Transport pattern of biomass burnings air masses in Eurasia and the impacts on China

Based on the fire counts from ATSR satellite in the year 1997-2003, forward trajectories and residence time analysis, the spatial and temporal distributions of biomass burning activities in Eurasia and the transport character of low tropospheric air over major biomass burning regions during the seasons of strong emission were studied. The trajectory results were validated by MOPITT retrieved CO data. The biomass burning impacted air masses originated from southeastern Asia and the Indian Peninsula in spring might form definite influence on air quality over the southwestern, southern, and eastern regions of China, especially over the Sichuan Basin, Fujian, and Taiwan. The biomass burning plumes over central Asia, east Siberia and Mongolia were mainly transported toward east due to the westerlies, but also existed an apparent transport path toward the North China Plains and lower latitude regions via northeastern China, during which the air masses subsided, and could had significant impact on the atmospheric composition over these regions in years with intense biomass burning.