STUDIES OF THE KUWAIT OIL FIRE PLUME DURING MIDSUMMER 1991

This paper reports aircraft observations of the Kuwait oil fire plume conducted during the period July 31-August 17, 1991. During this study the plume was transported almost exclusively to the south of Kuwait over the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula. The plume base was generally found to be well above the surface, in some cases as high as 1-2 km; plume tops did not exceed 5 km. Aerosol mass (based on measured aerosol constituents) in the central section of the plume, ca. 150-200 km downwind of the source region, was found to be >500 mug/m3, with number densities in the size range (approximate) 0.2 < d < 3 mum (where d is diameter) as high as 30,000/cm3. The aerosol was composed of (in order of approximate contribution to mass) inorganic salts, elemental carbon, and organic carbon. Sodium chloride constituted a surprisingly large component of the soluble inorganic mass. The aerosol particles appeared to function as good cloud condensation nuclei, with a large fraction of accumulation mode particles (by number) activated at a supersaturation of 0.6%. Under conditions in which the plume was relatively compact, transmittance of solar radiation to the surface was only 10-20%. Plume albedo was observed to be as low as 2-3% close to the source region, consistent with the high elemental-carbon concentrations present in the plume. Trace gas concentrations were consistent with fuel composition and with current knowledge of atmospheric chemical processes. Sulfur dioxide concentrations close to the source region were found to be as high as 3 ppb. The emissions factor for S (expressed as a percentage) was estimated to be 1.8%, which is consistent with estimates of a fuel sulfur content of 2-2.5%. SO2 was found to be only slowly oxidized (<1%/h). Nitrogen oxide concentrations were found to be quite low (<50 ppb near the source, decreasing to 1-2 ppb well downwind), which is consistent with a crude oil nitrogen source. Despite relatively low concentrations, sufficient NO(x) was present to act as a catalyst to generate excess ozone in the plume as the plume was transported downwind and dispersed.