Influence of the transported Canadian wildfire smoke on the ozone and particle pollution over the Mid-Atlantic United States

The integration of observations and models can improve air quality forecasts (in particular ozone (O3) particulate matter (PM)) for extreme events (e.g., wildfires). We present our work on the Canadian wildfire event 6–12 June 2015 that impacted in Mid-Atlantic region U.S. use Weather Research Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry package (WRF-Chem), various measurements from both ground-based spaceborne observations, including Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) AirNow data, National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) operated TROPospheric OZone lidar (TROPOZ), wind radar profiler, ceilometer, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Cloud-Aerosol Lidar Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP). objective is to understand physics Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) its role O3 PM forecast. findings show captured diurnal variation spatial distribution horizontally vertically by comparing EPA MODIS/CALIOP respectively. Wildfire smoke was transported central Canada through Lake Michigan, passing Ohio River Valley down Baltimore-Washington D.C. metropolis. night-time mixing ratio reached 30 ppbv, while daytime approached larger than 100 ppbv near stations Maryland, due into PBL. novel NASA TROPOZ at Beltsville resolved vertical profile ceilometer identified intrusion altitudes above 3.5 km, but later mixed PBL surface which also model. Thus, integrating different platforms confirms source transport pathway improves understanding forecast during event.