资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

Biomass burning is a source of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) air pollution, which adversely impacts human health. However, quantifying the health effects from biomass burning PM_2.5 is difficult. Monitoring networks generally lack the spatial density needed to capture the heterogeneity of biomass burning smoke. Satellite aerosol optical depth (AOD) can be used to fill spatial gaps but does not distinguish surface‐level aerosols. Plume height (PH) observations may provide constraints on the vertical distribution of smoke and its impact on surface concentrations. We assessed PH characteristics from Multi‐Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC) and evaluated its correlation with co‐located PM_2.5 and AOD measurements. PH is generally highest over the western US. The ratio PM_2.5:AOD generally decreases with increasing PH:PBLH (planetary boundary layer height), showing that PH has the potential to refine surface PM_2.5 estimates for collections of smoke events.