October 31, 2007
By Andres Thompson
Large wildfires in the western United States (click here) can pump as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in just a few weeks as cars do in those areas in an entire year, a new study suggests.
As forest fires devour trees and other plants, they release the carbon stored in the vegetation into the atmosphere.
Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the University of California used satellite observations of fires and a computer model to estimate just how much carbon dioxide is released based on the amount of vegetation that is burned. The results of the study are detailed in the online journal Carbon Balance and Management....
By Andres Thompson
Large wildfires in the western United States (click here) can pump as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in just a few weeks as cars do in those areas in an entire year, a new study suggests.
As forest fires devour trees and other plants, they release the carbon stored in the vegetation into the atmosphere.
Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the University of California used satellite observations of fires and a computer model to estimate just how much carbon dioxide is released based on the amount of vegetation that is burned. The results of the study are detailed in the online journal Carbon Balance and Management....
