Evaluating Wildfire Smoke Transport Within a Coupled Fire-Atmosphere Model Using a High-Density Observation Network for an Episodic Smoke Event Along Utah's Wasatch Front
Publication Date
10-27-2020
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
Volume
125
Issue
20
DOI
10.1029/2020JD032712
Abstract
One of the primary challenges associated with evaluating smoke models is the availability of observations. The limited density of traditional air quality monitoring networks makes evaluating wildfire smoke transport challenging, particularly over regions where smoke plumes exhibit significant spatiotemporal variability. In this study, we analyzed smoke dispersion for the 2018 Pole Creek and Bald Mountain Fires, which were located in central Utah. Smoke simulations were generated using a coupled fire-atmosphere model, which simultaneously renders fire growth, fire emissions, plume rise, smoke dispersion, and fire-atmosphere interactions. Smoke simulations were evaluated using PM2.5 observations from publicly accessible fixed sites and a semicontinuously running mobile platform. Calibrated measurements of PM2.5 made by low-cost sensors from the Air Quality and yoU (AQ&U) network were within 10% of values reported at nearby air quality sites that used Federal Equivalent Methods. Furthermore, results from this study show that low-cost sensor networks and mobile measurements are useful for characterizing smoke plumes while also serving as an invaluable data set for evaluating smoke transport models. Finally, coupled fire-atmosphere model simulations were able to capture the spatiotemporal variability of wildfire smoke in complex terrain for an isolated smoke event caused by local fires. Results here suggest that resolving local drainage flow could be critical for simulating smoke transport in regions of significant topographic relief.
Funding Number
1646408
Funding Sponsor
National Science Foundation
Keywords
air quality, atmospheric modeling, low-cost air quality sensors, mobile measurements, mountain meteorology, wildfire smoke
Department
Meteorology and Climate Science
Recommended Citation
Derek V. Mallia, Adam K. Kochanski, Kerry E. Kelly, Ross Whitaker, Wei Xing, Logan E. Mitchell, Alex Jacques, Angel Farguell, Jan Mandel, Pierre Emmanuel Gaillardon, Tom Becnel, and Steven K. Krueger. "Evaluating Wildfire Smoke Transport Within a Coupled Fire-Atmosphere Model Using a High-Density Observation Network for an Episodic Smoke Event Along Utah's Wasatch Front" Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres (2020). https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JD032712
