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Image
of the Day: Satellite view of black carbon from North America
wildfires and other aerosols, 23 August 2018
24
August, 2018
This
visualization highlights Goddard Earth Observing System Forward
Processing (GEOS FP) model output for aerosols on 23 August 2018. On
this day, huge plumes of smoke drifted over North America and Africa,
three different tropical cyclones churned in the Pacific Ocean, and
large clouds of dust blew over deserts in Africa and Asia. The storms
are visible within giant swirls of sea salt aerosol (blue), which
winds loft into the air as part of sea spray. Black carbon particles
(red) are among the particles emitted by fires; vehicle and factory
emissions are another common source. Particles the model classified
as dust are shown in purple. The visualization includes a layer of
night light data collected by the day-night band of the Visible
Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on Suomi NPP that shows the
locations of towns and cities. Graphic: Joshua Stevens / NASA Earth
Observatory
By
Adam Voiland
24
August 2018
(NASA)
– Take a deep breath. Even if the air looks clear, it is nearly
certain that you will inhale millions of solid particles and liquid
droplets. These ubiquitous specks of matter are known as aerosols,
and they can be found in the air over oceans, deserts, mountains,
forests, ice, and every ecosystem in between.
If
you have ever watched smoke billowing from a wildfire, ash erupting
from a volcano, or dust blowing in the wind, you have seen aerosols.
Satellites like Terra, Aqua, Aura, and Suomi NPP “see” them as
well, though they offer a completely different perspective from
hundreds of kilometers above Earth’s surface. A version of a NASA
model called the Goddard Earth Observing System Forward Processing
(GEOS FP) offers a similarly expansive view of the mishmash of
particles that dance and swirl through the atmosphere.
The
visualization above highlights GEOS FP model output for aerosols on
23 August 2018. On that day, huge plumes of smoke drifted over North
America and Africa, three different tropical cyclones churned in the
Pacific Ocean, and large clouds of dust blew over deserts in Africa
and Asia. The storms are visible within giant swirls of sea salt
aerosol (blue), which winds loft into the air as part of sea spray.
Black carbon particles (red) are among the particles emitted by
fires; vehicle and factory emissions are another common source.
Particles the model classified as dust are shown in purple. The
visualization includes a layer of night light data collected by the
day-night band of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite
(VIIRS) on Suomi NPP that shows the locations of towns and cities.
Note:
the aerosol in the visualization is not a direct representation of
satellite data. The GEOS FP model, like all weather and climate
models, used mathematical equations that represent physical processes
to calculate what was happening in the atmosphere on 23 August 2018.
Measurements of physical properties, like temperature, moisture,
aerosols, and winds, are routinely folded into the model to better
simulate real-world conditions.
Some
of these inputs come from satellites; others come from data collected
by sensors on the ground. Fire radiative power data from the Moderate
Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors on Aqua and
Terra is one type of satellite data that was assimilated directly
into the model. This type of data includes information about the
location and intensity of fires—something that the model uses to
help calculate the behavior of black carbon plumes.
Some
of the events that appear in the visualization were causing pretty
serious problems on the ground. On 23 August 2018, Hawaiians braced
for torrential rains and potentially serious floods and mudslides as
Hurricane Lane approached. Meanwhile, twin tropical cyclones—Soulik
and Cimaron—were on the verge of lashing South Korea and Japan. The
smoke plume over central Africa is a seasonal occurrence and mainly
the product of farmers lighting numerous small fires to maintain crop
and grazing lands. Most of the smoke over North America came from
large wildfires burning in Canada and the United
States.
Just
Another Day on Aerosol Earth
Video
shot near downtown Vancouver on Aug. 20 demonstrates the extreme haze
of smoke from hundreds of wildfires burning in British Columbia,
causing the mountains around the city to disappear from sight.
The
smoke coming from British Columbia’s forests amid a furious
wildfire season isn’t just reaching into Alberta.
Plumes
of smoke from the fires are believed to be travelling as far east as
Ontario, the Maritimes and beyond — even across the Atlantic Ocean
to Ireland.
That’s
according to David
Lyder, an air emissions
engineer with the Alberta government and one of the minds
behind FireSmoke.ca,
a website whose animated map shows the probable trajectory of
wildfire smoke within North America.
“Long-range transport of smoke from wildfires is not uncommon,” he told Global News.
Lyder
brought up one forecast in which smoke travelled from northern
Alberta and Saskatchewan, helping to trigger air quality advisories
in Washington, D.C.
And
it isn’t just B.C. that sends smoke so far.
“We
get smoke from Siberia,” Lyder said.
Modelling
of what wildfire smoke could look like on Aug. 25 at 8 p.m.FireSmoke.ca
The
map forms one component of the BlueSky
Western Canada Wildfire Smoke Forecasting System,
a project that first developed in 2007 out of concern about the need
for smoke projections to help inform weather forecasters, health
authorities and other parties.
