Document Type

Article

Publication Date

March 2012

Publication Title

Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology

Volume

29

Issue Number

3

DOI

10.1175/JTECH-D-11-00112.1

Keywords

aircraft system, fire plume thermodynamics, forest fires, In situ observations, Radiosonde observations

Disciplines

Atmospheric Sciences | Climate | Meteorology

Abstract

Direct measurements of wildland fire plume properties are rare because of difficult access to regions near the fire front and plume. Moisture released from combustion, in addition to added heat, can enhance buoyancy and convection, influencing fire behavior. In this study, a mini unmanned aircraft system (miniUAS) was used to obtain in situ measurements of temperature and relative humidity during a prescribed fire. The miniUAS was successfully maneuvered through the plume and its associated turbulence and provided observations of temperature and humidity profiles from near the centerline of the plume. Within the plume, the water vapor mixing ratio increased by 0.5–3.5 g kg−1 above ambient and was caused by the combustion of fuels. Potential temperature perturbations were on the order of 2–5 K. These results indicate that significant moisture and temperature enhancement can occur and may potentially modify convection dynamics of fire plumes.

Comments

© Copyright 2012 American Meteorological Society (AMS). Permission to use figures, tables, and brief excerpts from this work in scientific and educational works is hereby granted provided that the source is acknowledged. Any use of material in this work that is determined to be “fair use” under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act September 2010 Page 2 or that satisfies the conditions specified in Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 USC §108, as revised by P.L. 94-553) does not require the AMS’s permission. Republication, systematic reproduction, posting in electronic form, such as on a web site or in a searchable database, or other uses of this material, except as exempted by the above statement, requires written permission or a license from the AMS. Additional details are provided in the AMS Copyright Policy, available on the AMS Web site located at (https://www.ametsoc.org/) or from the AMS at 617-227-2425 or copyrights@ametsoc.org.
This article was published in the Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, volume 29, issue 3, March 2012, and can be found online at the following link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-11-00112.1
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