Impacts of Biomass Burning on Free-Tropospheric Ozone Photochemistry over the Southern United States

During the record breaking 2011 drought over the Southern Plains of the United States, there were a variety of air quality impacts throughout the region due to increased occurrence of wildfires. Increases in particulate matter (PM2.5) were observed near areas of biomass burning and states such as Texas observed an increased number of ozone exceedances compared to previous years. To quantify the impacts of drought influenced biomass burning on ozone and its precursors during the 2011 drought, simulations using WRF-CMAQ with and without biomass burning emissions are employed. The results of this study will help in further understanding the impacts of drought on air quality.