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Evaluating the Wildfire Emission estimates in an Air Quality Simulation of the 2016 Southeastern United States Wildfires
Citation:
Pouliot, G., R. Gilliam, B. Eder, I. Mcdowell, J. Wilkins, AND Tom Pierce. Evaluating the Wildfire Emission estimates in an Air Quality Simulation of the 2016 Southeastern United States Wildfires. International Emissions Inventory Conference, Baltimore, Maryland, August 14 - 18, 2017.
Impact/Purpose:
The National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) Computational Exposure Division (CED) develops and evaluates data, decision-support tools, and models to be applied to media-specific or receptor-specific problem areas. CED uses modeling-based approaches to characterize exposures, evaluate fate and transport, and support environmental diagnostics/forensics with input from multiple data sources. It also develops media- and receptor-specific models, process models, and decision support tools for use both within and outside of EPA.
Description:
Extreme drought occurred over the southern Appalachian region of the southeastern United States (SE U.S.) during the fall of 2016. Tuscaloosa and Birmingham recorded their longest streak of 71 and 61 days, respectively, with no measurable precipitation; and, Montgomery, Atlanta, and Charleston had no measurable precipitation for 28 days during November. Across the SE U.S. during the month of November, wildfires burned over 180,000 acres. Biomass burning from wildfires has been identified as an important contributor to harmful levels of ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Using EPA’s near-real-time version of the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system for the period of 7-17 November 2016, we will compare the near-real-time PM2.5 concentrations with observed plumes from MODIS using NASA's EOSDIS Worldview Tool.