Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2020

DOI

10.1029/2020GL088442

Publication Title

Geophysical Research Letters

Volume

47

Issue

15

Pages

e2020GL088442 (1-9)

Abstract

The Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE) is a satellite‐based mission that probes Earth's atmosphere via solar occultation. The primary instrument on board is a high‐resolution infrared Fourier transform spectrometer (Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer, ACE‐FTS), providing altitude‐resolved volume mixing ratio measurements for numerous atmospheric constituents, including many biomass burning products. The ACE mission has observed the aftermath of three major pyrocumulonimbus events, in which extreme heat from intense fires created a pathway for directly injecting into the stratosphere plumes of gaseous and aerosol pollutants. These three events were associated with severe Australian bushfires from 2009 and 2019/2020, along with intense North American wildfires from summer 2017. The ACE‐FTS measured stratospheric plumes containing aerosols, enhanced levels of gaseous fire products, and tropospheric air transported into the stratosphere. Infrared spectral features indicate strikingly similar aerosol composition for all three events, characteristic of oxygenated organic matter.

Comments

An edited version of this paper was published by AGU. Copyright 2020 American Geophysical Union.

Original Publication Citation

Boone, C., Bernath, P., & Fromm, M. (2020). Pyrocumulonimbus stratospheric plume injections measured by the ACE‐FTS. Geophysical Research Letters, 47(15), 1-9, Article e2020GL088442. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL088442

ORCID

0000-0002-1255-396X (Bernath)

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