ACPD Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions ACPD 1680-7375 Copernicus GmbH Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/acpd-6-11521-2006 Including the sub-grid scale plume rise of vegetation fires in low resolution atmospheric transport models Freitas S. R. 1 Longo K. M. 1 Chatfield R. 2 Latham D. 3 Silva Dias M. A. F. 1 7 Andreae M. O. 4 Prins E. 5 Santos J. C. 6 Gielow R. 1 Carvalho Jr. J. A. 8 Center for Weather Forecasting and Climate Studies, INPE, Cachoeira Paulista, Brazil NASA Ames Research Center, Moffet Field, USA USDA Forest Service, Montana, USA Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany UW-Madison Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies, Madison, WI, USA Laboratório de Combustão e Propulsão, INPE, Cachoeira Paulista, Brazil Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of São Paulo, Brazil FEG/UNESP, Guaratinguetá, SP, Brazil 17 11 2006 6 6 11521 11559 This is an open-access article ditributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. This article is available from http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/6/11521/2006/acpd-6-11521-2006.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/6/11521/2006/acpd-6-11521-2006.pdf

We describe and begin to evaluate a parameterization to include the vertical transport of hot gases and particles emitted from biomass burning in low resolution atmospheric-chemistry transport models. This sub-grid transport mechanism is simulated by embedding a 1-D cloud-resolving model with appropriate lower boundary conditions in each column of the 3-D host model. Through assimilation of remote sensing fire products, we recognize which columns have fires. Using a land use dataset appropriate fire properties are selected. The host model provides the environmental conditions, allowing the plume rise to be simulated explicitly. The derived height of the plume is then used in the source emission field of the host model to determine the effective injection height, releasing the material emitted during the flaming phase at this height. Model results are compared with CO aircraft profiles from an Amazon basin field campaign and with satellite data, showing the huge impact that this mechanism has on model performance. We also show the relative role of each main vertical transport mechanisms, shallow and deep moist convection and the pyro-convection (dry or moist) induced by vegetation fires, on the distribution of biomass burning CO emissions in the troposphere.