Study of tropospheric CO and O3 enhancement episode over Indonesia during Autumn 2006 using the Model for Ozone and Related chemical Tracers (MOZART-4)

An intense biomass burning event occurred over Indonesia in Autumn of 2006. We study the impact of this event on the free tropospheric abundances of carbon monoxide (CO) and ozone (O3) using MOPITT (Measurements of Pollution In The Troposphere) observations, ozonesonde measurements and 3D chemistry transport model MOZART (Model for Ozone and Related chemical Tracers). MOPITT observations showed an episode of enhanced CO in the free troposphere over the Indonesian region during October–November 2006. This feature is reproduced well by MOZART. The model mass diagnostics identifies the source of enhanced CO mixing ratio in the free troposphere (100–250 ppbv) as due to convective processes. The implication of the fire plume on the vertical distribution of O3 over Kuala Lumpur has been studied. The tropospheric O3 increased over this location by 10–25 ppbv during Autumn 2006 as compared to Autumn 2005 and 2007. The MOZART model simulation significantly underestimated this tropospheric O3 enhancement. The model is run both with and without Indonesian biomass burning emissions to estimate the contribution of fire emission in CO and O3 enhancement. Biomass burning emission is found to be responsible for an average increase in CO by 104 ± 56 ppbv and O3 by 5 ± 1 ppbv from surface to 100 hPa range. The model results also showed that biomass burning and El Niño related dynamical changes both contributed (∼4 ppbv–12 ppbv) to the observed increase in tropospheric O3 over the Indonesian region during Autumn 2006.