May 27, 2010
Fires, smoke, and aerosols activity in the US and Canada
Today, there is not much new to say about PM2.5 and Ozono products. The levels read today are pretty similar to those reported yesterday; good and moderate levels in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions. Nevertheless, some unhealthy levels for sensitive groups were read in those regions, mainly in Ohio for PM2.5 (top left) and the Virginias for Ozone (top right).
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As we reported yesterday, numerous wildfires in central Quebec are producing heavy, dense smoke plumes racing to the southeast. These plumes are quite large and are making the way into New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and out over the Atlantic Ocean (middle left).
AEROSOL ACTIVITY: In the Gulf of Mexico a large patch of aerosol/haze was visible through the day moving west across the north-central Gulf of Mexico, close to the Louisiana and Texas coastlines. In the Midwest, Agricultural burns took place over Nebraska, the Dakotas, and Minnesota producing light smoke earlier this evening. Also, aerosol/haze is currently situated over the state of Michigan
Also, a swath of aerosol, which is likely partially composed of smoke and possibly even blowing dust, stretches from Texas northward to the Central and Northern Plains. Smoke from the seasonal fires burning in Mexico and Central America may have been drawn northward and could be present in these areas. Additionally, large fires in southern New Mexico and northern New Mexico (near the Colorado border) are producing large smoke plumes which are moving in a northeastward direction and are merging with the band of aerosol over the Plains (middle right).
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According to the dense smoke coming from Canada to the east, GASP animated shows high AOD levels over the Mid- Atlantic region (bottom left) and the Leosphere Lidar located at UMBC detected aerosols aloft over an inhomogeneous boundary layer (top right).
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