Wildfire Smoke Influence on Cloud Water Chemical Composition at Whiteface Mountain, New York

Wildfires significantly impact air quality and climate, including through the production of aerosols that can nucleate cloud droplets and participate in aqueous‐phase reactions. Cloud water was collected during the summer months (June–September) of 2010–2017 at Whiteface Mountain, New York and exami...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of geophysical research. Atmospheres Vol. 127; no. 19; pp. e2022JD037177 - n/a
Main Authors:	Lee, Jamy Y., Peterson, Peter K., Vear, Logan R., Cook, Ryan D., Sullivan, Amy P., Smith, Ellie, Hawkins, Lelia N., Olson, Nicole E., Hems, Rachel, Snyder, Philip K., Pratt, Kerri A.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 16-10-2022 John Wiley and Sons Inc
Subjects:	Air masses Air quality Ammonium Ammonium compounds Atmospheric Composition and Structure Atmospheric Processes Biomass Biomass burning Boundary layers Burning Carbon monoxide Chemical composition chemistry Climate cloud Cloud droplets Cloud Physics and Chemistry Cloud water Clouds Clouds and Aerosols Composition and Chemistry Fire in the Earth System Geophysics Levoglucosan Mountains Organic carbon Organic compounds Ozone Potassium Probability theory Satellites Smoke Smoke particles Sulfates Summer Total organic carbon Tracers Troposphere: Constituent Transport and Chemistry Water analysis Water sampling wildfire Wildfires New York United States > US Whiteface Mountain chemistry cloud smoke biomass burning wildfire
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Summary:	Wildfires significantly impact air quality and climate, including through the production of aerosols that can nucleate cloud droplets and participate in aqueous‐phase reactions. Cloud water was collected during the summer months (June–September) of 2010–2017 at Whiteface Mountain, New York and examined for biomass burning influence. Cloud water samples were classified by their smoke influence based on backward air mass trajectories and satellite‐detected smoke. A total of 1,338 cloud water samples collected over 485 days were classified by their probability of smoke influence, with 49% of these days categorized as having moderate to high probability of smoke influence. Carbon monoxide and ozone levels were enhanced during smoke influenced days at the summit of Whiteface Mountain. Smoke‐influenced cloud water samples were characterized by enhanced concentrations of potassium, sulfate, ammonium, and total organic carbon, compared to samples lacking identified influence. Five cloud water samples were examined further for the presence of dissolved organic compounds, insoluble particles, and light‐absorbing components. The five selected cloud water samples contained the biomass burning tracer levoglucosan at 0.02–0.09 μM. Samples influenced by air masses that remained aloft, above the boundary layer during transport, had lower insoluble particle concentrations, larger insoluble particle diameters, and larger oxalate:sulfate ratios, suggesting cloud processing had occurred. These findings highlight the influence that local and long‐range transported smoke have on cloud water composition. Plain Language Summary Wildfires significantly impact air quality and climate, including through the production of smoke particles that can form clouds. Cloud water at Whiteface Mountain, New York during summer is frequently influenced by transported smoke from wildfires. This study examined 8 years of cloud water chemical composition data with support from air mass modeling and satellite‐detected smoke. These results are important in the context of increasing wildfires in recent years. Key Points Local and transported smoke influenced 49% of summertime cloud water samples Potassium, sulfate, ammonium, and total organic carbon were enhanced in smoke‐influenced cloud water Ozone and carbon monoxide levels were elevated at the summit of Whiteface Mountain during periods with high probability of smoke influence
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	2169-897X 2169-8996
DOI:	10.1029/2022JD037177