Apportionment of Biomass Burning Contribution to Haze and PM2.5

This project was designed to develop better tools to apportion the contributions of biomass burning from different fire types, e.g. wildfires and prescribed fires to PM2.5 and haze. As part of this study a retrospective hybrid-receptor model based on the positive matrix factorization (PMF) model was developed. The project was partially funded by the Joint Fire Science Program and National Park Service.

JFSP Proposal:

Hybrid Source Apportionment Model: an operational tool to distinguish wildfire emissions from prescribed fire emissions in measurements of PM2.5 for use in visibility and PM regulatory programs.

Final Report:

Hybrid Source Apportionment Model: an operational tool to distinguish wildfire emissions from prescribed fire emissions in measurements of PM2.5 for use in visibility and PM regulatory programs.  Final Report

Presentations and documents describing the regulatory needs and hybrid-receptor models

White paper discussing regulatory needs

Hybrid-receptor model frame work and model inputs

Hybrid-PMF  Model

Model inputs and results

Source profile database (format: MS Excel 2003)

Smoke marker species source profile maps

IMPROVE airmass histories 2006-2008

Back dispersion chemical transport modeling result

Biomass burning emission fields:

Wiedinmyer, C., Quayle,B., Geronc, C., Belotea, A., McKenzied, D., Zhange, X., O’Neill, S., Wynnea, K.  2006. Estimating emissions from fires in North America for air quality modeling. Atmos. Environ. 40, 3419-3432.

Outreach

    Publications:

Bench, G., S. Fallon, B.A. Schichtel, W.C. Malm, and C. McDade. 2007. Relative contributions of fossil and contemporary carbon sources to PM 2.5 aerosols at nine Interagency Monitoring for Protection of Visual Environments (IMPROVE) network sites. J. Geophysical Research-Atmosphere. 112 (D10): Art. No. D10205 MAY 19 2007

Schichtel, B. A. et al. 2008 Fossil and Contemporary Fine Carbon Fractions at 12 Rural and Urban Sites in the United States.  J. Geophys. Res., 113, D02311.

Holden, A.S., A. P. Sullivan, S. Kreidenweis, J. L. Collett, Jr., B. A. Schichtel, W. C. Malm, and G. Bench.  2009.  Estimating Contributions of Primary Biomass Combustion to Fine Particulate Matter at Sites in the Western United States.  In progress.

Patterson, L.A., Schichtel, B.A., Sullivan, A. P., Collett, J.L. Jr., Holden, A. S., Kreidenweis, S. M., and Malm, W. C.  2009. Development of a Wildland Fire Smoke Marker Emissions Map for the Contiguous United States.  In progress

Schichtel, B.A. W.C. Malm, J.L. Collett, Jr., A.P. Sullivan, A.S. Holden, L.A. Patterson, M.A. Rodriguez, M.G. Barna. 2008b. Estimating the contribution of smoke to fine particulate matter using a hybrid-receptor model.  In progress.

    Master’s theses partially supported by project:

Holden, A.S. 2008.  Estimating Contributions of Primary Biomass Combustion to Fine Particulate Matter at Sites in the Western United States.  Colorado State University Master’s Thesis.

Patterson, L.A. 2009.  Development of Wildland Fire Smoke Marker Emissions Maps for the Conterminous United States.   Colorado State University Master’s Thesis.

    Presentation

    Conference Proceeding and Presentations:

Schichtel, B. A., G. Bench, S. Fallon, C. E. McDade, J. C. Chow, and W. C. Malm. Apportionment of Particulate Carbon into Fossil and Contemporary Fractions at 12 Rural and Urban Sites in the United States.  Presented at the AGU Fall Conference, December 2006, San Francisco, CA

Holden, A.S., A. P. Sullivan, S. Kreidenweis, J. L. Collett, Jr., B. A. Schichtel, W. C. Malm, and G. Bench.  Application of Anion Exchange Chromatography with Pulsed Amperometric Detection for Measurement of Levoglucosan in Ambient Aerosol Samples, Presented at the AAAR Annual Conference, September, 2007 in Reno, NV.

Schichtel, B.A., W.C. Malm, J.L. Collett, A.P. Sullivan, A.S. Holden, L.A. Patterson, M.A. Rodriguez, M.G. Barna. 2008. Estimating the contribution of smoke to fine particulate matter using a hybrid-receptor model. Proceedings from Aerosol & Atmospheric Optics: Visual Air Quality and Radiation, April 2008, Moab UT.

Presentation

Proceeding

Schichtel, B.A., W.C. Malm, J.L. Collett, A.P. Sullivan, A.S. Holden, L.A. Patterson, M.A. Rodriguez, M.G. Barna. Where There’s Smoke There’s Haze: Estimating the Contribution of Fires to PM2.5 and Haze. Presented at the BlueSky Smoke Modeling Framework Stakeholders’ Meeting, May, 2008, Boise, ID.

Patterson, L.A., Schichtel, B.A., Sullivan, A. P., Collett, J.L. Jr., Holden, A. S., Kreidenweis, S. M., and Malm, W. C.  2008. Development of a Wildland Fire Smoke Marker Emissions Map for the Contiguous United States.  Presented annual the AGU Fall Conference, December 2008, San Francisco, CA.

    Workshops and Meetings:

Schichtel B.A, Bench, G. and Malm W.C. The Use of Carbon Isotope Analysis to Distinguish the Contribution of Biogenic and Anthropogenic Carbon. FLAME (Fire Lab at Missoula Experiment) Data Meeting held at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, February 22-23, 2007, Colorado State University. 

Schichtel, B. A., W. C. Malm,  J. L. Collett, A.P. Sullivan, and A. S. Holden.  Contribution of Smoke to PM2.5 and Haze: Development of Smoke Source Profiles and Routine Source Apportionment Tools.  Presented at the International Biomass Smoke Health Effects (IBSHE) Conference, August 2007, at the University of Montana.

Each year the progress and results from the project were presented at the annual IMPROVE Steering Committee meetings.  These presentations can be found on the IMPROVE websites: http://vista.cira.colostate.edu/improve/Activities/activities.htm

Developing fire emission products suitable for operational and retrospective analyses.  A workshop held at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO in February 2008 with the National Park Service, Western Governors Association, Forest Service AirFire Team, and Forest Service Remote Sensing Application Center (RSAC) to discuss.

A new ad-hoc committee on cooperative operational biomass burning emissions has been formed to coordinate development of biomass burning emissions among federal agencies and key data providers. Two workshops have been held: First at the University of Maryland College Park Alumni Center, December 2&3 2008, and the second at Naval Research Laboratory, Monterey, California, June 25 & 26, 2009.