![]() But while doing that, they are chemically altered, so you see all these reactive gases going away. “I think there are documented cases where they circumnavigate the globe. ![]() “These smoke plumes can travel over long distances,” says de Gouw. “So we're trying to understand that chemistry.”īut there’s no need to panic on the East Coast: The minuscule amount of smoke these states are getting has changed significantly on a chemical level, and is less likely to create air quality problems. “And also, those reactions can form even more particles and change the composition of the existing particles,” he continues. This is a pollutant that also forms when it’s hot out-it’s part of what makes heat waves hazardous for those with respiratory issues, as it makes your airways constrict. “That chemistry is important because it can form ground-level ozone,” says de Gouw. The smoke we get in California is chemically distinct from what might fall out on the East Coast. “But also a lot of gases come along with the smoke, and a lot of those gases are highly reactive-they change on a timescale of hours.” “Most people, when they think about smoke, they think about smoke particles,” de Gouw says. If he knows where the smoke is heading, he knows where to take samples. That’s helped de Gouw plan his experiments, in which he takes atmospheric measurements from aircraft to study how smoke changes chemically as it makes its way through the air. “This is really the first resource that was out there that tells you something about where the smoke you see comes from, really, and what the forecast is,” says atmospheric scientist Joost de Gouw of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Previously, researchers have just been able to look at satellite images to see where smoke currently is. Instead, it relies on sophisticated weather models-changes in temperature, wind, water vapor, and precipitation-to project where the smoke will eventually end up.īut even though HRRR is still experimental, it’s quickly become a critical tool for meteorologists and atmospheric scientists because no one’s been able to forecast smoke clouds like this before. (On the menu on the left side of the map, click “Fire Detections” to see where blazes are burning in California.) The neat bit about HRRR is that it’s not relying on satellites to see exactly where the smoke is, just where these fires are. HRRR-Smoke begins by parsing a stream of infrared satellite data, which looks for heat anomalies in the United States-fires that have erupted across the landscape. Open up the smoke map here, and I’ll walk you through the clever science behind it. It spits out a beautiful yet troubling map of a country positively awash in wildfire haze. Scientists have been forecasting where this smoke will end up 48 hours ahead of time with an experimental model called HRRR-Smoke (pronounced her), from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. But we’re not alone: California’s firestorm is spewing so much smoke, it’s drifting clear across the country, falling out in small quantities on the East Coast and accumulating above the Atlantic Ocean. The plumes may be at ground-level or high up in the atmosphere.We in the San Francisco Bay Area have been choking on smoke from dozens of huge blazes-which have burned over 1.4 million acres, or 2,200 square miles, so far-sparked by a freak system of thunderstorms two weeks ago. Darker colors indicate denser smoke concentrations. ![]() Hazard Mapping System Smoke Plumes are smoke plumes analyzed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Hazard Mapping System. Hazard Mapping System Fire Locations are fire locations detected by satellites operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Hazard Mapping System. Incident Information System (InciWeb) shows the locations of active wildfires from the InciWeb website. Data are considered preliminary and non-regulatory. Latest PM2.5 AQI from AirNow Monitors shows particle pollution observed at monitors operated by state, tribal, or local monitoring agencies using federal reference or equivalent monitoring techniques. ![]() Data are not fully verified and only intended for real-time air quality reporting. They may be moved based on wildfire locations. These monitors are deployed by US Forest Service and state and local agencies for measuring air quality during wildfires. Latest PM 2.5 AQI from Temporary Monitors shows particle pollution observed at portable, temporary PM2.5 monitors near large, active wildfires.
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