AIRBORNE INFRARED-SPECTROSCOPY OF 1994 WESTERN WILDFIRES

In the summer of 1994 the 0.07 cm(-1) resolution infrared Airborne Emi ssion Spectrometer (AES) acquired spectral data over two wildfires, on e in central Oregon on August 3 and the other near San Luis Obispo, Ca lifornia, on August 15. The spectrometer was on board a NASA DC-8 rese arch aircraft, flying at an altitude of 12 km. The spectra from both f ires clearly show features due to water vapor, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, ammonia, methanol, formic acid, and ethylene at significantl y higher abundance and temperature than observed in downlooking spectr a of normal atmospheric and ground conditions. Column densities are de rived for several species, End molar ratios are compared with previous biomass fire measurements. We believe that this is the first time suc h data have been acquired by airborne spectral remote sensing.