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What is Biomass Burning?
- The burning of the world's living and dead vegetation for land clearing, land use change, and natural burning resulting from lightning-induced fires.
- It is generally believed that the vast majority (>90%) of biomass burning is human initiated and that biomass burning has increased significantly over the last 100 years.
Some Locations of Biomass Burning
- Tropical forests (Brazil, Indonesia, Colombia, Ivory Coast, Thailand, Laos, Nigeria, Phillipines, Burma, Peru)
- Temperate forests (U.S., Europe)
- Boreal forests (Alaska, Canada, Siberia, China)
- Savanna grasslands (Africa)
- Agricultural wastes after the harvest (U.S., Europe)
Biomass burning is a global process!
"Our planet and global environment are
witnessing the most profound changes in the
brief history of the human species. Human
activity is the major agent of those changes-
depletion of stratospheric ozone, the threat of
global warming, deforestation, acid
precipitation, the extinction of species, and
others that have not become apparent."
from Global Change and our Common Future,
National Research Council, 1989
The five processes of global change identified
above are all related to biomass burning!
"Human activities are transforming the
global environment, and these global
changes have many faces: ozone
depletion, tropical deforestation, acid
deposition, and increased atmospheric
concentrations of gases that trap heat
and may warm the global climate."
Frank Press, President, National Academy of Sciences, in the
Preface to "One Earth, One Future: Our Changing Global
Environment", National Academy of Sciences, 1990.
Biomass Burning is a Driver of Global Change
- Biomass burning is a significant global source of:
- greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide and methane, that lead to global warming
- chemically active gases, nitric oxide, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons, which lead to the photochemical production of tropospheric ozone and acid precipitation (nitric oxide)
- methyl bromide which leads to the photochemical destruction of stratospheric ozone
- atmospheric aerosols which impact global climate
- Other impacts of biomass burning:
- the biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen and carbon compounds from the soil to the atmosphere
- the hydrological cycle, i.e., run off and evaporation
- the reflectivity and emissivity of the land
- the stability of ecosystems and ecosystem biodiversity
Biomass Burning Research at NASA Langley Research Center
- Remote sensing of active fires and fire "scars" using satellite measurements (NOAA/AVHRR, DMSP/OLS).
- Measurements of gaseous and particulate emissions from burning in very diverse ecosystems (Both groundbased and airborne).
- Measurements of the impact of burning on the biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen gases (nitric oxide and nitrous oxide) from the soil to the atmosphere.
- Development of global inventories of biomass burning: Geographical and temporal distribution of burning and gaseous and particulate emissions. These global inventories will be available in the Langley DAAC.
- Other Langley biomass burning related research: MAPS, LITE, GTE TRACE-A, ERBE/CERES Surface Radiation Budget Project.
Biomass Burning Research at NASA Langley Research Center
Biomass Burning Field Experiments
- Chaparral fires, San Dimas Experiment Forest, CA, 1986, 1987.
- Wetlands fires, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, FL, 1987, 1988.
- Boreal forest fires, Ontaria, Canada, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990.
- Tropical rainforest fires, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, 1990, 1991.
- Kuwaiti oil fires, 1991 (At invitation of U.S. State Dept.).
- Savanna grassland fires, South Africa, 1992.
- Boreal forest fire, Bor Forest Island, Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, 1993.
Biomass Burning Research at NASA Langley Research Center
- Member, Science Steering Committee, IGBP/IGAC Biomass Burning Experiment (BIBEX).
- Member, Science Steering Committee, IGBP/IGAC Biosphere-Atmosphere Trace Gas Experiment (BATGE).
- Organizers and PI's, IGBP/IGAC Southern African Fire/Atmosphere Research Initiative (SAFARI).
- Organizer and PI, IGBP/IGAC Fire Research Campaign Asia-North (FIRESCAN).
- Co-Director, IGBP/IGAC Global Emissions Inventory Activity (GEIA) on Biomass Burning.
- Organizer and Chair, Conference on Biomass Burning: Atmospheric, Climatic, and Biospheric Implications, 1990.
- Organizer and Chair, Conference on Biomass Burning and Global Change, 1995.
- PI's, EPA Global Change Research Program/Biomass Burning: Biomass Burning Inventory & Boreal Forest Fires.
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