Webinar title: Evolution of Reactive Organic Carbon and Its Potential Health Risk in Wildfire Smoke
Speaker: Havala O. T. Pye
Webinar time: September 20, 2024 (Friday) 14:00
Venue: Room 200, New Environmental Building
Inviter: Yue Zhao
Abstract:
Wildfires are an increasingly prominent source of emissions to air including particulate matter and hazardous air pollutants. Understanding the health implications of wildfire smoke is complicated by the fact that the composition of smoke emissions as well as their transformation products are incompletely characterized. In this work, we aim to build a relatively complete description of reactive organic carbon (ROC) emissions and their secondary products in wildland fires using a combination of observations and model predictions. Specifically, we gather observations from the DC-8 aircraft for western U.S. wildfires during the 2019 Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments and Air Quality (FIREX-AQ) field campaign and compare to predictions from the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model. Within CMAQ, we use the Community Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Multiphase Mechanism (CRACMM) with AMORE isoprene chemistry which has expanded secondary organic aerosol precursors including phenols, cresols, furans, semivolatile organic compounds, and intermediate volatility organic compounds relevant for wildland fires. After updating the emission inputs and chemical evolution of wildfire smoke, species concentrations will be extended to cancer and non-cancer estimates of risk.
About the speaker:
Dr. Havala O. T. Pye is a research scientist in the Office of Research and Development at the US Environmental Protection Agency. Dr. Pye’s work focuses on fine particles and other airborne pollutants that can impact human health and climate change. Specifically, she develops emission estimation methods and representations of atmospheric chemistry in the Community Multiscale Air Quality modeling system (http://www.epa.gov/cmaq) allowing for improved quantification of air pollution impacts. She is the lead scientist for development of the Community Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Multiphase Mechanism (CRACMM). Dr. Pye received her PhD from the California Institute of Technology in 2011 and a 2017 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers. More information about Dr. Pye and her work can be found at https://havalapye.wordpress.com/.