Variability in Bioaerosol Particles Emitted from Prescribed Fires and Laboratory Burn Experiments

KATHERINE BENEDICT, Abu Sayeed Md Shawon, Nevil Franco, Alejandro Gutierrez, Marie Kroeger, Los Alamos National Laboratory

     Abstract Number: 337
     Working Group: Bioaerosols

Abstract
Aerosol from biogenic sources or bioaerosol are not well characterized in the atmosphere. However, they appear to have wide ranging impacts from climate to ecosystems to human health. Previous work has shown elevated bioaerosols emitted in the vicinity of biomass fires. In a laboratory setting, we performed controlled burns in a tube furnace using grass, leaf, and evergreen fuels at two temperatures (500C and 1000C) to understand the effect of smoldering and flaming temperatures on the amount and properties of bioaerosol particles emitted. We also sampled emissions from a prescribed fire in the Konza Prairie Grasslands. Bioaerosol particles were measured using Wideband Integrated Bioaerosol Sensor-NEO (WIBS-NEO, DMT). WIBS uses fluorescence excitations (280 and 370 nm) to detect (310-400 nm and 420-650 nm) bioaerosols which are then classified according to fluorescence behavior, size, and a shape parameter. Our preliminary analyses suggest that smoldering and flaming temperatures contribute to emitting different types and shapes of bioaerosol particles. Additionally the emitted bioaerosols from our various fuels have different properties. The type and abundance of bioaerosol from the laboratory experiments will be compared to the prescribed fires.