Abstract: The dispersion of particles from wildfires, volcanic eruptions, dust storms, and other aerosol sources can affect air quality and other environmental factors downwind. Aerosol injection height is one source attribute that mediates downwind dispersion, as wind speed and direction can vary dramatically with elevation. Using plume heights derived from space-based, multi-angle imaging, we examine the impact of initializing plumes with satellite-measured vs. nominal (model-calculated or VAAC obser…