Wildfire Impact on Environmental Thermodynamics and Severe Convective Storms

Zhang, Yuwei; Fan, Jiwen; Logan, Timothy; Li, Zhanqing; Homeyer, Cameron R.

doi:10.1029/2019gl084534

Cited by 27 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 48 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These processes appear to be more effective for weak convections than deep convections and were in fact well simulated in the former cases. The results are also consistent with some previous observationbased studies (Jiang et al, 2018;Zhao et al, 2018). and Zhao et al (2018) both concluded that an increase in fire aerosols generally reduces cloud optical thick-ness of deep convection, while Zhao et al (2018) further showed that fire aerosols tend to invigorate weak convection for small-to-moderate aerosol loading.…”

Section: Casesupporting

confidence: 92%

The impacts of biomass burning activities on convective systems over the Maritime Continent

Lee¹,

Wang²

2020

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Convective precipitation associated with Sumatra squall lines and diurnal rainfall over Borneo is an important weather feature of the Maritime Continent in Southeast Asia. Over the past few decades, biomass burning activities have been widespread during summertime over this region, producing massive fire aerosols. These additional aerosols, when brought into the atmosphere, besides influencing the local radiation budget through directly scattering and absorbing sunlight, can also act as cloud condensation nuclei or ice nuclei to alter convective clouds and precipitation over the Maritime Continent via so-called aerosol indirect effects. Based on 4-month simulations with or without biomass burning aerosols, conducted using the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with a chemistry module (WRF-Chem), we have investigated the aerosol–cloud interactions associated with biomass burning aerosols over the Maritime Continent. Results from selected cases of convective events have specifically shown the significant impact of fire aerosols on weak convections by their increasing of the quantities of hydrometeors and rainfall in both the Sumatra and Borneo regions. Statistical analysis over the fire season also suggests that fire aerosols have impacts on the nocturnal convections associated with the local anticyclonic circulation in western Borneo and weaken nocturnal rainfall intensity by about 9 %. Such an effect is likely to have come from the near-surface heating due to absorbing aerosols emitted from fires, which could weaken land breezes and thus the convergence of anticyclonic circulation.

show abstract

Section: Casesupporting

confidence: 92%

The impacts of biomass burning activities on convective systems over the Maritime Continent

Lee¹,

Wang²

2020

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Similar effects of forest fires on convective processes were reported in other studies [82][83][84]. Zhang et al [84] used a modified WRF-Chem model to show that both heat and aerosol effects increase low-level temperatures and mid-level buoyancy and enhance consequently the convective intensity. Such effects in our study manifested in changes of the CAPE and CIN indices.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

Effect of Natural Forest Fires on Regional Weather Conditions in Siberia

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Effects of forest fires on regional weather conditions were analyzed for Central and Eastern Siberia after warm and dry weather conditions in summer 2019 using COSMO-Ru (COnsortium for Small-scale MOdeling; Ru—Russia) and COSMO-RuART (ART—Aerosols and Reactive Trace gases) model systems. Four series of numerical experiments were conducted (one control experiment and three forest fire experiments assuming total vegetation destruction within the burned areas) to evaluate possible effects of forest fires on surface albedo and vegetation properties as well as their influence on air chemistry and aerosol concentration in the atmosphere. The modeling results showed significant influence of forest fires on regional weather conditions that occurred over large areas situated even away from burnt regions. Decreased surface albedo and reduced latent heat fluxes due to fire-induced destruction of forest cover lead to higher near-surface air temperature and lower air humidity in both burned and surrounding unburned forest areas. On the other hand, reduced incoming solar radiation due to smoke from forest fire plumes decreased land surface temperatures and increased thermal atmospheric stability resulting in reduced regional precipitation.

