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The Influence of Prescribed Fire on Fine Particulate Matter Pollution in the Southeastern United States
Author(s) -
Afrin Sadia,
GarciaMenendez Fernando
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2020gl088988
Subject(s) - environmental science , particulates , air quality index , air pollution , pollution , pollutant , satellite , atmospheric sciences , meteorology , geography , geology , ecology , biology , chemistry , organic chemistry , aerospace engineering , engineering
Prescribed fire is the largest source of fine particulate matter emissions in the Southeastern United States, yet its air quality impacts remain highly uncertain. Here, we assess the influence of prescribed fire on observed pollutant concentrations in the region using a unique fire data set compiled from multiyear digital burn permit records. There is a significant association between prescribed fire activity and concentrations recorded at Southeastern monitoring sites, with permitted burning explaining as much as 50% variability in daily PM 2.5 concentrations. This relationship varies spatially and temporally across the region and as a function of burn type. At most locations, the association between PM 2.5 concentration and permitted burning is stronger than that with satellite‐derived burn area or meteorological drivers of air quality. These results highlight the value of bottom‐up data in evaluating the contribution of prescribed fire to regional air pollution and reveal a need to develop more complete burn records.