Theory 21/Wildfire smoke/Ratio lens
Optical Depth Is Emitted Against Dispersed
The claim
Smoke optical depth over a region is set by the ratio of emission to dispersion, so a large fire in stagnant air and a small one in wind can look identical from orbit.
01Mechanism
Column loading balances source strength against ventilation; the ratio sets concentration independent of fire size.
02Prediction
Optical depth should track the ratio.
03Refutation
Depth tracking emission would remove dispersion.