Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions
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10.5194/acpd-7-6687-2007
http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/7/6687/2007/
http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/7/6687/2007/acpd-7-6687-2007.html
http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/7/6687/2007/acpd-7-6687-2007.pdf
6687
6718
2007-05-16
Emissions from forest fires near Mexico City
R. Yokelson
bob.yokelson@umontana.edu
S. Urbanski
E. Atlas
D. Toohey
E. Alvarado
J. Crounse
P. Wennberg
M. Fisher
C. Wold
T. Campos
K. Adachi
P. R. Buseck
W. M. Hao
University of Montana, Department of Chemistry, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
USDA Forest Service, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT, USA
University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, USA
University of Colorado, Department of Chemistry, Boulder, USA
University of Washington, College of Forest Resources, Seattle, USA
Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA
Divisions of Engineering and Applied Science and Geological and Planetary Science, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA
School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
The emissions of NO<sub>x</sub> and HCN (per unit amount of
fuel burned) from fires in the pine-savannas that dominate the mountains
surrounding Mexico City (MC) are about 2 times higher than normally observed
for forest burning. The NH<sub>3</sub> emissions are about average for forest
burning. The NO<sub>x</sub>/VOC mass ratio for the MC-area mountain fires was
~0.38, which is similar to the NO<sub>x</sub>/VOC ratio in the MC urban
area emissions inventory of 0.43, but much larger than the NO<sub>x</sub>/VOC
ratio for tropical forest fires in Brazil (~0.068). The nitrogen
enrichment in the fire emissions may be due to deposition of
nitrogen-containing pollutants in the outflow from the MC urban area. This
effect may occur worldwide wherever biomass burning coexists with large
urban areas (e.g. the tropics, southeastern US, Los Angeles Basin). The
molar emission ratio HCN/CO for the mountain fires was ~0.0128±0.0096: 2–9 times higher than widely used literature values for biomass
burning. The MC-area/downwind molar ratio of HCN/CO is about 0.003±0.0003. Thus, if other types of biomass burning are relatively
insignificant, the mountain fires may be contributing about 23% of the
CO production in the MC-area (~98–100 W and 19–20 N). Comparing the
PM10/CO mass ratio in the MC Metropolitan Area emission inventory (0.011) to
the PM1/CO mass ratio for the mountain fires (0.133) then suggests that
these fires could produce as much as ~78% of the fine particle
mass generated in the MC-area.
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