Release and dispersion of vegetation and peat fire emissions in the atmosphere over Indonesia 1997/1998

International audienceSmoke-haze episodes caused by vegetation and peat fires affect parts of Indonesia every year with significant impacts on human health and climate. Particularly fires in degenerated peat areas release huge amounts of trace gases and particles into the atmosphere, exceeding by far the emissions per unit area from fires in surface vegetation. However, only limited information is available about the current distribution of pristine and degenerated peat areas in Indonesia, their depth, drainage condition and modification by fire. In this paper we study the contribution of peat fire emissions in Indonesia during the strong El Niño event in 1997/1998. A regional three-dimensional atmosphere-chemistry model is applied over Indonesia using two emission estimates, which only differ in the size of the fire affected peat areas. We evaluate simulated rainfall and particle concentrations by comparison with observations to draw conclusions on the peat area burned