-1748266
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASA Tropospheric Composition Program -
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NA17OAR4310004
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
80NSSC18K0630
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
80NSSC21K1451
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
80NSSC18K0628
Bundesministerium für Klimaschutz, Umwelt, Energie, Mobilität, Innovation und Technologie
NA
European Research Council
674911
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
80NSSC18K0660
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
80NSSC21K1704
National Science Foundation
AGS-1852977
Forschungszentrum Jülich

Dates

Accepted
2023-10-09

Caltech Custom Metadata

Caltech groups
Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (CCE), Division of Engineering and Applied Science (EAS), Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences (GPS)
Publication Status
Published