show abstract

“…It is likely that a combination of the variability in the magnitude, location, and season of the fires plus synoptic variability contributes to the decreased correlation and statistical significance between the domain mean MERRA‐2 and NIFC data sets. Hence, the increasing trend in fire burn acreage and the atmospheric contribution of carbonaceous aerosols with respect to synoptic forcing should continue to be investigated in future research efforts involving aerosol‐cloud‐climate interactions (Zhang et al, 2019). In addition, air quality concerns typically increase in areas downwind of fire activity which also warrant further investigation (Brey et al, 2018; Chin et al, 2014; Hand et al, 2013; Malm et al, 2017; Miller et al, 2011).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Aerosols contribute to cloud development due to their inherent ability to activate as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) under favorable dynamic and thermodynamic conditions (Fan et al, 2015(Fan et al, , 2016Liu & Li, 2014;Logan et al, 2014Logan et al, , 2018Rosenfeld et al, 2008;Zhang et al, 2019). Rising motion resulting from synoptic and mesoscale dynamics along with sufficient moisture is needed for CCN to undergo net condensational growth to become cloud droplets that can eventually become raindrops via the collision/coalescence process (Liu & Li, 2014;Pruppacher & Klett, 1997;Rosenfeld et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying Long‐Term Seasonal and Regional Impacts of North American Fire Activity on Continental Boundary Layer Aerosols and Cloud Condensation Nuclei

Logan

Dong

et al. 2020

Earth and Space Science

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An intimate knowledge of aerosol transport is essential in reducing the uncertainty of the impacts of aerosols on cloud development. Data sets from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement platform in the Southern Great Plains region (ARM-SGP) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2), showed seasonal increases in aerosol loading and total carbon concentration during the spring and summer months (2008-2016) which was attributed to fire activity and smoke transport within North America. The monthly mean MERRA-2 surface carbonaceous aerosol mass concentration and ARM-SGP total carbon products were strongly correlated (R = 0.82, p < 0.01) along with a moderate correlation with the ARM-SGP cloud condensation nuclei (N CCN) product (0.5, p~0.1). The monthly mean ARM-SGP total carbon and N CCN products were strongly correlated (0.7, p~0.01). An additional product denoting fire number and coverage taken from the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) showed a moderate correlation with the MERRA-2 carbonaceous product (0.45, p < 0.01) during the 1981-2016 warm season months (March-September). With respect to meteorological conditions, the correlation between the NIFC fire product and MERRA-2 850-hPa isobaric height anomalies was lower (0.26, p~0.13) due to the variability in the frequency, intensity, and number of fires in North America. An observed increase in the isobaric height anomaly during the past decade may lead to frequent synoptic ridging and drier conditions with more fires, thereby potentially impacting cloud/precipitation processes and decreasing air quality. Plain Language Summary Aerosols have complex impacts on cloud development and air quality. This study seeks to illustrate and quantify climatological trends and impacts of carbonaceous smoke aerosols generated from fire activity in North America. In the presence of rising air motion (e.g., updrafts) and sufficient moisture, the smoke aerosols can become cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). The CCN eventually become cloud droplets which gather together to form clouds which may or may not precipitate depending on available moisture and updraft strength. Long-term, surface-based observation data from the Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement facility in the Southern Great Plains region (ARM-SGP), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Second-Generation Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA-2) product, and the National Interagency Fire Product show the regional and seasonal behavior and transport of the smoke aerosols derived from fires in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Since 2010, during the warm season months (March-September), numerous fires due to anomalously dry weather patterns have been observed in North America and likely increased the amount of carbonaceous smoke aerosols and potentially CCN, though the overall atmospheric aerosol burden ha...

show abstract

Wildfire Impact on Environmental Thermodynamics and Severe Convective Storms

Cited by 27 publications

References 48 publications

The impacts of biomass burning activities on convective systems over the Maritime Continent

The impacts of biomass burning activities on convective systems over the Maritime Continent

Effect of Natural Forest Fires on Regional Weather Conditions in Siberia

Quantifying Long‐Term Seasonal and Regional Impacts of North American Fire Activity on Continental Boundary Layer Aerosols and Cloud Condensation Nuclei

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About