(Emmett had technical difficulties in posting his blog, so I am uploading his for him)
On September 9, 2020, the San Francisco Bay Area experienced an otherworldly and scary phenomena. I, like many others that day, woke up two hours later than I intended, as the sky was completely dark. I got out of bed, confused, only to see it was 10 am. I drew my curtains, and to my horror, the sky was bright red, as if the world was ending. This was a result of the wildfires which had been ravaging the state all summer and fall. The fires were predominantly further to the North in Sonoma and Napa counties, but wind currents had caused the Bay Area to be inundated with smoke on multiple occasions, to the point where school had to close and elderly folks were advised to stay inside. However, nobody could have experienced something like this.
Image: Morning Skies in the Bay Area
This effect occurred due to a thick layer of haze settling above the atmosphere’s boundary layer due to wind cells carrying toxins, smoke, particulate matter South towards the bay. The unique combination of haze and atmospheric boundary caused light to diffuse differently through the sky, which is why the sky was so strikingly red. Strangely enough, on this day, the air quality was noticeably better than others during this period. The atmospheric boundary served as a boundary which held the particulates at bay until the red skies went away the next day; that's when it really started to feel like the air was on fire!
“11.1 The Atmospheric Boundary Layer Is Your Home. | METEO 300: Fundamentals of Atmospheric Science.” Accessed October 13, 2023. https://www.e-education.psu.edu/meteo300/node/711.
Tan, Lin, Sally Newman, and King-Fai Li. “A Diagnostic Study of the Martian Sky over the Bay Area on September 9, 2020” 2021 (December 1, 2021): A35J-1759.
“Remembering the Day Smoke-Choked Skies Cast an Eerie Dark Orange Glow over Bay Area - CBS San Francisco,” September 9, 2022. https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/smoke-plume-casts-eerie-orange-glow-over-bay-area/.
Wow that's so scary! I once experienced an eclipse where the sky turned red and I thought the world was ending! In regards to fires, it sucks that climate change is making this such a frequent occurrence. I remember reading about the fires in Calabasas and how so many people had to leave their homes and start anew. In regards to mitigation, I read that you can use metal mesh on vents and screens in windows to prevent sparks and embers from getting inside your house. This could be a short term solution, though I firmly believe that in the long run, we have to deal with the climate change issue. Otherwise it will be more than just California that is on fire.
ReplyDeleteI know a similar thing happened in the midwest this summer with wildfires from Canada (although not to the same extent) so these kinds of events are obviously becoming more common. Obviously, air quality has a negative effect on people's health, but I wonder what kind of long term impacts it might have on plant life, especially as these events happen more and more.
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