Data assimilation and air quality - Air Pollution Modeling and Its Application - page 270

3.5 Daily Air Quality Predictions from the BlueSky
Gateway

Neil J.M. Wheeler 1 , Sean M. Raffuse 1 , Dana Coe Sullivan 1 , Kenneth J. Craig 1 ,
Stephen B. Reid 1 , Robert Solomon 2 , Tara Strand 2 , and Sim Larkin 2

1

Sonoma Technology, Inc., 1455 N. McDowell Blvd., Petaluma, CA 94954, USA

2

U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, 400 N. 34th St. #201, Seattle, WA
98103, USA

Abstract Smoke from biomass burning events, both large and small, contributes
to air quality problems associated with elevated concentrations of particulate
matter, ozone, and air toxics. Currently, real-time smoke predictions are via the
BlueSky smoke modeling framework. BlueSky modularly links computer models
of fuel consumption and emissions, fire, weather, and smoke dispersion into a
system for predicting the cumulative impacts of smoke from prescribed fires, wild-
fires, and agricultural fires. The BlueSky smoke modeling framework has recently
been upgraded in several key ways: satellite data are now incorporated, using
the SMARTFIRE system, to provide information on the location and size of fires;
the most recent fuel loading, fuel consumption, and emission models have been
added; and the Community Multiscale Air Quality model (CMAQ) is being used
to predict concentration fields of particulate matter and ozone nationally from both
fire and anthropogenic emissions. A general overview of the BlueSky program
and a description of its current features are provided. In particular, we focus on
BlueSky products of interest to the air quality community, such as daily experi-
mental predictions and how the products are being distributed through the
BlueSky Gateway web portal.

Keywords Air quality, particulate matter, ozone, forecasting, satellite, wildfire,

SMARTFIRE, BlueSky, CMAQ

1. Introduction

Smoke from biomass burning events, both large and small, contributes to air quality
problems such as particulate matter, ozone, and air toxics. Currently, real-time
smoke predictions are available across the coterminous United States via the
BlueSky smoke modeling framework. BlueSky modularly links computer models
of fuel consumption and emissions, fire, weather, and smoke dispersion into a
system for predicting the cumulative impacts of smoke from prescribed fires,