( Wildfires in Alaska and Canada in 2004 ...)NCAR analysis shows widespread pollution from 2004 wildfires

Wildfires in Alaska and Canada in 2004 emitted about as much carbon monoxide as did human-related activities in the continental United States during the same time period, according to new research by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The fires also increased atmospheric concentrations of ground-level ozone across much of the Northern Hemisphere.

The NCAR study, which indicates the extent to which wildfires contribute to atmospheric pollution, was published this month in Geophysical Research Letters. The researchers used a novel combination of observing instruments, computer models, and numerical techniques that allowed them to distinguish between carbon monoxide coming from the wildfires and from other sources.

The team concluded that the Alaskan and Canadian wildfires emitted about 30 teragrams of carbon monoxide from June through August of last year. Because of the wildfires, ground-level concentrations of ozone increased by 25% or more in parts of the northern continental United States and by 10% as far away as Europe.

"It is important to see how the influence of these fires can reach large parts of the atmosphere, perhaps even over the entire Northern Hemisphere," says NCAR scientist Gabriele Pfister, the study's lead author. "This has significant implications as societies take steps to improve air quality."

Carbon monoxide, a toxic gas that can affect human health even at low levels, is emitted by wildfires as well as by motor vehicles, industrial facilities, and other sources that do not completely burn carbon-containing fuels. Ground-level ozone, which affects human health in addition to damaging plants and influencing climate, is formed from reactions involving atmospheric pollutants, including carbon monoxide, in the presence of sunlight. Both pollutants are monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency. However, scientists have been unable to precisely determine regional emissions of carbon monoxide or t
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Source:National Center for Atmospheric Research/University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

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