L-band microwave-retrieved fuel temperature predicts million-hectare-scale destructive wildfires
The 2014 Northwest Territories fires are one of the largest wildfires in history. However, it is difficult to explain what caused such devastating wildfires simply with meteorological conditions and hydrological drought. There is a lack of large-scale Near-Real-Time (NRT) observations that character...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-05-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Applied Earth Observations and Geoinformation |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1569843224001304 |
| _version_ | 1797234322419220480 |
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| author | Ju Hyoung Lee Sander Veraverbeke Brendan Rogers Yann H. Kerr |
| author_facet | Ju Hyoung Lee Sander Veraverbeke Brendan Rogers Yann H. Kerr |
| author_sort | Ju Hyoung Lee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The 2014 Northwest Territories fires are one of the largest wildfires in history. However, it is difficult to explain what caused such devastating wildfires simply with meteorological conditions and hydrological drought. There is a lack of large-scale Near-Real-Time (NRT) observations that characterize fuel conditions. To fill this research gap, we provide the new earth observations that the meso-scale vegetation heat represented by L-band microwave-retrieved fuel (or canopy) temperature serves as a predictor of fire spread and lightning. We studied two million-ha-scale extreme fire events in the Northwest Territories in 2014 and British Columbia in 2018 to demonstrate that preheated endothermic vegetation condition (canopy temperature>295 K) ahead of flaming is a prerequisite for mega-fires. Canopy temperature is thus proposed as an indicator to modulate convective heating ahead of combustion, and fire spread, which strongly correlated (R2 of 0.8 ∼ 0.9) with pre-fire canopy temperature increments. It is possible to predict large-wildfires with this threshold of canopy temperature. We suggested a mechanism for vegetation under heat stress to trigger ignition and spread large fires. Our findings provide additional evidence that continued warming of the Earth's surface will lead to more severe firestorms and carbon emissions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T16:30:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-304bc2e0745f4ae9bd632ee7f18525a2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1569-8432 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T16:30:13Z |
| publishDate | 2024-05-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Applied Earth Observations and Geoinformation |
| spelling | doaj.art-304bc2e0745f4ae9bd632ee7f18525a22024-03-30T04:38:51ZengElsevierInternational Journal of Applied Earth Observations and Geoinformation1569-84322024-05-01129103776L-band microwave-retrieved fuel temperature predicts million-hectare-scale destructive wildfiresJu Hyoung Lee0Sander Veraverbeke1Brendan Rogers2Yann H. Kerr3Univ. of Guelph, H.L. 50 Stone Rd E, Guelph, ON, Canada; Corresponding author.Faculty of Science, Earth and Climate, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NetherlandsWoodwell Climate Research Center, 149 Woods Hole Road, Falmouth, MA, USA18 Av. Edouard Belin, Toulouse 31401 Cedex 09, FranceThe 2014 Northwest Territories fires are one of the largest wildfires in history. However, it is difficult to explain what caused such devastating wildfires simply with meteorological conditions and hydrological drought. There is a lack of large-scale Near-Real-Time (NRT) observations that characterize fuel conditions. To fill this research gap, we provide the new earth observations that the meso-scale vegetation heat represented by L-band microwave-retrieved fuel (or canopy) temperature serves as a predictor of fire spread and lightning. We studied two million-ha-scale extreme fire events in the Northwest Territories in 2014 and British Columbia in 2018 to demonstrate that preheated endothermic vegetation condition (canopy temperature>295 K) ahead of flaming is a prerequisite for mega-fires. Canopy temperature is thus proposed as an indicator to modulate convective heating ahead of combustion, and fire spread, which strongly correlated (R2 of 0.8 ∼ 0.9) with pre-fire canopy temperature increments. It is possible to predict large-wildfires with this threshold of canopy temperature. We suggested a mechanism for vegetation under heat stress to trigger ignition and spread large fires. Our findings provide additional evidence that continued warming of the Earth's surface will lead to more severe firestorms and carbon emissions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1569843224001304Fire fuel temperatureVegetation heatLarge-scale wildfiresAmplifying effectsPassive microwave sensors |
| spellingShingle | Ju Hyoung Lee Sander Veraverbeke Brendan Rogers Yann H. Kerr L-band microwave-retrieved fuel temperature predicts million-hectare-scale destructive wildfires International Journal of Applied Earth Observations and Geoinformation Fire fuel temperature Vegetation heat Large-scale wildfires Amplifying effects Passive microwave sensors |
| title | L-band microwave-retrieved fuel temperature predicts million-hectare-scale destructive wildfires |
| title_full | L-band microwave-retrieved fuel temperature predicts million-hectare-scale destructive wildfires |
| title_fullStr | L-band microwave-retrieved fuel temperature predicts million-hectare-scale destructive wildfires |
| title_full_unstemmed | L-band microwave-retrieved fuel temperature predicts million-hectare-scale destructive wildfires |
| title_short | L-band microwave-retrieved fuel temperature predicts million-hectare-scale destructive wildfires |
| title_sort | l band microwave retrieved fuel temperature predicts million hectare scale destructive wildfires |
| topic | Fire fuel temperature Vegetation heat Large-scale wildfires Amplifying effects Passive microwave sensors |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1569843224001304 |
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