Measurements of CO in an aircraft experiment and their correlation with biomass burning and air mass origin in South America

Carbon monoxide (CO) measurements are obtained in an aircraft experiment during 1-7 September 2000, conducted over Central Brazil in a special region of anticyclonic circulation. This is a typical transport regime during the dry season (July September), when intense biomass burning occurs, and which gives origin to the transport of burning poluents from the source to distant regions. This aircraft experiment included in situ measurements of CO concentrations in three different scenarios: (1) areas of fresh biomass burning air masses, or source areas; (2) areas of aged biomass burning air masses; and (3) areas of clean air or pristine air masses. The largest CO concentrations were of the order of 450ppbv in the source region near Conceicao do Araguaia (PA), and the smallest value near 100 ppbv, was found in pristine air masses, for example, near the northeast coastline (clean air, or background region). The observed concentrations were compared to the number of fire pixels seen by the AVHRR satellite instrument. Backward isentropic trajectories were used to determine the origin of the air masses at each sampling point. From the association of the observed CO mixing ratios, fire pixels and air mass trajectories, the previous scenarios may be subdivided as follows: (1a) source regions of biomass burning with large CO concentrations; (1b) regions with few local fire pixels and absence of contributions by transport. Areas with these characteristics include the northeast region of Brazil; (1c) regions close to the source region and strongly affected by transport (region of Para and Amazonas); (2) regions that have a consistent convergence of air masses, that have traveled over biomass burning areas during a few days (western part of the Cerrado region); (3a) Pristine air masses with origin from the ocean; (3b) regions with convergent transport that has passed over areas of no biomass burning, such as frontal weather systems in the southern regions. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.