Articles | Volume 18, issue 16
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11863-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11863-2018
Research article
 | 
20 Aug 2018
Research article |  | 20 Aug 2018

Wildfires as a source of airborne mineral dust – revisiting a conceptual model using large-eddy simulation (LES)

Robert Wagner, Michael Jähn, and Kerstin Schepanski

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Cited articles

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Short summary
Wildfires can disturb the lower tropospheric wind conditions and are able to mobilize and inject mineral dust particles into the atmosphere. This study presents a conceptual model of fire-driven dust emissions using large-eddy simulations and evaluates how efficiently wildfires are able to modify the near-surface winds. The results show that typical threshold velocities necessary for dust emission are frequently exceeded and wildfires should be considered a source of airborne mineral dust.
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