ACE-FTS observations of pyrogenic trace species in boreal biomass burning plumes during BORTAS

Keith A. Tereszchuk (1) , Gonzalo González Abad (1, 2) , Cathy Clerbaux (3, 4) , Juliette Hadji-Lazaro (4) , Daniel Hurtmans (3) , Pierre-François Coheur (3) , Peter Francis Bernath (1, 5)

1 Department of Chemistry [York, UK]
2 CfA - Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
3 Spectroscopie de l'atmosphère, Service de Chimie Quantique et Photophysique
4 TROPO - LATMOS
5 Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry [Norfolk]

To further our understanding of the effects of biomass burning emissions on atmospheric composition, the Quantifying the impact of BOReal forest fires on Tropospheric oxidants over the Atlantic using Aircraft and Satellites (BORTAS) campaign was conducted on 12 July to 3 August 2011 during the Boreal forest fire season in Canada. The simultaneous aerial, ground and satellite measurement campaign sought to record instances of Boreal biomass burning to measure the tropospheric volume mixing ratios (VMRs) of short- and long-lived trace molecular species from biomass burning emissions. The goal was to investigate the connection between the composition and the distribution of these pyrogenic outflows and their resulting perturbation to atmospheric chemistry, with particular focus on oxidant species to determine the overall impact on the oxidizing capacity of the free troposphere. Measurements of pyrogenic trace species in Boreal biomass burning plumes were made by the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS) onboard the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) SCISAT-1 satellite during the BORTAS campaign. Even though most biomass burning smoke is typically confined to the boundary layer, emissions are often injected directly into the upper troposphere via fire-related convective processes, thus allowing space-borne instruments to measure these pyrogenic outflows. An extensive set of 15 molecules, CH3OH, CH4, C2H2, C2H6, C3H6O, CO, HCN, HCOOH, HNO3, H2CO, NO, NO2, OCS, O3 and PAN have been analyzed. Included in this analysis is the calculation of age-dependent sets of enhancement ratios for each of the species.

Domaines: Physique Atmosphérique et Océanique [physics.ao-ph]; Milieux et Changements globaux

Keith A. Tereszchuk, Gonzalo González Abad, Cathy Clerbaux, Juliette Hadji-Lazaro, Daniel Hurtmans, et al.. ACE-FTS observations of pyrogenic trace species in boreal biomass burning plumes during BORTAS. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2013, 13, pp.4529-4541. ⟨10.5194/acp-13-4529-2013⟩. ⟨hal-00768745⟩