Estimation of GHG emissions and trajectories from large forest fires in Catalonia, Spain

Abstract

At the global scale, forest fires are a source of significant emissions of gases and particles to the atmosphere that disperse over a large area and can be transported over great distances at the continental scale. Among these emissions, there are greenhouse gases, which are released in large quantities into the atmosphere after a forest fire. In this work, an attempt has been made to estimate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from large forest fires in recent years in Catalonia, Spain. These estimates are based on the characterization and quantification of the biomass that makes up the pre-existing forest fuels in the burned areas, the assessment of fire severity and consumption rates, and the application of published emission factors. The results obtained indicate that percentages between 44,4% and 70,3% of pre-fire biomass were consumed, corresponding respectively to total equivalent carbon emissions between 15 013 t and 387 335 t. A Lagrangian model (Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory) was used in order to determine the dispersion ranges and trajectories of the smoke plumes. The smoke plumes from the fires reached large distances, mainly affecting the Mediterranean region and North of Africa.