Southern Hemispheric Biomass Burning as Seen by Mipas: C2h6 and Ozone

The Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) provides spectrally resolved limb radiance measurements from the upper troposphere to the mesosphere. Under cloud free conditions, these spectral radiances are used to retrieve global distributions of mixing ratios of atmospheric trace species down to the upper troposphere. From 21 October to 14 November 2003, MIPAS observed enhanced amounts of upper tropospheric C2H6 and ozone. By means of trajectory calculations, the enhancements observed in the Southern hemisphere are attributed to a biomass burning plume, which covered wide parts of the Southern hemisphere. It extended from South America to the Southern Atlantic ocean, Africa, the Indian Ocean and Australia. The chemical composition of the plume varied with the source region. African savanna fires led to a higher ozone/ethane ratio than South American rainforest burning.