AAAR 33rd Annual Conference
October 20 - October 24, 2014
Rosen Shingle Creek
Orlando, Florida, USA
Abstract View
Climatic Implications of Peat Fire Emissions
Adam Watts, Rajan K. Chakrabarty, Vera Samburova, HANS MOOSMULLER, Desert Research Institute
Abstract Number: 459 Working Group: Biomass Burning Aerosol: From Emissions to Impacts
Abstract Globally, organic soils and peats may store as much as 600 Gt of terrestrial carbon, representing 20 – 30% of the planet’s terrestrial organic carbon mass. This is approximately the same carbon mass as that contained in Earth’s atmosphere, despite peatlands occupying only 3% of its surface. Effects of fires in these ecosystems are of global concern due to their potential for enormous carbon release to the atmosphere. The implications for contributions of peat fires to the global carbon cycle and radiative forcing scenarios are significant. The mostly smoldering combustion of peats consumes carbon that may have accumulated over a period of hundreds to thousands of years. In comparison, combustion of aboveground biomass fuels releases carbon that has accumulated much more recently, generally over a period of years or decades.
Here, we focus on laboratory characterization of emissions from smoldering combustion of peat soils from three locations representing the various biomes in which these soils occur (boreal, subtropical, and tropical). Small amounts of soil (<200 g) are being burned in the DRI biomass burning facility. Carbon dioxide and monoxide and aerosol mass emissions are being quantified. Radiative properties of aerosol emissions are characterized with a multi-wavelength photoacoustic spectrometer and nephelometer [Moosmüller et al., 2009]. Particle concentration and size are being measured using an electrical low-pressure impactor (ELPI). Subsamples of particulate matter (PM) collected on filters will be used for chemical analysis and morphological examination using electron microscopy [Chakrabarty et al., 2006]. Radiative forcing of peat burning emissions will be estimated using simple analytical equations.
References
Chakrabarty, R. K. et al. (2006), Emissions from the Laboratory Combustion of Wildland Fuels: Particle Morphology and Size, J. Geophys. Res., 111(D07204), doi:10.1029/2005JD006659.
Moosmüller, H. et al. (2009), Aerosol Light Absorption and its Measurement: A Review, J. Quant. Spectrosc. Radiat. Transfer, 110(11), 844-878.