Representing extreme fires and their radiative effects in a global climate model via variable scaling of emissions

Quaye, Elizabeth; Johnson, Ben T.; Haywood, James M.; van der Werf, Guido R.; Vernooij, Roland; Sitch, Stephen A.; Eames, Tom

doi:10.5194/acp-26-6629-2026

Articles | Volume 26, issue 10

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-6629-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-6629-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 26, issue 10

Research article

|

18 May 2026

Research article |

| 18 May 2026

Representing extreme fires and their radiative effects in a global climate model via variable scaling of emissions

Elizabeth Quaye, Ben T. Johnson, James M. Haywood, Guido R. van der Werf, Roland Vernooij, Stephen A. Sitch, and Tom Eames

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-6629-2026-supplement

Data sets

Aerosol Optical Depth, North America, September 2020 level 2 data AERONET https://aeronet.gsfc.nasa.gov/new_web/draw_map_display_aod_v3.html?level=3

Daily Global Fire Emissions Database, Version 4.1 (beta), years 2019 and 2020 GFED4.1s https://www.geo.vu.nl/~gwerf/GFED/GFED4/

Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership, Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite, November 2019--December 2020, AERDB_D3_VIIRS_SNPP - VIIRS/SNPP Deep Blue Level 3 daily aerosol data, 1x1 degree grid SNPP VIIRS https://ladsweb.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/missions-and-measurements/products/AERDB_D3_VIIRS_SNPP

Interactive computing environment -- Representing extreme fires and their radiative effects in a global climate model via variable scaling of emissions E. Quaye https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19633143

Interactive computing environment

Interactive computing environment- Representing extreme fires and their radiative effects in a global climate model via variable scaling of emissions Elizabeth Quaye https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19633143

Download

Article (9776 KB)
Full-text XML

Short summary

We find aerosol optical depths in a global climate model are overestimated during extreme wildfire events if emissions are scaled up by a factor of two, typically applied to improve simulated aerosol on seasonal–annual timescales. We propose a technique where a variable scaling factor is determined by fuel consumption, improving correlation in five fire-affected areas. We explore the impact of this change on aerosol radiative effects, during extreme events and on broader space and time scales.