Effects of transport on a biomass burning plume from Indochina during EMeRGe-Asia identified by WRF-Chem

• Published in: Atmospheric chemistry and physics 2023-02, Vol.23 (4), p.2627-2647
• Main Authors: Lin, Chuan-Yao, Chen, Wan-Chin, Chien, Yi-Yun, Chou, Charles C. K, Liu, Chian-Yi, Ziereis, Helmut, Schlager, Hans, Förster, Eric, Obersteiner, Florian, Krüger, Ovid O, Holanda, Bruna A, Pöhlker, Mira L, Kaiser, Katharina, Schneider, Johannes, Bohn, Birger, Pfeilsticker, Klaus, Weyland, Benjamin, Andrés Hernández, Maria Dolores, Burrows, John P
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acetone; Acetonitrile; Aerosol concentrations; Aerosols; Air pollution; Aircraft; Altitude; Atmospheric chemistry; Biomass; Biomass burning; Biomass burning plumes; Black carbon; Black carbon aerosols; Boundary layers; Burning; Carbon; Carbon monoxide; Chemistry; Cloud condensation nuclei; Cloud formation; Cloud water; Clouds; Condensation nuclei; Data assimilation; Emissions; Environmental impact; Flight; Free radicals; High altitude; Hydroxyl radicals; Low altitude; Megacities; Meteorological research; Nitrogen; Nitrogen compounds; Nitrogen oxide; Nitrogen oxides; Numerical weather forecasting; Outflow; Ozone; Particulate emissions; Particulate matter; Photochemicals; Pollutants; Pollution dispersion; Radiation; Regional climates; Research aircraft; Short wave radiation; Sulfates; Suspended particulate matter; Transport; Weather; Weather forecasting
• ISSN: 1680-7324; 1680-7316; 1680-7324
• DOI: 10.5194/acp-23-2627-2023

The Indochina biomass burning (BB) season in springtime has a substantial environmental impact on the surrounding areas in Asia. In this study, we evaluated the environmental impact of a major long-range BB transport event on 19 March 2018 (a flight of the High Altitude and Long Range Research Aircraft (HALO; https://www.halo-spp.de, last access: 14 February 2023) research aircraft, flight F0319) preceded by a minor event on 17 March 2018 (flight F0317). Aircraft data obtained during the campaign in Asia of the Effect of Megacities on the transport and transformation of pollutants on the Regional to Global scales (EMeRGe) were available between 12 March and 7 April 2018. In F0319, results of 1 min mean carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O.sub.3 ), acetone (ACE), acetonitrile (ACN), organic aerosol (OA), and black carbon aerosol (BC) concentrations were up to 312.0, 79.0, 3.0, and 0.6 ppb and 6.4 and 2.5 µg m.sup.-3, respectively, during the flight, which passed through the BB plume transport layer (BPTL) between the elevation of 2000-4000 m over the East China Sea (ECS). During F0319, the CO, O.sub.3, ACE, ACN, OA, and BC maximum of the 1 min average concentrations were higher in the BPTL by 109.0, 8.0, 1.0, and 0.3 ppb and 3.0 and 1.3 µg m.sup.-3 compared to flight F0317, respectively. Sulfate aerosol, rather than OA, showed the highest concentration at low altitudes (