Particle size distributions of wildfire aerosols in the western USA†

Abstract

Wildfires are a major source of aerosols during summer in the western United States. Aerosols emitted from wildfires could significantly affect air quality, human health, and the global climate. This study conducted a comparison of aerosol characteristics during wildfire smoke-influenced and non-smoke-influenced days. Ambient particle size distribution (PSD) data were collected in Reno, Nevada, between July 2017 and October 2020. During this period, the site was impacted by smoke from over a hundred wildfires burning in a wide range of ecosystems in the western United States located at different distances from the measurement site. The smoke-influenced days were identified using satellite images, a hazard mapping system, and wind back-trajectory. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) was applied to identify the main sources and their characteristics. The wildfire aerosols were observed to have a number mode diameter of 212 nm, which is significantly larger than aerosols on non-smoke-influenced days (61 nm). In addition to the increase in particle size, wildfires made a large contribution to PM_2.5 and CO concentrations. During fire-prone months (July, August, and September) from 2016 to 2021, 56% to 65% of PM_2.5 and 18% to 26% of CO concentrations could be attributed to wildfire emissions in the study area. On an annual basis, wildfire emissions were responsible for 35% to 47% of PM_2.5 concentrations and 5% to 12% of CO concentrations.