Continental-scale partitioning of fire emissions during the 1997-2001 El Niño / La Niña period
Abstract
During the 1997-1998 El Niño event, the terrestrial biosphere experienced drought conditions that triggered widespread increases in fire activity. We combined satellite-based estimates of the timing and spatial distribution of fires, biogeochemical modeling, and an inverse analysis of atmospheric CO anomalies to evaluate the contribution of fire emissions from different continents to trace gas variability during this period. While anomalously high fire emissions from Southeast Asia accounted for ~60% of the global fire emissions anomaly during the El Niño period, our analysis identified that significant, and previously underestimated, contributions from Central America (20%) northern boreal regions (10%), and South America (south of the equator; 10%) were also critically important in terms of explaining observed atmospheric trace gas anomalies. Globally, total carbon emissions from fires were 2 Pg C/yr higher in 1998 than in 2000, and accounted for ~2/3 of the CO2 growth rate anomaly during late 1997 and early 1998.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2003
- Bibcode:
- 2003AGUFM.A51B..08V
- Keywords:
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- 0315 Biosphere/atmosphere interactions;
- 0330 Geochemical cycles;
- 1610 Atmosphere (0315;
- 0325);
- 1615 Biogeochemical processes (4805)