Impact of Biomass Burning on Earth’s Radiation Budget, Air Quality and Human Health

Dear Colleagues,

Biomass burning emissions greatly impact both the atmospheric composition of trace gases and aerosols and their respective loadings, cloud formation and precipitation, and can be responsible for severe localized weather events and pyrocumulonimbus outbreaks, all shaping the Earth’s radiative budget.  Additionally, because these emissions are strongly dependent on burn ecosystems (e.g., vegetated and urban ecosystems), their impacts on air quality and, in turn, human health can vary significantly.  Recent work has highlighted that the severity and frequency of wildfires are likely to increase in the future because of global warming and that this trend could limit the effectiveness of future mitigation strategies focused on the prevention of and reduction in wildfire consequences. The key component of these strategies, which include wildfire management that will achieve less fire-prone environments and cleaner air, is an improved understanding of the relationships between biomass burning emissions and (i) the climate, (ii) weather, and (iii) ecosystems.

We invite original research and review articles that cover laboratory and field measurements, ground-based and satellite retrievals, and modeling studies to further our understanding of the complex biomass burning relationships and impacts highlighted above. Specific areas of interest include, but are not limited to, integrated analyses and multi-modelling frameworks aimed at understanding complex aerosol–cloud–radiation interactions and wildfire air quality–human health connections (e.g., smoke toxicity). Approaches for handling the wildland–urban interface, such as the effects of wildland biomass burning events on human health in urban areas, are also encouraged.

Dr. Evgueni Kassianov
Dr. Manish Shrivastava
Prof. Manvendra Dubey
Dr. Arthur J. Sedlacek
Guest Editors

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