High PM2.5 Events in the North Eastern United States From Wild Fires

Wild fires have an adverse impact on air quality and pose a risk to human health. Short-term exposure to increased suspended fine particulate matter concentrations (PM2.5) has been significantly associated with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. In this work we perform a comprehensive, large-scale study to assess the spread of aerosols from wild fires and impact on surface PM2.5.  The spatial and temporal extent of increased surface PM2.5 from Large Canadian fires over the north eastern US is examined for an eleven-year period. The occurrence of high-PM2.5 events is examined using the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Air Quality System (AQS) ground PM2.5 measurements and the Goddard Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport (GOCART) model. The frequency, intensity, composition and primary source of high-PM2.5 events in the north eastern US between 2002-2013 will be quantified.