Spatio-temporal variation of biomass burning sources over South and Southeast Asia

In this study, we have investigated the seasonality and long-term trends of major biomass burning (BB) sources over South and Southeast Asia (S-SE Asia). The activities of BB and related emissions show bi-modal seasonality in S-SE Asia. From January to May period, the BB dominates in the northern hemisphere parts of S-SE Asia. From July to September, the activities shift to the southern hemisphere where the emissions from Indonesian and Malaysian islands make largest contributions. Overall, the activities of BB are lowest during October–December period in S-SE Asia. The seasonality of BB intensity and rain are just opposite in the phase over India. The climatological (1997–2008) emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) show strong spatio-temporal variation. The trends show large inter-annual variations with highest and lowest values during years 1997 and 2000, respectively. In the southern hemisphere parts of S-SE Asia mainly in Indonesia, the intensity of biomass fires has been modulated by the large scale climatic phenomena like El Niño and Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The annual emissions of trace gases in southern hemisphere region during the El Niño years exceed to those for the normal years. The estimates for northern hemisphere region during the La Niña years were significantly higher than those for the normal years. The Model for Ozone And Related Chemical Tracers (MOZART) simulations of columnar CO and NOx tend to capture the prominent features of BB emissions in S-SE Asia. The impacts of extensive fires in Indonesia during El Niño year of 2006 compared to a normal year of 2005 were clearly seen in the MOZART-4 simulations of both CO and NOx.