A21A-0039
Analysis of the Impact of Wildfire on Surface Ozone Record in the Colorado Front Range
Tuesday, 15 December 2015
Poster Hall (Moscone South)
Audra McClure-Begley1, Irina V Petropavlovskikh2, Samuel J Oltmans2, R. Bradley Pierce3, John Thomas Sullivan4 and Patrick J Reddy5, (1)University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States, (2)Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, Boulder, CO, United States, (3)NOAA Camp Springs, Camp Springs, MD, United States, (4)University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, United States, (5)APCD-TSP-B1, Denver, CO, United States
Abstract:
Ozone plays an important role on the oxidation capacity of the atmosphere, and at ground-level has negative impacts on human health and ecosystem processes. In order to understand the dynamics and variability of surface ozone, it is imperative to analyze individual sources, interactions between sources, transport, and chemical processes of ozone production and accumulation. Biomass burning and wildfires have been known to emit a suite of particulate matter and gaseous compounds into the atmosphere. These compounds, such as, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides are precursor species which aid in the photochemical production and destruction of ozone. The Colorado Front Range (CFR) is a region of complex interactions between pollutant sources and meteorological conditions which result in the accumulation of ozone. High ozone events in the CFR associated with fires are analyzed for 2003-2014 to develop understanding of the large scale influence and variability of ozone and wildfire relationships. This study provides analysis of the frequency of enhanced ozone episodes that can be confirmed to be transported within and affected by the fires and smoke plumes. Long-term records of surface ozone data from the CFR provide information on the impact of wildfire pollutants on seasonal and diurnal ozone behavior. Years with increased local fire activity, as well as years with increased long-range transport of smoke plumes, are evaluated for the effect on the long-term record and high ozone frequency of each location. Meteorological data, MODIS Fire detection images, NOAA HYSPLIT Back Trajectory analysis, NOAA Smoke verification model, Fire Tracer Data (K+), RAQMS Model, Carbon Monoxide data, and Aerosol optical depth retrievals are used with NOAA Global Monitoring Division surface ozone data from three sites in Colorado. This allows for investigation of the interactions between pollutants and meteorology which result in high surface ozone levels.
