24 h Evolution of an Exceptional HONO Plume Emitted by the Record-Breaking 2019/2020 Australian Wildfire Tracked from Space
Megafires occurred in Australia during the 2019/2020 bushfire season, leading to enhanced concentrations of many tropospheric pollutants. Here, we report on a fire plume with unusually high and persistent nitrous acid (HONO) levels that we could track during one day at free tropospheric levels over...
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Atmosphere |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/9/1485 |
| _version_ | 1797491280139255808 |
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| author | Gaëlle Dufour Maxim Eremenko Guillaume Siour Pasquale Sellitto Juan Cuesta Agnès Perrin Matthias Beekmann |
| author_facet | Gaëlle Dufour Maxim Eremenko Guillaume Siour Pasquale Sellitto Juan Cuesta Agnès Perrin Matthias Beekmann |
| author_sort | Gaëlle Dufour |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Megafires occurred in Australia during the 2019/2020 bushfire season, leading to enhanced concentrations of many tropospheric pollutants. Here, we report on a fire plume with unusually high and persistent nitrous acid (HONO) levels that we could track during one day at free tropospheric levels over the Tasman Sea on 4 January 2020 using IASI and CrIS satellite observations. HONO concentrations up to about 25 ppb were retrieved during nighttime. Persistent HONO concentrations (>10 ppb) were still observed at sunrise, likely due to large aerosol concentrations within the plume, preventing HONO photodissociation. In addition, comparison with carbon monoxide (CO) measurements suggest a secondary production during the plume transport. Model simulations confirm that the plume is transported in the lower free troposphere with concentrations as high as 30 ppb at about 4 km. However, many uncertainties and unknowns remain in the plume aerosol load and in the chemical processes which may explain the model inability to reproduce elevated HONO concentrations at sunrise. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:45:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7d0dd3d0befc420a873d051ece6403e4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:45:11Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-7d0dd3d0befc420a873d051ece6403e42023-11-23T15:00:22ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332022-09-01139148510.3390/atmos1309148524 h Evolution of an Exceptional HONO Plume Emitted by the Record-Breaking 2019/2020 Australian Wildfire Tracked from SpaceGaëlle Dufour0Maxim Eremenko1Guillaume Siour2Pasquale Sellitto3Juan Cuesta4Agnès Perrin5Matthias Beekmann6Université Paris Cité and Univ Paris Est Creteil, CNRS, LISA, F-75013 Paris, FranceUniv Paris Est Creteil and Université Paris Cité, CNRS, LISA, F-94010 Créteil, FranceUniv Paris Est Creteil and Université Paris Cité, CNRS, LISA, F-94010 Créteil, FranceUniv Paris Est Creteil and Université Paris Cité, CNRS, LISA, F-94010 Créteil, FranceUniv Paris Est Creteil and Université Paris Cité, CNRS, LISA, F-94010 Créteil, FranceLMD/IPSL, École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, ENS, PSL Université, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, F-91128 Palaiseau, FranceUniversité Paris Cité and Univ Paris Est Creteil, CNRS, LISA, F-75013 Paris, FranceMegafires occurred in Australia during the 2019/2020 bushfire season, leading to enhanced concentrations of many tropospheric pollutants. Here, we report on a fire plume with unusually high and persistent nitrous acid (HONO) levels that we could track during one day at free tropospheric levels over the Tasman Sea on 4 January 2020 using IASI and CrIS satellite observations. HONO concentrations up to about 25 ppb were retrieved during nighttime. Persistent HONO concentrations (>10 ppb) were still observed at sunrise, likely due to large aerosol concentrations within the plume, preventing HONO photodissociation. In addition, comparison with carbon monoxide (CO) measurements suggest a secondary production during the plume transport. Model simulations confirm that the plume is transported in the lower free troposphere with concentrations as high as 30 ppb at about 4 km. However, many uncertainties and unknowns remain in the plume aerosol load and in the chemical processes which may explain the model inability to reproduce elevated HONO concentrations at sunrise.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/9/1485nitrous acidbiomass burningremote sensing |
| spellingShingle | Gaëlle Dufour Maxim Eremenko Guillaume Siour Pasquale Sellitto Juan Cuesta Agnès Perrin Matthias Beekmann 24 h Evolution of an Exceptional HONO Plume Emitted by the Record-Breaking 2019/2020 Australian Wildfire Tracked from Space Atmosphere nitrous acid biomass burning remote sensing |
| title | 24 h Evolution of an Exceptional HONO Plume Emitted by the Record-Breaking 2019/2020 Australian Wildfire Tracked from Space |
| title_full | 24 h Evolution of an Exceptional HONO Plume Emitted by the Record-Breaking 2019/2020 Australian Wildfire Tracked from Space |
| title_fullStr | 24 h Evolution of an Exceptional HONO Plume Emitted by the Record-Breaking 2019/2020 Australian Wildfire Tracked from Space |
| title_full_unstemmed | 24 h Evolution of an Exceptional HONO Plume Emitted by the Record-Breaking 2019/2020 Australian Wildfire Tracked from Space |
| title_short | 24 h Evolution of an Exceptional HONO Plume Emitted by the Record-Breaking 2019/2020 Australian Wildfire Tracked from Space |
| title_sort | 24 h evolution of an exceptional hono plume emitted by the record breaking 2019 2020 australian wildfire tracked from space |
| topic | nitrous acid biomass burning remote sensing |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/9/1485 |
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