Optical properties and climate impact of wildfire emissions

Biomass burning is the largest source of carbonaceous aerosol in the atmosphere. Biomass burning aerosol can alter the Earth’s radiative balance by absorption and scattering of solar radiation, resulting in a significant impact on global climate. However, because of the complexity of biomass burning aerosol, the magnitude of this climate effect is still uncertain. The goal of this project is to measure the optical properties of aerosol in North American wildfire plumes during the Summer 2019 fire season, and thereby contribute to our understanding of the influence of wildfires on climate. The project will be conducted as part of FIREX-AQ, a major aircraft measurement campaign.
By using the state-of-the-art instrumentation, I will measure the absorption and extinction of wildfire aerosol both at the point of emission and downwind to see how these properties change with transport. The microphysical properties of aerosol, such as size, shape, mass absorption coefficient, and composition will also be measured in the campaign to see their correlations with aerosol optical properties. This knowledge will contribute to improvements in the calculation and modeling of biomass burning aerosol radiative properties and ultimately to improve our understanding of the climate impact of North American wildfires.

Faculty Supervisor:

Sarah Styler

Student:

Partner:

University of Colorado

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Education

University:

University of Alberta

Program: