USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, 4955 Canyon Crest Drive, Riverside, CA 92507, USA.
Wood Buffalo Environmental Association, #100-330 Thickwood Blvd., Fort McMurray, Alberta, T9K 1Y1, Canada.
Sci Total Environ. 2016 Dec 1;572:755-769. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.07.052. Epub 2016 Sep 13.
The 2011 Richardson wildland mega-fire in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) in northern Alberta, Canada had large effects on air quality. At a receptor site in the center of the AOSR ambient PM, O, NO, NO, SO, NH, HONO, HNO, NH and NO were measured during the April-August 2011 period. Concentrations of NH, HNO, NO, SO and O were also monitored across the AOSR with passive samplers, providing monthly summer and bi-monthly winter average values in 2010, 2011 and 2012. During the fire, hourly PM concentrations >450μgm were measured at the AMS 1 receptor site. The 24-h National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) of 35μgm and the Canada Wide Standard (CWS) of 30μgm were exceeded on 13days in May and 7days in June. During the fire emission periods, sharp increases in NH, HONO, HNO, NH, NO and total inorganic reactive N concentrations occurred, all closely correlated with the PM changes. There were large differences in the relative contribution of various N compounds to total inorganic N between the no-fire emission and fire emission periods. While in the absence of fires NO and NO dominated, their relative contribution during the fires was ~2 fold smaller, mainly due to increased NH, NH and NO. Concentrations of HONO and HNO also greatly increased during the fires, but their contribution to the total inorganic N pool was relatively small. Elevated NH and HNO concentrations affected large areas of northern Alberta during the Richardson Fire. While NH and HNO concentrations were not at levels considered toxic to plants, these gases contributed significantly to atmospheric N deposition. Generally, no significant changes in O and SO concentrations were detected and their ambient concentrations were below levels harmful to human health or sensitive vegetation.
2011 年加拿大亚伯达省北部阿萨巴斯卡油砂区（AOSR）的理查德森林地大火对空气质量产生了重大影响。在 AOSR 中心的一个受体站点，2011 年 4 月至 8 月期间测量了环境 PM、O、NO、NO、SO、NH、HONO、HNO、NH 和 NO。使用被动采样器在 AOSR 各地监测了 NH、HNO、NO、SO 和 O 的浓度，提供了 2010 年、2011 年和 2012 年夏季每月和冬季每两个月的平均值。在火灾期间，在 AMS 1 受体站点测量到每小时 PM 浓度>450μg/m。在 5 月 13 天和 6 月 7 天超过了 24 小时国家环境空气质量标准（NAAQS）的 35μg/m 和加拿大范围标准（CWS）的 30μg/m。在火灾排放期间，NH、HONO、HNO、NH、NO 和总无机反应性 N 浓度急剧增加，所有这些都与 PM 变化密切相关。在无火灾排放和火灾排放期间，各种 N 化合物对总无机 N 的相对贡献存在很大差异。虽然在没有火灾的情况下，NO 和 NO 占主导地位，但在火灾期间，它们的相对贡献减少了约 2 倍，主要是由于 NH、NH 和 NO 的增加。HONO 和 HNO 的浓度也在火灾期间大大增加，但它们对总无机 N 库的贡献相对较小。在理查德森火灾期间，高浓度的 NH 和 HNO 影响了阿尔伯塔省北部的大片地区。虽然 NH 和 HNO 的浓度没有达到对植物有毒的水平，但这些气体对大气 N 沉积有重要贡献。一般来说，没有检测到 O 和 SO 浓度的显著变化，其环境浓度低于对人类健康或敏感植被有害的水平。
