%0 Journal Article
%T An Evaluation of Modeled Plume Injection Height with Satellite-Derived Observed Plume Height
%A Sean M. Raffuse
%A Kenneth J. Craig
%A Narasimhan K. Larkin
%A Tara T. Strand
%A Dana Coe Sullivan
%A Neil J. M. Wheeler
%A Robert Solomon
%J Atmosphere
%D 2012
%I MDPI AG
%R 10.3390/atmos3010103
%X Plume injection height influences plume transport characteristics, such as range and potential for dilution. We evaluated plume injection height from a predictive wildland fire smoke transport model over the contiguous United States (U.S.) from 2006 to 2008 using satellite-derived information, including plume top heights from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) Plume Height Climatology Project and aerosol vertical profiles from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP). While significant geographic variability was found in the comparison between modeled plumes and satellite-detected plumes, modeled plume heights were lower overall. In the eastern U.S., satellite-detected and modeled plume heights were similar (median height 671 and 660 m respectively). Both satellite-derived and modeled plume injection heights were higher in the western U.S. (2345 and 1172 m, respectively). Comparisons of modeled plume injection height to satellite-derived plume height at the fire location ( R 2 = 0.1) were generally worse than comparisons done downwind of the fire ( R 2 = 0.22). This suggests that the exact injection height is not as important as placement of the plume in the correct transport layer for transport modeling.
%K plume injection height
%K biomass burning
%K CALIPSO
%K MISR
%K aerosol
%U http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/3/1/103