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Monitorização do Carbono Negro (CN) e Poeiras Minerais (Pm) na Atmosfera do Atlântico Norte
Publication . Barata, Filipe; Fialho, Paulo
As médias anuais da concentração em massa de Carbono Negro (CN) no Atlântico Norte foram de 39 ± 11 ng mˉ³ e de 27 ± ng mˉ³ para a Camada Limite Marinha (CLM) e Troposfera Livre (TL), respectivamente. A variabilidade da concentração em massa de CN, com máximos no período de Verão e mínimos no período de Inverno, indicam que a deposição húmida é o principal mecanismo responsável pelo comportamento sazonal deste poluente da atmosfera. A concentração em massa de Poeiras Minerais (Pm) no Atlântico Norte está associada a episódios curtos, que decorrem essencialmente no mês de Abril, demonstrando a influência de eventos de transporte de longa distância (continente Africano) do aerossol mineral rico em óxidos de ferro (magnetite e hematite), com origem nas emissões de poeiras Saharianas.
Late summer changes in burning conditions in the boreal regions and their implications for NO x and CO emissions from boreal fires
Publication . Lapina, K.; Honrath, Richard; Owen, R. Chris; Val Martin, Maria; Hyer, E. J.; Fialho, Paulo
Building emission inventories for the fires in boreal regions remains a challenging task with significant uncertainties in the methods used. In this work, we assess the impact of seasonal trends in fuel consumption and flaming/smoldering ratios on emissions of species dominated by flaming combustion (e.g., NO x ) and species dominated by smoldering combustion (e.g., CO). This is accomplished using measurements of CO and NO y at the free tropospheric Pico Mountain observatory in the central North Atlantic during the active boreal fire seasons of 2004 and 2005. ΔNO y /ΔCO enhancement ratios in aged fire plumes had higher values in June-July (7.3 × 10−3 mol mol−1) relative to the values in August-September (2.8 × 10−3 mol mol−1), indicating that NO x /CO emission ratios declined significantly as the fire season progressed. This is consistent with our understanding that an increased amount of fuel is consumed via smoldering combustion during late summer, as deeper burning of the drying organic soil layer occurs. A major growth in fuel consumption per unit area is also expected, due to deeper burning. Emissions of CO and NO x from North American boreal fires were estimated using the Boreal Wildland Fire Emissions Model, and their long-range transport to the sampling site was modeled using FLEXPART. These simulations were generally consistent with the observations, but the modeled seasonal decline in the ΔNO y /ΔCO enhancement ratio was less than observed. Comparisons using alternative fire emission injection height scenarios suggest that plumes with the highest CO levels at the observatory were lofted well above the boundary layer, likely as a result of intense crown fires.
North American Boreal Wildfire and Anthropogenic Emissin Impacts in the Lower Free Troposphere over the North Atlantic Region: observations at the PICO-NARE station
Publication . Fialho, Paulo; Val Martin, Maria; Honrath, Richard; Owen, Robert; Pfister, Gabriele; Lapina, K.; Barata, Filipe
We present analyses of CO, O3, nitrogen oxides (NOx and NOy) and aerosol black carbon (BC) measurements made in the lower free troposphere (FT) over the North Atlantic region during summers 2004 (ICARTT period) and 2005.
Aerosol chemical elemental mass concentration at lower free troposphere
Publication . Freitas, Maria do Carmo; Dionísio, Isabel; Fialho, Paulo; Barata, Filipe
This paper shows the use of Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) technique to determine elemental masses collected by a seven-wavelength Aethalometer instrument at the summit of Pico mountain in the Azorean archipelago, situated in the Central North Atlantic Ocean. Each sample corresponds to air particulate matter measured continuously for periods of approximately 24 h taken from 14th July 2001 through 14th July 2002. The statistical analysis of the coefficients of correlation between all the elements identified, permitted to establish six groups that could potentially be associated with the type of source responsible for the aerosol sampled in the lower free troposphere at the Azorean archipelago. Calculation of the synoptic back trajectories helped to corroborate the use of the iron/cesium relation as a tracer for the Saharan dust aerosol. It was demonstrated that INAA constituted an important tool to identify these events.
Significant enhancements of nitrogen oxides, black carbon, and ozone in the North Atlantic lower free troposphere resulting from North American boreal wildfires
Publication . Val Martin, Maria; Honrath, Richard; Owen, R. Chris; Pfister, Gabriele; Fialho, Paulo; Barata, Filipe
Extensive wildfires burned in northern North America during summer 2004, releasing large amounts of trace gases and aerosols into the atmosphere. Emissions from these wildfires frequently impacted the PICO-NARE station, a mountaintop site situated 6–15 days downwind from the fires in the Azores Islands. To assess the impacts of the boreal wildfire emissions on the levels of aerosol black carbon (BC), nitrogen oxides and O3 downwind from North America, we analyzed measurements of CO, BC, total reactive nitrogen oxides (NO y ), NO x (NO + NO2) and O3 made from June to September 2004 in combination with MOZART chemical transport model simulations. Long-range transport of boreal wildfire emissions resulted in large enhancements of CO, BC, NO y and NO x , with levels up to 250 ppbv, 665 ng mˉ³, 1100 pptv and 135 pptv, respectively. Enhancement ratios relative to CO were variable in the plumes sampled, most likely because of variations in wildfire emissions and removal processes during transport. Analyses of ΔBC/ΔCO, ΔNO y /ΔCO and ΔNO x /ΔCO ratios indicate that NO y and BC were on average efficiently exported in these plumes and suggest that decomposition of PAN to NO x was a significant source of NO x . High levels of NO x suggest continuing formation of O3 in these well-aged plumes. O3 levels were also significantly enhanced in the plumes, reaching up to 75 ppbv. Analysis of ΔO3/ΔCO ratios showed distinct behaviors of O3 in the plumes, which varied from significant to lower O3 production. We identify several potential reasons for the complex effects of boreal wildfire emissions on O3 and conclude that this behavior needs to be explored further in the future. These observations demonstrate that boreal wildfire emissions significantly contributed to the NO x and O3 budgets in the central North Atlantic lower free troposphere during summer 2004 and imply large-scale impacts on direct radiative forcing of the atmosphere and on tropospheric NO x and O3.

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Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

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SFRH

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BD

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