Field Measurements of PM2.5 and Carbon Emissions from Prescribed Fires

Prescribed fires are a frequently utilized land-management tool in the Southeastern US. It is estimated > one million acres are consumed annually by prescribed fires in Georgia and eight million acres in southern states combined. In order to better characterize emissions and impacts from prescribed fire, in situ data were obtained from six fires within the active burn perimeter using a 10 m instrumented flux tower at the Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center at Ichauway, Georgia. Turbulence and temperature data at 10 m were sampled at 10 Hz using a sonic anemometer and fine-wire thermocouples respectively. Measurements of PM2.5, CO and CO2 were sampled within the burn perimeter and PM2.5 and Black Carbon PM2.5 concentrations were sampled 0.5 km downwind of the burn unit using a 2 m instrumented tripod. Results will help quantify the emissions and impacts of PM2.5 and CO and CO2 during flaming and smoldering stages under different fire return regimes. In addition, the considerable amount a heat release and flux data gathered from these prescribed fires suggests that near surface atmospheric conditions were directly impacted by increased turbulence generation.