BlueSky, a
software system that uses data to model fire, fuel consumption,
weather, emissions and dispersion, was initially developed by the
U.S. Forest Service.
Data
tracking all of these factors is pooled into a system that helps to
forecast concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) — an air
pollutant that can have negative effects on human health — from
wildfires for up to 48 hours.
Canada’s
BlueSky project uses the very same system, gathering data from
the Canadian
Wildland Fire Information System.
The
data helps to produce animations that display how PM2.5
concentrations will change over the next couple of days.
The
map showed some heavy smoke hitting Ontario and lesser plumes
travelling as far as Quebec and Labrador on Saturday; it had
previously shown smoke hitting the Maritimes.
This
animation shows heavy concentrations of smoke in Manitoba and Ontario
as well as a lesser concentration hitting Labrador on Aug. 25. FireSmoke.ca
The
people behind FireSmoke.ca are careful to note that the map shouldn’t
necessarily be relied upon in isolation; it’s considered
“experimental” and there are limitations.
Satellite
detections, for example, are used to find fires. If areas where fires
are burning are covered by clouds or smoke, then the emissions from
those blazes won’t be included in forecasts.
Projections
displayed by the map can be supplemented by looking at Canada’s
Wildfire Smoke Prediction System (FireWork),
which provides daily smoke forecasts.
The
massive Snowy Mountain wildfire in B.C.’s Similkameen region.
Joe
Lebeau / Hashmark Photography
Nevertheless,
both these modelling systems have shown smoke reaching as far as the
Maritimes.
FireWork,
for example, showed lighter PM2.5 concentrations hitting New
Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland this
weekend, though other fires are burning further east than B.C.
Projected
PM2.5 concentrations across Canada on Aug. 25.
FireWork
Fine
particulate matter is indeed reaching Eastern Canada, “but the
concentrations are much lower in the Maritimes than they are in
B.C.,” said Sarah Henderson, senior environmental health scientist
at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
There
are two components to wildfire smoke: PM2.5 and volatile organic
compounds (VOCs).
While
PM2.5 has been noted for its effects on human health, VOCs have more
to do with how smoke interacts with our senses.
“VOCs are the things that make our eyes sting and that give smoke that campfire smell,” Henderson said.
“They’re
not super risky, but they are irritating.”
VOCs
also dissipate as smoke travels.
“The
volatiles from the smoke are gone by the time they get to the east,”
Henderson said.
John
Clague, a professor of earth sciences at Simon Fraser University,
said satellite tracking of smoke has shown that heavy concentrations
of particles have been carried from B.C. and California to locations
thousands of kilometres to the east.
“I would say, however, that the duration of the exposure is limited,” he said.
While
the physical effects of smoke are less pronounced by the time it
travels such great distances, that doesn’t make it harmless.
Concentrations
may be lower, but the fine matter is still there.
“Wherever
it gets to, if smoke gets there, it carries with it some risk,”
said Henderson.
Still,
“we would expect that smoke from B.C. may have a small impact on
health in eastern parts of Canada, if and when it arrives there,”
she added.
BC
wilвfire service has been cutting supplies and people to fight for
several days. The community ran out of hoses and sprinklers during
the worst of the fire and only firefighters certified through BC
contractors were allowed in.. so people have stayed as the fires grew
and their plea for more help was answered. Now 2 dozen trucks with
supplies from Alberta are being told to leave
As
of 1215pm people gathered at save-on-foods
About
30 people are gathering near Overwaitea this morning
The
truckers from Alberta have now left Burns Lake. According to Burns
Lake councillor Charlie Rensby, the RCMP did not allow protesters to
stop the truckers from leaving, and the protest has now moved to
another location near the B.C. Wildfire Service base in Burns Lake.
Approximately
30 local residents are gathering near Overwaitea in Burns Lake this
morning trying to prevent over two dozen Alberta truckers from
leaving town.
The
Albertan truckers brought fire suppression equipment such as
sprinklers, pumps and hoses to Burns Lake to help combat the Babine
complex fire on the Southside. The group of fires is zero per cent
contained.
But
the B.C. Wildfire Service says this particular high-capacity water
delivery system isn’t going to work due to several factors,
including the terrain and an insufficient water source.
In
a statement Friday night, the fire service said the system requires
close proximity to “very large bodies of water” in order to work.
“They
also require relatively flat topography and are most effective in
densely populated areas,” it said.
Fire
crews are evaluating if the use of an alternate water delivery system
could work to suppress the blaze.
Burns
Lake councillor Charlie Rensby, who’s joining protesters this
morning, said he and others were not convinced by this explanation.
“The
biggest injustice is that politics is coming into play when we should
be saving people’s livelihoods,” said Rensby.
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