Abstract ID: 716

Ozone Production from Biomass Burning in the Amazon: Validation of WRF-Chem Simulations with In-Situ Data from the CO-CLAIM Experiment

Biomass burning to clear forest or agricultural wastes releases carbon dioxide and smoke particles, as well as gases that combine with emissions from cars and power plants to form ozone, a major component of smog. As the Amazon basin becomes increasingly populated and developed for agriculture, the ability to predict ozone production from biomass burning and regional urban emissions will be critical to mitigating and reducing pollution that harms human health, agriculture, and natural ecosystems. However, major uncertainties remain in characterizing emissions, photochemical processes and transport from biomass burning in the Amazon basin. This study uses in-situ ozone measurements from the CO-CLAIM experiment conducted in October 2007 in southern Amazonia to validate coupled air quality and meteorological simulations. The WRF-Chem model is used in a 10/40km nested-grid configuration centered on Alta Floresta (MG) to simulate a two-week period, and high-resolution 1km simulations are conducted on selected days. Predicted ozone is compared with results from the Coupled Chemistry-Aerosol-Tracer Transport model coupled to the Brazilian developments on the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (CCATT-BRAMS). Sensitivity tests are conducted to constrain fire and biogenic emissions and to evalute performance of different chemical mechanisms, and will be used to inform developments in regional air quality forecasts produced by the Atmospheric and Interface Modeling Group (GMAI) at Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INP

Session:  Biogeochemistry - Sources, sinks, and atmospheric chemistry of trace gases.

Presentation Type:  Oral