Smoke plume optical properties and transport observed by a multi-wavelength lidar, sunphotometer and satellite

Optical characteristics and long-distance transport of smoke plumes are studied using satellite observations and ground-based remote sensing in New York City. Vertical distribution and column optical properties of aerosol plume are derived from a combination of multi-wavelength lidar and sunphotometer measurement. Aloft smoke plumes from two cases are investigated in this paper from U.S. western and south-western forest fires. The smoke source and transport pathway to the U.S. east coast are analyzed by MODIS and CALIOP imageries as well as HYSPLIT backward trajectory analysis. In both cases, the plumes have relatively high optical depth (as much as 1.2 at 500-nm) and Angstrom exponent of up to 1.8, but show different intrusion heights, source regions and transport process. Lidar profiling observations indicate these smoke plumes mixing downward into the planetary-boundary-layer which are coincident with increasing trends of surface PM2.5 (particulate matter, diameter < 2.5 μm) concentrations.

► Smoke plumes optical properties and temporal-spatial distributions are presented.
► Intra-continental transport and origins of smoke plumes are investigated.
► Influences on the PBL and surface PM2.5 by smoke-plumes are illustrated.