North American Fine Particulate Matter Chemical Composition for 2000-2022 from Satellites, Models, and Monitors: The Changing Contribution of Wildfires.

Air quality management benefits from an in-depth understanding of the emissions associated with, and composition of, local PM concentrations. Here, we investigate the changing role of biomass burning emissions to North American PM exposure by combining multiple satellite-, ground-, and simulation-based data sets biweekly at a 0.01° × 0.

Impact of the 2022 New Mexico, US wildfires on air quality and health.

The 2022 wildfires in New Mexico, United States, were unparalleled compared to past wildfires in the state in both their scale and intensity, resulting in poor air quality and a catastrophic loss of habitat and livelihood. Among all wildfires in New Mexico in 2022, six wildfires were selected for our study based on the size of the burn area and their proximity to populated areas. These fires accounted for approximately 90 % of the total burn area in New Mexico in 2022.

Quantifying Prescribed-Fire Smoke Exposure Using Low-Cost Sensors and Satellites: Springtime Burning in Eastern Kansas.

Prescribed fires (fires intentionally set for mitigation purposes) produce pollutants, which have negative effects on human and animal health. One of the pollutants produced from fires is fine particulate matter (PM). The Flint Hills (FH) region of Kansas experiences extensive prescribed burning each spring (March-May).

Disparities in Air Pollutants Across Racial, Ethnic, and Poverty Groups at US Public Schools.

We investigate socioeconomic disparities in air quality at public schools in the contiguous US using high resolution estimates of fine particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen dioxide (NO) concentrations. We find that schools with higher proportions of people of color (POC) and students eligible for the federal free or reduced lunch program, a proxy for poverty level, are associated with higher pollutant concentrations. For example, we find that the median annual NO concentration for White students, nationally, was 7.

Differential Cardiopulmonary Health Impacts of Local and Long-Range Transport of Wildfire Smoke.

We estimated cardiopulmonary morbidity and mortality associated with wildfire smoke (WFS) fine particulate matter (PM) in the Front Range of Colorado from 2010 to 2015. To estimate WFS PM, we developed a daily kriged PM surface at a 15  × 15 km resolution based on the Environmental Protection Agency Air Quality System monitors for the western United States; we subtracted out local seasonal-average PM of nonsmoky days, identified using satellite-based smoke plume estimates, from the local daily estimated PM if smoke was identified by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Hazard Mapping System. We implemented time-stratified case-crossover analyses to estimate the effect of a 10 µg/m increase in WFS PM with cardiopulmonary hospitalizations and deaths using single and distributed lag models for lags 0-5 and distinct annual impacts based on local and long-range smoke during 2012, and long-range transport of smoke in 2015.

Estimated Mortality and Morbidity Attributable to Smoke Plumes in the United States: Not Just a Western US Problem.

As anthropogenic emissions continue to decline and emissions from landscape (wild, prescribed, and agricultural) fires increase across the coming century, the relative importance of landscape-fire smoke on air quality and health in the United States (US) will increase. Landscape fires are a large source of fine particulate matter (PM), which has known negative impacts on human health. The seasonal and spatial distribution, particle composition, and co-emitted species in landscape-fire emissions are different from anthropogenic sources of PM.

Associations Between Wildfire-Related PM and Intensive Care Unit Admissions in the United States, 2006-2015.

Wildfire smoke is a growing public health concern in the United States. Numerous studies have documented associations between ambient smoke exposure and severe patient outcomes for single-fire seasons or limited geographic regions. However, there are few national-scale health studies of wildfire smoke in the United States, few studies investigating Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admissions as an outcome, and few specifically framed around hospital operations.

Hazardous Air Pollutants in Fresh and Aged Western US Wildfire Smoke and Implications for Long-Term Exposure.

Wildfires have a significant adverse impact on air quality in the United States (US). To understand the potential health impacts of wildfire smoke, many epidemiology studies rely on concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM) as a smoke tracer. However, there are many gas-phase hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that are also present in wildfire smoke plumes.

Global Estimates and Long-Term Trends of Fine Particulate Matter Concentrations (1998-2018).

Exposure to outdoor fine particulate matter (PM) is a leading risk factor for mortality. We develop global estimates of annual PM concentrations and trends for 1998-2018 using advances in satellite observations, chemical transport modeling, and ground-based monitoring. Aerosol optical depths (AODs) from advanced satellite products including finer resolution, increased global coverage, and improved long-term stability are combined and related to surface PM concentrations using geophysical relationships between surface PM and AOD simulated by the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model with updated algorithms.

The association between wildfire smoke exposure and asthma-specific medical care utilization in Oregon during the 2013 wildfire season.

Wildfire smoke (WFS) increases the risk of respiratory hospitalizations. We evaluated the association between WFS and asthma healthcare utilization (AHCU) during the 2013 wildfire season in Oregon. WFS particulate matter ≤ 2.

Impact of Wildfire Smoke on Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes in Colorado, 2007-2015.

Colorado is regularly impacted by long-range transport of wildfire smoke from upwind regions. This smoke is a major source of ambient PM. Maternal exposure to total PM during pregnancy has been linked to decreased birth weight and other adverse outcomes, although the impact of wildfire smoke contribution has only recently been investigated.

A national burden assessment of estimated pediatric asthma emergency department visits that may be attributed to elevated ozone levels associated with the presence of smoke.

Asthma is the most common pediatric disease in the USA. It has been consistently demonstrated that asthma symptoms are exacerbated by exposure to ozone. Ozone (O) is a secondary pollutant produced when volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are oxidized in the atmosphere in the presence of nitrogen oxides (NO).

Contribution of Wildland-Fire Smoke to US PM and Its Influence on Recent Trends.

Seasonal-mean concentrations of particulate matter with diameters smaller than 2.5 μm (PM) have been decreasing across the United States (US) for several decades, with large reductions in spring and summer in the eastern US. In contrast, summertime-mean PM in the western US has not significantly decreased.

Comparison of wildfire smoke estimation methods and associations with cardiopulmonary-related hospital admissions.

Climate forecasts predict an increase in frequency and intensity of wildfires. Associations between health outcomes and population exposure to smoke from Washington 2012 wildfires were compared using surface monitors, chemical-weather models, and a novel method blending three exposure information sources. The association between smoke particulate matter ≤2.

Spatial and temporal estimates of population exposure to wildfire smoke during the Washington state 2012 wildfire season using blended model, satellite, and in situ data.

In the western U.S., smoke from wild and prescribed fires can severely degrade air quality.

Exploring the Uncertainty Associated with Satellite-Based Estimates of Premature Mortality due to Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter.

The negative impacts of fine particulate matter (PM) exposure on human health are a primary motivator for air quality research. However, estimates of the air pollution health burden vary considerably and strongly depend on the datasets and methodology. Satellite observations of aerosol optical depth (AOD) have been widely used to overcome limited coverage from surface monitoring and to assess the global population exposure to PM and the associated premature mortality.