Estimation of black carbon emissions from Siberian fires using satellite observations of absorption and extinction optical depths

• Main Authors: Konovalov, I., Lvova, D., Beekmann, M., Jethva, H., Mikhailov, E., Paris, J., Belan, B., Kozlov, V., Ciais, P., Andreae, M.
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: Aerosol Robotic Network; black carbon
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-0001-ABF5-A

Black carbon (BC) emissions from open biomass burning (BB) are known to have a considerable impact on the radiative budget of the atmosphere on global and regional scales but are poorly constrained in models by atmospheric observations, especially in remote regions. Here, we investigate the feasibility of constraining BC emissions from BB with satellite observations of the aerosol absorption optical depth (AAOD) and the aerosol extinction optical depth (AOD) retrieved from OMI (Ozone monitoring instrument) and MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) measurements, respectively. We consider the case of Siberian BB BC emissions, which have a strong potential to impact the Arctic climate system. Using aerosol remote sensing data collected at Siberian sites of the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) along with the results of the Fourth Fire Lab at Missoula Experiment (FLAME-4), we establish an empirical parameterization relating the ratio of the elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) contents in BB aerosol to the ratio of AAOD and AOD at the wavelengths of the satellite observations. Applying this parameterization to the BC and OC column amounts simulated with the CHIMERE chemistry transport model, we optimize the parameters of the BB emission model based on MODIS measurements of the fire radiative power (FRP) and obtain top-down optimized estimates of the total monthly BB BC amounts emitted from intense Siberian fires that occurred in May–September 2012. The top-down estimates are compared to the corresponding values obtained using the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED4) and the Fire Emission Inventory–northern Eurasia (FEI-NE). Our simulations using the optimized BB aerosol emissions are verified against AAOD and AOD data that were withheld from the estimation procedure. The simulations are further evaluated against in situ EC and OC measurements at the Zotino Tall Tower Observatory (ZOTTO) and also against aerosol measurement data collected on board of an aircraft in the framework of the ...