WE-CAN

View of wildfire smoke taken from the window of NCAR's aircraft.

Western Wildfire Experiment for Cloud Chemistry, Aerosol Absorption and Nitrogen (WE-CAN) investigated how chemistry in western wildfire smoke affects air quality, nutrient cycles, weather and climate.

Understanding the chemistry in western wildfire smoke has major ramifications for air quality, nutrient cycles, and weather and climate. This project systematically characterized the emissions and evolution of western U.S. wildfire plumes, focusing on three sets of scientific questions related to fixed nitrogen, absorbing aerosols, and cloud activation and chemistry in wildfire plumes. The data were collected from the NCAR/NSF C-130 research aircraft. 

Learn more about WE-CAN

The Science of WE-CAN

La Ciencia de WE-CAN

The Lead Scientists of WE-CAN

The WE-CAN Team

The Students of WE-CAN

The Logistics and Aircraft Crew of WE-CAN

The Scientific Instrumentation of WE-CAN