NASA Campaign Explores Clouds Spawned by Wildfires
The Wildhorse grass fire in eastern Idaho erupted with a massive pulse of smoke. No one had expected it, but the wildfire had launched what’s known as a pyrocumulonimbus cloud, or pyroCb. It was an elusive weather phenomenon that scientists on NASA’s INSPYRE (INjected Smoke and PYRocumulonimbus Experiment) campaign spent weeks this summer hunting across […] The post NASA Campaign Explores Clouds…
A NASA research campaign, INSPYRE (INjected Smoke and PYRocumulonimbus Experiment), has been investigating the formation and effects of pyrocumulonimbus clouds, or pyroCbs, which are created by wildfires. One such cloud was formed by the Wildhorse grass fire in eastern Idaho, which unexpectedly generated a massive plume of smoke.
PyroCbs are difficult to study, but they can reach altitudes where commercial jets fly and even penetrate the stratosphere. Once in the stratosphere, their smoke can travel across continents and remain in the atmosphere for longer periods than typical lower-atmosphere smoke. Understanding pyroCbs is crucial as their smoke can impact climate and weather patterns far from the original fire.
The NCAR Gulfstream jet, equipped with specialized instruments, has been deployed from Great Falls, Montana, for the INSPYRE campaign.
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- NASA Mission Explores Clouds Spawned by Wildfires science.nasa.gov
