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Wildfires drive interannual variability of OC aerosol Organic carbon (OC) aerosol makes up a large fraction of fine aerosol mass. In the western U.S. summertime OC concentrations show large interannual variability. We use observations from the IMPROVE network and the GEOS-chem global chemical transport model to explore the reasons for this variability. Modelled and observed OC concentrations are highly correlated (R2=0.88) when we use interannualy varying wildfire emissions; the correlation is smaller with climatological emissions (R2=0.4). Wildfires in the western U.S. are expected to increase in the coming decades with implications for human health and visibility. Observed and modelled mean summertime (June through August) OC concentrations averaged across all IMPROVE sites in the western U.S. For more information see Spracklen et al. 2007

Dominick Spracklen, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT Tel: +44 113-343-7488 dominick@env.leeds.ac.uk