Biomass burning influenced particle characteristics in Northern Territory Australia based on airborne measurements

Zoran D. Ristovski, Arinto Y.P. Wardoyo, Lidia Morawska, Milan Jamriska, S. Carr, Graham Johnson

Research output: Journal Publications and ReviewsRGC 21 - Publication in refereed journalpeer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Airborne measurements of particle number concentrations from biomass burning were conducted in the Northern Territory, Australia, during June and September campaigns in 2003, which is the early and the late dry season in that region. The airborne measurements were performed along horizontal flight tracks, at several heights in order to gain insight into the particle concentration levels and their variation with height within the lower boundary layer (LBL), upper boundary layer (UBL), and also in the free troposphere (FT). The measurements found that the concentration of particles during the early dry season was lower than that for the late dry season. For the June campaign, the concentration of particles in LBL, UBL, and FT were (685 ± 245) particles/cm3, (365 ± 183) particles/cm3, and (495 ± 45) particles/cm3 respectively. For the September campaign, the concentration of particles were found to be (1233 ± 274) particles/cm3 in the LBL, (651 ± 68) particles/cm3 in the UBL, and (568 ± 70) particles/cm3 in the FT. The particle size distribution measurements indicate that during the late dry season there was no change in the particle size distribution below (LBL) and above the boundary layer (UBL). This indicates that there was possibly some penetration of biomass burning particles into the upper boundary layer. In the free troposphere the particle concentration and size measured during both campaigns were approximately the same. © 2009 Elsevier B.V.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)103-109
JournalAtmospheric Research
Volume96
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2010
Externally publishedYes

Research Keywords

  • Airborne measurements
  • Biomass burning
  • Northern Territory Australia
  • Particle number concentration

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