LONG TERM BIOMASS BURNING OBSERVATIONS IN SOUTH AMERICA AT BUENOS AIRES LIDAR STATION

LIDIA ANA OTERO; PABLO ROBERTO RISTORI; JACOBO SALVADOR; EDUARDO QUEL

Reunion Island

Simposio; An International Symposium Celebrating 20 Years of Global Atmospheric Research Fostered by NDACC/NDSC Observations; 2011

NDACC - Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change

Human initiated biomass burning events of massive surfaces in South America after the harvest can be observed at Buenos Aires close to September every year. These evens involve the transport of aerosol plumes along several measuring sites in Argentina, especially over two Aeronet and one lidar station. The Lidar Division at CEILAP (CITEFA-CONICET) performs routine lidar measurement and observes these events since the construction of the multiwavelength lidar in 2003. The lidar detect the atmospheric incoming radiation from the first three harmoics of a Nd:YAG laser, its nitrogen Raman shifted wavelength atmospheric returns of the visible and ultraviolet wavelengths and the water vapor Raman return of the ultraviolet wavelength atmospheric returns. This work summarizes the analysis and the conclusions achieved during of these observations periods. In general during the biomass burning event the aerosol optical depth at Buenos Aires is as far as two times the expected value. The layers arrive at heights between 3 and 6 km, normally not being donward mixed into the boundary layer.