Over the past years, we have observed a steady increase in extreme fire events that have left their mark globally. Considering the future climate projections, fires are expected to increase in frequency, intensity, and extent due to global warming and changes in local weather patterns. Some recent examples of such extreme fire events include the British Columbia fires from June/July 2017, the fires across Siberia in 2019, the Australian fires of the austral summer 2019/2020, and the latest forest fires in California. These events have a significant impact on the regional-to-global atmospheric composition. They are of high interest to the atmospheric community, because of their impact on the broader environment and air quality at different spatiotemporal scales, which led to travel restrictions and health issues.
During extreme wildfires, a large variety of trace gases, aerosols, and condensable water, are released into the atmosphere. Through pyro-convection those gases and aerosols have the potential to be lifted from the boundary layer up to the upper-troposphere and lower-stratosphere, where they can be transported and distributed around the globe. Photochemistry occurring in these biomass burning plumes can lead to the formation of secondary compounds (ozone, secondary organic and inorganic aerosols, etc.). In addition, the emitted black carbon is highly absorptive, resulting in increased solar heating which in turn may lead to additional 'self-rising' of the plumes. This self-reinforcing process is unique to fires and enhances meridional dispersion as well as their atmospheric lifetime. These emissions result in climate impacts that have been estimated to be comparable to those of moderate volcanic eruptions. However, in order to effectively and accurately model those effects, a better understanding of the amount of biomass converted into aerosols is necessary.
The Research Topic welcomes contributions from multi-disciplinary research of recent extreme wildfire events and their atmospheric, environmental, and climate impacts. Authors are encouraged to submit articles with respect to the following topics:
• Observations- and modelling-based studies for the quantification of the atmospheric composition perturbation and radiative balance from recent fire events
• Quantification of direct (aerosol-radiation interactions) and indirect (aerosol-cloud-radiation interaction) climate impacts of fire plumes
• Analyses of the dispersion mechanisms, transport and global distribution of fire emissions, including radiation-dynamics interactions inside the radiation-absorbing plumes
• Studies quantifying the amount of biomass depleted on the surface and released into the atmosphere using remotely sensed land surface data to support studies about the transport or local deposition
• Impact of recent extreme fires on the local and regional air quality
• Studies based on in situ observations for a better understanding of the chemical composition of fresh and diluted plumes
• Comparison and trend studies of the climate impact of various extreme fire events compared to the impact of moderate volcanic eruptions
• New observations and modelling techniques for fire plumes, such as plume temperature, plume height etc.
• Model inter-comparison and validation studies aimed at a better representation of radiative heating processes and the resulting transport of fire plumes
• Research combining novel observation technologies (including drone and nano-satellite platforms) to provide detailed information on fire radiative power, fire progression, and its interaction with local weather conditions.
Over the past years, we have observed a steady increase in extreme fire events that have left their mark globally. Considering the future climate projections, fires are expected to increase in frequency, intensity, and extent due to global warming and changes in local weather patterns. Some recent examples of such extreme fire events include the British Columbia fires from June/July 2017, the fires across Siberia in 2019, the Australian fires of the austral summer 2019/2020, and the latest forest fires in California. These events have a significant impact on the regional-to-global atmospheric composition. They are of high interest to the atmospheric community, because of their impact on the broader environment and air quality at different spatiotemporal scales, which led to travel restrictions and health issues.
During extreme wildfires, a large variety of trace gases, aerosols, and condensable water, are released into the atmosphere. Through pyro-convection those gases and aerosols have the potential to be lifted from the boundary layer up to the upper-troposphere and lower-stratosphere, where they can be transported and distributed around the globe. Photochemistry occurring in these biomass burning plumes can lead to the formation of secondary compounds (ozone, secondary organic and inorganic aerosols, etc.). In addition, the emitted black carbon is highly absorptive, resulting in increased solar heating which in turn may lead to additional 'self-rising' of the plumes. This self-reinforcing process is unique to fires and enhances meridional dispersion as well as their atmospheric lifetime. These emissions result in climate impacts that have been estimated to be comparable to those of moderate volcanic eruptions. However, in order to effectively and accurately model those effects, a better understanding of the amount of biomass converted into aerosols is necessary.
The Research Topic welcomes contributions from multi-disciplinary research of recent extreme wildfire events and their atmospheric, environmental, and climate impacts. Authors are encouraged to submit articles with respect to the following topics:
• Observations- and modelling-based studies for the quantification of the atmospheric composition perturbation and radiative balance from recent fire events
• Quantification of direct (aerosol-radiation interactions) and indirect (aerosol-cloud-radiation interaction) climate impacts of fire plumes
• Analyses of the dispersion mechanisms, transport and global distribution of fire emissions, including radiation-dynamics interactions inside the radiation-absorbing plumes
• Studies quantifying the amount of biomass depleted on the surface and released into the atmosphere using remotely sensed land surface data to support studies about the transport or local deposition
• Impact of recent extreme fires on the local and regional air quality
• Studies based on in situ observations for a better understanding of the chemical composition of fresh and diluted plumes
• Comparison and trend studies of the climate impact of various extreme fire events compared to the impact of moderate volcanic eruptions
• New observations and modelling techniques for fire plumes, such as plume temperature, plume height etc.
• Model inter-comparison and validation studies aimed at a better representation of radiative heating processes and the resulting transport of fire plumes
• Research combining novel observation technologies (including drone and nano-satellite platforms) to provide detailed information on fire radiative power, fire progression, and its interaction with local weather conditions.
