[A-AS09] Atmospheric Chemistry

[AAS09-P24] BBURNED: Biomass Burning Uncertainty: ReactioNs, Emissions and Dynamics – An activity of the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry project

*Chunmao Zhu¹, Cynthia Whaley², Rebecca Buchholz³, Nancy French⁴, Mark Parrington⁵, Stephanie R. Schneider⁶, Shyno Susan John⁷, Madina Doumbia⁸, N'datchoh Evelyne Touré⁸, Shobha Kondragunta⁹, Yang Li¹⁰ (1.Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 2.Environment and Climate Change Canada, 3.National Center for Atmospheric Research, 4.Michigan Tech Research Institute, 5.European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), 6.McMaster University, 7.University of Wollongong, 8.University Péléforo Gon Coulibaly (UPGC), 9.National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 10.Baylor University)

Keywords:BBURNED, IGAC, Biomass burning, International activity

Biomass burning is a major source of air pollutants and greenhouse gases, with significant impacts on global and regional atmospheric chemistry and climate. However, our understanding of biomass burning emissions and their atmospheric processing is hampered by significant uncertainties and variabilities. These uncertainties arise from multiple factors, such as fuel type, fire detection methods, emission factors, and plume injection height and chemistry. The Biomass Burning Uncertainty: ReactioNs, Emissions and Dynamics (BBURNED) activity is a new international initiative focused on addressing these uncertainties, under the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) project. BBURNED aims to better quantify the current understanding of uncertainty and variability in biomass burning emission estimation, and determine how to more accurately represent atmospheric chemistry resulting from fire.
BBURNED has three working groups: (1) Emission estimation, working to quantify the contribution of multiple sources of variability to fire emission estimates; (2) Atmospheric chemistry processes, working to identify and update important chemical processes occurring after the emission of wildfire smoke; and (3) Modeling of atmospheric composition: working to assess ways to reduce the uncertainty in modeled atmospheric chemistry from fire by updating chemical and physical processes and determining which processes matter the most.
BBURNED also aims to act as a conduit to coordinate and organize the international scientific community to improve understanding of the current and future impacts of wildfires, prescribed burning and agricultural fire on public health and climate by addressing the uncertainties in atmospheric chemistry processes influenced by biomass burning. Specifically, BBURNED would like to promote collaborations in Asia on topics such as peat fires in Southeast Asia, agricultural fires in South Asia, forest fires in the boreal Eurasia, and the transboundary transport and aging processes. We invite researchers across disciplines in Japan and beyond – atmospheric chemists, remote sensing experts, climate scientists, modellers, and all passionate about this critical environmental process – to join BBURNED and contribute to reducing uncertainty. At JpGU 2024, we will introduce the current development and the coming activities of BBURNED, such as the hybrid Fire Workshop planned for 14-15 September 2024 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.