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Biomass Burning

  • Conference paper
Atmospheric Methane: Sources, Sinks, and Role in Global Change

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASII,volume 13))

Abstract

Our planet is a unique object in the solar system due to the presence of a biosphere with its accompanying biomass and the occurrence of fire (Levine, 1991a). The burning of living and dead biomass is a very significant global source of atmospheric gases and particulates. Crutzen and colleagues were the first to assess biomass burning as a source of gases and particulates to the atmosphere (Crutzen et al., 1979; and Seiler and Crutzen, 1980). However, in a recent paper, Crutzen and Andreae (1990) point out that “Studies on the environmental effects of biomass burning have been much neglected until rather recently but are now attracting increased attention.” The “increased attention” includes the Chapman Conference on Global Biomass Burning. Much of the information presented here is based on material from this conference (Levine, 1991b). Biomass burning and its environmental implications have also become important research elements of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP) and the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) Project (Prinn, 1991).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Atmospheric Sciences Division, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, 23665-5225, USA

    Joel S. Levine & Joseph P. Pinto

  2. Atmospheric Research and Exposure Assessment Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 27711, USA

    Wesley R. Cofer III

Authors
  1. Joel S. Levine
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  2. Wesley R. Cofer III
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  3. Joseph P. Pinto
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Global Change Research Center, Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and Technology, P. O. Box 91000, 97291-1000, Portland, Oregon, USA

    M. A. K. Khalil (Professor and Director) (Professor and Director)

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© 1993 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Levine, J.S., Cofer, W.R., Pinto, J.P. (1993). Biomass Burning. In: Khalil, M.A.K. (eds) Atmospheric Methane: Sources, Sinks, and Role in Global Change. NATO ASI Series, vol 13. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-84605-2_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-84605-2_14

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-84607-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-84605-2

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