Summary

WE-CAN (Western Wildfire Experiment for Cloud Chemistry, Aerosol, Absorption and Nitrogen) seeks to understand the chemistry in western wildfire smoke has major ramifications for air quality, nutrient cycles, weather and climate. This project will systematically characterize the emissions and first day of evolution of western U.S. wildfire plumes. It will focus on three sets of scientific questions related to fixed nitrogen, absorbing aerosols, cloud activation and chemistry in wildfire plumes. The data will be collected from the NCAR/NSF C-130 research aircraft, in coordination with planned NOAA and NASA field intensives.