Air Pollution Climatology of
Rangeland Burning in the
Flint Hills
Roy Sando
Graduate Research Assistant
Kansas State University
Research Team
•
•
•
•
Dr. Doug Goodin
Dr. John Harrington, Jr.
Rhett Mohler
Roy Sando
Flint Hills
•Too hilly and rocky for cultivation
•Prime livestock pasturing land
Northern Flint Hills
• Riley, Pottawatomie, Wabaunsee,
Geary, Morris, and Chase counties
• 65% grassland
• 19% cropland
• 125,000 people
• 289,000 cattle
• > 500 bison
• Elevation from 864 to 1658 ft
(∆794 ft)
• In 2002, market value
• crops = $51.8 million
• livestock = $174.2 million
• Konza Prairie & Tallgrass Prairie
National Preserve
The Northern Flint Hills
biomass burning
Aerial Photograph by
Rhett Mohler
Pollution from Biomass Burning
Smoke increases pollution
 Gases

–
–
–
–

Carbon Monoxide (CO)
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
Nitrogen Oxides (NOₓ)
Methane (CH4)
Particulates
– <10 µm (PM 10)
– <2.5 µm (PM 2.5)
Ozone Production

What is needed for the basic formation of
Ozone (O3):
– Nitrogen Oxides (NOₓ)
– Solar radiation
– Preexisting Ozone (O3)
Pollution Climatology Analysis
Which pollutants are most affected by
atmospheric variations?
 Which weather-types are associated with
high/low pollution levels in the KC Metro
area?
 When do specific weather-types occur
most frequently throughout the burn
season (Mar., Apr., May, Jun.)?

Atmospheric Interaction

Meteorological conditions such as
temperature, dew point, humidity,
windflow, and others play a primary role in
the creation and diffusion of hazardous
pollutants caused by biomass burning

Synoptic weather analysis is preferable
Synoptic Weather-Typing

Manual Systems
– Muller Classification
– Lamb Catalogue
– Grosswetterlagen


Investigator is in full control of the process and
classification
Time consuming and subjective
Synoptic Weather-Typing

Automated Systems
– Correlation-based map patterns
– Eigenvector-based techniques

 Temporal Synoptic Index (TSI)
Can only be applied to one station or climate region at a
time
Synoptic Weather-Typing

Hybrid Scheme
– Spatial Synoptic Classification (SSC)

Classifies typical meteorological conditions into
six weather types based on climate region and
season of the year
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Dry Polar (DP)
Dry Moderate (DM)
Dry Tropical (DT)
Moist Polar (MP)
Moist Moderate (MM)
Moist Tropical (MT)
Spatial Synoptic Classification

Seed days
– Contain typical meteorological characteristics of a particular
weather type in that climate region during the seasonal window
– Example of seed-day selection criteria for DP weather type in
Wilmington, DE, during the Winter window (Jan 15-28):
Parameter
Minimum Maximum
Maximum Temperature (°C)
-3
3
Minimum Temperature (°C)
-13
-7
none
none
Mean daily cloud cover (tenths)
0
7
16 h EST dew point depression (°C)
8
none
none
7
16 h EST dew point (°C)
Diurnal dew point change (°C)
Kansas City Air Mass Seasonality
100%
90% 16.46%
26.47%
80%
16.13%
21.95%
24.19%
70%
31.61%
0%
Transition
35.29%
March
25.86%
17.65%
31.34%
29.03%
18.39%
10.96%
14.71%
32.20%
30.34%
17.65%
3.20%
Moist
Tropical
Plus
Moist
Tropical
Double
Plus
Moist
Tropical
Moist
Polar
Moist
Moderate
Dry
Tropical
Dry Polar
May
April
26.63%
44.76%
14.71%
10%
49.25%
22.03%
33.79%
30%
26.01%
June
24.14%
30.65%
32.32%
29.41%
27.12%
44.12%
40% 29.27%
17.03%
8.96%
52.05%
26.67%
50%
18.64%
14.29%
60%
20%
10.45%
14.29%
Dry
Moderate
Day is
Missing
Kansas City Air Mass Seasonality
350
300
250
June
200
May
April
150
March
100
50
0
Day is
Missing
Moist
Tropical
Plus
Moist
Tropical
Double
Plus
Dry
Tropical
Moist
Polar
Transition
Moist
Dry Polar
Moist
Dry
Moderate
Tropical Moderate
M
oi
st
oi
st
Da
y
Dr
y
is
M
M
er
at
e
is
si
ng
od
la
r
Po
ic
al
p<.01
Dr
y
ar
ra
te
op
Tr
M
od
e
Po
l
p<.01
Dr
y
oi
st
oi
st
Pl
us
pi
ca
l
Tr
o
e
p<.01
M
M
oi
st
bl
60
M
Do
u
on
Pl
us
an
si
ti
Tr
op
ic
al
op
ic
al
Tr
M
Tr
Days Above 75th Percentile
Chi Squared Results
(Gases)
120
100
p<.01
80
p<.01
Theoretical
NO2
p<.01
p<.01
Ozone
40
CO
20
0
M
oi
st
oi
st
Dr
y
Pl
u
s
is
M
M
pi
is
si
n
g
er
at
e
la
r
ca
l
Po
od
Dr
y
ar
er
at
e
Tr
o
M
od
Po
l
Tr
op
ic
al
e
oi
st
Dr
y
oi
st
M
oi
st
bl
50
Da
y
M
M
Do
u
on
Pl
us
an
si
ti
op
ic
al
Tr
op
ic
al
Tr
M
Tr
Days Above 75th Percentile
Chi Squared Results
(Aerosols)
70
60
P<.01
40
Theoretical
30
PM 2.5
20
10
0
Average Ozone, PM 2.5 vs. Air Mass Type*
0.04
16
0.038
15
0.036
14
13
0.032
12
0.03
11
0.028
10
0.026
Tr
is
si
n
er
at
e
Da
y
is
M
od
M
Dr
y
Tr
op
Po
Dr
y
oi
st
M
Dr
y
er
at
e
M
od
Po
l
oi
st
Tr
oi
st
M
M
Pl
u
e
bl
Do
u
op
ic
al
Tr
oi
st
M
s
Pl
us
op
ic
al
an
si
ti
oi
st
M
g
7
la
r
0.02
ic
al
8
ar
0.022
op
ic
al
9
on
0.024
Tr
PPM
0.034
Mg/m^3
*Air masses representative only of Kansas City climate region during the burn
seasons of 1997-2007 (Ozone) and 1999-2007 (PM 2.5)
PM 2.5
Ozone
April, 2003
Meteorological conditions confined a large
amount of burning into a short time period
 Produced a considerable cloud of
combustion products
 Caused ozone concentrations in Kansas
City to exceed the 8-hr ozone standard of
85 parts per billion (ppb)*

