Emissions of trace gases and particles from savanna fires in southern Africa

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Read Full Article (file size: 1215312 bytes) Cited by JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 108, NO. D13, 8487, doi:10.1029/2002JD002325, 2003 Emissions of trace gases and particles from savanna fires in southern Africa Parikhit Sinha Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA Peter V. Hobbs Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA Robert J. Yokelson Department of Chemistry, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA Isaac T. Bertschi Department of Chemistry, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA Donald R. Blake Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, California, USA Isobel J. Simpson Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, California, USA Song Gao Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA Thomas W. Kirchstetter Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA Tica Novakov Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA Abstract Airborne measurements made on initial smoke from 10 savanna fires in southern Africa provide quantitative data on emissions of 50 gaseous and particulate species, including carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, methane, ammonia, dimethyl sulfide, nonmethane organic compounds, halocarbons, gaseous organic acids, aerosol ionic components, carbonaceous aerosols, and condensation nuclei (CN). Measurements of several of the gaseous species by gas chromatography and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy are compared. Emission ratios and emission factors are given for eight species that have not been reported previously for biomass burning of savanna in southern Africa (namely, dimethyl sulfide, methyl nitrate, five hydrocarbons, and particles with diameters from 0.1 to 3 μm). The emission factor that we measured for ammonia is lower by a factor of 4, and the emission factors for formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide, and CN are greater by factors of about 3, 20, and 3–15, respectively, than previously reported values. The new emission factors are used to estimate annual emissions of these species from savanna fires in Africa and worldwide. Published 21 March 2003. Index Terms: 0305 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Aerosols and particles (0345, 4801); 0315 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Biosphere/atmosphere interactions; 0322 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Constituent sources and sinks; 0345 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Pollution—urban and regional (0305). Read Full Article (file size: 1215312 bytes) Cited by Citation: Sinha, P., P. V. Hobbs, R. J. Yokelson, I. T. Bertschi, D. R. Blake, I. J. Simpson, S. Gao, T. W. Kirchstetter, and T. Novakov (2003), Emissions of trace gases and particles from savanna fires in southern Africa, J. Geophys. Res., 108(D13), 8487, doi:10.1029/2002JD002325. Copyright 2003 by the American Geophysical Union.

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