Assessing the Role of Vegetation Fires in CO Vertical Profile Anomalies in 2002-2012 with MOZAIC-IAGOS Airborne Observations

Abstract:

Vegetation fires represent a major source of pollution throughout the troposphere, with strong impacts on the atmospheric composition, air quality and radiative balance. Among the myriad of compounds emitted by these fires, carbon monoxide represents one of the dominant species, and due to its long lifetime, can be transported over very large distances. In the framework of the MOZAIC-IAGOS program, carbon monoxide is routinely measured since 2002 by several commercial aircraft, which provides a unique dataset of CO vertical profiles throughout troposphere. In this study, we investigate the role of vegetation fires in the strong CO anomalies observed in troposphere during the 2002-2012 period. FLEXPART backward simulations coupled with anthropogenic and biomass burning emission inventories are used to trace the geographical origin of these anomalies, which provides valuable informations on the long-range transport of vegetation fire plumes and their subsequent impact on downwind regions.