A large amount of smoke generated in forest fires lowers temperature and water temperature and affects ecosystem

by Joanne Francis

In the latest survey conducted in the Klamath River basin of California State, California, it is clear that smoke generated by a fire has an effect of lowering the amount of solar radiation and cooling the atmosphere. In the paper reporting this survey, it is suggested that a large amount of smoke generated by forest fires etc. may cool down the water temperature of the summer river, which may bring great benefit to aquatic organisms.

Wildfire smoke cools summer river and stream water temperatures
https://www.fs.fed.us/psw/pubs/57160

Smoke from wildfires has cooling effect on water
https://www.fs.fed.us/psw/news/2018/20181009_wildfiresmoke.shtml

The group that is investigating the water temperature of American indigenous people and the Klamath river seems to have noticed that the water temperature of the river drops at the time when the forest fires etc. occur, but the finding that was just announced makes this finding It will be the first study proved statistically with long-term data. In the research, by analyzing the smoke data covering the atmosphere obtained from the satellite photograph of NASA and the temperature of the water collected at the observation point of the Klamath River basin, smoke generated by the forest fire lowers the temperature of the river Prove to be. Data includes data on forest fires that occurred in 2006, 2008 and 2012 - 2015, and the smoke caused by fire obstructed the sunlight, the atmospheric temperature decreased by an average of 0.47 - 0.98 degrees, It seems that the water temperature decreased by 0.74 to 1.32 degrees on average.

Frank Lake, one of the co-authors of the paper and one of the researchers at Pacific Southwest Research Station , noted that recent wildfire occurrence patterns are very different from those in the past. "In modern times too, forest fires are spreading furiously in many parts of the western part of the United States earlier than soldiers, and smoke generated by those forest fires causes the role of lowering nature and water temperature in the hot summer season It is carrying on. "

In addition, wildfires are particularly prone to occur during the hot and dry summer season, so it is pointed out that aquatic organisms may benefit from the cooling effect of smoke.

by Dominik Lange

Mr. Bill Trip, director of the Karuk Department of Natural Resources project on natural resource protection by the "Calc tribe", one of the Indian tribes living in California states, "The ecological process that this research covered is by no means new In fact, in the Kalu tribe, in the ritual for the purpose of "calling salmon", traditionally I have caused wildfires. "

The ritual calling the Salukon of the Calcu group seems to be an effective way to call salmon, according to the research result that "Wildfires cause water temperature to drop".

by Drew Farwell

Mr. Leroy Seal, a fish scholar at Six Rivers National Forest , said that this research is the result of long-term collaboration, "As a result of collaborative river temperature monitoring at a number of points downstream of the Klamath River over 20 years ago, The answer to that survey is this time.The data clearly shows the effect of cooling of smoke generated by fire and the effect that salmon becomes easier to live in severe summer season I am satisfied. "