Tropical and grassland fires release large amounts of aerosol particles. These particles can either warm up or cool down the planet. There is a lot of uncertainty about the impact of these particles.
‘Our new technique improves the modelling of climate and health impacts of tropical fire aerosols', says Zhong. ‘This has social benefits, since both climate change and air quality are leading global issues.’ Zhong and Schutgens developed a new technique that combines model simulations with observations from satellites and ground stations. With this technique they can disentangle various model error sources and improve the modelling of fire aerosols. This will lead to a better understanding of the climate and health impacts of tropical forest fires.
Current models
The models currently used by researchers to understand the impact of these particles are highly uncertain. Much attention is paid to the amount of aerosols emitted into the air. Other aspects, such as the removal of these aerosols by rain, or their warming or cooling ability, have received less attention so far. Incorrect assumptions about these aspects lead to significant errors in the current models.
Secondary aerosol formation
In addition, they found evidence of the so-called secondary aerosol formation: the condensation of certain gases that increases total aerosol mass. Their analysis suggests this is an important process over the Amazon, but not the African Savanna. This finding opens new opportunities for studying fire aerosols. The article in Science Advances is a follow-up on two previous studies in Nature Communications and Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.