How new smoke detection during climate change may help you breathe easier - KOMO News
How new smoke detection during climate change may help you breathe easier | KOMO
The ceilometer is a scientific tool of observation used by airports daily. It informs aircraft pilots of cloud heights and bases for safe takeoff and landing. In recent years, scientists have found a valuable new use for the instrument. It has been used right here in western Washington to help all of us breathe easier.
Every wildfire smoke plume is different; from the direction it is traveling, how high or low the smoke is relative to the ground, and what gas and particulates the plume holds.
There are no simple patterns that repeat, season to season, and fire to fire.
Forecasting the constant ebb and flow of a smoke plume becomes critical because of the massive release of carbon and other harmful particles that wreak havoc on our lungs and health if breathed in.
Air quality agencies observe, forecast, and alert us when air is declining. They have a difficult job that starts with identifying where wildfire smoke is and where it will be moving.
From space, satellites have features that detect smoke plumes from above, but when the smoke is concealed, or underneath the clouds, the challenge to observe smoke becomes difficult to impossible.
This is where a ceilometer complements other observation tools. It is used to find and verify where the smoke is, its height, and its composition, by looking from the ground - up. Smoke at higher altitudes, up to 25,000 feet, can be detected by a laser from the ceilometer. The instrument measures the time required for a pulse of light to be scattered back from the clouds and tiny particles in the air.
Puget Sound Clean Air Agency has a network of four ceilometers it uses to verify and forecast air quality. The National Weather Service (NWS) is exploring the benefits, and reviewing cost analysis, to enhance the capabilities of their existing ceilometer network. The increased data the ceilometer provides not only informs us of current air quality but also leads to accurate smoke and air forecasts in the days ahead.