* Recently changed to 75 ppb
April 13, 2003
April, 2003
Dry Polar
Moist Polar
Moist Moderate
Transition
Dry Moderate
0.07
Moist Tropical
35
Dry Tropical
Moist Tropical Double
Plus
0.06
30
25
0.04
20
0.03
15
0.02
10
0.01
5
PPM
0.05
Mg/m^3
Moist Tropical Plus
Ozone
PM 2.5
4/
9
4/
10
4/
11
4/
12
4/
13
4/
14
4/
15
4/
16
4/
17
4/
18
4/
19
4/
20
4/
21
4/
22
4/
23
4/
24
4/
25
4/
26
4/
27
4/
28
4/
29
4/
30
4/
8
4/
7
4/
6
4/
5
4/
4
4/
3
0
4/
2
4/
1
0
Summary
• Annual biomass burning
in the Flint Hills is
essential for range
management
• Burning creates concern
with air pollution in
surrounding urban areas
• The point of the study is to
determine the optimal
meteorological
characteristics for burning
Photo by Tyra Olstad, KSU
Summary
• What we’ve found so far:
– There is significant
correlation between SSC air
masses and ozone levels in
Kansas City
– During intensive burning
events, tropical air masses
will enhance the formation of
ozone, while polar air masses
will reduce ozone formation
Photo by Tyra Olstad, KSU
Conclusion
“Fire, or its elimination, is still a main problem in the applied total ecology by which
western foresters and graziers must attempt to work out a durable modus vivendi
for man in a non-static environment. The layman can only hope for them that they
may resolve this difficult and delicate situation by being permitted to take the
longest possible view of beneficial activity by man.”
-Carl O. Sauer
References
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Aber, James. "Geology, Geomorphology, and Geohydrology of the Flint Hills, East Central Kansas." Flint Hills
Geology, Kansas. 2008. Emporia State University. 13 Apr. 2009
<http://academic.emporia.edu/aberjame/field/flint/flint.htm>.
Bragg, Thomas B., and Lloyd C. Hulbert. "Woody Plant Invasion of Unburned Kansas Bluestem Prairie." Journal of
Range Management 29 (1976): 19-24.
Environmental Protection Agency. Carbon Monoxide - Local Conditions. Raw data. Kansas City. 2008.
Environmental Protection Agency. Nitrogen Dioxide - Local Conditions. Raw data. Kansas City. 2008.
Environmental Protection Agency. Ozone - Local Conditions. Raw data. Kansas City. 2008.
Environmental Protection Agency. PM 2.5 - Local Conditions. Raw data. Kansas City. 2008.
Goodin, Doug. Rangeland Burning and Smoke Diffusion in the Flint Hills. Kansas State University.
Lewis, Meriwether. 1814. The expedition of Lewis and Clark, Vol. 1. Ann Arbor University.
Microfilms, Inc. 1966. 470 p.
Sauer, Carl O. "Grassland Climax, Fire, and Man." Journal of Range Management 3 (1950): 16-21.
Sheridan, Scott C. "The Redevelopment of a Weather-Type Classification Scheme for North America." International
Journal of Climatology 22 (2002): 51-68.
Sheridan, Scott C., Helen C. Power, and Jason C. Senkbeil. "Synoptic Climatology Influences on
the Spatial and Temporal Variablilty of Aerosols Over North America." International Journal of
Climatology 26 (2006): 723-41.
"United States Composite Wind Aloft 4 Panel." Map. National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information
Services. National Climatic Data Center. 2 Apr. 2009 <http://nomads.ncdc.noaa.gov/ncep>.
Vequist, Marciana. Kansas Afternoon Prairie Burn. 30 Mar. 2009. Landscape (Set), Marion County, Kansas.
Questions, Comments, Critique?
Photo by Marciana Vequist