A176-0005
Combining satellite data from MODIS, and TROPOMI to observe wildfire smoke allows the observation of particle formation processes that were unobservable with one satellites alone.
Combining satellite data from MODIS, and TROPOMI to observe wildfire smoke allows the observation of particle formation processes that were unobservable with one satellites alone.
Tuesday, 15 December 2020
Poster
Abstract:
Every year, large scale wildfires release smoke to the environment that impact human health and cause the loss of entire habitats. Efforts to understand their nature and to predict their environmental impact have been made by using data from different satellites to provide comprehensive information for science understanding and model assessment. However, further analysis is needed to fully understand the potential of combining multiple satellites for the identification of attributes of the environment that are unobservable to one satellite alone. This research project fulfills this gap by combining heterogenous satellite retrievals to analyze how the emissions of wildfires and atmospheric transformations of smoke evolve in space and time.
This project identifies that the use of multiple satellites for the observation of wildfires allows the observation of new attributes of the environment. Particularly, the combination of carbon monoxide retrievals from the TROPOMI instrument with aerosol optical depth(AOD) data (a proxy for particulate matter pollution) from the MODIS instrument proves its potential in the identification of combustion phases (smoldering and flaming) and secondary generation of chemicals in wildfire smoke.
Numerous contributions have used ratios of PM2.5 to CO to characterize the attributes of Wildfire Plumes. However, most of them have used in-situ data, rather than satellite data as this study did. The study focused on the Williams Flat Wildfire which was recently sampled during the NOAA/NASA FIREX-AQ field campaign in August of 2019. Specifically, the project looked at ratios of particulate matter to CO using remotely sensed field data. Based on our findings, we concluded that a multi-satellite approach to the study of wildfire smoke could ultimately provide insights on smoke reactivity, chemical aging, and fire combustion phases, which could have important implications for environmental health.
This project identifies that the use of multiple satellites for the observation of wildfires allows the observation of new attributes of the environment. Particularly, the combination of carbon monoxide retrievals from the TROPOMI instrument with aerosol optical depth(AOD) data (a proxy for particulate matter pollution) from the MODIS instrument proves its potential in the identification of combustion phases (smoldering and flaming) and secondary generation of chemicals in wildfire smoke.
Numerous contributions have used ratios of PM2.5 to CO to characterize the attributes of Wildfire Plumes. However, most of them have used in-situ data, rather than satellite data as this study did. The study focused on the Williams Flat Wildfire which was recently sampled during the NOAA/NASA FIREX-AQ field campaign in August of 2019. Specifically, the project looked at ratios of particulate matter to CO using remotely sensed field data. Based on our findings, we concluded that a multi-satellite approach to the study of wildfire smoke could ultimately provide insights on smoke reactivity, chemical aging, and fire combustion phases, which could have important implications for environmental health.