Regional aerosol optical thickness distribution derived by CMAQ model in the Siberian forest fire emission episode of may 2003

Abstract

The enhancement of aerosol optical thickness (AOT) for a forest fire episode was examined by Community Multi-scale Air Quality (CMAQ) model. MODIS/TERRA remote detects of fires in Siberia boreal forest, northern China and Mongolia for May 2003 gives a constraint for estimation of wildfire emissions with an NDVI distribution for recent five years. The simulated wildfire plumes and enhancement of AOT were evaluated and well resolved by comparing multiple satellite observations such as MODIS, TOMS, GOME, and others. In the fire burning area, the AOT value reached to exceeding 2.0 in monthly mean scale. Scatter plot of observed daily mean aerosol extinction coefficient versus PM10 concentration in ground level in Korea showed distinctive linear regressions and correlation coefficients depending on the ambient relative humidity.