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Characteristics and influence of biosmoke on the fine-particle ionic composition measured in Asian outflow during the Transport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific (TRACE-P) experiment
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Characteristics and influence of biosmoke on the fine-particle ionic composition measured in Asian outflow during the Transport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific (TRACE-P) experiment

Y MA, R. J Weber, H. E Fuelberg, C. M Kiley, J.-H Woo, D. G Streets, G. R Carrnichael, Y.-N Lee, D. A Orsini, K MAXWELL-MEIER, …
Journal of geophysical research. Atmospheres, v 108(D21), pp GTE37.1-GTE37.16
2003
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JD003128
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel

Abstract

Earth, ocean, space Exact sciences and technology
We investigate the sources, prevalence, and fine-particle inorganic composition of biosmoke over the western Pacific Ocean between 24 February and 10 April 2001. The analysis is based on highly time-resolved airborne measurements of gaseous and fine-particle inorganic chemical composition made during the NASA Transport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific (TRACE-P) experiment. At latitudes below approximately 25°N, relatively pure biomass burning plumes of enhanced fine-particle potassium, nitrate, ammonium, light-absorbing aerosols, and CO concentrations were observed in plumes that back trajectories and satellite fire map data suggest originated from biomass burning in southeast Asia. Fine-particle water-soluble potassium (K+) is confirmed to be a unique biosmoke tracer, and its prevalence throughout the experiment indicates that approximately 20% of the TRACE-P Asian outflow plumes were influenced, to some extent, by biomass or biofuel burning emissions. At latitudes above 25°N, highly mixed urban/industrial and biosmoke plumes, indicated by SO42− and K+, were observed in 5 out of 53 plumes. Most plumes were found in the Yellow Sea and generally were associated with much higher fine-particle loadings than plumes lacking a biosmoke influence. The air mass back trajectories of these mixed plumes generally pass through the latitude range of between 34° and 40°N on the eastern China coast, a region that includes the large urban centers of Beijing and Tianjin. A lack of biomass burning emissions based on fire maps and high correlations between K+ and pollution tracers (e.g., SO42−) suggest biofuel sources. Ratios of fine-particle potassium to sulfate are used to provide an estimate of relative contributions of biosmoke emissions to the mixed Asian plumes. The ratio is highly correlated with fine-particle volume (r2 = 0.85) and predicts that for the most polluted plume encounter in TRACE-P, approximately 60% of the plume is associated with biosmoke emissions. On average, biosmoke contributes approximately 35–40% to the measured fine inorganic aerosol mass in the mixed TRACE-P plumes intercepted north of 25°N latitude.

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
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