Table 2 Summary of model details.

Resolution

4 km horizontal, 53 vertical levels

3 km horizontal, 40 vertical levels

70 vertical levels, 100 m spacing

Initializaiton/Spin-Up

00UTC initialization, 12 h spin up, 76 h analysis, 84 h forecast, model meteorology passed to Freitas model³⁴

00, 06, 12, 18 UTC initializations, 48 h forecasts, model meteorology passed to Freitas model³⁴

Uses model profles of T, P, geopotential, RH, wind, potential temperature, specific humidity.

FRE Flux Assumptions

2.69–13.86 kWm⁻² for forest, 0.4–3.10 kWm⁻² for woody savanna/cerrado, and 0.57 kWm⁻² for grassland/pasture/ cropland.

3.4 kWm⁻² for grassland to 4.8 kWm⁻² for forest for 14 vegetation categories as defined by the IGBP^28,43,44

Choose the Freitas maximum heat flux for the dominant fuel category

Fire Size Assumptions

0.25 km² per burning grid cell and per fuel category^14,45

Converts MODIS/VIIRS FRP into area using fuel-varying heat fluxes

0.25 km² per burning grid cell and per fuel category^14,45

Flaming Fraction of Emissions Assumption

50% flaming, undergo plume rise

75% flaming, undergo plume rise

N/A

Key Parameterizations

Rapid Radiative Transfer

Model for GCMs⁴⁵, Noah Land Surface Model⁴⁶, aerosol-aware microphysics⁴⁷, Grell-Freitas cumulus³⁴, Mellor–Yamada-Janjić PBL⁴⁸, MEE = 3.5⁴⁹, MOSAIC Aerosols⁵⁰

Aerosol-aware microphysics^47,51 Mellor–Yamada–Nakanishi–Niino PBL scheme⁵²

N/A

Data Assimilation

Near-real-time inversion of MAIAC AOD V6^53,54 based on 6 largest fires in the region¹⁹

None

N/A

Emissions Source

QFED v2.4, 0.1 degrees resolution, regridded³⁸

Top-down from MODIS/VIIRS FRP³⁹

N/A

Variables Extracted

PM2.5 curtains, model PBL and theta-derived mixed layer heights¹⁹, land use fractions, Richardson number and Brunt-Vaisala frequency via centered-difference at twice and half the PBLH.

PM2.5 curtains, model PBL height, Richardson number and Brunt-Vaisala frequency calculated via centered-difference at twice and half the PBLH.

Maximum plume top height