Forest fire smoke in the stratosphere: New insights into pyrocumulonimbus clouds
Monday, August 30, 2010 - 10:07
in Earth & Climate
Meteorologists are now discovering that changes in the frequency of occurrence and intensity of wildfires has substantial consequences for a variety of important problems including atmospheric changes. Superimposed on this important topic is a relatively new discovery: forest fire smoke in the stratosphere, an area of the atmosphere that begins nearly 38 thousand feet above the Earth's surface. As a result, a poorly understood aspect of wildfire behavior -- pyrocumulonimbus firestorm dynamics and atmospheric impact -- is becoming the focus of increasing attention.