A major regional air pollution event in the northeastern United States caused by extensive forest fires in Quebec, Canada

Authors

Linsey J. Debell, University of New Hampshire - Main Campus
Jack E. Dibb, University of New HampshireFollow
R. Talbot, University of New HampshireFollow
J W. Munger, Harvard University
E V. Fischer, Mount Washington Observatory
Steve Frolking, University of New Hampshire - Main CampusFollow

Abstract

During early July 2002, wildfires burned ∼1 × 10⁶ ha of forest in Quebec, Canada. The resultant smoke plume was seen in satellite images blanketing the U.S. east coast. Concurrently, extremely high CO mixing ratios were observed at the Atmospheric Investigation, Regional Modeling, Analysis and Prediction (AIRMAP) network sites in New Hampshire and at the Harvard Forest Environmental Measurement Site (HFEMS) in Massachusetts. The CO enhancements were on the order of 525–1025 ppbv above low mixing ratio conditions on surrounding days. A biomass burning source for the event was confirmed by concomitant enhancements in aerosol K⁺, NH₄⁺, NO₃⁻, and C₂O₄²⁻ mixing ratios at the AIRMAP sites. Additional data for aerosol K, organic carbon, and elemental carbon from the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments network and CO data from Environmental Protection Agency sites indicated that the smoke plume impacted much of the U.S. east coast, from Maine to Virginia. CO mixing ratios and K concentrations at stations with 10-year or longer records suggested that this was the largest biomass burning plume to impact the U.S. east coast in over a decade. Furthermore, CO mixing ratios and aerosol particles with diameters 2.5) mass and scattering coefficients from the AIRMAP network and HFEMS indicated that this event was comparable to the large anthropogenic combustion and haze events which intermittently impact rural New England. The degree of enhancement of O₃, NO_y, NO₃⁻, NH₄⁺, and SO₄²⁻ in the biomass plume showed significant variation with elevation and latitude that is attributed to variations in transport and surface depositional processes.

Department

Earth Sciences, Earth Systems Research Center

Publication Date

10-2004

Journal Title

Journal of Geophysical Research

Publisher

Wiley

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1029/2004JD004840

Document Type

Article

Recommended Citation

DeBell, L. J., R. W. Talbot, J. E. Dibb, J. W. Munger, E. V. Fischer, and S. E. Frolking (2004), A major regional air pollution event in the northeastern United States caused by extensive forest fires in Quebec, Canada, J. Geophys. Res., 109, D19305, doi:10.1029/2004JD004840.

Rights

Copyright 2004 by the American Geophysical Union.