Generating emissions and meteorology to model the impacts of biomass burning emissions on regional air quality in South Africa

Abstract

Biomass burning is a source category that is often ignored in pollution dispersion modelling simulations. This study presents a unique contribution to the quantification of emissions from biomass burning for high resolution modelling. Previous work focussed on quantifying gaseous and aerosol particulate pollutants from vegetation fires for the main burning season (July –September) in the Kruger National Park (KNP), 2000. The current included the development of a spatially and temporally resolved emissions inventory using a bottom up approach in a GIS (Arc GIS vers. 9.1). Further to this, back and forward wind trajectories were computed for the domain of interest, in order to investigate the possible transport of pollutant emissions. The bottom-up approach and sources of data and assumptions used to generate the emissions inventory are discussed. The domain of interest extends 600km from north to south and 600km west to east around the Kruger National Park. The grid cell resolution is 5km x 5km regular intervals. The quantification of high resolution emissions in this work will be used further as input for regional scale atmospheric modelling simulations, in order to determine the potential impacts of biomass burning emissions on air quality. This study presents a unique contribution to the quantification and high resolution modelling of emissions from biomass burning and will present the methodology used to estimate emissions, the relevant emissions inventory, and results of air mass transport in the region.