NASA scientists are on a mission to understand the enigmatic and dangerous pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) clouds that form above wildfires. These towering, smoke-infused clouds can generate massive thunderheads capable of unleashing lightning, hail, and heavy rain. But their impact goes beyond the immediate danger they pose on the ground. PyroCbs can channel pulses of particles and gases into the stratosphere's dry, cloudless confines, where smoke can spread widely and linger for months or years, influencing the ozone layer and Earth's energy budget. This is why a team of atmospheric scientists is spending the summer chasing these clouds with NASA's ER-2 aircraft and NSF/NCAR's GV, equipped with a suite of truck-based sensors. The team's efforts are part of the INSPYRE mission, which aims to study the injection of smoke and pyroCbs into the atmosphere. During one of their first sampling runs, the GV aircraft flew through a high-altitude pulse of smoke from the Widemouth 2 fire in Utah, capturing data at a height not typically incorporated into forecast models. The scientists on board also captured an image of a pyrocumulus (pyroCu) cloud, a precursor to pyroCbs, which is fueled by heat from the fire and strong convective updrafts. PyroCbs are not new to scientific literature, with over 700 events cataloged since the early 2000s. Scientists now believe that wildfires may contribute up to 25% of the black carbon and organic aerosols in the lower stratosphere. However, many questions about these enigmatic clouds remain unanswered, including what vegetation is most likely to fuel them, why some form more lightning than others, and how to accurately forecast them. NASA's efforts to study pyroCbs are crucial in understanding their impact on the atmosphere and the Earth's energy budget, as well as their potential to influence the ozone layer. The team's work is a testament to the importance of scientific research in understanding and mitigating the effects of natural disasters, such as wildfires.
