Determination of the Energy Properties of Wildfires in Siberia by Remote Sensing

• Published in: Izvestiya. Atmospheric and oceanic physics 2018-12, Vol.54 (9), p.979-985
• Main Authors: Ponomarev, E. I., Shvetsov, E. G., Usataya, Yu. O.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Climatology; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Extreme heat; Extreme high temperatures; Forest & brush fires; Forest fire detection; Forest fires; Geophysics/Geodesy; Heat; Probability theory; Radiation; Remote sensing; Thermal radiation; Use of Space Information about the Earth; Wildfires
• ISSN: 0001-4338; 1555-628X
• DOI: 10.1134/S000143381809030X

As applied to the conditions of wildfires in Siberia, remote sensing is adapted to record the radiation power from the active fire zone in the range of 3.929–3.989 μm (Terra/MODIS data). The limits of variation of the detected values ​​of heat radiation are evaluated. Sporadic peaks that exceed the mean value of heat radiation in the fire field by a value of 2.5σ were correlated with high-intensity fires, including crown fires. The probability of remote fire detection in crown stage was no less than 65%. The quantitative dependence of the Fire Radiative Power (FRP) on the area of ​​the active zone was determined using a subpixel analysis. The fraction of forest fires in Siberia with areas of extreme heat radiation is shown to be 5.5 ± 1.2% of the total wildfires. The total area of ​​high-intensity wildfires including crown fires is at least 8.5% of the average annual wildfire area and reaches values ​​of 15–25% during extreme fire seasons.