Atmospher Sci & Global Chg
Newsmakers
March 2018
Shilling Co-Authors Wildfire Paper on Journal's Most Downloaded List
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory atmospheric chemist Dr. John Shilling co-authored one of the top 10 most downloaded papers published between 2016 and 2017 in Journal of Geophysical Research (JGR): Atmospheres. The article, "Airborne measurements of western U.S. wildfire emissions: Comparison with prescribed burning and air quality implications," appeared online in June 2017 and recorded 2,372 downloads as of year-end.
In the paper, scientists examined gas and particulate emissions from U.S. wildfires using measurements obtained by research aircraft in 2013. They found that wildfires are a major source of particulate pollution in the West and that the source is largely underestimated in emissions inventories. Comparing the wildfire results to those obtained from prescribed burning—a common land management practice—showed that wildfires are a larger source of pollution than previously believed.
Shilling, who came to PNNL to 2008, is an expert in aerosol gas and particle measurements and in applying mass spectrometry to problems in atmospheric chemistry.
JGR: Atmospheres is a journal of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). Established in 1919, AGU is a nonprofit organization of Earth and space scientists with 60,000 members worldwide.
