Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Major Regional Air Pollution Event In The Northeastern United States Caused By Extensive Forest Fires In Quebec, Canada, Linsey J. Debell, Jack E. Dibb, R. Talbot, J W. Munger, E V. Fischer, Steve Frolking

Earth Sciences

During early July 2002, wildfires burned ∼1 × 10⁶ ha of forest in Quebec, Canada. The resultant smoke plume was seen in satellite images blanketing the U.S. east coast. Concurrently, extremely high CO mixing ratios were observed at the Atmospheric Investigation, Regional Modeling, Analysis and Prediction (AIRMAP) network sites in New Hampshire and at the Harvard Forest Environmental Measurement Site (HFEMS) in Massachusetts. The CO enhancements were on the order of 525–1025 ppbv above low mixing ratio conditions on surrounding days. A biomass burning source for the event was confirmed by concomitant enhancements in aerosol K⁺, NH …