It was the smoke seen around the world. Billowing pillars of burned particles from Australia’s recent megafires sailed across the globe on high winds in the stratosphere. Closer to the ground, hazy clouds left the air difficult (and dangerous) to breathe for months.
The mobility and sheer volume of the smoke from these fires beg the question: What happens to all those particles and gases after the fires go out?
While we no longer see it from the ground or racing across satellite images, wildfire smoke can stick around for weeks at a time. Eventually, the components of that smoke will make their way back to Earth. Along the way, the diluted smoke will continue to scramble air quality and influence the climate in unusual ways.
Where the particles and gases that comprise smoke end up after a fire depends on a few factors, says Bob Yokelson, an atmospheric chemist ...
