Collaborative Research: Biomass Burning Emission Over Southern Africa

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Biomass burning is a major source for atmospheric pollution over southern Africa as well as globally. Biomass burning emits a large variety of gaseous and particulate compounds with significant implications to atmospheric and biogeochemical cycles. This collaborative research project with Paul Crutzen, University of California, San Diego, Scripps, is a laboratory investigation of biomass burning in the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry experimental fire facility. The biofuels to be studied will be collected by collaborating SAFARI-2000 investigators during the dry season of 2000 in three regions of southern Africa that are representative for major ecosystem types: The Etosha National Park in northern Namibia, the Kruger National Park in north-east South Africa and woodland sites in Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Mozambique (the Miombo Network). The experiments provide a partially controlled burning environment and will be used to measure major exhaust species (CO2; CO; CH3Cl, CH3Br, CH3I; NOx; N2O; CH4; NH3; HCl, HNO3; SO2, HCOOH, CH3COOH; alkaline-reactive, volatile Cl, Br and I; the ionic composition of particles including chloride, bromide, nitrate, sulfate, formic and acetic acid; and the elemental composition of particles including C, N, Cl, Br, I, S) as well as the elemental content of both biofuels and ash-residues. The results of this study will be integrated with those from other SAFARI-2000 investigators to model regional biomass burning emissions of halogen-, nitrogen-, sulfur-, carbon-containing compounds.