Contribution of forest fire emissions to atmospheric pollution in Greece

Lazaridis, M; Latos, M; Aleksandropoulou, V; Hov, O; Papayannis, A; Torseth, K

dc.contributor.author	Lazaridis, M	en
dc.contributor.author	Latos, M	en
dc.contributor.author	Aleksandropoulou, V	en
dc.contributor.author	Hov, O	en
dc.contributor.author	Papayannis, A	en
dc.contributor.author	Torseth, K	en
dc.date.accessioned	2014-03-01T01:57:06Z
dc.date.available	2014-03-01T01:57:06Z
dc.date.issued	2008	en
dc.identifier.issn	18739318	en
dc.identifier.uri	https://dspace.lib.ntua.gr/xmlui/handle/123456789/28344
dc.subject	Emissions	en
dc.subject	Forest fire	en
dc.subject	Modeling	en
dc.subject	UAM-AERO	en
dc.title	Contribution of forest fire emissions to atmospheric pollution in Greece	en
heal.type	journalArticle	en
heal.identifier.primary	10.1007/s11869-008-0020-0	en
heal.identifier.secondary	http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11869-008-0020-0	en
heal.publicationDate	2008	en
heal.abstract	Forest fires are a major contributor of atmospheric gaseous and particulate pollutants. With respect to forest fires, Greece faces one of Europe's most severe problems during summer. To create a forest fire emissions inventory, a database which holds data for forest fires in Greece during the period 1997-2003 was established in this study and a methodology for the quantification of both gaseous and particulate matter emissions from forest fires was developed. The contribution of forest fire pollutant emissions to the total anthropogenic and natural emissions in Greece has been estimated in detail for a specific period during July 2000 when widespread forest fires occurred in the Greek mainland. The mesoscale air quality modeling system UAM-AERO was used to quantify the contribution of forest fire emissions to the air pollution levels in Greece, and it was calculated that the forest fire emissions were the largest contributors to the air pollution problem in regions tens of kilometers away from the fire source during this period. The wildfire emissions were calculated to cause an increase in the average PM10 concentration, organic aerosol mass, and gaseous concentration of several pollutants, among them CO, NOx, and NH3. An average contribution of 50% to the PM10 concentration over the region around the burnt area and downwind of the fire source (approximately 500 km) is calculated with a maximum of 80%, whereas, for CO, the average contribution was 50% during this period. The theoretical calculations were compared with in situ observations of smoke aerosols captured by a backscatter lidar system over the Greater Athens Basin as well as with surface observations of NO2 and O3 and the calculated concetrations were in better agreement with observations when forest fire emissions were included in the model calculations. © The Author(s) 2008.	en
heal.journalName	Air Quality, Atmosphere and Health	en
dc.identifier.doi	10.1007/s11869-008-0020-0	en
dc.identifier.volume	1	en
dc.identifier.issue	3	en
dc.identifier.spage	143	en
dc.identifier.epage	158	en