Integration of a Coupled Fire-Atmosphere Model Into a Regional Air Quality Forecasting System for Wildfire Events

The objective of this study was to assess feasibility of integrating a coupled fire-atmosphere model within an air-quality forecast system to create a multiscale air-quality modeling framework designed to simulate wildfire smoke. For this study, a coupled fire-atmosphere model, WRF-SFIRE, was integr...

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Autores principales:	Adam K. Kochanski, Farren Herron-Thorpe, Derek V. Mallia, Jan Mandel, Joseph K. Vaughan
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
Materias:	air quality modeling smoke modeling fire modeling coupled fire-atmosphere model WRF-SFIRE AIRPACT Forestry SD1-669.5 Environmental sciences GE1-350
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/7ab379ecebb44d24900b24d63696859d
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:7ab379ecebb44d24900b24d63696859d2021-11-10T06:38:19ZIntegration of a Coupled Fire-Atmosphere Model Into a Regional Air Quality Forecasting System for Wildfire Events2624-893X10.3389/ffgc.2021.728726https://doaj.org/article/7ab379ecebb44d24900b24d63696859d2021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2021.728726/fullhttps://doaj.org/toc/2624-893XThe objective of this study was to assess feasibility of integrating a coupled fire-atmosphere model within an air-quality forecast system to create a multiscale air-quality modeling framework designed to simulate wildfire smoke. For this study, a coupled fire-atmosphere model, WRF-SFIRE, was integrated, one-way, with the AIRPACT air-quality modeling system. WRF-SFIRE resolved local meteorology, fire growth, the fire plume rise, and smoke dispersion, and provided AIRPACT with fire inputs. The WRF-SFIRE-forecasted fire area and the explicitly resolved vertical smoke distribution replaced the parameterized BlueSky fire inputs used by AIRPACT. The WRF-SFIRE/AIRPACT integrated framework was successfully tested for two separate wildfire events (2015 Cougar Creek and 2016 Pioneer fires). The execution time for the WRF-SFIRE simulations was <3 h for a 48 h-long forecast, suggesting that integrating coupled fire-atmosphere simulations within the daily AIRPACT cycle is feasible. While the WRF-SFIRE forecasts realistically captured fire growth 2 days in advance, the largest improvements in the air quality simulations were associated with the wildfire plume rise. WRF-SFIRE-estimated plume tops were within 300-m of satellite-estimated plume top heights for both case studies analyzed in this study. Air quality simulations produced by AIRPACT with and without WRF-SFIRE inputs were evaluated with nearby PM2.5 measurement sites to assess the performance of our multiscale smoke modeling framework. The largest improvements when coupling WRF-SFIRE with AIRPACT were observed for the Cougar Creek Fire where model errors were reduced by ∼50%. For the second case (Pioneer fire), the most notable change with WRF-SFIRE coupling was that the probability of detection increased from 16 to 52%.Adam K. KochanskiFarren Herron-ThorpeDerek V. MalliaJan MandelJoseph K. VaughanFrontiers Media S.A.articleair quality modelingsmoke modelingfire modelingcoupled fire-atmosphere modelWRF-SFIREAIRPACTForestrySD1-669.5Environmental sciencesGE1-350ENFrontiers in Forests and Global Change, Vol 4 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	air quality modeling smoke modeling fire modeling coupled fire-atmosphere model WRF-SFIRE AIRPACT Forestry SD1-669.5 Environmental sciences GE1-350
spellingShingle	air quality modeling smoke modeling fire modeling coupled fire-atmosphere model WRF-SFIRE AIRPACT Forestry SD1-669.5 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Adam K. Kochanski Farren Herron-Thorpe Derek V. Mallia Jan Mandel Joseph K. Vaughan Integration of a Coupled Fire-Atmosphere Model Into a Regional Air Quality Forecasting System for Wildfire Events
description	The objective of this study was to assess feasibility of integrating a coupled fire-atmosphere model within an air-quality forecast system to create a multiscale air-quality modeling framework designed to simulate wildfire smoke. For this study, a coupled fire-atmosphere model, WRF-SFIRE, was integrated, one-way, with the AIRPACT air-quality modeling system. WRF-SFIRE resolved local meteorology, fire growth, the fire plume rise, and smoke dispersion, and provided AIRPACT with fire inputs. The WRF-SFIRE-forecasted fire area and the explicitly resolved vertical smoke distribution replaced the parameterized BlueSky fire inputs used by AIRPACT. The WRF-SFIRE/AIRPACT integrated framework was successfully tested for two separate wildfire events (2015 Cougar Creek and 2016 Pioneer fires). The execution time for the WRF-SFIRE simulations was <3 h for a 48 h-long forecast, suggesting that integrating coupled fire-atmosphere simulations within the daily AIRPACT cycle is feasible. While the WRF-SFIRE forecasts realistically captured fire growth 2 days in advance, the largest improvements in the air quality simulations were associated with the wildfire plume rise. WRF-SFIRE-estimated plume tops were within 300-m of satellite-estimated plume top heights for both case studies analyzed in this study. Air quality simulations produced by AIRPACT with and without WRF-SFIRE inputs were evaluated with nearby PM2.5 measurement sites to assess the performance of our multiscale smoke modeling framework. The largest improvements when coupling WRF-SFIRE with AIRPACT were observed for the Cougar Creek Fire where model errors were reduced by ∼50%. For the second case (Pioneer fire), the most notable change with WRF-SFIRE coupling was that the probability of detection increased from 16 to 52%.
format	article
author	Adam K. Kochanski Farren Herron-Thorpe Derek V. Mallia Jan Mandel Joseph K. Vaughan
author_facet	Adam K. Kochanski Farren Herron-Thorpe Derek V. Mallia Jan Mandel Joseph K. Vaughan
author_sort	Adam K. Kochanski
title	Integration of a Coupled Fire-Atmosphere Model Into a Regional Air Quality Forecasting System for Wildfire Events
title_short	Integration of a Coupled Fire-Atmosphere Model Into a Regional Air Quality Forecasting System for Wildfire Events
title_full	Integration of a Coupled Fire-Atmosphere Model Into a Regional Air Quality Forecasting System for Wildfire Events
title_fullStr	Integration of a Coupled Fire-Atmosphere Model Into a Regional Air Quality Forecasting System for Wildfire Events
title_full_unstemmed	Integration of a Coupled Fire-Atmosphere Model Into a Regional Air Quality Forecasting System for Wildfire Events
title_sort	integration of a coupled fire-atmosphere model into a regional air quality forecasting system for wildfire events
publisher	Frontiers Media S.A.
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/7ab379ecebb44d24900b24d63696859d
work_keys_str_mv	AT adamkkochanski integrationofacoupledfireatmospheremodelintoaregionalairqualityforecastingsystemforwildfireevents AT farrenherronthorpe integrationofacoupledfireatmospheremodelintoaregionalairqualityforecastingsystemforwildfireevents AT derekvmallia integrationofacoupledfireatmospheremodelintoaregionalairqualityforecastingsystemforwildfireevents AT janmandel integrationofacoupledfireatmospheremodelintoaregionalairqualityforecastingsystemforwildfireevents AT josephkvaughan integrationofacoupledfireatmospheremodelintoaregionalairqualityforecastingsystemforwildfireevents
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Integration of a Coupled Fire-Atmosphere Model Into a Regional Air Quality Forecasting System for Wildfire Events

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