EPS Colloquium – Emily Fischer, Colorado State University
Staring into the Fire: Using Observations to Understand Wildfires and Smoke
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 Caroline Carr at carolinecarr@fas.harvard.edu.
Dr. Emily Fischer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University (CSU). She is also an affiliate faculty member of the CSU School of Global Environmental Sustainability (SoGES). Dr. Fischer earned a PhD from the University of Washington in 2010. Dr. Fischer’s team at CSU works to better understand the composition of the troposphere, and her recent work has focused on understanding the impact of wildfires, oil and gas extraction, and industrial agriculture on air quality. In addition, Dr. Fischer leads a number of research projects aimed at empowering women and other historically marginalized groups in STEM. In 2020, Dr. Fischer was named as one of the 10 Scientists to Watch by Science News, and she received the James B. Macelwane Medal from the American Geophysical Union (AGU). In 2021, she was awarded the Jon C. Graff, PhD Prize for Excellence in Science Communication for her efforts to explain the urgency of climate change to parents.