Advancing the Understanding of Wildfire Impacts on Stratospheric Chemistry

This project is focused on studying the stratospheric chemistry of organic aerosols from wildfires. While it has been known for several years that intense wildfires are able to generate pyrocumulonimbus clouds that can inject wildfire smoke into the stratosphere, only recently have the effects of wildfire smoke on stratospheric chemistry been of interest. This project will study the long-term decay of wildfire aerosols and their chemical impacts in the stratosphere. A better understanding of wildfires linkages to stratospheric chemistry is important for understanding chemistry-climate coupling and the broader impacts of climate change. This effort involves several linked components. These include the study of: (i) the chemical impacts of increased hydrogen bromide (HBr) solubility in organic wildfire aerosols; (ii) ozone production in stratospheric air by wildfire emissions; (iii) long-term decay of wildfire aerosols associated with the 2020 Australian wildfire event; (iv) the evolution and chemistry of specific wildfire events in both hemispheres; and (v) the use of observations and modeling to assess the impacts of concurrent wildfire and volcanic loadings on light extinction and chemistry in the stratosphere. This effort will provide mentoring and support for a full-time graduate student who will carry out the modeling simulations. An undergraduate student will also be supported to collect and analyze the satellite and lidar data. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.