Exceptional emissions of NH₃ and HCOOH in the 2010 Russian wildfires

Yasmina R'Honi (1) , Lieven Clarisse (1) , Cathy Clerbaux (2, 1) , Daniel Hurtmans (1) , Valentin Duflot (3) , Solène Turquety (4, 5) , Yasmine Ngadi (1) , Pierre-François Coheur (1)

1 Spectroscopie de l'atmosphère, Service de Chimie Quantique et Photophysique
2 TROPO - LATMOS
3 Équipe Troposphère
4 UPMC - Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6
5 LMD - Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539)

In July 2010, several hundred forest and peat fires broke out across Central Russia during its hottest summer on record. Here, we analyze these wildfires using observations of the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI). Carbon monoxide (CO), ammonia (NH₃) and formic acid (HCOOH) total columns are presented for the year 2010. Maximum total columns have been observed reaching over 40 (for CO and HCOOH) and 200 (for NH₃) times higher than typical background values. The temporal evolution of NH₃ and HCOOH enhancement ratios relative to CO are presented. Strong evidence of secondary formation of HCOOH is found, with enhancement ratios exceeding 10 times reported emission ratios in fresh plumes. We estimate the total emitted masses for the period July-August 2010 over the center of Western Russia; they are 19-33 Tg (CO), 0.7-2.6 Tg (NH₃) and 0.9-3.9 Tg (HCOOH). For NH₃ andHCOOH, these quantities are comparable to what is emitted in the course of a whole year by all extratropical forest fires.

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

Yasmina R'Honi, Lieven Clarisse, Cathy Clerbaux, Daniel Hurtmans, Valentin Duflot, et al.. Exceptional emissions of NH₃ and HCOOH in the 2010 Russian wildfires. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2013, 13 (8), pp.4171-4181. ⟨10.5194/acp-13-4171-2013⟩. ⟨hal-00768973⟩