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Talk Title: Staring into the Fire: Using Observations to Understand Wildfires and Smoke
Abstract: Recent increases in western U.S. wildfire activity have made wildland fires and the associated smoke a significant challenge for society. This problem will only grow as the climate warms. I will discuss how the atmospheric science community has used both new in situ observations and operational datasets to answer important questions about wildfires and how smoke evolves in the atmosphere. I will begin with an overview of connections between environmental conditions and wildfires in the U.S. West, and then we will move on to discuss the air quality impacts of western U.S. wildfires. In our discussion of smoke composition and impacts, I will highlight the Western Wildfire Experiment for Cloud Chemistry, Aerosol Absorption and Nitrogen (WE-CAN). This project deployed a research aircraft to sample wildfire smoke during its first day of atmospheric evolution, and this effort was possible because of unique contributions from several university teams.
To be added to the EPS colloquium mailing list, please contact Maryorie Grande (grande@eps.harvard.edu)
