The Scattering Coefficient and Mass Concentration of Smoke from Some Australian Forest Fires

Abstract

Smoke from large scale fuel reduction fires in Western Australia has been investigated from an aircraft; These fires are typically 10,000-20,000 acres in area with fuel loadings of 3-6 tons/acre. Measurements were made of mass concentration, scattering coefficient and total particulate production in the smoke. The results suggest that the mass concentration (g m^-3) is equal to 0.24 times the scattering coefficient (m^-1). About 1.8% of the fuel appears as particulate matter in the air above the fire.