Wildfires hold key to improving air pollution forecasts
7 July 2011
An experiment to measure pollution from Canadian wildfires could help scientists improve air quality forecasts.
A team of researchers are setting off for Canada this weekend. They will spend three weeks taking daily flights in a specially equipped atmospheric research aircraft along the eastern coast of Canada, chasing plumes of pollution emitted by wildfires over North America.
NERC/ Met Office atmospheric research aircraft
The researchers will seek to better understand how emissions from such fires - sparked by dry, hot summer conditions - affect levels of atmospheric pollutants, such as ozone, which is linked with respiratory illnesses.
Such naturally occurring forest fires are likely to become more frequent amid changing climates, and have a greater impact on air quality around the world.
The aircraft, a converted BAe146 managed by the UK Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements, will use on-board equipment to measure gases and particles emitted by wildfires. The scientists will seek to better understand how the pollutants disperse in the air over time, and anticipate that their findings will help estimate the role of North American forest fires on air pollution in Europe and beyond.
Professor Paul Palmer of the University of Edinburgh, who is leading the project, said, "Fires are widespread at high latitudes during the summer months and have a significant impact on air quality and climate in the northern hemisphere. Understanding more about how these air pollutants evolve will help us forecast the implications for air quality, as forest fires become more frequent."
The research, carried out in a collaboration involving the Universities of York and Leeds and Dalhousie University in Canada, is supported by the Natural Environment Research Council.
Further information
NERC Press Office
Natural Environment Research Council
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Tel: 01793 411561
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Dr Stephan Matthiesen
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University of Edinburgh
Tel: 0131 651 4444
Catriona Kelly
Press and PR Office
University of Edinburgh
Tel: 0131 651 4401
Notes
1. The conversion of the BAe146 to a purpose-built atmospheric research aircraft was commissioned by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the UK Met Office. It is owned by BAe Systems, operated by Directflight, and its research activities are managed by the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM), which is a collaboration between NERC and the Met Office.
Press release: 19/11
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