American scientists have been studying the effects of the recent wildfires in California. One study confirmed that large fires produce large amounts of carbon dioxide, a gas linked to climate change. It also found that such fires produce as much carbon dioxide in a few weeks as California's motor vehicle traffic does in a year.
Vehicles, factories and power stations produce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Such gases have been shown to trap warm air in Earth's atmosphere. Many climate scientists believe these gases are responsible, at least in part, for rising temperatures on Earth.
The study used satellite observations of fires and a new computer program. The program created estimates of carbon dioxide production based on the amount of plants burned.
The study estimated that fires in the United States mainland and Alaska release about two hundred ninety tons of carbon dioxide each year. That is about four to six percent of the amount of carbon dioxide released by burning fossil fuels like oil.
The study found that fires are responsible for a higher percentage of the greenhouse gases in some western and southeastern states. Very large fires can quickly release huge amounts of carbon dioxide into Earth's atmosphere.
Christine Wiedinmyer works for America's National Center for Atmospheric Research. She developed the computer program to study the wildfires. Her estimates show the fires produced nearly eight million metric tons of carbon dioxide in just a one-week period. That is almost twenty-five percent of the monthly average production from all fossil fuel burned in California.
Miz Wiedinmyer worked on the study with Jason Neff of the University of Colorado at Boulder. He says the recent wildfires in the United States partly resulted from a century of fire suppression. He says attempts to control fire have had the unplanned effect of storing more carbon in our forests and reducing the effect of burning fossil fuels. As these forests now begin to burn, that stored carbon is moving back into the atmosphere. Professor Neff says this may affect the current problems with carbon dioxide.
The study found that evergreen forests in the South and West are the main reason for carbon dioxide emissions from fires. Fires in grasslands and agricultural areas have less carbon dioxide because of less plant life there. Generally, carbon dioxide emissions are highest during the spring in the southeastern and central United States. During the summer, the emissions are highest in the West.
