Long-range transport of Siberian wildfire emissions reduces NO x in downwind regions
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15549831 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Dongjin Kim (0000-0003-3562-0384, Pusan National University, corresponding author), Yunsoo Choi (0000-0002-4488-7833, University of Houston, corresponding author), Hyun Cheol Kim (0000-0003-3968-6145, NOAA Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, corresponding author), Arman Pouyaei (0000-0002-0128-0572, Princeton University, corresponding author), Jaehyeong Park (0000-0001-6359-5396, Pusan National University, corresponding author), Jeonghyeok Moon (0000-0002-4050-1024, Seoul National University, corresponding author), Chae-Yeong Yang (0009-0006-6173-0412, Pusan National University, corresponding author), Cheol‐Hee Kim (0000-0002-2967-4987, Pusan National University, corresponding author), Wonbae Jeon (0000-0002-4898-7292, Pusan National University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue | 12 |
| Pages | 124053-124053 |
| Publication date | 2025-11-27 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Environmental Research Letters (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1748-9326 • E-ISSN: 1748-9326 |
| Publisher | IOP Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1088/1748-9326/ae2526 |
| OpenAlex | W4416754088 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 46 |
Wildfires are widely known to increase atmospheric pollutant concentrations, deteriorating air quality. However, several studies have reported that wildfires can also reduce the concentrations of certain gaseous species. This study investigated the impacts of smoke plumes from wildfires that occurred in late July 2014 in Siberia, Russia, on downwind gaseous pollutants such as carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NO x ), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and ozone (O 3 ). The Community Multi-scale Air Quality model was employed for air quality simulations, and wildfire emissions were obtained from the Fire INventory from the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Wildfire-induced CO, VOCs, and O 3 were transported to Northeast China (NEC), the Yellow Sea (YS), and the Korean Peninsula (KP), resulting in elevated pollutant levels in these downwind regions. Interestingly, despite the transport of plumes, surface-level NO x concentrations over NEC, YS, and KP even decreased. Such reductions were not evident near the Siberian source areas but became apparent after the plumes reached the NEC region. In these regions, NO was converted through reactions with wildfire-induced VOCs (84.54%) and NO 3 radicals (13.18%), while NO 2 was primarily transformed into NO 3 radicals via reactions with O 3 (90.08%) or into organic nitrates through reactions with VOCs (9.92%). We found that the observed conversions in NO x concentrations were attributable to anthropogenic sources, as the conversion patterns varied depending on the level of anthropogenic NO x emissions in the sensitivity experiments. These results suggest that wildfire-driven NO x concentration changes in downwind regions cannot be fully explained by wildfire emissions alone. This study underscores the importance of accurately characterizing anthropogenic emission sources in regions affected by smoke plume transport to predict changes in gaseous pollutant concentrations following wildfire events. We expect that this study will enhance future wildfire-related research by improving the prediction of the spatial distribution and atmospheric behavior of gaseous pollutants
Air pollution · Air quality index · Atmosphere (unit · Carbon monoxide · Emission inventory · Nitrogen dioxide · Ozone · Pollutant · Smoke · Atmospheric aerosols and clouds · Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols · Fire effects on ecosystems
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |