Forest Understory Fire in the Brazilian Amazon in ENSO and Non-ENSO Years: Area Burned and Committed Carbon Emissions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alencar, A.; Nepstad, D.; Ver-Diaz, M. Del. C.

2004-01-01

"Understory fires" that burn the floor of standing forests are one of the most important types of forest impoverishment in the Amazon, especially during the severe droughts of El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) episodes. However, we are aware of no estimates of the areal extent of these fires for the Brazilian Amazon and, hence, of their contribution to Amazon carbon fluxes to the atmosphere. We calculated the area of forest understory fires for the Brazilian Amazon region during an El Nino (1998) and a non El Nino (1995) year based on forest fire scars mapped with satellite images for three locations in eastern and southern Amazon, where deforestation is concentrated. The three study sites represented a gradient of both forest types and dry season severity. The burning scar maps were used to determine how the percentage of forest that burned varied with distance from agricultural clearings. These spatial functions were then applied to similar forest/climate combinations outside of the study sites to derive an initial estimate for the Brazilian Amazon. Ninety-one percent of the forest area that burned in the study sites was within the first kilometer of a clearing for the non ENSO year and within the first four kilometers for the ENSO year. The area of forest burned by understory forest fire during the severe drought (ENSO) year (3.9 millions of hectares) was 13 times greater than the area burned during the average rainfall year (0.2 million hectares), and twice the area of annual deforestation rate. Dense forest was, proportionally, the forest area most affected by understory fires during the El Nino year, while understory fires were concentrated in transitional forests during the year of average rainfall. Our estimate of aboveground tree biomass killed by fire ranged from 0.06 Pg to 0.38 Pg during the ENSO and from 0,004 Pg to 0,024 Pg during the non ENSO.

An Analysis Framework Using Satellite Remote Sensing to Understand Landscape Patterns of High Severity Burns from Wildfires in Coastal Woodlands of California and Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potter, C. S.

2016-12-01

The central California coastal landscape has a history of frequent large wildfires that have threatened or destroyed many residential structures at the wildland interface. This study starts with the largest wildfires on the Central Coast over the past 30 years and analyzes the fraction and landscape patterns of high severity burned (HBS) areas from the Landsat-based Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) data base as a function of weather conditions and topographic variations. Results indicate that maximum temperatures at the time of fire and the previous 12 months of rainfall explained a significant portion of the variation in total area burned and the fraction of HBS area. Average patch size and aggregation metrics of HBS areas were included in the analysis framework. Within each burned area, the Landsat (30-meter resolution) differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR), a continuous index of vegetation burn severity, was correlated against slope, aspect, and elevation to better understand landscape level-controls over HBS patches. The Landsat dNBR analysis framework is being extended next to the island of Sardinia, Italy for a comparison of Mediterranean climates and wildfire patterns since the mid-1980s.

Epidemiology of burns due to domestic flammable agents.

PubMed

Pegg, S P; Beecham, L; Dore, N; Hrdlicka, D; Hukins, C

1990-04-01

An analysis of the epidemiological factors relating to domestic flammable agents has shown that 17.7 per cent of admissions over a 5-year period were involved in domestic flammable injuries; 87.7 per cent of the patients were male, with 38.9 per cent being young males between 12 and 19 years old. Petrol and diesel accounted for 56.8 per cent of the burns and the average body surface area burned was 17.7 per cent. Most commonly the face, hands and limbs were burned, and the average length of stay was 18.25 days, 69.2 per cent of the burns were due to human error and were thus potentially preventable, 21.2 per cent had predisposing conditions with 8.9 per cent being due to alcohol. It was considered that the strategies to prevent these burns injuries should be aimed particularly at young males.

Analysis of Alaskan burn severity patterns using remotely sensed data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Duffy, P.A.; Epting, J.; Graham, J.M.; Rupp, T.S.; McGuire, A.D.

2007-01-01

Wildland fire is the dominant large-scale disturbance mechanism in the Alaskan boreal forest, and it strongly influences forest structure and function. In this research, patterns of burn severity in the Alaskan boreal forest are characterised using 24 fires. First, the relationship between burn severity and area burned is quantified using a linear regression. Second, the spatial correlation of burn severity as a function of topography is modelled using a variogram analysis. Finally, the relationship between vegetation type and spatial patterns of burn severity is quantified using linear models where variograms account for spatial correlation. These results show that: 1) average burn severity increases with the natural logarithm of the area of the wildfire, 2) burn severity is more variable in topographically complex landscapes than in flat landscapes, and 3) there is a significant relationship between burn severity and vegetation type in flat landscapes but not in topographically complex landscapes. These results strengthen the argument that differential flammability of vegetation exists in some boreal landscapes of Alaska. Additionally, these results suggest that through feedbacks between vegetation and burn severity, the distribution of forest vegetation through time is likely more stable in flat terrain than it is in areas with more complex topography. ?? IAWF 2007.

Forest edge burning in the Brazilian Amazon promoted by escaping fires from managed pastures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cano-Crespo, Ana; Oliveira, Paulo J. C.; Boit, Alice; Cardoso, Manoel; Thonicke, Kirsten

2015-10-01

Understanding to what extent different land uses influence fire occurrence in the Amazonian forest is particularly relevant for its conservation. We evaluate the relationship between forest fires and different anthropogenic activities linked to a variety of land uses in the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso, Pará, and Rondônia. We combine the new high-resolution (30 m) TerraClass land use database with Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer burned area data for 2008 and the extreme dry year of 2010. Excluding the non-forest class, most of the burned area was found in pastures, primary and secondary forests, and agricultural lands across all three states, while only around 1% of the total was located in deforested areas. The trend in burned area did not follow the declining deforestation rates from 2001 to 2010, and the spatial overlap between deforested and burned areas was only 8% on average. This supports the claim of deforestation being disconnected from burning since 2005. Forest degradation showed an even lower correlation with burned area. We found that fires used in managing pastoral and agricultural lands that escape into the neighboring forests largely contribute to forest fires. Such escaping fires are responsible for up to 52% of the burned forest edges adjacent to burned pastures and up to 22% of the burned forest edges adjacent to burned agricultural fields, respectively. Our findings call for the development of control and monitoring plans to prevent fires from escaping from managed lands into forests to support effective land use and ecosystem management.

Report From the California Burn Registry—The Causes of Major Burns

PubMed Central

Bongard, Frederic S.; Ostrow, Louis B.; Sacks, Susan T.; McGuire, Andrew; Trunkey, Donald D.

1985-01-01

In its first four years of operation, the California Burn Registry recorded 3,332 cases of burns, of which 73.1% were in male and 26.9% were in female patients of all ages. The average total body surface area burned was 15.4±0.3%. Flame burns were the most common (31.4%). Other common sources included scalds (24.5%) and flammable liquids (12.9%). Several other causes were cited with less frequency. Burns taking place at home occurred more commonly than at all other locations combined. In all, 221 deaths (6.6%) were reported, most (66.1%) of which were due to flame burns. PMID:4013280

Development of the life impact burn recovery evaluation (LIBRE) profile: assessing burn survivors' social participation.

PubMed

Kazis, Lewis E; Marino, Molly; Ni, Pengsheng; Soley Bori, Marina; Amaya, Flor; Dore, Emily; Ryan, Colleen M; Schneider, Jeff C; Shie, Vivian; Acton, Amy; Jette, Alan M

2017-10-01

Measuring the impact burn injuries have on social participation is integral to understanding and improving survivors' quality of life, yet there are no existing instruments that comprehensively measure the social participation of burn survivors. This project aimed to develop the Life Impact Burn Recovery Evaluation Profile (LIBRE), a patient-reported multidimensional assessment for understanding the social participation after burn injuries. 192 questions representing multiple social participation areas were administered to a convenience sample of 601 burn survivors. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to identify the underlying structure of the data. Using item response theory methods, a Graded Response Model was applied for each identified sub-domain. The resultant multidimensional LIBRE Profile can be administered via Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT) or fixed short forms. The study sample included 54.7% women with a mean age of 44.6 (SD 15.9) years. The average time since burn injury was 15.4 years (0-74 years) and the average total body surface area burned was 40% (1-97%). The CFA indicated acceptable fit statistics (CFI range 0.913-0.977, TLI range 0.904-0.974, RMSEA range 0.06-0.096). The six unidimensional scales were named: relationships with family and friends, social interactions, social activities, work and employment, romantic relationships, and sexual relationships. The marginal reliability of the full item bank and CATs ranged from 0.84 to 0.93, with ceiling effects less than 15% for all scales. The LIBRE Profile is a promising new measure of social participation following a burn injury that enables burn survivors and their care providers to measure social participation.

Atmospheric Effects of Biomass Burning in Madagascar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aikin, Arthur C.; Hoegy, Walter R.; Ziemke, Jerry R.; Thorpe, Arthur; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

Simultaneous tropospheric ozone and aerosols observed using the TOMS satellite instrument are reported for Madagascar during the 1979 through 1999 time period Ozone observations made using the TOMS tropospheric ozone convective-cloud differential method show that the tropospheric ozone amount associated with Madagascar has an average monthly value of 30 DU (Dobson units). The average value is enhanced by 10 to 15 DU in October This maximum coincides with the time of maximum biomass area burning in Madagascar and parts of southern Africa. The aerosol index derived from TOMS is examined for correlation with biomass burning in Madagascar and southern Africa. There is good correlation between a satellite observation derived fire index for different parts of Madagascar, tropospheric ozone and the TOMS aerosol index in the same geographical area. Aerosols from fires were found to reach their peak in November and to persist over Madagascar until sometime in December.

How important is biomass burning in Canada to mercury contamination?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fraser, Annemarie; Dastoor, Ashu; Ryjkov, Andrei

2018-05-01

Wildfire frequency has increased in past four decades in Canada and is expected to increase in future as a result of climate change (Wotton et al., 2010). Mercury (Hg) emissions from biomass burning are known to be significant; however, the impact of biomass burning on air concentration and deposition fluxes in Canada has not been previously quantified. We use estimates of burned biomass from FINN (Fire INventory from NCAR) and vegetation-specific emission factors (EFs) of mercury to investigate the spatiotemporal variability of Hg emissions in Canada. We use Environment and Climate Change Canada's GEM-MACH-Hg (Global Environmental Multi-scale, Modelling Air quality and Chemistry model, mercury version) to quantify the impact of biomass burning in Canada on spatiotemporal variability of air concentrations and deposition fluxes of mercury in Canada. We use North American gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) observations (2010-2015), GEM-MACH-Hg, and an inversion technique to optimize the EFs for GEM for five vegetation types represented in North American fires to constrain the biomass burning impacts of mercury. The inversion results suggest that EFs representing more vegetation types - specifically peatland - are required. This is currently limited by the sparseness of measurements of Hg from biomass burning plumes. More measurements of Hg concentration in the air, specifically downwind of fires, would improve the inversions. We use three biomass burning Hg emissions scenarios in Canada to conduct three sets of model simulations for 2010-2015: two scenarios where Hg is emitted only as GEM using literature or optimized EFs and a third scenario where Hg is emitted as GEM using literature EFs and particle bound mercury (PBM) emitted using the average GEM/PBM ratio from lab measurements. The three biomass burning emission scenarios represent a range of possible values for the impacts of Hg emissions from biomass burning in Canada on Hg concentration and deposition. We find total biomass burning Hg emissions to be highly variable from year to year and estimate average 2010-2015 total atmospheric biomass burning emissions of Hg in Canada to be between 6 and 14 t during the biomass burning season (i.e. from May to September), which is 3-7 times the mercury emission from anthropogenic sources in Canada for this period. On average, 65 % of the emissions occur in the provinces west of Ontario. We find that while emissions from biomass burning have a small impact on surface air concentrations of GEM averaged over individual provinces/territories, the impact at individual sites can be as high as 95 % during burning events. We estimate average annual mercury deposition from biomass burning in Canada to be between 0.3 and 2.8 t, compared to 0.14 t of mercury deposition from anthropogenic sources during the biomass burning season in Canada. Compared to the biomass burning emissions, the relative impact of fires on mercury deposition is shifted eastward, with on average 54 % percent of the deposition occurring in provinces west of Ontario. While the relative contribution of Canadian biomass burning to the total mercury deposition over each province/territory is no more than 9 % between 2010 and 2015, the local contribution in some locations (including areas downwind of biomass burning) can be as high as 80 % (e.g. northwest of Great Slave Lake in 2014) from May to September. We find that northern Alberta and Saskatchewan, central British Columbia, and the area around Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories are at greater risk of mercury contamination from biomass burning. GEM is considered to be the dominant mercury species emitted from biomass burning; however, there remains an uncertainty in the speciation of mercury released from biomass burning. We find that the impact of biomass burning emissions on mercury deposition is significantly affected by the uncertainty in speciation of emitted mercury because PBM is more readily deposited closer to the emission sources than GEM; an addition of ˜ 18 % percent of mercury emission from biomass burning in the form of PBM in the model increases the 6-year average deposition by ˜ 4 times.

Clinical and demographic features of pediatric burns in the eastern provinces of Turkey

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background The aim of this study is to perform a retrospective analysis of the causes of burns observed in children in the eastern provinces of Turkey. Method In this study, patients were studied retrospectively with regard to their age, sex, cause of burns, seasonal variations, social and economic factors, length of hospital stay, burned body surface area, medical history, site of injury, and mortality. Results A total of 125 patients undergoing inpatient treatment were male, (53.2%) and 110 were female (46.8%). The most common causes of burns in patients treated on an inpatient basis were scald burns (65.5%) and tandir burns (15.7%). The mean total body surface area of all the patients was 12.17+9.86%. When the patients were grouped according to tandir, cauldron, and others burn causes, a significant difference was seen between the in burn percentages caused by tandir and cauldron burns and other causes (p < 0.001). Higher burn percentages were seen for cauldron burns than for tandir burns (p < 0.05). The average length of hospital stay was 17.67+13.64 days. When the patients were grouped according to burn causes (tandir, cauldron, and others), a significant difference was determined between the hospitalization periods of patients with tandir burns and other burn causes (p = 0.001) The most commonly proliferating microorganism in burned areas was Pseudomonas aeruginosa (20.4%). Of the 235 patients, 61 were treated in operating rooms. During the 24-month period of the study, 2 of the 235 patients died (0.85%). Conclusion Pediatric burns in the eastern part of Turkey are different from those in other parts of Turkey, as well as in other countries. Due to the lifestyle of the region, tandir and cauldron burns, which cause extensive burn areas and high morbidity, are frequently seen in children. Therefore, precautions and educational programs related to the use of tandirs and cauldrons are needed in this region. PMID:21244683

A comparison of burn season effects on nesting birds in North Dakota mixed-grass prairie

USGS Publications Warehouse

Higgins, K.F.

1986-01-01

During 1982-1985, the effects of single spring and fall burn treatments on ground nesting birds and residual cover were studied on five paired areas of native mixed-grass prairie in northwestern Stutsman County, ND. Annually, visual obstruction readings to index the height-density of residual cover were taken once and nest searches were made four times on each area. Residual nesting cover on fall burn plots averaged taller and denser than on spring burn plots during post-fire growing years 2-4. A total of 259 duck nests and 63 nests of non-passerine birds were found during the four years. Duck nesting success was significantly greater (P < 0.05) in fall burn plots than in spring burn plots for all species and years combined. Too few nests of other bird species were found for valid comparisons. Results suggest that vegetation structure and duck nesting response to spring and fall burns became similar again by the third post-fire growing season.

Assessing the response of area burned to changing climate in western boreal North America using a Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS) approach

USGS Publications Warehouse

Balshi, M. S.; McGuire, A.D.; Duffy, P.; Flannigan, M.; Walsh, J.; Melillo, J.

2009-01-01

Fire is a common disturbance in the North American boreal forest that influences ecosystem structure and function. The temporal and spatial dynamics of fire are likely to be altered as climate continues to change. In this study, we ask the question: how will area burned in boreal North America by wildfire respond to future changes in climate? To evaluate this question, we developed temporally and spatially explicit relationships between air temperature and fuel moisture codes derived from the Canadian Fire Weather Index System to estimate annual area burned at 2.5?? (latitude ?? longitude) resolution using a Multivariate Adaptive Regression Spline (MARS) approach across Alaska and Canada. Burned area was substantially more predictable in the western portion of boreal North America than in eastern Canada. Burned area was also not very predictable in areas of substantial topographic relief and in areas along the transition between boreal forest and tundra. At the scale of Alaska and western Canada, the empirical fire models explain on the order of 82% of the variation in annual area burned for the period 1960-2002. July temperature was the most frequently occurring predictor across all models, but the fuel moisture codes for the months June through August (as a group) entered the models as the most important predictors of annual area burned. To predict changes in the temporal and spatial dynamics of fire under future climate, the empirical fire models used output from the Canadian Climate Center CGCM2 global climate model to predict annual area burned through the year 2100 across Alaska and western Canada. Relative to 1991-2000, the results suggest that average area burned per decade will double by 2041-2050 and will increase on the order of 3.5-5.5 times by the last decade of the 21st century. To improve the ability to better predict wildfire across Alaska and Canada, future research should focus on incorporating additional effects of long-term and successional vegetation changes on area burned to account more fully for interactions among fire, climate, and vegetation dynamics. ?? 2009 The Authors Journal compilation ?? 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Energy balance studies and plasma catecholamine values for patients with healed burns.

PubMed

Wallace, B H; Cone, J B; Caldwell, F T

1991-01-01

We report heat balance studies and plasma catecholamine values for 49 children and young adults with healed burn wounds (age range 0.6 to 31 years and burn range 1% to 82% body surface area burned; mean 41%). All measurements were made during the week of discharge. Heat production for patients with healed burns was not significantly different from predicted normal values. However, compartmented heat loss demonstrated a persistent increment in evaporative heat loss that was secondary to continued elevation of cutaneous water vapor loss immediately after wound closure. A reciprocal decrement in dry heat loss was demonstrated (as a result of a cooler average surface temperature, 0.84 degree C cooler than the average integrated skin temperature of five normal volunteers who were studied in our unit under similar environmental conditions). Mean values for plasma catecholamines were in the normal range: epinephrine = 56 +/- 37 pg/ml, norepinephrine = 385 +/- 220 pg/ml, and dopamine = 34 +/- 29 pg/ml. In conclusion, patients with freshly healed burn wounds have normal rates of heat production; however, there is a residual increment in transcutaneous water vapor loss, which produces surface cooling and decreased average surface temperature, which in turn lowers dry heat loss by an approximately equivalent amount.

Mixed conifer forest mortality and establishment before and after prescribed fire in Sequoia National Park, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mutch, L.S.; Parsons, D.J.

1998-01-01

Pre-and post-burn tree mortality rates, size structure, basal area, and ingrowth were determined for four 1.0 ha mixed conifer forest stands in the Log Creek and Tharp's Creek watersheds of Sequoia National Park. Mean annual mortality between 1986 and 1990 was 0.8% for both watersheds. In the fall of 1990, the Tharp's Creek watershed was treated with a prescribed burn. Between 1991 and 1995, mean annual mortality was 1.4% in the unburned Log Creek watershed and 17.2% in the burned Tharp's Creek watershed. A drought from 1987 to 1992 likely contributed to the mortality increase in the Log Creek watershed. The high mortality in the Tharp's Creek watershed was primarily related to crown scorch from the 1990 fire and was modeled with logistic regression for white fir (Abies concolor [Gord. and Glend.]) and sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana [Dougl.]). From 1989 to 1994, basal area declined an average of 5% per year in the burned Tharp's Creek watershed, compared to average annual increases of less than 1% per year in the unburned Log Creek watershed and in the Tharp's watershed prior to burning. Post-burn size structure was dramatically changed in the Tharp's Creek stands: 75% of trees ???50 cm and 25% of trees >50 cm were killed by the fire.

Assessing Transboundary Wildfire Exposure in the Southwestern United States.

PubMed

Ager, Alan A; Palaiologou, Palaiologos; R Evers, Cody; Day, Michelle A; G Barros, Ana M

2018-04-25

We assessed transboundary wildfire exposure among federal, state, and private lands and 447 communities in the state of Arizona, southwestern United States. The study quantified the relative magnitude of transboundary (incoming, outgoing) versus nontransboundary (i.e., self-burning) wildfire exposure based on land tenure or community of the simulated ignition and the resulting fire perimeter. We developed and described several new metrics to quantify and map transboundary exposure. We found that incoming transboundary fire accounted for 37% of the total area burned on large parcels of federal and state lands, whereas 63% of the area burned was burned by ignitions within the parcel. However, substantial parcel to parcel variation was observed for all land tenures for all metrics. We found that incoming transboundary fire accounted for 66% of the total area burned within communities versus 34% of the area burned by self-burning ignitions. Of the total area burned within communities, private lands contributed the largest proportion (36.7%), followed by national forests (19.5%), and state lands (15.4%). On average seven land tenures contributed wildfire to individual communities. Annual wildfire exposure to structures was highest for wildfires ignited on state and national forest land, followed by tribal, private, and BLM. We mapped community firesheds, that is, the area where ignitions can spawn fires that can burn into communities, and estimated that they covered 7.7 million ha, or 26% of the state of Arizona. Our methods address gaps in existing wildfire risk assessments, and their implementation can help reduce fragmentation in governance systems and inefficiencies in risk planning. Published 2018. This article is a U.S. government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Ten-year epidemiology of chemical burns in western Zhejiang Province, China.

PubMed

Ye, Chunjiang; Wang, Xingang; Zhang, Yuanhai; Ni, Liangfang; Jiang, Ruiming; Liu, Liping; Han, Chunmao

2016-05-01

Chemical burns occur frequently in western Zhejiang Province. This study documents the epidemiology of chemical burns in the region using burn data from a local specialized hospital. Results from this analysis will assist in the planning of prevention strategies for high-risk occupations and groups. A 10-year retrospective analysis was conducted for all patients with chemical burns admitted to the Department of Burn and Plastic Surgery from January 2004 to December 2013. Information obtained for each patient included demographics (gender, age, occupation and education), location of the burn, cause of the burn, and categories of chemicals. Data regarding the season of admittance, prehospital treatment, wound site/size (area, region, and depth), accompanying injuries, operations, length of hospital stay and mortality were also assessed. A total of 690 patients (619 males, 71 females; average age: 30.6±12.4 years) were admitted to the department for chemical burns. Over the 10-year period, the incidence of chemical burns showed an increasing tendency. Chemical burns occurred most frequently in patients aged 20-59 years (94.79%). Most of the chemical burns were work-related, primarily in private enterprises (47.97%) and state-owned enterprises (24.93%). Operations (68.99%) and machine problems (17.26%) were the main causes of chemical burns in the workplace. With regard to burns caused by chemicals, most were caused by acids (72.01%), with hydrofluoric acid and sulphuric acid causing 51.45%. Most chemical burns occurred in the summer and autumn seasons (61.02%). The burn size was <10% of the total body surface area (TBSA) for 445 patients (64.49%), while only 26 patients (3.76%) had burns covering >40% TBSA. The most common burn sites were the upper extremities (31.57%), lower extremities (19.86%), and head and neck (28.83%). Most patients (581 (84.20%)) received water washing treatment on site immediately after exposure. The most common accompanying injuries included inhalation injury, ocular burns and digestive tract injury. The average hospital stay was 17.0±23.1 days (range 1-333 days). Surgery was performed in 146 patients (21.16%), and the overall mortality rate was 0.58%. Chemical burns are preventable. The high morbidity of chemical burns in western Zhejiang Province is related to the industrial structure of the area. Governmental management in the fields of production, transportation, and utilization of chemicals could be improved. Workplaces have the responsibility to provide safe work environments and equipment, as well as occupational education and safety training for high-risk work groups. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Uncertainty analysis of moderate- versus coarse-scale satellite fire products for quantifying agricultural burning: Implications for Air Quality in European Russia, Belarus, and Lithuania

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCarty, J. L.; Krylov, A.; Prishchepov, A. V.; Banach, D. M.; Potapov, P.; Tyukavina, A.; Rukhovitch, D.; Koroleva, P.; Turubanova, S.; Romanenkov, V.

2015-12-01

Cropland and pasture burning are common agricultural management practices that negatively impact air quality at a local and regional scale, including contributing to short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs). This research focuses on both cropland and pasture burning in European Russia, Lithuania, and Belarus. Burned area and fire detections were derived from 500 m and 1 km Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), 30 m Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+), and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) data. Carbon, particulate matter, volatile organic carbon (VOCs), and harmful air pollutants (HAPs) emissions were then calculated using MODIS and Landsat-based estimates of fire and land-cover and land-use. Agricultural burning in Belarus, Lithuania, and European Russia showed a strong and consistent seasonal geographic pattern from 2002 to 2012, with the majority of fire detections occurring in March - June and smaller peak in July and August. Over this 11-year period, there was a decrease in both cropland and pasture burning throughout this region. For Smolensk Oblast, a Russian administrative region with comparable agro-environmental conditions to Belarus and Lithuania, a detailed analysis of Landsat-based burned area estimations for croplands and pastures and field data collected in summer 2014 showed that the agricultural burning area can be up to 10 times higher than the 1 km MODIS active fire estimates. In general, European Russia is the main source of agricultural burning emissions compared to Lithuania and Belarus. On average, all cropland burning in European Russia as detected by the MCD45A1 MODIS Burned Area Product emitted 17.66 Gg of PM10 while annual burning of pasture in Smolensk Oblast, Russia as detected by Landsat burn scars emitted 494.85 Gg of PM10, a 96% difference. This highlights that quantifying the contribution of pasture burning and burned area versus cropland burning in agricultural regions is important for accurately calculating carbonaceous emissions and emissions that negatively impact air quality.

Propranolol attenuates hemorrhage and accelerates wound healing in severely burned adults.

PubMed

Ali, Arham; Herndon, David N; Mamachen, Ashish; Hasan, Samir; Andersen, Clark R; Grogans, Ro-Jon; Brewer, Jordan L; Lee, Jong O; Heffernan, Jamie; Suman, Oscar E; Finnerty, Celeste C

2015-05-04

Propranolol, a nonselective β-blocker, exerts an indirect effect on the vasculature by leaving α-adrenergic receptors unopposed, resulting in peripheral vasoconstriction. We have previously shown that propranolol diminishes peripheral blood following burn injury by increasing vascular resistance. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether wound healing and perioperative hemodynamics are affected by propranolol administration in severely burned adults. Sixty-nine adult patients with burns covering ≥ 30% of the total body surface area (TBSA) were enrolled in this IRB-approved study. Patients received standard burn care with (n = 35) or without (control, n = 34) propranolol. Propranolol was administered within 48 hours of burns and given throughout hospital discharge to decrease heart rate by approximately 20% from admission levels. Wound healing was determined by comparing the time between grafting procedures. Blood loss was determined by comparing pre- and postoperative hematocrit while factoring in operative graft area. Data were collected between first admission and first discharge. Demographics, burn size, and mortality were comparable in the control and propranolol groups. Patients in the propranolol group received an average propranolol dose of 3.3 ± 3.0 mg/kg/day. Daily average heart rate over the first 30 days was significantly lower in the propranolol group (P < 0.05). The average number of days between skin grafting procedures was also lower in propranolol patients (10 ± 5 days) than in control patients (17 ± 12 days; P = 0.02), indicative of a faster donor site healing time in the propranolol group. Packed red blood cell infusion was similar between groups (control 5.3 ± 5.4 units vs. propranolol 4.4 ± 3.1 units, P = 0.89). Propranolol was associated with a 5 to 7% improvement in perioperative hematocrit during grafting procedures of 4,000 to 16,000 cm(2) compared to control (P = 0.002). Administration of propranolol during the acute hospitalization period diminishes blood loss during skin grafting procedures and markedly improves wound healing in severely burned adults. As burn patients require serial surgical interventions for motor and cosmetic repair, restricting blood loss during operative intervention is optimal.

Effects of Mechanical Soil Disturbance on Rill Connectivity and Soil Erosion Following Logging on Burned Hillslopes in Central California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olsen, W.; Wagenbrenner, J. W.; Demirtas, I.; Robichaud, P. R.

2016-12-01

Soil erosion rates in forests increase after severe fires and may pose a threat to aquatic resources. While research has shown that the harvest of burned trees ("salvage logging") may elevate post-fire erosion, it is less clear how disturbance from logging affects rill erosion and sediment yields. We studied 14 catchments (900-7400 m2 "swales") in the area burned by the 2013 Rim Fire in the California Sierra Nevada, nine of which were burned and logged, and five that were burned and unlogged. We installed silt fences, surveyed mechanical disturbance and rill networks, and measured ground cover following logging that occurred between fall 2014 and fall 2015. The logged swales had 20-162 trees ha-1 removed, and high traffic skid trails covered 8-28% of the swale area while low traffic skid trails covered 0-13% of the area. Feller-buncher tracks were minimal at 0-6% of the swale area. Following logging, wood cover increased, while vegetation cover remained about the same. Rills densities ranged from 0.3-22 m m-2 in logged swales and 2.2-16 m m-2 in unlogged swales. Higher bare soil percentages led to increased rill density in all swales. Rills that initiated in high traffic skid trails averaged 42 m in the swales, while rills from untrafficked burned soil averaged 26 m. The number of rills from high traffic skid trails increased with the amount of skid trail area, and often were diverted by waterbars toward the swale outlets. Sediment yields increased with rill density, and did not appear to respond to the modest increase in wood cover post-logging. Results indicate that rill erosion is a dominant sediment transport mechanism for both burned forests and salvage logged forests at the hillslope to small catchment scale. Mitigating skidding disturbance, appropriate placement of waterbars, and reducing the connectivity of bare soil after logging will be important to reduce rilling and sediment yields related to salvage logging.

Forest fires in Mediterranean countries: CO2 emissions and mitigation possibilities through prescribed burning.

PubMed

Vilén, Terhi; Fernandes, Paulo M

2011-09-01

Forest fires are an integral part of the ecology of the Mediterranean Basin; however, fire incidence has increased dramatically during the past decades and fire is expected to become more prevalent in the future due to climate change. Fuel modification by prescribed burning reduces the spread and intensity potential of subsequent wildfires. We used the most recently published data to calculate the average annual wildfire CO(2) emissions in France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain following the IPCC guidelines. The effect of prescribed burning on emissions was calculated for four scenarios of prescribed burning effectiveness based on data from Portugal. Results show that prescribed burning could have a considerable effect on the carbon balance of the land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector in Mediterranean countries. However, uncertainty in emission estimates remains large, and more accurate data is needed, especially regarding fuel load and fuel consumption in different vegetation types and fuel layers and the total area protected from wildfire per unit area treated by prescribed burning, i.e. the leverage of prescribed burning.

Estimates of biomass burning emissions in tropical Asia based on satellite-derived data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, D.; Song, Y.

2009-09-01

Biomass burning in tropical Asia emits large amounts of trace gases and particulate matters into the atmosphere, which has significant implications for atmospheric chemistry and climatic change. In this study, emissions from open biomass burning over tropical Asia were evaluated during seven fire years from 2000-2006 (1 April 2000-31 March 2007). Burned areas were estimated from newly published 1-km L3JRC and 500-m MODIS burned area products (MCD45A1). Available fuel loads and emission factors were assigned for each vegetation type in a GlobCover characterisation map, and fuel moisture content was taken into account when calculating combustion factors. Over the whole period, both burned areas and fire emissions clearly showed spatial and seasonal variations. The L3JRC burned areas ranged from 31 165 km2 in fire year 2005 to 57 313 km2 in 2000, while the MCD45A1 burned areas ranged from 54 260 km2 in fire year 2001 to 127 068 km2 in 2004. Comparisons of L3JRC and MCD45A1 burned areas with ground-based measurements and other satellite information were constructed in several major burning regions, and results suggested that MCD45A1 performed better in most areas than L3JRC did although with a certain degree of underestimation of burned forest areas. The average annual L3JRC-based emissions were 125, 12, 0.98, 1.91, 0.11, 0.89, 0.044, 0.022, 0.42, 3.40, and 3.68 Tg yr

Cost analysis of acute burn patients treated in a burn centre: the Gulhane experience

PubMed Central

Sahin, I.; Ozturk, S.; Alhan, D.; Açikel, C.; Isik, S.

2011-01-01

Summary Even if calculating the exact cost of burn treatment is a very hard task, the study of cost analysis provides financial perspective. We performed a cost analysis study in our burn centre to respond to questions about total patient treatment cost and the length of hospital stay. We reviewed all patients admitted to the Gulhane Military Medical Academy Burn Centre in Ankara, Turkey, between March 2005 and August 2008. Forty-three patients with major burns were identified on the basis of the study criteria. The data regarding total treatment cost and the length of hospital stay for each type of burn (flame, scald, electric) were collected at the end of the study. The average total body surface area burned was 36 ± 7%.. The average duration of hospital stay was 73 ± 33 days. Patients with electrical burns stayed longer in hospital than patients with other types of burn injuries. Each one per cent of burn corresponded to a mean hospital stay of two days. The overall mean total cost was $US 15,250. The mean total cost of electrical burns was the highest, with $US 22,501 ± 24,039. Even if the costs associated with burn injury are higher than some other well-known health-related problems, they have not been much studied. Reports have produced different results, but it should be kept in mind that although the results of cost analysis studies may vary they must be performed in all newly established burn centres in order to form a financial overview. PMID:21991233

Permafrost as an additional driving factor for the extreme fire event in the boreal Baikal region in 2003

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forkel, M.; Thonicke, K.; Beer, C.; Cramer, W.; Bartalev, S.; Schmullius, C.

2012-04-01

Wildfires are a natural and important element in the functioning of boreal forests. However, in some years, fires with extreme spread and severity occur. Such severe fires degrade the forest, affect human values, emit huge amount of carbon and aerosols and alter the land surface albedo. Usually, wind, slope, and dry conditions have been recognized as factors determining fire spread. In the Baikal region, 127,000 km2 burned in 2003, while the annual average burned area is approx. 8100 km2. In average years, 16% of the burned area occurred in the continuous permafrost zone but in 2003, 33% of these burned areas coincide with the existence of permanently frozen grounds. Permafrost and the associated upper active layer, which thaws during summer and refreezes during winter, is an important supply for soil moisture in boreal ecosystems. This leads to the question if permafrost hydrology is a potential additional driving factor for extreme fire events in boreal forests. Using temperature and precipitation data, we calculated the Nesterov index as indicator for fire weather conditions. Further, we used satellite observations of burned area and surface moisture, a digital elevation model, a land cover and a permafrost map to evaluate drivers for the temporal dynamic and spatial variability of surface moisture conditions and burned area in spring 2003. On the basis of time series decomposition, we separated the effect of drivers for fire activity on different time scales. We next computed cross-correlations to identify potential time lags between weather conditions, surface moisture and fire activity. Finally, we assessed the predictive capability of different combinations of driving variables for surface moisture conditions and burned area using multivariate spatial-temporal regression models. The results from this study demonstrate that permafrost in larch-dominated ecosystems regulates the inter-annual variability of surface moisture and thus increases the inter-annual variability of burned area. The drought conditions in spring 2003 were accelerated by the presence of permafrost because less water was stored in the upper active layer from the dry previous summer 2002 and the permafrost table prevents vegetative water uptake from deeper layers. In contrast, weather conditions (precipitation anomaly, Nesterov index) are weaker predictors for the 2003 fire event. Our analysis advances the understanding of complex interactions between the atmosphere, vegetation and soil on how feedback mechanisms can lead to extreme fire events. These findings emphasize the importance of a mechanistic coupling of soil thermodynamics, hydrology, and fire activity in earth system models for projecting climate change impacts over the next century.

Improved estimates of biomass burning emissions in the southeast United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nowell, H.; Holmes, C.; Elsner, J.; Hiers, J. K.; Robertson, K.

2017-12-01

Biomass burning is a major source of gas and particle emissions that affects air quality, human health, and climate. Prescribed burns in the southeastern United States consume more biomass and cover a larger area than fires in the rest of the United States combined. Although fires can be detected remotely from thermal infrared emission and changes to surface reflectance, there are multiple issues that make satellite detections difficult in the eastern United States. These include small fire sizes, short duration, low intensity, canopy coverage, and rapid vegetation regrowth. Some attempts have been made to compensate for this bias, for example the small fire product in the Global Fire Emission Database (GFED4.1s) product. The accuracy of GFED and other remotely sensed global fire emission inventories are largely unknown, outside of a few field studies, mainly because there are few independent datasets of fire extent. The Florida Forest Service (FFS) has extensive records on fire type, size, location, and time for both prescribed and wild fires, which have not previously been used to evaluate fire area and emissions. For our study period of 2004 to 2016, we compared FFS burn authorization data against GFED4.1s burned area. When averaged across the state of Florida, there is 4 times more land burned than detected from satellite sensors. When comparing FFS data against high quality records from Apalachicola National Forest, Avon Park Air Force Range, Eglin Air Force Base, Tall Timbers Research Station, and Tyndall Air Force base, the areal discrepancy between these records and FFS reports are +/- 15%, well below the 4 times detection discrepancy between satellites and FFS reports. We have developed a method to statistically correct this satellite bias in fire detections. Treating the FFS burn authorizations as accurate, we have found this bias ratio can be predicted from fire size, land cover type, leaf area, and month. The regression model incorporating these factors can predict greater than 80% of variance in bias ratio across Florida during the summer months with correlations around 0.6 on average. This improved estimate of burned area in Florida will be used in global circulation models to determine the true contribution of prescribed wild fires in the southeast United States to gas and particle emissions.

Epidemiology of pediatric burns in southwest China from 2011 to 2015.

PubMed

Li, Haisheng; Wang, Song; Tan, Jianglin; Zhou, Junyi; Wu, Jun; Luo, Gaoxing

2017-09-01

Burns are a major form of injury in children worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiology, outcome, cost and risk factors of pediatric burns in southwest China. This retrospective study was performed at the Institute of Burn Research of the Third Military Medical University from 2011 to 2015. Data, including demographic, injury-related, and clinical data and patient outcome, were collected from medical records. A total of 2478 children with burns (58.03% boys), accounting for 39.2% of total burn patients, were included. The average age of the burn patients was 2.86±2.86years, and most patients (85.55%) were under five years old. The incidence of burns peaked in January, February and May. Scald burns were the most frequent (79.06%), followed by flame burns (14.0%) and electrical burns (3.35%). Limbs were the most common burn sites (69.73%), and the average total body surface area (TBSA) was 11.57±11.61%. The percentage of children who underwent operations and the number of operations were significantly increased in cases of electrical burns, the older-age group, a larger TBSA and full-thickness burns. Six deaths were recorded, yielding a mortality of 0.24%. The median length of stay and cost were 14days and 9541 CNY, respectively, and the major risk factors for length of stay and cost were the TBSA, number of operations, full-thickness burns and outcome. In southwest China, among children under five years old, scald and flame burns should become the key prevention target, and future prevention strategies should be based on related risk factors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Extra-large negative pressure wound therapy dressings for burns - Initial experience with technique, fluid management, and outcomes.

PubMed

Fischer, Sebastian; Wall, Jennifer; Pomahac, Bohdan; Riviello, Robert; Halvorson, Eric G

2016-03-01

The use of negative-pressure-wound-therapy (NPWT) is associated with improved outcomes in smaller burns. We report our experience using extra-large (XL) NPWT dressings to treat ≥15% total body surface area (TBSA) burned and describe our technique and early outcomes. We also provide NPWT exudate volume for predictive fluid resuscitation in these critically ill patients. We retrospectively reviewed patients treated with XL-NPWT from 2012 to 2014. Following excision/grafting, graft and donor sites were sealed with a layered NPWT dressing. We documented wound size, dressing size, NPWT outputs, graft take, wound infections, and length of stay (LOS). Mean NPWT exudate volume per %TBSA per day was calculated. Twelve burn patients (mean TBSA burned 30%, range 15-60%) were treated with XL-NPWT (dressing TBSA burned and skin graft donor sites range 17-44%). Average graft take was 97%. No wound infections occurred. Two patients had burns ≥50% TBSA and their LOS was reduced compared to ABA averages. XL-NPWT outputs peaked at day 1 after grafting followed by a steady decline until dressings were removed. Average XL-NPWT dressing output during the first 5 days was 101±66mL/%BSA covered per day. 2 patients developed acute kidney injury. The use of XL-NPWT to treat extensive burns is feasible with attention to application technique. NPWT dressings appear to improve graft take, and to decrease risk of infection, LOS, and pain and anxiety associated with wound care. Measured fluid losses can improve patient care in future applications of NPWT to large burn wounds. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Conifer regeneration on burned and unburned clearcuts on granitic soils of the Klamath National Forest

Treesearch

Danny Heavilan

1977-01-01

Regeneration was studied on a mixed conifer stand on granitic soils on the Klamath National Forest. Six years after logging and hand planting with Douglas-fir, stocking and growth on cutblocks where slash had been broadcast burned was compared with that on similar unburned cutblocks. Conifers were seven times more plentiful on the unburned areas, the average height of...

Effects of Climate and Fuels Management on Wildfire Occurrence, Size, Severity and Emissions in the Sierra Nevada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Westerling, A. L.; Fites, J. A.; Keyser, A.

2015-12-01

Annual wildfire burned area in federally managed Sierra Nevada forests has increased by more than 10,000 ha per decade since the early 1970s. At the same time, recent years have seen some extremely large fires compared to the historical record, with significant areas of moderate to high severity fire (e.g., McNally 2002, Rim 2013, King 2014 fires). Changes to fuels and fire regimes due to fire suppression and land use, as well as warming temperatures and the occurrence of drought, are thought to be significant factors contributing to increased risks of large, severe fires in Sierra Nevada forests. Over 70% of the vegetated area in federally managed forests in the Sierra Nevada is classified as having altered fuels and fire regimes, while average annual temperature in the Sierra Nevada has been above the long term mean for all but four years in the past two decades. As climate is expected to continue warming for decades to come, we explored fuels management scenarios as the primary tools available to modify risks of large, severe wildfires. We developed experimental statistical models of fire occurrence, fire size, and high severity burned area, to explore the interaction between climate and altered fuels conditions. These models were applied to historical climate conditions, a sample of future climate projections, and to both current fuels conditions and a range of scenarios for fuels treatments. Emissions from wildfires were estimated using the Fire Inventory from the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Our models project that average annual burned area in the Sierra Nevada will more than double by mid-century. Similarly, particulate and other pollution emissions from Sierra Nevada wildfires are projected to more than double, even if future fire severity does not change. Fuels treatment scenarios significantly reduced simulated future burned area and emissions below untreated projections. High severity burned area responded to both climate and fuels treatments. A sensitivity analysis indicated that in areas where the fraction of highly altered fuels is high, successfully restoring fuels to prehistoric conditions could more than compensate for expected climate change effects on fire severity by mid-century.

An analytical method for predicting postwildfire peak discharges

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moody, John A.

2012-01-01

An analytical method presented here that predicts postwildfire peak discharge was developed from analysis of paired rainfall and runoff measurements collected from selected burned basins. Data were collected from 19 mountainous basins burned by eight wildfires in different hydroclimatic regimes in the western United States (California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and South Dakota). Most of the data were collected for the year of the wildfire and for 3 to 4 years after the wildfire. These data provide some estimate of the changes with time of postwildfire peak discharges, which are known to be transient but have received little documentation. The only required inputs for the analytical method are the burned area and a quantitative measure of soil burn severity (change in the normalized burn ratio), which is derived from Landsat reflectance data and is available from either the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service or the U.S. Geological Survey. The method predicts the postwildfire peak discharge per unit burned area for the year of a wildfire, the first year after a wildfire, and the second year after a wildfire. It can be used at three levels of information depending on the data available to the user; each subsequent level requires either more data or more processing of the data. Level 1 requires only the burned area. Level 2 requires the burned area and the basin average value of the change in the normalized burn ratio. Level 3 requires the burned area and the calculation of the hydraulic functional connectivity, which is a variable that incorporates the sequence of soil burn severity along hillslope flow paths within the burned basin. Measurements indicate that the unit peak discharge response increases abruptly when the 30-minute maximum rainfall intensity is greater than about 5 millimeters per hour (0.2 inches per hour). This threshold may relate to a change in runoff generation from saturated-excess to infiltration-excess overland flow. The threshold value was about 7.6 millimeters per hour for the year of the wildfire and the first year after the wildfire, and it was about 11.1 millimeters per hour for the second year after the wildfire.

Evaluation of Demographic and Clinical Characteristics of Patients who Attempted Suicide by Self-Inflicted Burn Using Catalyzer

PubMed Central

Yabanoglu, Hakan; Aytac, Huseyin Ozgur; Turk, Emin; Karagulle, Erdal; Belli, Sedat; Sakallioglu, Ayse Ebru; Tarim, Mehmet Akin; Moray, Gokhan; Haberal, Mehmet

2015-01-01

Our aim was to assess demographic and clinical characteristics of patients treated at our units who attempted suicide by self-incineration, and to compare the results of burns with or without catalyzer use. Twenty patients who attempted suicide by self-incineration were examined in terms of clinical and demographic characteristics. Average age of the study population was 35 years (range 13−85 years). Average percentage of total body surface area burn was 53% (9%−100%). Six (30%) patients used gasoline and 5 (25%) used paint thinner in order to catalyze burning. Of these 11 patients who used a catalyzer, 5 (45.4%) had inhalation injury and 7 (63.6%) died. Among 9 patients who did not use any catalyzer, 1 (11.1%) had inhalation injury and 4 (44.4%) died. In general, inhalation injury was diagnosed in 6 patients (30%) while 11 (55%) patients died. A high morbidity and mortality rate was found in patients who used a catalyzer. PMID:25692434

Burns in a major burns center in East China from 2005 to 2014: Incidence and outcome.

PubMed

Fan, Xiaoming; Ma, Bing; Zeng, Ding; Fang, Xiao; Li, Haihang; Xiao, Shichu; Wang, Guangyi; Tang, Hongtai; Xia, Zhaofan

2017-11-01

Information about epidemiology on burns is rare in China. The aim of this article is to describe the pattern of burns in East China during a 10-year time period. A retrospective data analysis was performed on all hospitalized patients to the burn center at the Changhai hospital, one of major burn centers in East China, from 2005 to 2014. We included 3376 patients in this study. Among them, 48.1% were from 27 provinces out of Shanghai and nearly 90% were from East China. August saw the most admissions and November saw the fewest. Spring and summer separately dominated in number of female and male patients. Children aged 2-5 and working-age adult were the most commonly treated. Home was the commonest place of injury, followed by industrial-related places, outdoors, public buildings, and vehicles or roads. Scalds remained the primary reason, followed by fire, contact burns, electricity, and chemicals. The average %TBSA of male patients was 14.2±21.3, significantly different from that of female patients (10.4±16.9). Extremities were the most vulnerable body region burned, followed by the trunk, face and hands. The average hospital length of stay in male patients was 25.4±72.4 days, significantly different from that of females' 19.9±27.6 days. The total mortality was 1.8% and the lethal area burned resulting in 50% mortality was 96.5% TBSA. Compared with published data, these result are encouraging, which demonstrate that burn care and treatment has made significant progress. Burn clinicians should bear not only the responsibility to treat and cure burns, but also the popularization of knowledge about burn precautions and emergency treatments. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Estimating future burned areas under changing climate in the EU-Mediterranean countries.

PubMed

Amatulli, Giuseppe; Camia, Andrea; San-Miguel-Ayanz, Jesús

2013-04-15

The impacts of climate change on forest fires have received increased attention in recent years at both continental and local scales. It is widely recognized that weather plays a key role in extreme fire situations. It is therefore of great interest to analyze projected changes in fire danger under climate change scenarios and to assess the consequent impacts of forest fires. In this study we estimated burned areas in the European Mediterranean (EU-Med) countries under past and future climate conditions. Historical (1985-2004) monthly burned areas in EU-Med countries were modeled by using the Canadian Fire Weather Index (CFWI). Monthly averages of the CFWI sub-indices were used as explanatory variables to estimate the monthly burned areas in each of the five most affected countries in Europe using three different modeling approaches (Multiple Linear Regression - MLR, Random Forest - RF, Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines - MARS). MARS outperformed the other methods. Regression equations and significant coefficients of determination were obtained, although there were noticeable differences from country to country. Climatic conditions at the end of the 21st Century were simulated using results from the runs of the regional climate model HIRHAM in the European project PRUDENCE, considering two IPCC SRES scenarios (A2-B2). The MARS models were applied to both scenarios resulting in projected burned areas in each country and in the EU-Med region. Results showed that significant increases, 66% and 140% of the total burned area, can be expected in the EU-Med region under the A2 and B2 scenarios, respectively. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Lack of a standardised UK care pathway resulting in national variations in management and outcomes of paediatric small area scalds.

PubMed

Trevatt, Alexander E J; Kirkham, Emily N; Allix, Bradley; Greenwood, Rosemary; Coy, Karen; Hollén, Linda I; Young, Amber E R

2016-09-01

There is a paucity of evidence guiding management of small area partial thickness paediatric scalds. This has prevented the development of national management guidelines for these injuries. This research aimed to investigate whether a lack of evidence for national guidelines has resulted in variations in both management and outcomes of paediatric small area scalds across England and Wales (E&W). A national survey of initial management of paediatric scalds ≤5% Total Body Surface Area (%TBSA) was sent to 14 burns services in E&W. Skin graft rates of anonymised burns services over seven years were collected from the international Burns Injury Database (iBID). Average skin grafting rates across services were compared. Length of stay and proportion of patients receiving general anaesthesia for dressing application at each service were also compared. All 14 burns services responded to the survey. Only 50% of services had a protocol in place for the management of small area burns. All protocols varied in how partial thickness paediatrics scalds ≤5% TBSA should be managed. There was no consensus as to which scalds should be treated using biosynthetic dressings. Data from iBID for 11,917 patients showed that the average reported skin grafting rate across all burns services was 2.3% (95% CI 2.1, 2.6) but varied from 0.3% to 7.1% (P<0.001). Service provider remained associated with likelihood of skin grafting when variations in the %TBSA case mix seen by each service were controlled for (χ(2)=87.3, P<0.001). The use of general anaesthetics across services varied between 0.6 and 35.5% (P<0.001). The median length of stay across services varied from 1 to 3 days (P<0.001). A lack of evidence guiding management of small-area paediatric scalds has resulted in variation in management of these injuries across E&W. There is also significant variation in outcomes for these injuries. Further research is indicated to determine if care pathways and outcomes are linked. An evidence-based national policy for the management of small area paediatric scalds would ensure that high quality, standardised care is delivered throughout E&W and variations in outcome are reduced. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Assistant for Specifying Quality Software (ASQS) Mission Area Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-12-01

somewhat arbitrary, it was a reasonable and fast approach for partitioning the mission and software domains. The MAD builds on work done by Boeing Aerospace...Reliability ++ Reliability +++ Response 2: NO Discussion: A NO response implies intermittent burns -- most likely to perform attitude control functions...Propulsion Reliability +++ Reliability ++ 4-15 4.8.3 Query BT.3 Query: For intermittent thruster firing requirements, will the average burn time be less than

Using NDVI to assess departure from average greenness and its relation to fire business

Treesearch

Robert E. Burgan; Roberta A. Hartford; Jeffery C. Eidenshink

1996-01-01

A new satellite-derived vegetation greenness map, departure from average, is designed to compare current-year vegetation greenness with average greenness for the same time of year. Live-fuel condition as portrayed on this map, and the calculated 1,000-hour fuel moistures, are compared to fire occurrence and area burned in Montana and Idaho during the 1993 and 1994 fire...

Should dermal scald burns in children be covered with autologous skin grafts or with allogeneic cultivated keratinocytes?--"The Viennese concept".

PubMed

Rab, Matthias; Koller, Rupert; Ruzicka, Margot; Burda, Gudrun; Kamolz, Lars Peter; Bierochs, Bettina; Meissl, Guenther; Frey, Manfred

2005-08-01

The treatment of scald burns in children is still under discussion. The aim of the present study was to evaluate an optimised treatment regime for scald burns in children. Between 1997 and 2002, 124 children underwent surgical intervention due to burn injuries. Thirty-six out of these 124 children were enrolled into the evaluation of our recent treatment protocol. Twenty-two children with scald burns covering an average body surface area (TBSA) of 18.5% were treated by early excision and coverage with allogeneic keratinocytes in case of partial thickness lesions (keratinocyte group). Fourteen children with a TBSA of 17.2% were treated with autologous skin grafts alone (skin graft group). Both groups were comparable according to age, burn depth and affected TBSA. The complete clinical follow-up examination of at least 17 months was performed in 12 out of 22 children of the keratinocyte group and in 9 out of 14 patients of the comparative group. Visible scar formations were classified according to the Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS) in each patient. The use of allogeneic keratinocytes led to complete epithelialisation within 12 days in 20 of the 22 cases. No secondary skin grafting procedures had to be done. Skin take rate at the sixth postoperative day was 100% in the skin graft group. Blood transfusions were administered intraoperatively according to the clinical need of the patients by the responsible anaesthesiologist. The mean volume of blood, which had to be transfused was 63.9 ml in the keratinocyte group and significantly lower than the volume of 151.4 ml, which was administered in the skin graft group (p=0.04). At follow up the VSS observed in areas covered by keratinocytes was 2.33 on the average and therefore, significantly lower than the VSS of 5.22 in skin grafted areas of the comparative group (p=0.04). In children the use of cultivated keratinocytes in partial thickness scald burns is a procedure, which renders constantly reliable results. It minimizes the areas of autologous skin harvesting and reduces the amount of blood transfusions. The fact that less scarring is observed after keratinocyte grafting leads to the conclusion that skin grafting in children should be restricted to scalded areas, which have to be excised to the subcutaneous fat tissue.

Sources of debris flow material in burned areas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Santi, P.M.; deWolfe, V.G.; Higgins, J.D.; Cannon, S.H.; Gartner, J.E.

2008-01-01

The vulnerability of recently burned areas to debris flows has been well established. Likewise, it has been shown that many, if not most, post-fire debris flows are initiated by runoff and erosion and grow in size through erosion and scour by the moving debris flow, as opposed to landslide-initiated flows with little growth. To better understand the development and character of these flows, a study has been completed encompassing 46 debris flows in California, Utah, and Colorado, in nine different recently burned areas. For each debris flow, progressive debris production was measured at intervals along the length of the channel, and from these measurements graphs were developed showing cumulative volume of debris as a function of channel length. All 46 debris flows showed significant bulking by scour and erosion, with average yield rates for each channel ranging from 0.3 to 9.9??m3 of debris produced for every meter of channel length, with an overall average value of 2.5??m3/m. Significant increases in yield rate partway down the channel were identified in 87% of the channels, with an average of a three-fold increase in yield rate. Yield rates for short reaches of channels (up to several hundred meters) ranged as high as 22.3??m3/m. Debris was contributed from side channels into the main channels for 54% of the flows, with an average of 23% of the total debris coming from those side channels. Rill erosion was identified for 30% of the flows, with rills contributing between 0.1 and 10.5% of the total debris, with an average of 3%. Debris was deposited as levees in 87% of the flows, with most of the deposition occurring in the lower part of the basin. A median value of 10% of the total debris flow was deposited as levees for these cases, with a range from near zero to nearly 100%. These results show that channel erosion and scour are the dominant sources of debris in burned areas, with yield rates increasing significantly partway down the channel. Side channels are much more important sources of debris than rills. Levees are very common, but the size and effect on the amount of debris that reaches a canyon mouth is highly variable. ?? 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Biological markers of stress in pediatric acute burn injury.

PubMed

Brown, Nadia J; Kimble, Roy M; Rodger, Sylvia; Ware, Robert S; McWhinney, Brett C; Ungerer, Jacobus P J; Cuttle, Leila

2014-08-01

Burns and their associated wound care procedures evoke significant stress and anxiety, particularly for children. Little is known about the body's physiological stress reactions throughout the stages of re-epithelialization following an acute burn injury. Previously, serum and urinary cortisol have been used to measure stress in burn patients, however these measures are not suitable for a pediatric burn outpatient setting. To assess the sensitivity of salivary cortisol and sAA in detecting stress during acute burn wound care procedures and to investigate the body's physiological stress reactions throughout burn re-epithelialization. Seventy-seven participants aged four to thirteen years who presented with an acute burn injury to the burn center at the Royal Children's Hospital, Brisbane, Australia, were recruited between August 2011 and August 2012. Both biomarkers were responsive to the stress of burn wound care procedures. sAA levels were on average 50.2 U/ml higher (p<0.001) at 10 min post-dressing removal compared to baseline levels. Salivary cortisol levels showed a blunted effect with average levels at ten minutes post dressing removal decreasing by 0.54 nmol/L (p<0.001) compared to baseline levels. sAA levels were associated with pain (p=0.021), no medication (p=0.047) and Child Trauma Screening Questionnaire scores at three months post re-epithelialization (p=0.008). Similarly, salivary cortisol was associated with no medication (p<0.001), pain scores (p=0.045) and total body surface area of the burn (p=0.010). Factors which support the use of sAA over salivary cortisol to assess stress during morning acute burn wound care procedures include; sensitivity, morning clinic times relative to cortisol's diurnal peaks, and relative cost. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

[An epidemiological investigation of pediatric patients under 14 with large area burns: a multicenter study].

PubMed

Cheng, W F; Zhao, D X; Shen, Z A; Zhang, H Y; Tu, J J; Yuan, Z Q; Duan, P; Song, G D

2017-02-14

Objective: To investigate and evaluate the epidemiological characteristics of patients under 14 with large area burns in China. Methods: Data of pediatric patients aged 0-14yr with ≥30% total body surface area (TBSA) burned admitted into 106 burn centers in the mainland of China in 2014 were retrieved. The children were divided into three age groups: 0-3, 4-6 and 7-14 years according to the age. Information of age, gender, time of burn injury, causes of burns, admission time, prehospital emergency care of burn wound, burn area, inhalation injuries, the case fatality rate and length of hospital stay were collected for analysis. Results: Of the 486 cases included, 285 (58.6%) were boys and 201 (41.4%) were girls. The mean age of the children was (3.4±2.8) years. Children under 3 years old accounted for 67.5% of all the cases. 271 of the burn injuries (55.8%) occurred from April through August. Scalds and flames were the main causes of burns, which were the causes of 394 cases (81.1%) and 71 cases (14.6%), respectively. The burn injuries resulted from scalds and flames accounted for 89.6% and 7.3%, 70.8% and 21.9%, 51.6% and 41.9% in the age group of 0-3, 4-6 and 7-14 years respectively. The distribution of burn etiology in different age groups differed significantly (χ(2)=21.239, 59.442, 7.333, all P <0.01). Most of the patients (57.8%) were admitted within 2 hours after injury. However, when it came to the pre-hospital emergency management of burn wound, 164 patients (33.7%) did not use any drug or wound dressing, whereas the wound area of 236 patients (48.6%) were treated improperly with toothpaste, soy sauce, eggs or other non-standard disposal. The mean TBSA area of the patients was (42.1±14.5)%, while 288 (59.3%) of the patients suffered full thickness burns with mean TBSA of (24.5±17.9)%. The case fatality rate (CFR) was 4.1%, and the CFR of patients complicated with inhalation injury was significantly higher than those without ( P <0.01). The average length of stay for pediatric burn patients was (52.3±40.2) days. Conclusions: Children under 3 years old are important target population of severe burns. Scald is the most common type of burns, while the proportion of flames increases as age goes up. Most patients are likely to get clinical treatment in time, however, the pre-hospital emergency burn care is not satisfying at present.

Preliminary results in single-step wound closure procedure of full-thickness facial burns in children by using the collagen-elastin matrix and review of pediatric facial burns.

PubMed

Demircan, Mehmet; Cicek, Tugrul; Yetis, Muhammed Ikbal

2015-09-01

Management of full-thickness facial burns remains one of the greatest challenges. Controversy exists among surgeons regarding the use of early excision for facial burns. Unfortunately, delayed excision of deeper burns often results in more scarring and subsequent reconstruction becomes more difficult. A collagen-elastin matrix is used to improve the quality of the reconstructed skin, to reduce scarring and to prevent wound contraction. It serves as a foundation for split thickness skin graft and enhances short and long-term results. We report the usage of a collagen-elastin matrix during single-step wound closure technique of severe full-thickness facial burns in 15 children with large burned body surface area, and also we review the literature about pediatric facial burns. There were 15 pediatric patients with severe facial burns, 8 girls and 7 boys ranging in age from 10 months to 12 years, mean age 7 years and 6 months old. The facial burn surface area (FBSA) among the patients includes seven patients with 100%, five with 75%, and three with 50%. The average total body surface area (TBSA) for the patients was 72%, ranging between 50 and 90%. 5 of the patients' admissions were late, more than four days after burns while the rest of the patients were admitted within the first four days (acute admission time). The burns were caused by flame in eight of the patients, bomb blast in four, and scalding in three. All patients were treated by the simultaneous application of the collagen-elastin matrix and an unmeshed split thickness skin graft at Turgut Özal Medical Center, Pediatric Burn Center, Malatya, Turkey. After the treatment only two patients needed a second operation for revision of the grafts. All grafts transplanted to the face survived. The average Vancouver scar scales (VSS) were 2.55±1.42, ranging between one and six, in the first 10 of 15 patients at the end of 6 months postoperatively. VSS measurements of the last 5 patients were not taken since the 6 months postoperative period was not over. In regard to early results, graft quality was close to normal skin in terms of vascularity, elasticity, pliability, texture and color. Esthetic and functional results have been encouraging. This study shows us that the collagen-elastin matrix as a dermal substitute is a useful adjunct, which may result in quick healing with satisfying esthetic and functional results. It also may enhance short and long-term results in after burn facial wound closure in children. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Relationships between fire danger and the daily number and daily growth of active incidents burning in the northern Rocky Mountains, USA

Treesearch

Patrick H. Freeborn; Mark A. Cochrane; W. Matt Jolly

2015-01-01

Daily National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS) indices are typically associated with the number and final size of newly discovered fires, or averaged over time and associated with the likelihood and total burned area of large fires. Herein we used a decade (2003-12) of NFDRS indices and US Forest Service (USFS) fire reports to examine daily relationships between fire...

Home remedy or hazard?: management and costs of paediatric steam inhalation therapy burn injuries.

PubMed

Al Himdani, Sarah; Javed, Muhammad Umair; Hughes, Juliana; Falconer, Olivia; Bidder, Christopher; Hemington-Gorse, Sarah; Nguyen, Dai

2016-03-01

Steam inhalation has long been considered a beneficial home remedy to treat children with viral respiratory tract infections, but there is no evidence to suggest a benefit and children are at risk of serious burn injuries. To determine the demographics, mechanism, management, and costs of steam inhalation therapy scalds to a regional burns centre in the UK, and to ascertain whether this practice is recommended by primary care providers. A retrospective study of all patients admitted to a regional burns centre in Swansea, Wales, with steam inhalation therapy scalds. Patients who attended the burns centre for steam inhalation therapy scalds between January 2010 and February 2015 were identified using the burns database and data on patient demographics, treatment, and costs incurred were recorded. In addition, an electronic survey was e-mailed to 150 local GPs to determine whether they recommended steam inhalation therapy to patients. Sixteen children attended the burns centre with steam inhalation scalds. The average age attending was 7.4 years (range 1-15 years) and, on average, three children per year were admitted. The most common indication was for the common cold (n = 9). The average size of the burns was 3.1% (range: 0.25-17.0%) of total body area. One child was managed surgically; the remainder were treated with dressings, although one patient required a stay in a high-dependency unit. The total cost of treatment for all patients was £37,133. All in all, 17 out of 21 GPs surveyed recommended steam inhalation to their patients; eight out of 19 GPs recommended it for children aged <5 years. Steam inhalation incurs a significant cost to patients and the healthcare system. Its practice continues to be recommended by GPs but children, due to their limited motor skills, curiosity, and poor awareness of danger, are at significant risk of burn injuries and this dangerous practice should no longer be recommended. © British Journal of General Practice 2016.

Home remedy or hazard? management and costs of paediatric steam inhalation therapy burn injuries

PubMed Central

Himdani, Sarah Al; Javed, Muhammad Umair; Hughes, Juliana; Falconer, Olivia; Bidder, Christopher; Hemington-Gorse, Sarah; Nguyen, Dai

2016-01-01

Background Steam inhalation has long been considered a beneficial home remedy to treat children with viral respiratory tract infections, but there is no evidence to suggest a benefit and children are at risk of serious burn injuries. Aim To determine the demographics, mechanism, management, and costs of steam inhalation therapy scalds to a regional burns centre in the UK, and to ascertain whether this practice is recommended by primary care providers. Design and setting A retrospective study of all patients admitted to a regional burns centre in Swansea, Wales, with steam inhalation therapy scalds. Method Patients who attended the burns centre for steam inhalation therapy scalds between January 2010 and February 2015 were identified using the burns database and data on patient demographics, treatment, and costs incurred were recorded. In addition, an electronic survey was e-mailed to 150 local GPs to determine whether they recommended steam inhalation therapy to patients. Results Sixteen children attended the burns centre with steam inhalation scalds. The average age attending was 7.4 years (range 1–15 years) and, on average, three children per year were admitted. The most common indication was for the common cold (n = 9). The average size of the burns was 3.1% (range: 0.25–17.0%) of total body area. One child was managed surgically; the remainder were treated with dressings, although one patient required a stay in a high-dependency unit. The total cost of treatment for all patients was £37 133. All in all, 17 out of 21 GPs surveyed recommended steam inhalation to their patients; eight out of 19 GPs recommended it for children aged <5 years. Conclusion Steam inhalation incurs a significant cost to patients and the healthcare system. Its practice continues to be recommended by GPs but children, due to their limited motor skills, curiosity, and poor awareness of danger, are at significant risk of burn injuries and this dangerous practice should no longer be recommended. PMID:26917659

Human impact on wildfires varies between regions and with vegetation productivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lasslop, Gitta; Kloster, Silvia

2017-11-01

We assess the influence of humans on burned area simulated with a dynamic global vegetation model. The human impact in the model is based on population density and cropland fraction, which were identified as important drivers of burned area in analyses of global datasets, and are commonly used in global models. After an evaluation of the sensitivity to these two variables we extend the model by including an additional effect of the cropland fraction on the fire duration. The general pattern of human influence is similar in both model versions: the strongest human impact is found in regions with intermediate productivity, where fire occurrence is not limited by fuel load or climatic conditions. Human effects in the model increases burned area in the tropics, while in temperate regions burned area is reduced. While the population density is similar on average for the tropical and temperate regions, the cropland fraction is higher in temperate regions, and leads to a strong suppression of fire. The model shows a low human impact in the boreal region, where both population density and cropland fraction is very low and the climatic conditions, as well as the vegetation productivity limit fire. Previous studies attributed a decrease in fire activity found in global charcoal datasets to human activity. This is confirmed by our simulations, which only show a decrease in burned area when the human influence on fire is accounted for, and not with only natural effects on fires. We assess how the vegetation-fire feedback influences the results, by comparing simulations with dynamic vegetation biogeography to simulations with prescribed vegetation. The vegetation-fire feedback increases the human impact on burned area by 10% for present day conditions. These results emphasize that projections of burned area need to account for the interactions between fire, climate, vegetation and humans.

The pollution control of fluorine and arsenic in roasted corn in "coal-burning" fluorosis area Yunnan, China.

PubMed

Li, Ling; Luo, Kun-li; Liu, Yong-lin; Xu, Yong-xin

2012-08-30

Pilot experiments were carried out to reduce the fluorine (F) and arsenic (As) pollution of roasted corn dried by open ovens in "coal-burning" fluorosis area Yunnan, China. The results indicated that the average emission amount of F and As in briquettes in experimental group were 29.20mg/kg and 0.76 mg/kg in Xiaolongdong, and 46.8 mg/kg and 0.54 mg/kg in Mangbu respectively. The results also indicated that the fixing rate of F and As in briquettes in experimental group was more than 4 times and 1.2 times of that in control group respectively. The average concentration of F and As in roasted corn in experimental group were 3.86 mg/kg and 13.23 μg/kg in Xiaolongdong, and 4.77 mg/kg and 122.96 μg/kg in Mangbu respectively, which reduced by more than 65% and 75% respectively compared with that in control group. Adding local natural calcium-based materials in briquettes can reduce the emission of F and As and their pollution on roasted corn largely, and thus will reduce the risk of fluorosis for residents greatly in "coal-burning" fluorosis area of southwestern China. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A review of the peri-operative management of paediatric burns: Identifying adverse events.

PubMed

Rode, H; Brink, C; Bester, K; Coleman, M P; Baisey, T; Martinez, R

2016-11-02

Burn injuries are common in poverty-stricken countries. The majority of patients with large and complex burns are referred to burn centres. Of the children who qualify for admission, according to burn admission criteria, about half require some kind of surgical procedure to obtain skin cover. These range from massive full-thickness fire burns to skin grafts for small, residual unhealed wounds. Burn anaesthetic procedures are of the most difficult to perform and are known for high complication rates. Reasons include peri-operative sepsis, bleeding, issues around thermoregulation, the hypermetabolic state, nutritional and electrolyte issues, inhalation injuries and the amount of movement during procedures to wash patients, change drapes and access different anatomical sites. The appropriate execution of surgery is therefore of the utmost importance for both minor and major procedures. To review the peri-operative management and standard of surgical care of burnt children. This was a retrospective review and analysis of standard peri-operative care of burnt children at Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa. A total of 558 children were operated on and supervised by the first author. Factors that could adversely affect surgical and anaesthetic outcomes were identified. There were 257 males and 301 females in this study, with an average age of 50.1 months and average weight of 19.5 kg. The total body surface area involved was 1 - 80%, with an average of 23.5%. Inhalational injury was present in 11.3%, pneumonia in 13.1%, wound sepsis in 20.8%, and septicaemia in 9.7%, and organ dysfunction in more than one organ was seen in 6.1%. The average theatre temperature during surgery was 30.0°C. Core temperatures recorded at the start, halfway through and at completion of surgery were 36.9°C, 36.8°C and 36.5°C, respectively. The average preoperative and postoperative haemoglobin levels were 11.28 g/dL and 9.64 g/dL, respectively. Blood loss was reduced by the use of clysis from 1.5 mL/kg/% burn to 1.4 mL/kg/% burn. Adverse intraoperative events were seen in 17.6% of children. Burn surgery is a high-risk procedure and comorbidities are common. Anaesthesia and surgery must be well planned and executed with special reference to temperature control, rapid blood loss, preceding respiratory illnesses and measures to reduce blood loss.

Periorbital burns – a 6 year review of management and outcome.

PubMed

Fitzgerald O'Connor, Edmund; Frew, Q; Din, A; Pleat, J; Ashraff, S; Ghazi-Nouri, S; El-Muttardi, N; Philp, B; Dziewulski, P

2015-05-01

Periorbital burns are an infrequent but potentially devastating injury. This study aimed to elucidate the spectrum of such injuries presenting to a UK burns centre and the outcome achieved in the cases requiring periorbital reconstruction for the restoration of function and form. Patients admitted to a UK regional burns centre between January 2005 and January 2011 with periorbital burns were identified from the Patient Administration System (PAS), theatre logs and the International Burns Injury database (IBID). Multiple parameters were assessed using patient notes, ITU and hospital image databases. Over 6 years, 167 patients with facial burns requiring surgery were treated, including 103 patients with eyelid burns. The mean burn size was 33% total body surface area. The eyelid burn depth varied; 67% superficial partial thickness, 17% deep dermal and 16% full thickness. Two patients lost complete vision in one eye, one patient underwent amniotic membrane grafting. In total 16 patients required periorbital reconstruction to maintain eye closure, with 1.8 operations on average per patient. Acute surgery was required in 11 patients, whilst late intervention (>3 months) was needed in 5, 2 patients had both acute and delayed surgery. Of the 5 late intervention patients 4 were treated with full thickness skin grafts and 1 with a Z plasty. Average time for final reconstruction with delayed surgery was 4.5 months. The goal in management of periorbital burns is preservation of vision, prevention of future complications and restoration of an acceptable aesthetic outcome. Total visual loss is thankfully rare, but early ophthalmology intervention is vital given the evidence of corneal damage as a brief therapeutic window exists. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Mapping burned areas and burn severity patterns across the Mediterranean region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalogeropoulos, Christos; Amatulli, Giuseppe; Kempeneers, Pieter; Sedano, Fernando; San Miguel-Ayanz, Jesus; Camia, Andrea

2010-05-01

The Mediterranean region is highly susceptible to wildfires. On average, about 60,000 fires take place in this region every year, burning on average half a million hectares of forests and natural vegetation. Wildfires cause environmental degradation and affect the lives of thousands of people in the region. In order to minimize the consequences of these catastrophic events, fire managers and national authorities need to have in their disposal accurate and updated spatial information concerning the size of the burned area as well as the burn severity patterns. Mapping burned areas and burn severity patterns is necessary to effectively support the decision-making process in what concerns strategic (long-term) planning with the definition of post-fire actions at European and national scales. Although a comprehensive archive of burnt areas exists at the European Forest Fire Information System, the analysis of the severity of the areas affected by forest fires in the region is not yet available. Fire severity is influenced by many variables, including fuel type, topography and meteorological conditions before and during the fire. The analysis of fire severity is essential to determine the socio-economic impact of forest fires, to assess fire impacts, and to determine the need of post-fire rehabilitation measures. Moreover, fire severity is linked to forest fire emissions and determines the rate of recovery of the vegetation after the fire. Satellite imagery can give important insights about the conditions of the live fuel moisture content and can be used to assess changes on vegetation structure and vitality after forest fires. Fire events occurred in Greece, Portugal and Spain during the fire season of 2009 were recorded and analyzed in a GIS environment. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and the Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) were calculated from 8-days composites MODIS/TERRA imagery from March to October 2009. In addition, subtracting a post-fire from a pre-fire image derived index produces a measure of absolute change of the vegetation condition, like the differenced Normalized Burn Ratio index (dNBR). The aim of this study was the assessment of fire severity across diverse ecological and environmental conditions in the Mediterranean region. The specific objectives were: • The analysis of the correlation between the fire severity and local site conditions, including topography, fuel type, land use, land cover. • The analysis of the correlation between fire severity and fire danger conditions during the fire, as estimated by the European Forest Fire Information System. • Assessing the performance of several vegetation indices derived from MODIS imagery in estimating fire severity. • Assessing the permanence of the burnt signal for large fires as an estimate of fire severity.

Ecosystem Carbon Emissions from 2015 Forest Fires in Interior Alaska

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Potter, Christopher S.

2018-01-01

In the summer of 2015, hundreds of wildfires burned across the state of Alaska, and consumed more than 1.6 million ha of boreal forest and wetlands in the Yukon-Koyukuk region. Mapping of 113 large wildfires using Landsat satellite images from before and after 2015 indicated that nearly 60% of this area was burned at moderate-to-high severity levels. Field measurements near the town of Tanana on the Yukon River were carried out in July of 2017 in both unburned and 2015 burned forested areas (nearly adjacent to one-another) to visually verify locations of different Landsat burn severity classes (low, moderate, or high). Results: Field measurements indicated that the loss of surface organic layers in boreal ecosystem fires is a major factor determining post-fire soil temperature changes, depth of thawing, and carbon losses from the mineral topsoil layer. Measurements in forest sites showed that soil temperature profiles to 30 cm depth at burned forest sites increased by an average of 8o - 10o C compared to unburned forest sites. Sampling and laboratory analysis indicated a 65% reduction in soil carbon content and a 58% reduction in soil nitrogen content in severely burned sample sites compared to soil mineral samples from nearby unburned spruce forests. Conclusions: Combined with nearly unprecedented forest areas severely burned in the Interior region of Alaska in 2015, total ecosystem fire emission of carbon to the atmosphere exceeded most previous estimates for the state.

Impact of trash burning on air quality in Mexico City.

PubMed

Hodzic, A; Wiedinmyer, C; Salcedo, D; Jimenez, J L

2012-05-01

Air pollution experienced by expanding urban areas is responsible for serious health effects and death for millions of people every year. Trash burning is a common disposal method in poor areas, yet it is uncontrolled in many countries, and its contribution to air pollution is unclear due to uncertainties in its emissions. Here we develop a new trash burning emission inventory for Mexico City based on inverse socioeconomic levels and recently measured emission factors, and apply a chemistry-transport model to analyze the effects on pollutant concentrations. Trash burning is estimated to emit 25 tons of primary organic aerosols (POA) per day, which is comparable to fossil fuel POA emissions in Mexico City, and causes an increase in average organic aerosol concentrations of ∼0.3 μg m(-3) downtown and up to 2 μg m(-3) in highly populated suburbs near the sources of emission. An evaluation using submicrometer antimony suggests that our emission estimates are reasonable. Mitigation of trash burning could reduce the levels of organic aerosols by 2-40% and those of PM(2.5) by 1-15% over the metropolitan area. The trash burning contributions to carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds were found to be very small (<3%), and consequently the contributions to secondary nitrate, sulfate, and secondary organic aerosols are also very small. © 2012 American Chemical Society

A Model to Improve Detection of Nonaccidental Pediatric Burns.

PubMed

Nigro, Lauren C; Feldman, Michael J; Foster, Robin L; Pozez, Andrea L

2018-06-01

Pediatric burn patients warrant thorough evaluation because a sizeable proportion of pediatric burns are nonaccidental. A multidisciplinary method involving an internal child protection team (CPT) was developed and used to identify suspected nonaccidental pediatric burns in all pediatric burn patients 5 years of age or younger who were evaluated by the CPT and social workers at our institution over a 55-month period. We identified 343 cases for review that fit our age criteria, 6 of which we identified as cases of suspected abuse or neglect. On average, these patients were younger, suffered greater total body surface area burns (TBSA), and required a longer length of stay in the hospital than the total population. We have not had readmissions for repeat nonaccidental pediatric burn injuries in this group of patients since this model was implemented. Our multidisciplinary method might provide a more consistent and reliable method for identifying cases of suspected abuse. © 2018 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.

Two-year follow-up of outcomes related to scarring and distress in children with severe burns.

PubMed

Wurzer, Paul; Forbes, Abigail A; Hundeshagen, Gabriel; Andersen, Clark R; Epperson, Kathryn M; Meyer, Walter J; Kamolz, Lars P; Branski, Ludwik K; Suman, Oscar E; Herndon, David N; Finnerty, Celeste C

2017-08-01

We assessed the perception of scarring and distress by pediatric burn survivors with burns covering more than one-third of total body surface area (TBSA) for up to 2 years post-burn. Children with severe burns were admitted to our hospital between 2004 and 2012, and consented to this IRB-approved-study. Subjects completed at least one Scars Problems and/or Distress questionnaire between discharge and 24 months post burn. Outcomes were modeled with generalized estimating equations or using mixed linear models. Significance was accepted at p < 0.01. Responses of 167 children with a mean age of 7 ± 5 years and burns covering an average 54 ± 14% of TBSA were analyzed. Significant improvements over the 2-year period were seen in reduction of pain, itching, sleeping disturbance, tightness, range of motion, and strength (p < 0.01). There was a significantly increased persistent desire to hide the scarred body areas over time (p < 0.01). The perception of mouth scarring, inability to portray accurate facial expressions, and skin coloration did not improve over the follow-up period. According to self-assessment questionnaires, severely burned children exhibit significant improvements in their overall perception of scarring and distress. However, these patients remain self-conscious with respect to their body image even 2 years after burn injury. Implications for Rehabilitation According to self-assessment questionnaires, severely burned children perceive significant improvements in scarring and distress during the first 2 years post burn. Significant improvements were seen in reduction of pain, itching, sleeping disturbances, tightness, range of motion, and strength (p < 0.01). Burn care providers should improve the treatment of burns surrounding the mouth that with result in scarring, and develop strategies to prevent skin discoloration. Careful evaluation of pain and sleeping disorders during the first year post burn are warranted to improve the patient rehabilitation. Overall, significantly more female patients expressed a persistent desire to hide their scarred body areas. The rehabilitation team should provide access to wigs or other aids to pediatric burn survivors to address these needs.

Global combustion: the connection between fossil fuel and biomass burning emissions (1997-2010).

PubMed

Balch, Jennifer K; Nagy, R Chelsea; Archibald, Sally; Bowman, David M J S; Moritz, Max A; Roos, Christopher I; Scott, Andrew C; Williamson, Grant J

2016-06-05

Humans use combustion for heating and cooking, managing lands, and, more recently, for fuelling the industrial economy. As a shift to fossil-fuel-based energy occurs, we expect that anthropogenic biomass burning in open landscapes will decline as it becomes less fundamental to energy acquisition and livelihoods. Using global data on both fossil fuel and biomass burning emissions, we tested this relationship over a 14 year period (1997-2010). The global average annual carbon emissions from biomass burning during this time were 2.2 Pg C per year (±0.3 s.d.), approximately one-third of fossil fuel emissions over the same period (7.3 Pg C, ±0.8 s.d.). There was a significant inverse relationship between average annual fossil fuel and biomass burning emissions. Fossil fuel emissions explained 8% of the variation in biomass burning emissions at a global scale, but this varied substantially by land cover. For example, fossil fuel burning explained 31% of the variation in biomass burning in woody savannas, but was a non-significant predictor for evergreen needleleaf forests. In the land covers most dominated by human use, croplands and urban areas, fossil fuel emissions were more than 30- and 500-fold greater than biomass burning emissions. This relationship suggests that combustion practices may be shifting from open landscape burning to contained combustion for industrial purposes, and highlights the need to take into account how humans appropriate combustion in global modelling of contemporary fire. Industrialized combustion is not only an important driver of atmospheric change, but also an important driver of landscape change through companion declines in human-started fires.This article is part of the themed issue 'The interaction of fire and mankind'. © 2016 The Author(s).

Global combustion: the connection between fossil fuel and biomass burning emissions (1997–2010)

PubMed Central

Balch, Jennifer K.; Nagy, R. Chelsea; Archibald, Sally; Moritz, Max A.; Williamson, Grant J.

2016-01-01

Humans use combustion for heating and cooking, managing lands, and, more recently, for fuelling the industrial economy. As a shift to fossil-fuel-based energy occurs, we expect that anthropogenic biomass burning in open landscapes will decline as it becomes less fundamental to energy acquisition and livelihoods. Using global data on both fossil fuel and biomass burning emissions, we tested this relationship over a 14 year period (1997–2010). The global average annual carbon emissions from biomass burning during this time were 2.2 Pg C per year (±0.3 s.d.), approximately one-third of fossil fuel emissions over the same period (7.3 Pg C, ±0.8 s.d.). There was a significant inverse relationship between average annual fossil fuel and biomass burning emissions. Fossil fuel emissions explained 8% of the variation in biomass burning emissions at a global scale, but this varied substantially by land cover. For example, fossil fuel burning explained 31% of the variation in biomass burning in woody savannas, but was a non-significant predictor for evergreen needleleaf forests. In the land covers most dominated by human use, croplands and urban areas, fossil fuel emissions were more than 30- and 500-fold greater than biomass burning emissions. This relationship suggests that combustion practices may be shifting from open landscape burning to contained combustion for industrial purposes, and highlights the need to take into account how humans appropriate combustion in global modelling of contemporary fire. Industrialized combustion is not only an important driver of atmospheric change, but also an important driver of landscape change through companion declines in human-started fires. This article is part of the themed issue ‘The interaction of fire and mankind’. PMID:27216509

The role of spatial heterogeneity of the environment in soil fauna recovery after fires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gongalsky, K. B.; Zaitsev, A. S.

2016-12-01

Forest fires are almost always heterogeneous, leaving less-disturbed sites that are potentially suitable as habitats for soil-dwelling creatures. The recovery of large soil animal communities after fires is therefore dependent on the spatial structure of the burned habitats. The role of locally less disturbed sites in the survival of soil macrofauna communities along with traditionally considered immigration from the surrounding undisturbed habitats is shown by the example of burnt areas located in three geographically distant regions of European Russia. Such unburned soil cover sites (perfugia) occupy 5-10% of the total burned habitats. Initially, perfugia are characterized by much higher (200-300% of the average across a burned area) diversity and abundance of soil fauna. A geostatistical method made it possible to estimate the perfugia size for soil macrofauna at 3-8 m.

40 CFR 63.7522 - Can I use emissions averaging to comply with this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... section. You may not include new boilers or process heaters in an emissions average. (b) For a group of... subcategory of units designed to burn gas 2 (other) fuels. (iv) You may not average across the units designed to burn liquid, units designed to burn solid fuel, and units designed to burn gas 2 (other...

Drivers of variability in tree transpiration in a Boreal Black Spruce Forest Chronosequence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Angstmann, J. L.; Ewers, B. E.; Kwon, H.

2009-12-01

Boreal forests are of particular interest in climate change studies because of their large land area and ability to sequester and store carbon, which is controlled by water availability. Heterogeneity of these forests is predicted to increase with climate change through the impact of more frequent wildfires, warmer, longer growing seasons, and potential drainage of forested wetlands. This study aims to quantify the influence of stand age, drainage condition, and species on tree transpiration and its drivers in a central Canadian black spruce boreal forest. Heat dissipation sensors were installed in 113 trees (69 Picea mariana (black spruce), 25 Populus tremuloides (trembling aspen), and 19 Pinus banksiana (jack pine) at four stand ages, each containing a well- and poorly-drained site over three growing seasons (2006-2008). Sap flux per unit xylem area, JS, was expressed as transpiration per unit ground area, EC, and transpiration per unit leaf area, EL, using site- and species-specific allometry to obtain sapwood area (AS)and leaf area(AL)per unit ground area. Well-drained, younger Picea mariana daily JS was 47-64% greater than the older well-drained burn ages and younger poorly-drained stands were 64-68% greater than the two oldest poorly-drained stands. Daily EL in the well-drained Picea mariana stands was on average 12-33% higher in younger stand than in the two oldest stands whereas young, poorly-drained Picea mariana had 71% greater daily EL than the older stands. Well-drained Picea mariana trees had 52% higher daily EC than older trees and poorly-drained Picea mariana in the 1964 burn had 42-81% higher daily EC than the oldest stands. Populus tremuloides located in the two youngest stands had daily JS 38-58% greater rates than the 1930 burn, whereas daily EL and EC had no distint differences due to high interannual variability. Pinus banksiana experienced 21-33% greater daily JS in the 1989 burn than in the older 1964 burn for well- and poorly-drained sites. Poorly-drained Pinus banksiana trees from the older 1964 burn had 23-48% greater daily EL and 26-39% higher daily EC than the 1989 burn. Poorly-drained Picea mariana had 17-31% higher daily JS than the well-drained sites. Poorly-drained Picea mariana had 29-58% higher daily EL 42-50% higher daily EC than the well-drained trees. Poorly-drained Pinus banksiana on average had 27-28% higher daily JS than well-drained trees. Poorly-drained Pinus banskiana had 23.25% higher daily EL than well-drained trees and daily EC 32-67% lower than the well-drained trees. Drivers of these differences include midday leaf water potential, AS, and AL.

Impacts of Wildfires on Land Surface Phenology of Western US Forests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, J.; Zhang, X.

2017-12-01

Land surface phenology (LSP) characterizes seasonal dynamics of vegetation communities within a satellite pixel. The temporal variation of LSP has been widely associated with recent global climate change. However, few studies have focused on the influence of land disturbance, such as wildfire, on LSP variations, which is particularly true at a continental scale. Wildfire has increased in size and severity in the western United States (US) during last few decades. To explore wildfire impacts on LSP in the western US forest, we analyzed the start of growing season (SOS) integrated from the entire forest area, the burned area, and the unburned area, respectively. Specifically, SOS was derived from time series of daily MODIS surface reflectance product at 250 m using a hybrid piecewise logistic detection model. The annual burn perimeters during 2000-2014 were obtained from Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity maps to study the wildfire effect on the SOS in the subsequent years (2001-2015). The wildfire effect was analyzed at three levels: the entire western US, Environmental Protection Agency's Level III ecoregions, and states. Results show that wildfires basically advance SOS but have diverse effects with different regions and years. Comparing SOS in the burned areas with that in surrounding unburned areas from 2001-2015, it was found that the SOS shift was -3.4 days (-: earlier; +: later) on average in the western US forests, and varied from -16.1 to 13.1 days across ecoregions and from -11.4 to 4.3 days across states. Because of the small proportion of annual burned areas (<0.7%) over the entire region, the SOS shift in the burned areas had limited influences on the overall SOS, which caused shifts of -0.06 days over the entire western US, from -0.2 to 0.2 days across ecoregions, and -0.06 to 0.13 days across states. Overall, this study demonstrates that wildfires strongly impact SOS at local areas although the effect in the large region is relatively limited.

Ten Years of Post-Fire Vegetation Recovery following the 2007 Zaca Fire using Landsat Satellite Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hallett, J. K. E.; Miller, D.; Roberts, D. A.

2017-12-01

Forest fires play a key role in shaping eco-systems. The risk to vegetation depends on the fire regime, fuel conditions (age and amount), fire temperature, and physiological characteristics such as bark thickness and stem diameter. The 2007 Zaca Fire (24 kilometers NE of Buellton, Santa Barbara County, California) burned 826.4 km2 over the course of 2 months. In this study, we used a time series of Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager imagery, to evaluate plant burn severity and post fire recovery as defined into classes of above average recovery, normal recovery, and below average recovery. We spectrally unmixed the images into green vegetation (GV), non-photosynthetic vegetation (NPV), soil surface (SOIL), and ash with a spectral library developed using Constrained Reference Endmember Selection (CRES). We delineated the fire perimeter using the differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR) and evaluated changes in this index and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index through time. The results showed an immediate decline in GV and NPV fractions, with a rise in soil and ash fractions directly following the fire, with a slow recovery in GV fraction and a loss of bare soil cover. The was a sharp increase in the ash fraction following the fire and gradual decrease in the year after. Most areas have recovered as of 2017, with prominent recovery in the center of the burn scar and reduced recovery in areas to the south. These results indicate how post-fire vegetation varies based on initial burn severity and pre-fire GV and NPV fractions.

An assessment of dispersing pollutants from the pre-harvest burning of sugarcane in rural areas in the northeast of Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rangel, Maria Gabriela L.; Henríquez, Jorge R.; Costa, José A. P.; de Lira Junior, José C.

2018-04-01

In recent years, the Brazilian government has been applying several restrictions with regard to preventing environmental pollution. Although Brazilian legislation is becoming stricter as to the pre-harvest burning of sugarcane, this practice is frequently used in order to assist manual harvesting. In the northeast region of Brazil, sugarcane is an important crop, which accounts for about 15% of the national production in a total area of 1,060,660 ha, the average production being 51,119 kg per hectare. The pre-harvest burning of sugarcane generates smoke, which has a high concentration of atmospheric pollutants such as carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (P.M. 2.5 and 10), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOX). This article estimates the volume of CO, P.M. 2.5 and NOX generated and how they are dispersed in the atmosphere when this arises from the burning of sugarcane biomass in rural areas of Northeast Brazil, and does so by using AERMOD VIEW® simulation software. Using the characteristics of the emissions and environmental (meteorological and topographical) data, quality air profiles based on pollutant dispersion were obtained. Three studies were taken into account in order to determine the relationship between pollutant dispersion and some parameters of the burning process, such as those for the spatial distribution of resources, the duration of pre-harvest burning and the influence of undertaking burning in different months. As to spatial distribution, to divide an area into small lots contributes to decreasing the maximum concentration of pollutants by 53% compared to burning a single area of equivalent size. The study of the burning duration indicated that doing so gradually (using a lengthier procedure) could decrease the maximum concentration of the pollutants by an inverse relation. The harvesting period in this region is between November and April. The pollutants dispersion process was greatest in February. April presented the worst dispersion conditions, and was associated with the highest pollutant concentrations.

Characterization of skin allograft use in thermal injury.

PubMed

Fletcher, John L; Caterson, E J; Hale, Robert G; Cancio, Leopoldo C; Renz, Evan M; Chan, Rodney K

2013-01-01

This study provides objective data on the practice of allograft usage in severely burned patients. Furthermore, gaps in our knowledge are identified, and areas for further research are delineated. Using an institutional review board-approved protocol, active duty military patients injured while deployed in support of overseas contingency operations and treated at our burn center between March 2003 and December 2010 were identified. Their electronic medical records were reviewed for allograft use, TBSA burned, injury severity score, anatomic distribution of burns, operative burden, length of stay, transfusions, and outcome. Among 844 patients, 112 (13.3%) received allograft and 732 (86.7%) did not. The amount of allograft used per patient varied and was not normally distributed (median, 23.5; interquartile range, 69.5). Patients received allograft skin an average of 12.75 times during their admission. Allografted patients sustained severe burns (μ, 53.8% TBSA); most were transfused (71.2%) and grafted frequently, averaging every 7.45 days. Most commonly, allograft was placed on the extremities (66.5%) followed by the trunk (44.2%); however, the vast majority of allografted patients also had concomitant burns of the head (91.1%) and hands (87.5%). All-cause mortality among the allografted patients was 19.1%. In conclusion, allograft is commonly used in the surgical treatment of severe burns. Although there are no anatomic limitations to allograft placement, there are distinct patterns of use. Given the role of allograft in the acute management of large burns, there is need for further investigation of its effect on mortality, morbidity, and antigenicity.

Mid-21st-century climate changes increase predicted fire occurrence and fire season length, Northern Rocky Mountains, United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Riley, Karin L.; Loehman, Rachel A.

2016-01-01

Climate changes are expected to increase fire frequency, fire season length, and cumulative area burned in the western United States. We focus on the potential impact of mid-21st-century climate changes on annual burn probability, fire season length, and large fire characteristics including number and size for a study area in the Northern Rocky Mountains. Although large fires are rare they account for most of the area burned in western North America, burn under extreme weather conditions, and exhibit behaviors that preclude methods of direct control. Allocation of resources, development of management plans, and assessment of fire effects on ecosystems all require an understanding of when and where fires are likely to burn, particularly under altered climate regimes that may increase large fire occurrence. We used the large fire simulation model FSim to model ignition, growth, and containment of wildfires under two climate scenarios: contemporary (based on instrumental weather) and mid-century (based on an ensemble average of global climate models driven by the A1B SRES emissions scenario). Modeled changes in fire patterns include increased annual burn probability, particularly in areas of the study region with relatively short contemporary fire return intervals; increased individual fire size and annual area burned; and fewer years without large fires. High fire danger days, represented by threshold values of Energy Release Component (ERC), are projected to increase in number, especially in spring and fall, lengthening the climatic fire season. For fire managers, ERC is an indicator of fire intensity potential and fire economics, with higher ERC thresholds often associated with larger, more expensive fires. Longer periods of elevated ERC may significantly increase the cost and complexity of fire management activities, requiring new strategies to maintain desired ecological conditions and limit fire risk. Increased fire activity (within the historical range of frequency and severity, and depending on the extent to which ecosystems are adapted) may maintain or restore ecosystem functionality; however, in areas that are highly departed from historical fire regimes or where there is disequilibrium between climate and vegetation, ecosystems may be rapidly and persistently altered by wildfires, especially those that burn under extreme conditions.

Ghg and Aerosol Emission from Fire Pixel during Crop Residue Burning Under Rice and Wheat Cropping Systems in North-West India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Acharya, Prasenjit; Sreekesh, S.; Kulshrestha, Umesh

2016-10-01

Emission of smoke and aerosol from open field burning of crop residue is a long-standing subject matter of atmospheric pollution. In this study, we proposed a new approach of estimating fuel load in the fire pixels and corresponding emissions of selected GHGs and aerosols i.e. CO2, CO, NO2, SO2, and total particulate matter (TPM) due to burning of crop residue under rice and wheat cropping systems in Punjab in north-west India from 2002 to 2012. In contrasts to the conventional method that uses RPR ratio to estimate the biomass, fuel load in the fire pixels was estimated as a function of enhanced vegetation index (EVI). MODIS fire products were used to detect the fire pixels during harvesting seasons of rice and wheat. Based on the field measurements, fuel load in the fire pixels were modelled as a function of average EVI using second order polynomial regression. Average EVI for rice and wheat crops that were extracted through Fourier transformation were computed from MODIS time series 16 day EVI composites. About 23 % of net shown area (NSA) during rice and 11 % during wheat harvesting seasons are affected by field burning. The computed average fuel loads are 11.32 t/ha (±17.4) during rice and 10.89 t/ha (±8.7) during wheat harvesting seasons. Calculated average total emissions of CO2, CO, NO2, SO2 and TPM were 8108.41, 657.85, 8.10, 4.10, and 133.21 Gg during rice straw burning and 6896.85, 625.09, 1.42, 1.77, and 57.55 Gg during wheat burning. Comparison of estimated values shows better agreement with the previous concurrent estimations. The method, however, shows its efficiency parallel to the conventional method of estimation of fuel load and related pollutant emissions.

The Healing Effect of Arnebia Euchroma Ointment versus Silver Sulfadiazine on Burn Wounds in Rat

PubMed Central

Nasiri, Ebrahim; Hosseinimehr, Seyed Jalal; Azadbakht, Mohammad; Akbari, Jafar; Enayati-Fard, Reza; Azizi, Sohail; Azadbakht, Masoud

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND Burn is still a majordevastating condition in emergency medicine departments among both genders and all age groups in all developed and developing countries, leading to physical, psychological scars and economical burden. The present study aimed to determine the healing effect of topical treatment with Arnebia euchroma on second-degree burn wound in rats. METHODS Fifty rats were divided into 4 equal groups receiving the ointment base, normal saline (NS), standard 1% silver sulfadiazine (SSD), and 5% and 10% Arnebia euchroma ointments (AEO). The mean of burn area, percentage of wound contraction, histopathological and bacteriological assessments in the injured area were dtermined during the study. RESULTS Average area of wound on the 10th day was 10.2±2.3, 8.4±2.6, 12.4±2.5, 5.9±2.2 and 5.7±2 cm2 for ointment base, NS, 1% SSD, and 5% and 10% AEO, respectively. Wound size was significantly lower in 10% AEO than 1% SSD and control groups on the 10th day post-burn injury. On day 11, the percentage of wound contraction in 5% and 10% AEO was 53.9%±14.7% and 55.9±10.5% which was more than 1% SSD (15.3±10.8%). The collagen fibers were well formed and horizontally-oriented in 5% and 10% AEO groups when compared with other groups. CONCLUSION Arnebia euchroma ointment was an effective treatment for healing of burn wounds in comparison with SSD and can be regarded as an alternative topical treatment for burn wounds. PMID:26284182

Effect of Tundra Fires on Stream Chemistry in Alaska's Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jimmie, J. A.; Mann, P. J.; Schade, J. D.; Natali, S.; Fiske, G.; Holmes, R. M.

2017-12-01

Surface air temperatures in the Arctic have been increasing at approximately twice the global average, contributing to myriad changes including shifting vegetation, thawing permafrost, and altered surface and groundwater hydrology. Wildfire frequency and intensity has also been increasing, and in summer 2015, more area burned in the Yukon-Kuskowkwim Delta than in the previous 64 years combined. We investigated the impact of tundra fire on stream water chemistry, and by extension, on the movement of nutrients and organic matter between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Using a high-resolution Digital Elevation Model, we characterized the contributing sub-watershed area at each of our stream water sampling locations and calculated the percent of each sub-watershed that was burned in summer 2015. We found that nitrate, ammonium, and phosphate concentrations increased with burn area in a watershed, indicating that terrestrial inputs of these constituents to aquatic systems increased following fire. Patterns were less striking for dissolved organic carbon and dissolved organic nitrogen, but there was a positive relationship between burn area and the concentration of these constituents as well. These results highlight the significant impact of tundra fires on terrestrial-aquatic linkages in the Arctic, and suggest that these impacts may increase in the future if fire in Arctic and boreal regions continues to become more common.

A ten-year experience with hemodialysis in burn patients at Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center.

PubMed

Soltani, Ali; Karsidag, Semra; Garner, Warren

2009-01-01

Acute renal failure (ARF) is a rare, but serious, complication after burn injury that is commonly thought to be fatal. Before the modern era, there were few survivors of burn injuries who required dialysis. We report our 10-year experience with ARF and dialysis at the Los Angeles County + USC burn unit. During the period of August 1994 to February 2004, 3356 patients were admitted. Furthermore, 1143 patients were admitted to the intensive care unit and 1125 had burns >10% TBSA. Thirty-three patients developed ARF necessitating dialysis, equaling 0.98% of all admitted patients, and 2.7% of patients with TBSA >10% burns, which is at the low end of published burn unit data. The average age of these patients requiring dialysis was 49 years, 91% were men, 24% were diabetic, and 39% were positive for substances of abuse at admission, and the average TBSA burned was 36%. This is compared with an average age of 31 years, 70% men, 7.3% diabetic, and 14.7% intoxicated in the general burned population at our burn unit. Furthermore, our overall mortality in the burn unit was 5% overall and 14% in patients with >10% TBSA burns during the study period. In patients requiring hemodialysis, the mortality rate was 69.7%. The average time to hemodialysis was 14 days in our series, and patients, on average, required 10.3 days of dialysis support. These mortality data are the lowest recorded for burned patients requiring dialysis and suggest that ARF is a survivable complication in some of these patients.

Seasonal and Interannual Variations in BC Emissions From Open Biomass Burning in Southern Africa From 1998 to 2005

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ito, A.; Akimoto, H.

2006-12-01

We estimate the emissions of black carbon (BC) from open vegetation fires in southern hemisphere Africa from 1998 to 2005 using satellite information in conjunction with a biogeochemical model. Monthly burned areas at a 0.5-degree resolution are estimated from the Visible and Infrared Scanner (VIRS) fire count product and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) burned area data set associated with the MODIS tree cover imagery in grasslands and woodlands. The monthly fuel load distribution is derived from a 0.5- degree terrestrial carbon cycle model in conjunction with satellite data. The monthly maps of combustion factor and emission factor are estimated using empirical models that predict the effects of fuel conditions on these factors in grasslands and woodlands. Our annual averaged BC emitted per unit area burned is 0.17 g BC m-2 which is consistent with the product of fuel consumption and emission factor typically measured in southern Africa. The BC emissions from open vegetation burning in southern Africa ranged from 0.26 Tg BC yr-1 for 2002 to 0.42 Tg BC yr-1 for 1998. The peak in BC emissions is identical to that from previous top-down estimate using the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) Aerosol Index (AI) data. The sum of monthly emissions during the burning season in 2000 is in good agreement between our estimate (0.38 Tg) and previous estimate constrained by numerical model and measurements (0.47 Tg).

Genital burns in the national burn repository: incidence, etiology, and impact on morbidity and mortality.

PubMed

Harpole, Bethany G; Wibbenmeyer, Lucy A; Erickson, Bradley A

2014-02-01

To better characterize national genital burns (GBs) characteristics using a large burn registry. We hypothesized that mortality and morbidity will be higher in patients with GBs. The National Burn Repository, a large North American registry of hospitalized burn patients, was queried for patients with GB. Burn characteristics and mechanism, demographics, mortality, and surgical interventions were retrieved. Outcomes of interest were mortality, hospital-acquired infection (HAI), and surgical intervention on the genitalia. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) for outcomes were determined with binomial logistic regression controlling for age, total burn surface area, race, length of stay, gender, and inhalation injury presence. GBs were present in 1245 cases of 71,895 burns (1.7%). Patients with GB had significantly greater average total burn surface area, length of stay, and mortality. In patients with GB, surgery of the genitalia was infrequent (10.4%), with the aOR of receiving surgery higher among men (aOR 2.7, P <.001) and those with third-degree burns (aOR 3.1, P <.002). Presence of a GB increased the odds of HAI (aOR 3.0, P <.0001) and urinary tract infections (aOR 3.4, P <.0001). GB was also an independent predictor of mortality (aOR 1.54) even after adjusting for the increased HAI risk. GBs are rare but associated with higher HAI rates and higher mortality after adjusting for well-established mortality risk factors. Although a cause and effect relationship cannot be established using these registry data, we believe this study suggests the need for special management considerations in GB cases to improve overall outcomes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mercury emissions from biomass burning in China.

PubMed

Huang, Xin; Li, Mengmeng; Friedli, Hans R; Song, Yu; Chang, Di; Zhu, Lei

2011-11-01

Biomass burning covers open fires (forest and grassland fires, crop residue burning in fields, etc.) and biofuel combustion (crop residues and wood, etc., used as fuel). As a large agricultural country, China may produce large quantities of mercury emissions from biomass burning. A new mercury emission inventory in China is needed because previous studies reflected outdated biomass burning with coarse resolution. Moreover, these studies often adopted the emission factors (mass of emitted species per mass of biomass burned) measured in North America. In this study, the mercury emissions from biomass burning in China (excluding small islands in the South China Sea) were estimated, using recently measured mercury concentrations in various biomes in China as emission factors. Emissions from crop residues and fuelwood were estimated based on annual reports distributed by provincial government. Emissions from forest and grassland fires were calculated by combining moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) burned area product with combustion efficiency (ratio of fuel consumption to total available fuels) considering fuel moisture. The average annual emission from biomass burning was 27 (range from 15.1 to 39.9) Mg/year. This inventory has high spatial resolution (1 km) and covers a long period (2000-2007), making it useful for air quality modeling.

Air Pollution Episodes Associated with Prescribed Burns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hart, M.; Di Virgilio, G.; Jiang, N.

2017-12-01

Air pollution events associated with wildfires have been associated with extreme health impacts. Prescribed burns are an important tool to reduce the severity of wildfires. However, if undertaken during unfavourable meteorological conditions, they too have the capacity to trigger extreme air pollution events. The Australian state of New South Wales has increased the annual average area treated by prescribed burn activities by 45%, in order to limit wildfire activity. Prescribed burns need to be undertaken during meteorological conditions that allow the fuel load to burn, while still allowing the burn to remain under control. These conditions are similar to those that inhibit atmospheric dispersion, resulting in a fine balance between managing fire risk and managing ambient air pollution. During prescribed burns, the Sydney air shed can experience elevated particulate matter concentrations, especially fine particulates (PM2.5) that occasionally exceed national air quality standards. Using pollutant and meteorological data from sixteen monitoring stations in Sydney we used generalized additive model and CART analyses to profile the meteorological conditions influencing air quality during planned burns. The insights gained from this study will help improve prescribed burn scheduling in order to reduce the pollution risk to the community, while allowing fire agencies to conduct this important work.

Assessment of forest fire impacts and emissions in the European Union based on the European forest fire information system

Treesearch

Paulo Barbosa; Andrea Camia; Jan Kucera; Giorgio Libertá; Ilaria Palumbo; Jesus San-Miguel-Ayanz; Guido Schmuck

2009-01-01

An analysis on the number of forest fires and burned area distribution as retrieved by the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) database is presented. On average, from 2000 to 2005 about...

Spatial variability of steady-state infiltration into a two-layer soil system on burned hillslopes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kinner, D.A.; Moody, J.A.

2010-01-01

Rainfall-runoff simulations were conducted to estimate the characteristics of the steady-state infiltration rate into 1-m2 north- and south-facing hillslope plots burned by a wildfire in October 2003. Soil profiles in the plots consisted of a two-layer system composed of an ash on top of sandy mineral soil. Multiple rainfall rates (18.4-51.2 mm h-1) were used during 14 short-duration (30 min) and 2 long-duration simulations (2-4 h). Steady state was reached in 7-26 min. Observed spatially-averaged steady-state infiltration rates ranged from 18.2 to 23.8 mm h-1 for north-facing and from 17.9 to 36.0 mm h-1 for south-facing plots. Three different theoretical spatial distribution models of steady-state infiltration rate were fit to the measurements of rainfall rate and steady-state discharge to provided estimates of the spatial average (19.2-22.2 mm h-1) and the coefficient of variation (0.11-0.40) of infiltration rates, overland flow contributing area (74-90% of the plot area), and infiltration threshold (19.0-26 mm h-1). Tensiometer measurements indicated a downward moving pressure wave and suggest that infiltration-excess overland flow is the runoff process on these burned hillslope with a two-layer system. Moreover, the results indicate that the ash layer is wettable, may restrict water flow into the underlying layer, and increase the infiltration threshold; whereas, the underlying mineral soil, though coarser, limits the infiltration rate. These results of the spatial variability of steady-state infiltration can be used to develop physically-based rainfall-runoff models for burned areas with a two-layer soil system. ?? 2010 Elsevier B.V.

Estimating mercury emissions resulting from wildfire in forests of the Western United States.

PubMed

Webster, Jackson P; Kane, Tyler J; Obrist, Daniel; Ryan, Joseph N; Aiken, George R

2016-10-15

Understanding the emissions of mercury (Hg) from wildfires is important for quantifying the global atmospheric Hg sources. Emissions of Hg from soils resulting from wildfires in the Western United States was estimated for the 2000 to 2013 period, and the potential emission of Hg from forest soils was assessed as a function of forest type and soil-heating. Wildfire released an annual average of 3100±1900kg-Hgy(-1) for the years spanning 2000-2013 in the 11 states within the study area. This estimate is nearly 5-fold lower than previous estimates for the study region. Lower emission estimates are attributed to an inclusion of fire severity within burn perimeters. Within reported wildfire perimeters, the average distribution of low, moderate, and high severity burns was 52, 29, and 19% of the total area, respectively. Review of literature data suggests that that low severity burning does not result in soil heating, moderate severity fire results in shallow soil heating, and high severity fire results in relatively deep soil heating (<5cm). Using this approach, emission factors for high severity burns ranged from 58 to 640μg-Hgkg-fuel(-1). In contrast, low severity burns have emission factors that are estimated to be only 18-34μg-Hgkg-fuel(-1). In this estimate, wildfire is predicted to release 1-30gHgha(-1) from Western United States forest soils while above ground fuels are projected to contribute an additional 0.9 to 7.8gHgha(-1). Land cover types with low biomass (desert scrub) are projected to release less than 1gHgha(-1). Following soil sources, fuel source contributions to total Hg emissions generally followed the order of duff>wood>foliage>litter>branches. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fire-induced Carbon Emissions and Regrowth Uptake in Western U.S. Forests: Documenting Variation Across Forest Types, Fire Severity, and Climate Regions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghimire, Bardan; Williams, Christopher A.; Collatz, George James; Vanderhoof, Melanie

2012-01-01

The forest area in the western United States that burns annually is increasing with warmer temperatures, more frequent droughts, and higher fuel densities. Studies that examine fire effects for regional carbon balances have tended to either focus on individual fires as examples or adopt generalizations without considering how forest type, fire severity, and regional climate influence carbon legacies. This study provides a more detailed characterization of fire effects and quantifies the full carbon impacts in relation to direct emissions, slow release of fire-killed biomass, and net carbon uptake from forest regrowth. We find important variations in fire-induced mortality and combustion across carbon pools (leaf, live wood, dead wood, litter, and duff) and across low- to high-severity classes. This corresponds to fire-induced direct emissions from 1984 to 2008 averaging 4 TgC/yr and biomass killed averaging 10.5 TgC/yr, with average burn area of 2723 sq km/yr across the western United States. These direct emission and biomass killed rates were 1.4 and 3.7 times higher, respectively, for high-severity fires than those for low-severity fires. The results show that forest regrowth varies greatly by forest type and with severity and that these factors impose a sustained carbon uptake legacy. The western U.S. fires between 1984 and 2008 imposed a net source of 12.3 TgC/yr in 2008, accounting for both direct fire emissions (9.5 TgC/yr) and heterotrophic decomposition of fire-killed biomass (6.1 TgC yr1) as well as contemporary regrowth sinks (3.3 TgC/yr). A sizeable trend exists toward increasing emissions as a larger area burns annually.

Burn me twice, shame on who? Interactions between successive forest fires across a temperate mountain region.

PubMed

Harvey, Brian J; Donato, Daniel C; Turner, Monica G

2016-09-01

Increasing rates of natural disturbances under a warming climate raise important questions about how multiple disturbances interact. Escalating wildfire activity in recent decades has resulted in some forests re-burning in short succession, but how the severity of one wildfire affects that of a subsequent wildfire is not fully understood. We used a field-validated, satellite-derived, burn-severity atlas to assess interactions between successive wildfires across the US Northern Rocky Mountains a 300,000-km 2 region dominated by fire-prone forests. In areas that experienced two wildfires between 1984 and 2010, we asked: (1) How do overall frequency distributions of burn-severity classes compare between first and second fires? (2) In a given location, how does burn severity of the second fire relate to that of the first? (3) Do interactions between successive fires vary by forest zone or the interval between fires? (4) What factors increase the probability of burning twice as stand-replacing fire? Within the study area, 138,061 ha burned twice between 1984 and 2010. Overall, frequency distributions of burn severity classes (low, moderate, high; quantified using relativized remote sensing indices) were similar between the first and second fires; however burn severity was 5-13% lower in second fires on average. Negative interactions between fires were most pronounced in lower-elevation forests and woodlands, when fire intervals were <10 yr, and when burn severity was low in the first fire. When the first fire burned as high severity and fire intervals exceeded 10-12 yr, burn-severity interactions switched from negative to positive, with high-severity fire begetting subsequent high-severity fire. Locations most likely to experience successive stand-replacing fires were high-elevation forests, which are adapted to high-severity fire, and areas conducive to abundant post-fire tree regeneration. Broadly similar severities among short-interval "re-burns" and other wildfires indicate that positive severity feedbacks, an oft-posited agent of ecosystem decline or state shift, are not an inevitable outcome of re-burning. Nonetheless, context-dependent shifts in both the magnitude and direction of wildfire interactions (associated with forest zone, initial burn-severity, and disturbance interval) illustrate complexities in disturbance interactions and can inform management and predictions of future system dynamics. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

Thermal characteristics of amphibian microhabitats in a fire-disturbed landscape

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hossack, B.R.; Eby, L.A.; Guscio, C.G.; Corn, P.S.

2009-01-01

Disturbance has long been a central issue in amphibian conservation, often regarding negative effects of logging or other forest management activities, but some amphibians seem to prefer disturbed habitats. After documenting increased use of recently burned forests by boreal toads (Bufo boreas), we hypothesized that burned habitats provided improved thermal opportunities in terrestrial habitats. We tested this hypothesis by conducting a radio telemetry study of habitat use (reported previously) and by using physical models that simulated the temperature of adult toads. We deployed 108 physical models in and adjacent to a 1-year old burn using a fully-replicated design with three burn severities (unburned, partial, high severity) and four microhabitats (open surface, under vegetation, under log, in burrow). Model temperatures were compared to a range of preferred temperatures in published studies. We found 70% more observations within the preferred temperature range of B. boreas in forests burned with high severity than in unburned areas. Burned forest was warmer than unburned forest across all microhabitats, but the largest relative difference was in burrows, which averaged 3 ??C warmer in high-severity burn areas and remained warmer though the night. More than twice as many observations were within the preferred temperature range in high-severity burrows than in unburned burrows. Areas burned with high severity were still warmer than unburned forest 3 years after the fire. Habitat use of toads during the concurrent radio telemetry study matched that predicted by the physical models. These results suggest there are fitness-linked benefits to toads using burned habitats, such as increased growth, fertility, and possibly disease resistance. However, increased soil temperatures that result from wildfire may be detrimental to other amphibian species that prefer cooler temperatures and stable environments. More broadly, our data illustrate the use of physical models to measure and interpret changes that amphibians may experience from disturbance, and highlight the need for research linking vital rates such as growth and survival to disturbance.

Burn care in South Africa: a micro cosmos of Africa.

PubMed

Rode, H; Cox, S G; Numanoglu, A; Berg, A M

2014-07-01

Burn injuries in Africa are common with between 300,000 and 17.5 million children under 5 years sustaining burn injuries annually, resulting in a high estimated fatality rate. These burns are largely environmentally conditioned and therefore preventable. The Western Cape Province in South Africa can be regarded as a prototype of paediatric burns seen on the continent, with large numbers, high morbidity and mortality rates and an area inclusive of all factors contributing to this extraordinary burden of injury. Most of the mechanisms to prevent burns are not easily modified due to the restraint of low socio-economic homes, overcrowding, unsafe appliances, multiple and complex daily demands on families and multiple psycho-social stressors. Children <4 years are at highest risk of burns with an average annual rate of 6.0/10,000 child-years. Burn care in South Africa is predominantly emergency driven and variable in terms of organization, clinical management, facilities and staffing. Various treatment strategies were introduced. The management of HIV positive children poses a problem, as well as the conflict of achieving equity of burn care for all children. Without alleviating poverty, developing minimum standards for housing, burn education, safe appliances and legislation, we will not be able to reduce the "curse of poor people" and will continue to treat the consequences.

Greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions from land and forest fire in Indonesia during 2015 based on satellite data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pribadi, A.; Kurata, G.

2017-01-01

Land and forest fire still become a major problem in environmental management in Indonesia. In this study, we conducted quantitatively assessment of land and forest fire emissions in Indonesia during 2015. We applied methodology of emission inventory based on burned area, biomass density, combustion factor and emission factor for each land cover type using several satellite data such as MODIS burned area, Pantropical National Level Carbon Stock Dataset, as well as Vegetation Condition Index. The greenhouse gases emissions from land and forest fire in Indonesia during 2015 were (in Gg) 806,406 CO2, 8,002 CH4, 96 N2O, while pollutants emissions were (in Gg) 85,268 CO, 1,168 NOx, 340 SO2, 3,093 NMVOC, 1,041 NH3, 259 BC, 1,957 OC, 4,118 PM2.5 and 5,468 PM10. September was the peak of fire season that generate 58% (species average) of total emissions for this year. The largest contribution was from shrubland/savanna burning which account for 66% (species average) of the total emissions, while about 81% of the total emissions were generated from peatland fire. The results of this study emphasizethe importance of proper peatland management in Indonesia as land and forest fire countermeasures strategy.

Recreational-outdoor burns: the impact and severity--a retrospective review of 107 patients.

PubMed

Phillips, B J; Kassir, A; Anderson, B; Schiller, W R

1998-09-01

Campfires, bonfires and barbecues play a prominent role in outdoor activities and serve a variety of decorative and functional purposes. Given all of it's various forms, uses and benefits, the outdoor fire can turn dangerous in a matter of seconds: a stumble or fall (the child running that trips) leads to direct contact with the flames and subsequent burn injury. With it's everyday occurrence, we were surprised to find a paucity of information regarding this type of burn in the literature, including the NBIE analysis. A retrospective review of 107 patients admitted to the Maricopa Medical Bum Center, from 1987 to 1996, was conducted. Each chart was analyzed for the patient demographics, mechanism of injury, percent total body surface area burned, operative versus non-operative treatment and overall outcome. An average burn injury involved 5.7% TBSA, with a wide range from 1 to 47%. The majority of our population involved either small children or intoxicated adults and a total of 50 patients required 92 operations. Severe morbidity, including 4 amputations and 2 mortalities, were seen. The average hospital stay was 14.3 days, ranging from 1 to 52 days. Recreational outdoor burns were extremely common injuries leading to loss of functional employment and prolonged physical therapy requirements. Small children and intoxicated adults comprised the majority of our study population. The impact and severity of such outdoor fires could be greatly affected by appropriate attention to prevention.

Use of healthcare a long time after severe burn injury; relation to perceived health and personality characteristics.

PubMed

Wikehult, B; Willebrand, M; Kildal, M; Lannerstam, K; Fugl-Meyer, A R; Ekselius, L; Gerdin, B

2005-08-05

The aim of the study was to evaluate which factors are associated with the use of healthcare a long time after severe burn injury. After a review process based on clinical reasoning, 69 former burn patients out of a consecutive group treated at the Uppsala Burn Unit from 1980--1995 were visited in their homes and their use of care and support was assessed in a semi-structured interview. Post-burn health was assessed with the Burn-Specific Health Scale-Brief (BSHS-B) and personality was assessed with the Swedish universities Scales of Personality (SSP). The participants were injured on average eight years previously. Thirty-four had current contact with healthcare due to their burn injury and had significantly lower scores on three BSHS-B-domains: Simple Abilities, Work and Hand function, and significantly higher scores for the SSP-domain Neuroticism and the SSP-scales Stress Susceptibility, Lack of Assertiveness, and lower scores for Social Desirability. There was no relation to age, gender, time since injury, length of stay, or to the surface area burned. A routine screening of personality traits as a supplement to long-term follow-ups may help in identifying the patient's need for care.

Burns in mobile home fires--descriptive study at a regional burn center.

PubMed

Mullins, Robert F; Alarm, Badrul; Huq Mian, Mohammad Anwarul; Samples, Jancie M; Friedman, Bruce C; Shaver, Joseph R; Brandigi, Claus; Hassan, Zaheed

2009-01-01

Death from fires and burns are the sixth most common cause of unintentional injury death in the United States. More than (3/4) of burn deaths occurring in the United States are in the home. Mobile home fires carry twice the death rate as other dwellings. The aim of the study was to describe the characteristics of deaths and injuries in mobile home fire admitted in a regional Burn Center and to identify possible risk factors. A cross-sectional retrospective study was carried out among all burn patients admitted to a regional Burn Center between January 2002 and December 2004 (3469 patients). The study included patients who suffered a burn injury from a mobile home fire. The demographic characteristics of the patients, location of mobile home, associated inhalation injury, source of fire, comorbidity of the victims, employment status, insurance status, family history of burns, and outcomes of the treatment were incorporated in a data collection record. There were 65 burn patients in mobile home fires admitted to the Burn Center during the studied period. The average age of the patients was 39 years (ranging from 2 to 81 years, SD=16.06), 77% were male, 67% were white, and 79% were the residents in the suburban areas of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Florida. The average TBSA of burns was about 21% (ranging from 1 to 63%, SD=17.66), 63% of the patients had associated inhalation, three inhalation injury only, and 69% patients required ventilator support. The average length of stay per TBSA percentage of burn was 1.01 days (P=0.00), controlling for age, preexisting medical comorbidities, and inhalation injury. About 88% of the patients had preexisting medical comorbid conditions, 74% were smokers, 64% reported as alcoholic, and 72% had at least some form of health insurance coverage. In 40% of the cases, the cause of the fire was unknown, 31% were caused by accidental explosions, such as electric, gasoline, or kerosene appliances, and 29% were due to other causes. About 40% of burns took place between December and February. Among the studied cohorts, 32% were unemployed, 15% were disabled, and 14% did not have any information about their employment status. One in every four patients had a family history of a burn. Eight (12%) died in the hospital during treatment. There was a higher prevalence of inhalation injury and higher case fatality among the burn patients in mobile home fires compared with the statistics of the Burn Center. Observation showed a higher number of smokers and alcoholics among the burn patients. The main sources of fire were from home appliances. Fewer people had health insurance coverage than the national standard and more people suffered from some sort of chronic illness compared with the national morbidity data.

1984–2010 trends in fire burn severity and area for the conterminous US

USGS Publications Warehouse

Picotte, Joshua J.; Peterson, Birgit E.; Meier, Gretchen; Howard, Stephen M.

2016-01-01

Burn severity products created by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) project were used to analyse historical trends in burn severity. Using a severity metric calculated by modelling the cumulative distribution of differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR) and Relativized dNBR (RdNBR) data, we examined burn area and burn severity of 4893 historical fires (1984–2010) distributed across the conterminous US (CONUS) and mapped by MTBS. Yearly mean burn severity values (weighted by area), maximum burn severity metric values, mean area of burn, maximum burn area and total burn area were evaluated within 27 US National Vegetation Classification macrogroups. Time series assessments of burned area and severity were performed using Mann–Kendall tests. Burned area and severity varied by vegetation classification, but most vegetation groups showed no detectable change during the 1984–2010 period. Of the 27 analysed vegetation groups, trend analysis revealed burned area increased in eight, and burn severity has increased in seven. This study suggests that burned area and severity, as measured by the severity metric based on dNBR or RdNBR, have not changed substantially for most vegetation groups evaluated within CONUS.

Fluid resuscitation for major burn patients with the TMMU protocol.

PubMed

Luo, Gaoxing; Peng, Yizhi; Yuan, Zhiqiang; Cheng, Wenguang; Wu, Jun; Tang, Jin; Huang, Yuesheng; Fitzgerald, Mark

2009-12-01

Fluid resuscitation is one of the critical treatments for the major burn patient in the early phases after injury. We evaluated the practice of fluid resuscitation for severely burned patients with the Third Military Medical University (TMMU) protocol, which is most widely used in many regions of China. Patients with major burns (>30% total body surface area (TBSA)) presenting to Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, between January 2005 and October 2007, were included in this study. Fluid resuscitation was initiated by the TMMU protocol. A total of 71 patients were (46 adults and 25 children) included in this study. All patients survived the first 48 h after injury smoothly and none developed abdominal compartment syndrome or other recognised complications associated with fluid resuscitation. The average quantity of fluid infused was 3.3-61.33% more than that calculated based on the TMMU protocol in both adult and paediatric groups. The average urine output during the first 24h after injury was about 1.2 ml per kg body weight per hour in the two groups, but reached 1.2 ml and 1.7 ml during the second 24h in adult and pediatric groups, respectively. This study indicates that the TMMU protocol for fluid resuscitation is a feasible option for burn patients. Individualised resuscitation - guided by the physiological response to fluid administration - is still important as in other protocols.

Total body surface area overestimation at referring institutions in children transferred to a burn center.

PubMed

Swords, Douglas S; Hadley, Edmund D; Swett, Katrina R; Pranikoff, Thomas

2015-01-01

Total body surface area (TBSA) burned is a powerful descriptor of burn severity and influences the volume of resuscitation required in burn patients. The incidence and severity of TBSA overestimation by referring institutions (RIs) in children transferred to a burn center (BC) are unclear. The association between TBSA overestimation and overresuscitation is unknown as is that between TBSA overestimation and outcome. The trauma registry at a BC was queried over 7.25 years for children presenting with burns. TBSA estimate at RIs and BC, total fluid volume given before arrival at a BC, demographic variables, and clinical variables were reviewed. Nearly 20 per cent of children arrived from RIs without TBSA estimation. Nearly 50 per cent were overestimated by 5 per cent or greater TBSA and burn sizes were overestimated by up to 44 per cent TBSA. Average TBSA measured at BC was 9.5 ± 8.3 per cent compared with 15.5 ± 11.8 per cent as measured at RIs (P < 0.0001). Burns between 10 and 19.9 per cent TBSA were overestimated most often and by the greatest amounts. There was a statistically significant relationship between overestimation of TBSA by 5 per cent or greater and overresuscitation by 10 mL/kg or greater (P = 0.02). No patient demographic or clinical factors were associated with TBSA overestimation. Education efforts aimed at emergency department physicians regarding the importance of always calculating TBSA as well as the mechanics of TBSA estimation and calculating resuscitation volume are needed. Further studies should evaluate the association of TBSA overestimation by RIs with adverse outcomes and complications in the burned child.

Characterisation of the impact of open biomass burning on urban air quality in Brisbane, Australia.

PubMed

He, Congrong; Miljevic, Branka; Crilley, Leigh R; Surawski, Nicholas C; Bartsch, Jennifer; Salimi, Farhad; Uhde, Erik; Schnelle-Kreis, Jürgen; Orasche, Jürgen; Ristovski, Zoran; Ayoko, Godwin A; Zimmermann, Ralf; Morawska, Lidia

2016-05-01

Open biomass burning from wildfires and the prescribed burning of forests and farmland is a frequent occurrence in South-East Queensland (SEQ), Australia. This work reports on data collected from 10 to 30 September 2011, which covers the days before (10-14 September), during (15-20 September) and after (21-30 September) a period of biomass burning in SEQ. The aim of this project was to comprehensively quantify the impact of the biomass burning on air quality in Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland. A multi-parameter field measurement campaign was conducted and ambient air quality data from 13 monitoring stations across SEQ were analysed. During the burning period, the average concentrations of all measured pollutants increased (from 20% to 430%) compared to the non-burning period (both before and after burning), except for total xylenes. The average concentration of O3, NO2, SO2, benzene, formaldehyde, PM10, PM2.5 and visibility-reducing particles reached their highest levels for the year, which were up to 10 times higher than annual average levels, while PM10, PM2.5 and SO2 concentrations exceeded the WHO 24-hour guidelines and O3 concentration exceeded the WHO maximum 8-hour average threshold during the burning period. Overall spatial variations showed that all measured pollutants, with the exception of O3, were closer to spatial homogeneity during the burning compared to the non-burning period. In addition to the above, elevated concentrations of three biomass burning organic tracers (levoglucosan, mannosan and galactosan), together with the amount of non-refractory organic particles (PM1) and the average value of f60 (attributed to levoglucosan), reinforce that elevated pollutant concentration levels were due to emissions from open biomass burning events, 70% of which were prescribed burning events. This study, which is the first and most comprehensive of its kind in Australia, provides quantitative evidence of the significant impact of open biomass burning events, especially prescribed burning, on urban air quality. The current results provide a solid platform for more detailed health and modelling investigations in the future. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impact of burned areas on the northern African seasonal climate from the perspective of regional modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Sales, Fernando; Xue, Yongkang; Okin, Gregory S.

2016-12-01

This study investigates the impact of burned areas on the surface energy balance and monthly precipitation in northern Africa as simulated by a state-of-the-art regional model. Mean burned area fraction derived from MODIS date of burning product was implemented in a set of 1-year long WRF-NMM/SSiB2 model simulations. Vegetation cover fraction and LAI were degraded daily based on mean burned area fraction and on the survival rate for each vegetation land cover type. Additionally, ground darkening associated with wildfire-induced ash and charcoal deposition was imposed through lower ground albedo for a period after burning. In general, wildfire-induced vegetation and ground condition deterioration increased mean surface albedo by exposing the brighter bare ground, which in turn caused a decrease in monthly surface net radiation. On average, the wildfire-season albedo increase was approximately 6.3 % over the Sahel. The associated decrease in surface available energy caused a drop in surface sensible heat flux to the atmosphere during the dry months of winter and early spring, which gradually transitioned to a more substantial decrease in surface evapotranspiration in April and May that lessened throughout the rainy season. Overall, post-fire land condition deterioration resulted in a decrease in precipitation over sub-Saharan Africa, associated with the weakening of the West African monsoon progression through the region. A decrease in atmospheric moisture flux convergence was observed in the burned area simulations, which played a dominant role in reducing precipitation in the area, especially in the months preceding the monsoon onset. The areas with the largest precipitation impact were those covered by savannas and rainforests, where annual precipitation decreased by 3.8 and 3.3 %, respectively. The resulting precipitation decrease and vegetation deterioration caused a drop in gross primary productivity in the region, which was strongest in late winter and early spring. This study suggests the cooling and drying of atmosphere induced by burned areas caused the strengthening of subsidence during pre-onset and weakening of upward atmospheric motion during onset and mature stages of the monsoon leading to a waning of convective instability and precipitation. Monthly mid-tropospheric vertical wind showed a strengthening of downward motion in winter and spring seasons, and weakening of upward movement during the rainy months. Furthermore, precipitation energy analysis revealed that most of precipitation decrease originated from convective events, which supports the hypothesis of reduced convective instability due to wildfires.

Cardowan coal mine explosion: experience of a mass burns incident.

PubMed Central

Allister, C; Hamilton, G M

1983-01-01

A coal mine explosion 1700 feet (516 m) underground and two miles (3.2 km) from the pit head resulted in 40 casualties. Two hours elapsed between the explosion and the arrival of patients at hospital. Six patients suffered mechanical injuries, only one of which was life threatening. Thirty six suffered burns; in 18 over 15% of the total body surface area was affected. Nineteen patients had a mild respiratory upset requiring oxygen treatment. The average length of inpatient stay in those admitted was 24 days. Early assessment and treatment in the accident and emergency department was relatively simple because of the large proportion of burn injuries. Lack of communication between site and hospital made administration of the disaster difficult. PMID:6409324

Evaluation of the U.S. Geological Survey Landsat burned area essential climate variable across the conterminous U.S. using commercial high-resolution imagery

USGS Publications Warehouse

Vanderhoof, Melanie; Brunner, Nicole M.; Beal, Yen-Ju G.; Hawbaker, Todd J.

2017-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey has produced the Landsat Burned Area Essential Climate Variable (BAECV) product for the conterminous United States (CONUS), which provides wall-to-wall annual maps of burned area at 30 m resolution (1984–2015). Validation is a critical component in the generation of such remotely sensed products. Previous efforts to validate the BAECV relied on a reference dataset derived from Landsat, which was effective in evaluating the product across its timespan but did not allow for consideration of inaccuracies imposed by the Landsat sensor itself. In this effort, the BAECV was validated using 286 high-resolution images, collected from GeoEye-1, QuickBird-2, Worldview-2 and RapidEye satellites. A disproportionate sampling strategy was utilized to ensure enough burned area pixels were collected. Errors of omission and commission for burned area averaged 22 ± 4% and 48 ± 3%, respectively, across CONUS. Errors were lowest across the western U.S. The elevated error of commission relative to omission was largely driven by patterns in the Great Plains which saw low errors of omission (13 ± 13%) but high errors of commission (70 ± 5%) and potentially a region-growing function included in the BAECV algorithm. While the BAECV reliably detected agricultural fires in the Great Plains, it frequently mapped tilled areas or areas with low vegetation as burned. Landscape metrics were calculated for individual fire events to assess the influence of image resolution (2 m, 30 m and 500 m) on mapping fire heterogeneity. As the spatial detail of imagery increased, fire events were mapped in a patchier manner with greater patch and edge densities, and shape complexity, which can influence estimates of total greenhouse gas emissions and rates of vegetation recovery. The increasing number of satellites collecting high-resolution imagery and rapid improvements in the frequency with which imagery is being collected means greater opportunities to utilize these sources of imagery for Landsat product validation. 

Improving the Vertical Distribution of Fire Emissions in CMAQ

EPA Science Inventory

The area burned by wildland fires (prescribed and wild) across the contiguous United States (U.S.) has expanded by nearly 50% and now averages 2 million hectares per year. Such fires are estimated to cause 8000 deaths per year and are monetized as having a ~$450 billion impact t...

ESTCP Cost and Performance Report (ER-200742) Open Burn/Open Detonation (OBOD) Area Management Using Lime for Explosives Transformation and Metals Immobilization

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-10-01

vertical transport of water on the APG OD area. ............................................................... 33  Table 5. Runoff water and leachate ...untreated control soil (study average). There was an insignificant change in leachate pH from Day 1 to Day 9 showing that, while the increase was...explosives from OB/OD area soils have occurred through horizontal transport in surface water and vertical leachate water transport. These pathways

Benefit of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in major burns after stun grenade explosion: Experience from a single military medical center.

PubMed

Hsu, Po-Shun; Tsai, Yi-Ting; Lin, Chih-Yuan; Chen, Shyi-Gen; Dai, Niann-Tzyy; Chen, Cheng-Jung; Chen, Jia-Lin; Tsai, Chien-Sung

2017-05-01

Explosion injury is very common on the battlefield and is associated with major burn and inhalation injuries and subsequent high mortality and morbidity rates. Here we report six victims who suffered from explosion injuries caused by stun grenade; all were treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) as salvage therapy. This study was aimed to evaluate the indications and efficacy of ECMO in acute and critically ill major burn patients. This was a retrospective analysis of six patients from Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center in Taiwan. All suffered from major burns with 89.0±19.1% average of total body surface area over second degree (TBSA; range, 50-99%). ECMO was used due to inhalation injury in five patients and cardiogenic shock in one patient. The average interval to start ECMO was 26.5±19.0h (range, 14-63h). Venoarterial ECMO was used on in four patients due to unstable hemodynamic status, whereas venovenous ECMO was used in two patients for sustained hypoxemia. All patients had rhabdomyolysis with acute renal failure. The average duration of ECMO was 169.6±180.9h (range, 27-401h). All patients developed coagulopathy and needed debridement surgery during ECMO support, and five underwent torso escharotomy due to inspiratory compromise. Only one patient whose second and third degree burns covered 50% TBSA was successfully weaned from ECMO and survived; he was discharged after 221 hospital days. All patients who died had second and third degree burns covering over 90% of their TBSA. Three patients died of multiple organ failure, one died of septic shock, and the other died of cardiogenic shock. Overall survival rate was 16.7%. In acute and critically ill major burn patients, ECMO could be considered as a salvage therapy, particularly in those with inhalation injury and burn-related acute respiratory distress syndrome. However, ECMO does not seem to provide benefits for circulatory support in those with hemodynamic compromise. The use of ECMO in these patients is still investigational, as our data provided no benefit in terms of the outcomes or survival, particularly in those with more than 90% TBSA burns. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

The flaming gypsy skirt injury.

PubMed

Leong, S C L; Emecheta, I E; James, M I

2007-01-01

On review of admissions over a 12-month period, we noted a significant number of women presenting with gypsy skirt burns. We describe all six cases to highlight the unique distribution of the wounds and the circumstances in which the accidents occurred. Four skirts were ignited by open fire heaters: two skirts ignited whilst the women were standing nearby, distracted with a telephone conversation; one brushed over the flame as she was walking past the heater; other whilst dancing in the lounge. One skirt was ignited by decorative candles placed on the floor during a social gathering. Another skirt was set alight by cigarette ember, whilst smoking in the toilet. Percentage surface area burned, estimated according to the rule of nines, showed that gypsy skirt burns were significant ranging from 7 to 14% total body surface area (TBSA) and averaging 9% TBSA. Two patients required allogenic split-skin grafts. Common sense care with proximity to naked flame is all that is needed to prevent this injury.

Five years' experience of the modified Meek technique in the management of extensive burns.

PubMed

Hsieh, Chun-Sheng; Schuong, Jen-Yu; Huang, W S; Huang, Ted T

2008-05-01

The Meek technique of skin expansion is useful for covering a large open wound with a small piece of skin graft, but requires a carefully followed protocol. Over the past 5 years, a skin graft expansion technique following the Meek principle was used to treat 37 individuals who had sustained third degree burns involving more than 40% of the body surface. A scheme was devised whereby the body was divided into six areas, in order to clarify the optimal order of wound debridements and skin grafting procedures as well as the regimen of aftercare. The mean body surface involvement was 72.9% and the mean area of third degree burns was 41%. The average number of operations required was 1.84. There were four deaths among in this group of patients. The Meek technique of skin expansion and the suggested protocol are together efficient and effective in covering an open wound, particularly where there is a paucity of skin graft donor sites.

Multidecadal trends in area burned with high severity in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area 1880-2012

Treesearch

Penelope Morgan; Andrew T. Hudak; Ashley Wells; Sean A. Parks; L. Scott Baggett; Benjamin C. Bright; Patricia Green

2017-01-01

Multidecadal trends in areas burned with high severity shape ecological effects of fires, but most assessments are limited to ~30 years of satellite data. We analysed the proportion of area burned with high severity, the annual area burned with high severity, the probability areas burned with high severity and also the area reburned (all severities and high burn...

Analyses of biomass burning contribution to aerosol in Zhengzhou during wheat harvest season in 2015

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Hongyang; Yin, Shasha; Li, Xiao; Wang, Jia; Zhang, Ruiqin

2018-07-01

Ambient PM2.5 samples were collected in suburban area of Zhengzhou, China to investigate the impact of straw open burning on local aerosol during wheat harvest season in 2015. Secondary formation and accumulation processes were found under unfavorable meteorological conditions through the chemical composition analysis in PM2.5. And spatial and temporal variation of the agricultural activities were observed through MODIS fire spots data combined with back trajectory analysis. Results showed elevated levoglucosan was affected directly during biomass burning episodes and transportation periods. In order to estimate the contribution, levoglucosan/K+ combined with levoglucosan/mannosan were analyzed to identify biomass burning sources. And the results showed that levoglucosan were emitted from straw burning mixing with softwood combustion during the study period, emphasizing that wood combustion for households was non-negligible which consists part of the levoglucosan background in Zhengzhou aerosol. Based on emission factors (levoglucosan/OC or levoglucosan/PM2.5) summarized by laboratory simulation experiments, the study period was divided into 7 depending on the former characteristics to estimate the contribution of biomass burning to aerosol, and the average contributions of biomass burning emission to OC and PM2.5 were 46% and 13% relatively, indicating biomass burning have a significant impact on ambient aerosol levels during harvest season.

Accuracy of remote burn scar evaluation via live video-conferencing technology.

PubMed

Cai, Lawrence Z; Caceres, Maria; Dangol, Mohan Krishna; Nakarmi, Kiran; Rai, Shankar Man; Chang, James; Gibran, Nicole S; Pham, Tam N

2016-12-05

Telemedicine in outpatient burn care, particularly in burn scar management, may provide cost-effective care and comes highly rated by patients. However, an effective scar scale using both video and photographic elements has not been validated. The purpose of this study is to test the reliability of the Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) using live video-conferencing. A prospective study was conducted with individuals with healed burn scars in Kathmandu, Nepal. Three independent observers assessed 85 burn scars from 17 subjects, using the Observer portion to evaluate vascularity, pigmentation, thickness, relief, pliability, surface area, and overall opinion. The on-site observer was physically present with the subjects and used a live videoconferencing application to show the scars to two remote observers in the United States. Subjects used the Patient portion to evaluate the scar that they believed appeared the worst appearance and had the greatest impact on function. The single-rater reliability of the Observer scale was acceptable (ICC>0.70) in overall opinion, thickness, pliability, and surface area. The average-rater reliability for three observers was acceptable (ICC>0.70) for all parameters except for vascularity. When comparing Patients' and Observers' overall opinion scores, patients consistently reported worse opinion. Evaluation of burn scars using the Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale can be accurately performed via live videoconferencing and presents an opportunity to expand access to burn care to rural communities, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where patients face significant access barriers to appropriate follow-up care. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Effect of Malva sylvestris cream on burn injury and wounds in rats

PubMed Central

Nasiri, Ebrahim; Hosseinimehr, Seyed Jalal; Azadbakht, Mohammad; Akbari, Jafar; Enayati-fard, Reza; Azizi, Sohail

2015-01-01

Objectives: Burn injury is one of the most health-threatening problems in the world. Malva sylvestris (M. sylvestris) flowers have a high mucilage content and are used as a remedy for cut wound and dermal infected wounds in Iranian folklore Medicine. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of M. sylvestris cream on the second degree burn injury in rats. Materials and Methods: Five groups of 10 rats per group were burned with hot metal plate. Animals were administrated divided as control, normal saline, standard silver sulfadiazine 1% (SSD), 5% M. sylvestris, and 10% M. sylvestris into separate groups. Wound area, percentage of wound contraction, and histological and bacteriological assessments were evaluated. Results: Wound sizes were not significantly different among groups on 1st and 3rd days after burn injury, while they were significantly different among groups after 7th day post-burn injury. The average areas of wounds on the 15th day were 7.5±2.9, 6.7±2, 10.5±1.6, 4.7±2, and 4.5±2 cm2 for base cream, normal saline, SSD, 5% M. sylvestris, and 10% M. sylvestris, respectively. The results of histology exhibited well-formed horizontally-oriented collagen fibers in MS topical treatment groups. Microorganisms existed in the SSD group were most probably Staphilococcus epidermitis and for NS group were staphylococcus saprophiteccus. Conclusion: M. sylvestris cream improved histological changes of tissue components in the process of healing when compared with SSD cream. Therefore, it can be used as a topical treatment agent for burn wound. PMID:26909337

Five-year epidemiology of liquefied petroleum gas-related burns.

PubMed

Jin, Ronghua; Wu, Pan; Ho, Jon Kee; Wang, Xingang; Han, Chunmao

2018-02-01

The incidence of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)-related burns has increased over recent years, and it has become a serious public health issue in developing countries such as India and Turkey. This paper aims to investigate the epidemiological characteristics of LPG-related burns to provide assistance and suggestions for planning prevention strategies. A 5-year retrospective study was conducted in patients with LPG-related burns admitted to the Department of Burns & Wound Care Center, Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, College of Medicine, between 1st January 2011 and 31st December 2015. Information obtained for each patient included age, gender, education status, occupation, medical insurance, average hospital cost, length of hospital stay, monthly distribution of incidence, place of burns, mechanism of burns, extent of burns, site of burns, accompanying injuries, and treatment outcomes. For the first 4 years (2011-2014), the yearly incidence of LPG-related burns was at approximately 10% of all burns; however, in the fifth year (2015) alone, there was a surge to 26.94%. A total of 1337 burn patients were admitted during this period. Of these, 195 patients were admitted because of 169 LPG-related accidents; there were 11 accidents involving more than one victim. LPG-related burns occurred most frequently in patients aged 21-60 years (73.85%). The majority of injuries occurred from May to August (56.41%), and the most common place was home (83.08%, 162 patients). Gas leak (81.03%) was the main cause of LPG-related burns, followed by inappropriate operation (7.69%) and cooking negligence (2.05%). The mean burn area was 31.32±25.40% of TBSA. The most common sites of burns were the upper extremities (37.47%), followed by the head/face and neck (24.80%) and lower extremities (19.95%). The most common accompanying injuries included inhalation injury (23.59%), shock (8.71%), and external injury (7.18%). The average hospital stay was 22.90±19.47days (range 2-84 days). Only 48 patients (24.62%) had medical insurance, while 124 patients (63.59%) had no medical insurance. The average hospital cost of the no medical insurance group was significantly higher (p<0.0001) than that of the medical insurance group. In addition, 72.73% of patients who left against medical advice (LAMA) were uninsured. The number of patients who recovered at our hospital was 165 (84.62%), while 22 patients (11.28%) LAMA. The overall mortality rate was 4.10% (8 patients). Our study shows that the exponential increase in LPG-related burns is alarming. This calls for rigorous precautions. Because gas leak was the main cause of LPG-related burns, any part of LPG stove system that shows signs of weathering should be replaced regularly. In addition, we also found that most of the LAMA patients were uninsured. Thus, comprehensive medical insurance should be involved early in the recovery process to assure a safe and adequate discharge. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Global fire emissions and the contribution of deforestation, savanna, forest, agricultural, and peat fires (1997-2009)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Werf, G. R.; Randerson, J. T.; Giglio, L.; Collatz, G. J.; Mu, M.; Kasibhatla, P. S.; Morton, D. C.; Defries, R. S.; Jin, Y.; van Leeuwen, T. T.

2010-12-01

New burned area datasets and top-down constraints from atmospheric concentration measurements of pyrogenic gases have decreased the large uncertainty in fire emissions estimates. However, significant gaps remain in our understanding of the contribution of deforestation, savanna, forest, agricultural waste, and peat fires to total global fire emissions. Here we used a revised version of the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford-Approach (CASA) biogeochemical model and improved satellite-derived estimates of area burned, fire activity, and plant productivity to calculate fire emissions for the 1997-2009 period on a 0.5° spatial resolution with a monthly time step. For November 2000 onwards, estimates were based on burned area, active fire detections, and plant productivity from the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor. For the partitioning we focused on the MODIS era. We used maps of burned area derived from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Visible and Infrared Scanner (VIRS) and Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) active fire data prior to MODIS (1997-2000) and estimates of plant productivity derived from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) observations during the same period. Average global fire carbon emissions according to this version 3 of the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED3) were 2.0 Pg C year-1 with significant interannual variability during 1997-2001 (2.8 Pg C year-1 in 1998 and 1.6 Pg C year-1 in 2001). Globally, emissions during 2002-2007 were relatively constant (around 2.1 Pg C year-1) before declining in 2008 (1.7 Pg C year-1) and 2009 (1.5 Pg C year-1) partly due to lower deforestation fire emissions in South America and tropical Asia. On a regional basis, emissions were highly variable during 2002-2007 (e.g., boreal Asia, South America, and Indonesia), but these regional differences canceled out at a global level. During the MODIS era (2001-2009), most carbon emissions were from fires in grasslands and savannas (44%) with smaller contributions from tropical deforestation and degradation fires (20%), woodland fires (mostly confined to the tropics, 16%), forest fires (mostly in the extratropics, 15%), agricultural waste burning (3%), and tropical peat fires (3%). The contribution from agricultural waste fires was likely a lower bound because our approach for measuring burned area could not detect all of these relatively small fires. Total carbon emissions were on average 13% lower than in our previous (GFED2) work. For reduced trace gases such as CO and CH4, deforestation, degradation, and peat fires were more important contributors because of higher emissions of reduced trace gases per unit carbon combusted compared to savanna fires. Carbon emissions from tropical deforestation, degradation, and peatland fires were on average 0.5 Pg C year-1. The carbon emissions from these fires may not be balanced by regrowth following fire. Our results provide the first global assessment of the contribution of different sources to total global fire emissions for the past decade, and supply the community with an improved 13-year fire emissions time series.

Firework injuries presenting to a national burn's unit.

PubMed

Jones, D; Lee, W; Rea, S; Donnell, M O; Eadie, P A

2004-09-01

The sale to the general public of fireworks is illegal in Ireland. However, many fireworks are readily available on the black market from illegal traders. The number of firework injuries presenting to our unit during the three week run-up to Hallowe'en October 2001 was recorded. In addition, each patient was contacted to determine how the fireworks were obtained, the average amount of money spent, and the level of adult supervision present at the time of injury. A total of 19 patients presented, 18 from the local catchment area, with a mean age of 16 yrs (range 5-46 yrs). Thirteen patients required admission. Sixteen patients sustained hand injuries including burns, and three sustained burns to other body areas. The amount of money spent varied between adults and children, the average amount among the paediatric group was Euro 2-4, but Euro 45 in the adult group. None were willing to identify the local source of their fireworks, but most fireworks originated in Northern Ireland. This small review highlights an ongoing problem in Ireland; fireworks are illegal, yet they are easily and cheaply available without quality or safety controls. Our public awareness campaign has failed to reach its target audience, and the illegal traders who sell these often inferior products are seldom charged. Children and adults will continue to sustain serious injuries as a result.

Wildfire Suppression Costs for Canada under a Changing Climate

PubMed Central

Stocks, Brian J.; Gauthier, Sylvie

2016-01-01

Climate-influenced changes in fire regimes in northern temperate and boreal regions will have both ecological and economic ramifications. We examine possible future wildfire area burned and suppression costs using a recently compiled historical (i.e., 1980–2009) fire management cost database for Canada and several Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) climate projections. Area burned was modelled as a function of a climate moisture index (CMI), and fire suppression costs then estimated as a function of area burned. Future estimates of area burned were generated from projections of the CMI under two emissions pathways for four General Circulation Models (GCMs); these estimates were constrained to ecologically reasonable values by incorporating a minimum fire return interval of 20 years. Total average annual national fire management costs are projected to increase to just under $1 billion (a 60% real increase from the 1980–2009 period) under the low greenhouse gas emissions pathway and $1.4 billion (119% real increase from the base period) under the high emissions pathway by the end of the century. For many provinces, annual costs that are currently considered extreme (i.e., occur once every ten years) are projected to become commonplace (i.e., occur once every two years or more often) as the century progresses. It is highly likely that evaluations of current wildland fire management paradigms will be necessary to avoid drastic and untenable cost increases as the century progresses. PMID:27513660

Assessment of Residential Biomass Burning During Winter in Las Vegas, Nevada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, S. G.; Lee, T.; Olson, D.; Norris, G.; Roberts, P. T.; Collett, J. L.

2011-12-01

Concentrations of organic matter (OM) and black carbon (BC) were measured at a site in a residential area of Las Vegas, Nevada, and multiple analytical methods were used to determine the amounts attributable to biomass burning. In January 2008, measurements of a wood burning tracer, levoglucosan, were made via gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (n=17). In addition, an Aerodyne High Resolution Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (HR-AMS) measured OM and C2H4O2+, a levoglucosan-derived fragment. During 2007 and 2008, two-channel Aethalometer data were also collected; the difference between the 370 nm and 880 nm channels (UV-BC difference) was used to indicate the presence of wood smoke. Concentrations of OM, BC, C2H4O2+, and levoglucosan, as well as the UV-BC difference, were all highest during the evening hours (generally between 1800 and 0000 LST). Average OM concentrations were 3.3 μg/m3 during January but were 6.9 μg/m3 during the overnight hours (between 1700 and 0000 LST). Median levoglucosan concentrations were 0.14 μg/m3. The correlation of levoglucosan with C2H4O2+ was very high (r2=0.92). During the evening hours, correlation between BC and C2H4O2+ was good (r2=0.79); however, correlation was poor during other hours (r2<0.40), suggesting that other emissions such as mobile-source emissions were likely the dominant source of BC during those hours. C2H4O2+ showed modest correlation with UV-BC (e.g., r2=0.45). Using EPA's positive matrix factorization tool, EPA PMF, on the January HR-AMS data, we determined that biomass burning organic aerosol (BBOA) constituted 12% of the OM on average, but about 25% of the OM during evening hours. BBOA correlated well with levoglucosan (r2=0.82) and C2H4O2+ (r2=0.93). Levoglucosan measurements suggested that wood burning could constitute 38% of the OM during the overnight periods on average, although this number greatly depends on the assumed ratio of levoglucosan to OM in a source profile for residential biomass burning. The particle size distributions of mass for OM and m/z 60 (which includes other ions but is dominated by C2H4O2+) were quite broad, peaking between 100 nm and 450 nm for m/z 60 and between 200 nm and 450 nm for OM, suggesting relatively fresh aerosol. H/C ratios were highest (typically 1.57) and O/C ratios were lowest (typically 0.25) during evening hours, and the OM/OC ratio was, on average, 1.47, also indicating very fresh aerosol. Using levoglucosan and AMS markers, we can separate residential biomass burning influences from other sources of carbonaceous aerosol in the area.

A review of community management of paediatric burns.

PubMed

Cox, S G; Martinez, R; Glick, A; Numanoglu, A; Rode, H

2015-12-01

This study was a component of a broader review to evaluate burn care in South Africa. A prospective audit of 353 children with thermal injuries admitted to the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital in Cape Town was performed during 2012/2013. The audit was based to assess the adherence of initial burn management to the provincial policy guidelines on the clinical management of the burn wound. The community management of each patient prior to admission to a burns centre was assessed for the following: basic demographics, emergency home management, wound cover, analgesia and transport to medical facilities. Their ages ranged from 1 month to 14 years. The average total body surface area [TBSA] was 15% [1-86%]. Most of the injuries were due to hot water accidents [78.5%] followed by flame burns (9%), direct contact and electricity burns. Two hundred and twenty five children [63%] received first aid measures at home, including cooling with water [166] ice [30] and a cooling agent. No cooling was instituted in 130 and 65% of the patient's wounds were cooled for 10 min or less. Eighty percent proceeded to the referral centre or burns unit without their wounds being covered; with only 19 patients having any medical type of dressing available at home. Two hundred and ninety five children [83.6%] received pain medication prior to admission at the burns unit. Of the 316 patients not directly attending the burns unit, 137 received i.v. fluids of which 95 had burns greater than 10% TBSA. None of the patients were in shock on admission and all i.v. lines were functioning. Forty-four children with burns greater than 10% did not receive i.v. fluids. The audit identified six factors that were inadequately addressed during the pre-admission period: first aid, cooling of the wound, early covering of the wound, resuscitation, pain management and transfer. If these could be readdressed, basic burn care would be substantially improved in the study area. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

[Nitrogen balance assessment in burn patients].

PubMed

Beça, Andreia; Egipto, Paula; Carvalho, Davide; Correia, Flora; Oliveira, Bruno; Rodrigues, Acácio; Amarante, José; Medina, J Luís

2010-01-01

The burn injury probably represents the largest stimulus for muscle protein catabolism. This state is characterized by an accelerated catabolism of the lean or skeletal mass that results in a clinical negative balance of nitrogen and muscle wasting. The determination of an appropriate value for protein intake is essential, since it is positively related to the nitrogen balance (NB) and accordingly several authors argue that a positive NB is the key parameter associated with nutritional improvement of a burn patient. Evaluation of the degree of protein catabolism by assessment of the Nitrogen Balance; Defining of nutritional support (protein needs) to implement in patients with burned surface area (BSA) = 10%. We prospectively evaluated the clinical files and scrutinized the clinical variables of interest. The NB was estimated according to three formulae. Each gram of nitrogen calculated by the NB was then converted into grams of protein, subtracted or added to protein intake (or administered enteric or parenterically) and divided by kg of reference Weight (kg Rweight), in an attempt to estimate the daily protein needs. The cohort consisted of 10 patients, 6 females, with average age of 58(23) years old, a mean of BSA of 21.4(8.4)%, ranging from a minimum of 10.0% and máximum of 35.0%. On average, patients were 58 (23) years old. The average number of days of hospitalization in the burn unit was 64.8(36.5) days. We observed significant differences between the 3 methods used for calculating the NB (p = 0.004), on average the NB was positive. When the formula A was used the average value of NB was higher. Regarding the attempt to estimate the needs of g prot/kg Rweight/day most of the values did not exceed, on average, 2.6 g Prot/kg Rweight/day and no significant differences between patients with a BSA% of 10-20% and with BSA% > 20% were found. Despite being able to estimate the protein catabolism through these formulas and verifying that most values were above zero, wide individual fluctuations were visible over time. Based on the sample reference that recommends a value of 1.5-2 g Prot/kg Rweight/day, we can conclude it to be underestimated, when comparing with the mean value of 2.6 g Prot/kg Rweight/day we established.

Carbon decomposition process of the residual biomass in the paddy soil of a single-crop rice field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okada, K.; Iwata, T.

2014-12-01

In cultivated fields, residual organic matter is plowed into soil after harvest and decaying in fallow season. Greenhouse gases such as CO2 and CH4 is generated by the decomposition of the substantial organic matter and released into the atmosphere. In some fields, open burning is carried out by tradition, when carbon in residual matter is released into atmosphere as CO2. However, burning effect on carbon budget between crop lands and atmosphere is not entirely considered yet. In this study, coarse organic matter (COM) in paddy soil of a single-crop rice field was sampled on regular intervals between January, 2011 and August, 2014 The amount of carbon release from residual matter was estimated by analyzing of the variations in carbon content of COM. Effects of soil temperature (Ts) and soil water content (SWC) at the paddy field on the rate of carbon decomposition was investigated. Though decreasing rate of COM was much smaller in winter season, it is accelerated at the warming season between April and June every year. Decomposition was resisted for next rice cultivated season despite of highest soil temperature. In addition, the observational field was divided into two areas, and three time open burning experiments were conducted in November, 2011, 2012, and 2013. In each year, three sampling surveys, or plants before harvest and residuals before and after the burning experiment, were done. From these surveys, it is suggested that about 48±2% of carbon contents of above-ground plant was yield out as grain by harvest, and about 27±2% of carbon emitted as CO2 by burning. Carbon content of residuals plowed into soil after the harvest was estimated 293±1 and 220±36gC/m2 in no-burned and burned area, respectively, based on three-years average. It is estimated that 70 and 60% of the first input amount of COM was decomposed after a year in no-burned and burned area, respectively.

Development and evaluation of a novel smart device-based application for burn assessment and management.

PubMed

Godwin, Zachary; Tan, James; Bockhold, Jennifer; Ma, Jason; Tran, Nam K

2015-06-01

We have developed a novel software application that provides a simple and interactive Lund-Browder diagram for automatic calculation of total body surface area (TBSA) burned, fluid formula recommendations, and serial wound photography on a smart device platform. The software was developed for the iPad (Apple, Cupertino, CA) smart device platforms. Ten burns ranging from 5 to 95% TBSA were computer generated on a patient care simulator using Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Adobe, San Jose, CA). Burn clinicians calculated the TBSA first using a paper-based Lund-Browder diagram. Following a one-week "washout period", the same clinicians calculated TBSA using the smart device application. Simulated burns were presented in a random fashion and clinicians were timed. Percent TBSA burned calculated by Peregrine vs. the paper-based Lund-Browder were similar (29.53 [25.57] vs. 28.99 [25.01], p=0.22, n=7). On average, Peregrine allowed users to calculate burn size significantly faster than the paper form (58.18 [31.46] vs. 90.22 [60.60]s, p<0.001, n=7). The smart device application also provided 5 megapixel photography capabilities, and acute burn resuscitation fluid calculator. We developed an innovative smart device application that enables accurate and rapid burn size assessment to be cost-effective and widely accessible. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Application of wildfire simulation models for risk analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ager, A.; Finney, M.

2009-04-01

Wildfire simulation models are being widely used by fire and fuels specialists in the U.S. to support tactical and strategic decisions related to the mitigation of wildfire risk. Much of this application has resulted from the development of a minimum travel time (MTT) fire spread algorithm (M. Finney) that makes it computationally feasible to simulate thousands of fires and generate burn probability and intensity maps over large areas (10,000 - 2,000,000 ha). The MTT algorithm is parallelized for multi-threaded processing and is imbedded in a number of research and applied fire modeling applications. High performance computers (e.g., 32-way 64 bit SMP) are typically used for MTT simulations, although the algorithm is also implemented in the 32 bit desktop FlamMap3 program (www.fire.org). Extensive testing has shown that this algorithm can replicate large fire boundaries in the heterogeneous landscapes that typify much of the wildlands in the western U.S. In this paper, we describe the application of the MTT algorithm to understand spatial patterns of burn probability (BP), and to analyze wildfire risk to key human and ecological values. The work is focused on a federally-managed 2,000,000 ha landscape in the central interior region of Oregon State, USA. The fire-prone study area encompasses a wide array of topography and fuel types and a number of highly valued resources that are susceptible to fire. We quantitatively defined risk as the product of the probability of a fire and the resulting consequence. Burn probabilities at specific intensity classes were estimated for each 100 x 100 m pixel by simulating 100,000 wildfires under burn conditions that replicated recent severe wildfire events that occurred under conditions where fire suppression was generally ineffective (97th percentile, August weather). We repeated the simulation under milder weather (70th percentile, August weather) to replicate a "wildland fire use scenario" where suppression is minimized to manage fires for fuel reduction. The average BP was calculated for these scenarios to examine variation within and among a number of key designated management units, including forest-urban interface, conservation areas, protected species habitat, municipal watersheds, recreation areas, and others. To quantify risk, we developed a number of loss-benefit functions using fire effects models that relate fire intensity to tree mortality and biomass consumption. We used these relationships to measure the change in highly-valued old forest, designated wildlife conservation areas, aboveground carbon, surface fuels, and other wildland values. The loss-benefit functions were then coupled with BP's for different intensity classes to estimate expected value change (risk) for each pixel. For a subset of the study area we also measured the change in risk from fuels management for selected resources. Estimates of BP, excluding non burnable fuels (water, rock), fro the simulations ranged from 0.00001 to 0.026 within the study area, with a mean value of 0.007. In comparison, the annual burn probability estimated from fire occurrence data within the study area (1910 - 2003) was 0.0022. The estimate from simulations represents the average probability of a random pixel burning from a single large fire that escapes suppression, hence some difference is expected. Variation in BP among designated conservation and fire protection units was relatively large and illustrated spatial differences in wildfire likelihood among highly values resources. For instance, among the 130 different forest-urban interface areas, average BP varied from 0.0001 to 0.02. Average BP for nesting sites used by the endangered Northern spotted owl averaged 0.04 and varied from 0.001 to 0.01. The marginal BP's for high fire intensities was higher for many of the conservation areas compared the surrounding managed forest. Conservation areas that were located on the lee side of non-burnable fuels such as lava flows and lakes showed markedly reduced BP. When wildfire probabilities were combined with habitat loss functions for the Northern spotted owl, we observed expected loss from a random wildfire event ranging from 0.0 to 9.4% with a mean value of 1.5%. Expected loss was strongly correlated with BP for owl habitat, apparently because fires at very low intensities caused understory mortality and reduced stand canopy closure below minimum levels. The effect of simulating strategic fuel treatments on a subunit of the area resulted in significant decrease in expected loss of owl habitat. The effect of changing weather from a severe to mild (97th to 70th) percentile weather resulted in a dramatic 8-fold drop in BP and reduced the average wildfire size. However, the reduction was not uniform with the departures well correlated with specific fuel models. In total, this work demonstrated the application of wildfire spread models to quantitative risk assessment for fuels management on federally-managed lands in the U.S. The analyses revealed spatial variation in BP that is useful in prioritizing fuels treatments and guiding other wildfire mitigation activities. The work also illuminated the conflict between biodiversity conservation efforts on federally-managed lands and the high wildfire risk on fire-prone landscapes.

Potential shifts in dominant forest cover in interior Alaska driven by variations in fire severity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Barrett, K.; McGuire, A. David; Hoy, E.E.; Kasischke, E.S.

2011-01-01

Large fire years in which >1% of the landscape burns are becoming more frequent in the Alaskan (USA) interior, with four large fire years in the past 10 years, and 79 000 km2 (17% of the region) burned since 2000. We modeled fire severity conditions for the entire area burned in large fires during a large fire year (2004) to determine the factors that are most important in estimating severity and to identify areas affected by deep‐burning fires. In addition to standard methods of assessing severity using spectral information, we incorporated information regarding topography, spatial pattern of burning, and instantaneous characteristics such as fire weather and fire radiative power. Ensemble techniques using regression trees as a base learner were able to determine fire severity successfully using spectral data in concert with other relevant geospatial data. This method was successful in estimating average conditions, but it underestimated the range of severity.This new approach was used to identify black spruce stands that experienced intermediate‐ to high‐severity fires in 2004 and are therefore susceptible to a shift in regrowth toward deciduous dominance or mixed dominance. Based on the output of the severity model, we estimate that 39% (∼4000 km2) of all burned black spruce stands in 2004 had <10 cm of residual organic layer and may be susceptible a postfire shift in plant functional type dominance, as well as permafrost loss. If the fraction of area susceptible to deciduous regeneration is constant for large fire years, the effect of such years in the most recent decade has been to reduce black spruce stands by 4.2% and to increase areas dominated or co‐dominated by deciduous forest stands by 20%. Such disturbance‐driven modifications have the potential to affect the carbon cycle and climate system at regional to global scales.

Landscape fragmentation, severe drought, and the new Amazon forest fire regime.

PubMed

Alencar, Ane A; Brando, Paulo M; Asner, Gregory P; Putz, Francis E

2015-09-01

Changes in weather and land use are transforming the spatial and temporal characteristics of fire regimes in Amazonia, with important effects on the functioning of dense (i.e., closed-canopy), open-canopy, and transitional forests across the Basin. To quantify, document, and describe the characteristics and recent changes in forest fire regimes, we sampled 6 million ha of these three representative forests of the eastern and southern edges of the Amazon using 24 years (1983-2007) of satellite-derived annual forest fire scar maps and 16 years of monthly hot pixel information (1992-2007). Our results reveal that changes in forest fire regime properties differentially affected these three forest types in terms of area burned and fire scar size, frequency, and seasonality. During the study period, forest fires burned 15% (0.3 million ha), 44% (1 million ha), and 46% (0.6 million ha) of dense, open, and transitional forests, respectively. Total forest area burned and fire scar size tended to increase over time (even in years of average rainfall in open canopy and transitional forests). In dense forests, most of the temporal variability in fire regime properties was linked to El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-related droughts. Compared with dense forests, transitional and open forests experienced fires twice as frequently, with at least 20% of these forests' areas burning two or more times during the 24-year study period. Open and transitional forests also experienced higher deforestation rates than dense forests. During drier years, the end of the dry season was delayed by about a month, which resulted in larger burn scars and increases in overall area burned later in the season. These observations suggest that climate-mediated forest flammability is enhanced by landscape fragmentation caused by deforestation, as observed for open and transitional forests in the Eastern portion of the Amazon Basin.

Potential shifts in dominant forest cover in interior Alaska driven by variations in fire severity.

PubMed

Barrett, K; McGuire, A D; Hoy, E E; Kasischke, E S

2011-10-01

Large fire years in which >1% of the landscape burns are becoming more frequent in the Alaskan (USA) interior, with four large fire years in the past 10 years, and 79 000 km2 (17% of the region) burned since 2000. We modeled fire severity conditions for the entire area burned in large fires during a large fire year (2004) to determine the factors that are most important in estimating severity and to identify areas affected by deep-burning fires. In addition to standard methods of assessing severity using spectral information, we incorporated information regarding topography, spatial pattern of burning, and instantaneous characteristics such as fire weather and fire radiative power. Ensemble techniques using regression trees as a base learner were able to determine fire severity successfully using spectral data in concert with other relevant geospatial data. This method was successful in estimating average conditions, but it underestimated the range of severity. This new approach was used to identify black spruce stands that experienced intermediate- to high-severity fires in 2004 and are therefore susceptible to a shift in regrowth toward deciduous dominance or mixed dominance. Based on the output of the severity model, we estimate that 39% (approximately 4000 km2) of all burned black spruce stands in 2004 had <10 cm of residual organic layer and may be susceptible a postfire shift in plant functional type dominance, as well as permafrost loss. If the fraction of area susceptible to deciduous regeneration is constant for large fire years, the effect of such years in the most recent decade has been to reduce black spruce stands by 4.2% and to increase areas dominated or co-dominated by deciduous forest stands by 20%. Such disturbance-driven modifications have the potential to affect the carbon cycle and climate system at regional to global scales.

The use of composite fingerprints to quantify sediment sources in a wildfire impacted landscape, Alberta, Canada.

PubMed

Stone, M; Collins, A L; Silins, U; Emelko, M B; Zhang, Y S

2014-03-01

There is increasing global concern regarding the impacts of large scale land disturbance by wildfire on a wide range of water and related ecological services. This study explores the impact of the 2003 Lost Creek wildfire in the Crowsnest River basin, Alberta, Canada on regional scale sediment sources using a tracing approach. A composite geochemical fingerprinting procedure was used to apportion the sediment efflux among three key spatial sediment sources: 1) unburned (reference) 2) burned and 3) burned sub-basins that were subsequently salvage logged. Spatial sediment sources were characterized by collecting time-integrated suspended sediment samples using passive devices during the entire ice free periods in 2009 and 2010. The tracing procedure combines the Kruskal-Wallis H-test, principal component analysis and genetic-algorithm driven discriminant function analysis for source discrimination. Source apportionment was based on a numerical mass balance model deployed within a Monte Carlo framework incorporating both local optimization and global (genetic algorithm) optimization. The mean relative frequency-weighted average median inputs from the three spatial source units were estimated to be 17% (inter-quartile uncertainty range 0-32%) from the reference areas, 45% (inter-quartile uncertainty range 25-65%) from the burned areas and 38% (inter-quartile uncertainty range 14-59%) from the burned-salvage logged areas. High sediment inputs from burned and the burned-salvage logged areas, representing spatial source units 2 and 3, reflect the lasting effects of forest canopy and forest floor organic matter disturbance during the 2003 wildfire including increased runoff and sediment availability related to high terrestrial erosion, streamside mass wasting and river bank collapse. The results demonstrate the impact of wildfire and incremental pressures associated with salvage logging on catchment spatial sediment sources in higher elevation Montane regions where forest growth and vegetation recovery are relatively slow. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Interactive home telehealth and burns: A pilot study.

PubMed

Hickey, Sean; Gomez, Jason; Meller, Benjamin; Schneider, Jeffery C; Cheney, Meredith; Nejad, Shamim; Schulz, John; Goverman, Jeremy

2017-09-01

The objective of this study is to review our experience incorporating Interactive Home Telehealth (IHT) visits into follow-up burn care. A retrospective review of all burn patients participating in IHT encounters over the course of 15 months was performed. Connections were established through secure video conferencing and call-routing software. Patients connected with a personal computer or tablet and providers connected with a desktop computer with a high-definition web camera. In some cases, high-definition digital images were emailed to the provider prior to the virtual consultation. For each patient, the following was collected: (1) patient and injury demographics (diagnosis, prognosis, and clinical management), (2) total number of encounters, (3) service for each encounter (burn, psychiatry, and rehabilitation), (4) length of visit, including travel distance and time saved and, (5) complications, including re-admissions and connectivity issues. 52 virtual encounters were performed with 31 patients during the first year of the pilot project from March 2015 to June 2016. Mean age of the participant was 44 years (range 18-83 years). Mean total burn surface area of the participant was 12% (range 1-80%). Average roundtrip travel distance saved was 188 miles (range 4-822 miles). Average round trip travel time saved was 201min (range 20-564min). There were no unplanned re-admissions and no complications. Five connectivity issues were reported, none of which prevented completion of the visit. Interactive Home Telehealth is a safe and feasible modality for delivering follow-up care to burn patients. Burn care providers benefit from the potential to improve outpatient clinic utilization. Patients benefit from improved access to multiple members of their specialized burn care team, as well as cost-reductions for patient travel expenses. Future studies are needed to ensure patient and provider satisfaction and to further validate the significance, cost-effectiveness and safety. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Alaska's Changing Fire Regime - Implications for the Vulnerability of Its Boreal Forests

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kasischke, E. S.; Hoy, E. E.; Verbyla, D. L.; Rupp, T. S.; Duffy, P. A.; McGuire, A. D.; Murphy, K. A.; Jandt, R.; Barnes, J. L.; Calef, M.;

Alaska’s changing fire regime - Implications for the vulnerability of its boreal forests

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kasischke, Eric S.; Verbyla, David L.; Rupp, T. Scott; McGuire, A. David; Murphy, Karen A.; Jandt, R.; Barnes, Jennifer L.; Hoy, E.; Duffy, Paul A.; Calef, Monika; Turetsky, Merritt R.

2010-01-01

A synthesis was carried out to examine Alaska’s boreal forest fire regime. During the 2000s, an average of 767 000 ha·year–1 burned, 50% higher than in any previous decade since the 1940s. Over the past 60 years, there was a decrease in the number of lightning-ignited fires, an increase in extreme lightning-ignited fire events, an increase in human-ignited fires, and a decrease in the number of extreme human-ignited fire events. The fraction of area burned from human-ignited fires fell from 26% for the 1950s and 1960s to 5% for the 1990s and 2000s, a result from the change in fire policy that gave the highest suppression priorities to fire events that occurred near human settlements. The amount of area burned during late-season fires increased over the past two decades. Deeper burning of surface organic layers in black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) forests occurred during late-growing-season fires and on more well-drained sites. These trends all point to black spruce forests becoming increasingly vulnerable to the combined changes of key characteristics of Alaska’s fire regime, except on poorly drained sites, which are resistant to deep burning. The implications of these fire regime changes to the vulnerability and resilience of Alaska’s boreal forests and land and fire management are discussed.

Network analysis of wildfire transmission and implications for risk governance

PubMed Central

Ager, Alan A.; Evers, Cody R.; Day, Michelle A.; Preisler, Haiganoush K.; Barros, Ana M. G.; Nielsen-Pincus, Max

2017-01-01

We characterized wildfire transmission and exposure within a matrix of large land tenures (federal, state, and private) surrounding 56 communities within a 3.3 million ha fire prone region of central Oregon US. Wildfire simulation and network analysis were used to quantify the exchange of fire among land tenures and communities and analyze the relative contributions of human versus natural ignitions to wildfire exposure. Among the land tenures examined, the area burned by incoming fires averaged 57% of the total burned area. Community exposure from incoming fires ignited on surrounding land tenures accounted for 67% of the total area burned. The number of land tenures contributing wildfire to individual communities and surrounding wildland urban interface (WUI) varied from 3 to 20. Community firesheds, i.e. the area where ignitions can spawn fires that can burn into the WUI, covered 40% of the landscape, and were 5.5 times larger than the combined area of the community core and WUI. For the major land tenures within the study area, the amount of incoming versus outgoing fire was relatively constant, with some exceptions. The study provides a multi-scale characterization of wildfire networks within a large, mixed tenure and fire prone landscape, and illustrates the connectivity of risk between communities and the surrounding wildlands. We use the findings to discuss how scale mismatches in local wildfire governance result from disconnected planning systems and disparate fire management objectives among the large landowners (federal, state, private) and local communities. Local and regional risk planning processes can adopt our concepts and methods to better define and map the scale of wildfire risk from large fire events and incorporate wildfire network and connectivity concepts into risk assessments. PMID:28257416

Network analysis of wildfire transmission and implications for risk governance.

PubMed

Ager, Alan A; Evers, Cody R; Day, Michelle A; Preisler, Haiganoush K; Barros, Ana M G; Nielsen-Pincus, Max

2017-01-01

We characterized wildfire transmission and exposure within a matrix of large land tenures (federal, state, and private) surrounding 56 communities within a 3.3 million ha fire prone region of central Oregon US. Wildfire simulation and network analysis were used to quantify the exchange of fire among land tenures and communities and analyze the relative contributions of human versus natural ignitions to wildfire exposure. Among the land tenures examined, the area burned by incoming fires averaged 57% of the total burned area. Community exposure from incoming fires ignited on surrounding land tenures accounted for 67% of the total area burned. The number of land tenures contributing wildfire to individual communities and surrounding wildland urban interface (WUI) varied from 3 to 20. Community firesheds, i.e. the area where ignitions can spawn fires that can burn into the WUI, covered 40% of the landscape, and were 5.5 times larger than the combined area of the community core and WUI. For the major land tenures within the study area, the amount of incoming versus outgoing fire was relatively constant, with some exceptions. The study provides a multi-scale characterization of wildfire networks within a large, mixed tenure and fire prone landscape, and illustrates the connectivity of risk between communities and the surrounding wildlands. We use the findings to discuss how scale mismatches in local wildfire governance result from disconnected planning systems and disparate fire management objectives among the large landowners (federal, state, private) and local communities. Local and regional risk planning processes can adopt our concepts and methods to better define and map the scale of wildfire risk from large fire events and incorporate wildfire network and connectivity concepts into risk assessments.

Evaluation of wildfire patterns at the wildland-urban fringe across the continental U.S.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kinoshita, A. M.; Hogue, T. S.

2014-12-01

Wildfires threaten ecosystems and urban development across the United States, posing significant implications for land management and natural processes such as watershed hydrology. This study investigates the spatial association between large wildfires and urbanization. Several geospatial dataset are combined to map wildfires (Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity for 1984 to 2012) and housing density (SILVIS Lab Spatial Analysis for Conservation and Sustainability decadal housing density for 1940 to 2030) relative to natural wildlands across the contiguous U.S. Several buffers (i.e. 25 km) are developed around wildlands (Protected Areas Database of the United States) to quantify the change and relationship in spatial fire and housing density patterns. Since 1984, wildfire behavior is cyclical and follows general climatology, where warmer years have more and larger fires. Ignition locations also follow transportation corridors and development which provide easy accessibility to wildlands. In California, both fire frequency and total acres burned exhibit increasing trends (statistically significant at 95%). The 1980s average wildfire frequency and total acres burned was 3100 fires and approximately 1200 km2, respectively. These numbers have increased to 2200 fires and over 1500 km2 in the 2010 to 2012 period alone. Initial observations also show that decennial population and area burned for four major Californian counties (Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Shasta) show strong correlation between the last decade of burned area, urban-fringe proximity, and urbanization trends. Improving our understanding of human induced wildfire regimes provides key information on urban fringe communities most vulnerable to the wildfire risks and can help inform regional development planning.

Filter-based measurement of light absorption by brown carbon in PM2.5 in a megacity in South China.

PubMed

Li, Sheng; Zhu, Ming; Yang, Weiqiang; Tang, Mingjin; Huang, Xueliang; Yu, Yuegang; Fang, Hua; Yu, Xu; Yu, Qingqing; Fu, Xiaoxin; Song, Wei; Zhang, Yanli; Bi, Xinhui; Wang, Xinming

2018-08-15

Carbonaceous aerosols represent an important nexus between air pollution and climate change. Here we collected filter-based PM 2.5 samples during summer and autumn in 2015 at one urban and two rural sites in Guangzhou, a megacity in southern China, and got the light absorption by black carbon (BC) and brown carbon (BrC) resolved with a DRI Model 2015 multi-wavelength thermal/optical carbon analyzer apart from determining the organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) contents. On average BrC contributed 12-15% of the measured absorption at 405nm (LA 405 ) during summer and 15-19% during autumn with significant increase in the LA 405 by BrC at the rural sites. Carbonaceous aerosols, identified as total carbon (TC), yielded average mass absorption efficiency at 405nm (MAE 405 ) that were approximately 45% higher in autumn than in summer, an 83% increase was noted in the average MAE 405 for OC, compared with an increase of only 14% in the average MAE 405 for EC. The LA 405 by BrC showed a good correlation (p<0.001) with the ratios of secondary OC to PM 2.5 in summer. However, this correlation was poor (p>0.1) in autumn, implying greater secondary formation of BrC in summer. The correlations between levoglucosan (a marker of biomass burning) and the LA 405 by BrC were significant during autumn but insignificant during summer, suggesting that the observed increase in the LA 405 by BrC during autumn in rural areas was largely related to biomass burning. The measurements of light absorption at 550nm presented in this study indicated that the use of the IMPROVE algorithm with an MAE value of 10m 2 /g for EC to approximate light absorption may be appropriate in areas not strongly affected by fossil fuel combustion; however, this practice would underestimate the absorption of light by PM 2.5 in areas heavily affected by vehicle exhausts and coal burning. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessing risks to adults and preschool children posed by PM2.5-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during a biomass burning episode in Northern Thailand.

PubMed

Pongpiachan, Siwatt; Tipmanee, Danai; Khumsup, Chukkapong; Kittikoon, Itthipon; Hirunyatrakul, Phoosak

2015-03-01

To investigate the potential cancer risk resulting from biomass burning, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) bound to fine particles (PM2.5) were assessed in nine administrative northern provinces (NNP) of Thailand, before (N-I) and after (N-II) a haze episode. The average values of Σ 3,4-ring PAHs and B[a] P Equivalent concentrations in world urban cities were significantly (p<0.05) much higher than those in samples collected from northern provinces during both sampling periods. Application of diagnostic binary ratios of PAHs underlined the predominant contribution of vehicular exhaust to PM2.5-bound PAH levels in NNP areas, even in the middle of the agricultural waste burning period. The proximity of N-I and N-II values in three-dimensional (3D) principal component analysis (PCA) plots also supports this conclusion. Although the excess cancer risk in NNP areas is much lower than those of other urban area and industrialized cities, there are nevertheless some concerns relating to adverse health impacts on preschool children due to non-dietary exposure to PAHs in home environments. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of biomass burning across North West Europe and its impact on air quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cordell, R. L.; Mazet, M.; Dechoux, C.; Hama, S. M. L.; Staelens, J.; Hofman, J.; Stroobants, C.; Roekens, E.; Kos, G. P. A.; Weijers, E. P.; Frumau, K. F. A.; Panteliadis, P.; Delaunay, T.; Wyche, K. P.; Monks, P. S.

2016-09-01

Atmospheric particulate pollution is a significant problem across the EU and there is concern that there may be an increasing contribution from biomass burning, driven by rising fuel prices and an increased interest in the use of renewable energy sources. This study was carried out to assess current levels of biomass burning and the contribution to total PM10 across five sites in North-West Europe; an area which is frequently affected by poor air quality. Biomass burning was quantified by the determination of levoglucosan concentrations from PM10 aerosol filters collected over a 14 month period in 2013/2014 and continued for a further 12 months at the UK site in Leicester. Levoglucosan levels indicated a distinct period of increased biomass combustion between November and March. Within this period monthly average concentrations ranged between 23 ± 9.7 and 283 ± 163 ng/m3, with Lille showing consistently higher levels than the sites in Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK. The estimated contribution to PM10 was, as expected, highest in the winter season where the season average percentage contribution was lowest in Wijk aan Zee at 2.7 ± 1.4% and again highest in Lille at 11.6 ± 3.8%, with a PM10 mass concentration from biomass that ranged from 0.56 μg/m3 in Leicester to 2.08 μg/m3 in Lille. Overall there was poor correlation between the levoglucosan concentrations measured at the different sites indicating that normally biomass burning would only affect atmospheric particulate pollution in the local area; however, there was evidence that extreme burning events such as the Easter fires traditionally held in parts of North-West Europe can have far wider ranging effects on air quality. Network validation measurements were also taken using a mobile monitoring station which visited the fixed sites to carry out concurrent collections of aerosol filters; the result of which demonstrated the reliability of both PM10 and levoglucosan measurements.

Tropical tropospheric ozone: Implications for dynamics and biomass burning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandra, S.; Ziemke, J. R.; Bhartia, P. K.; Martin, R. V.

2002-07-01

This paper studies the significance of large-scale transport and pyrogenic (i.e., biomass burning) emissions in the production of tropospheric ozone in the tropics. Using aerosol index (AI) and tropospheric column ozone (TCO) time series from 1979 to 2000 derived from the Nimbus-7 and Earth Probe Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer measurements, our study shows significant differences in the seasonal and spatial characteristics of pyrogenic emissions north and south of the equator in the African region and Brazil in South America. Notwithstanding these differences, most of the observed seasonal characteristics are well simulated by the GEOS-CHEM global model of tropospheric chemistry. The only exception is the northern African region where modeled and observed TCO differ significantly. In the Indonesian region the most significant increase in TCO occurred during September-December 1997, following large-scale forest and savanna fires associated with the El Niño induced dry condition. The increase in TCO extended over most of the western Pacific well outside the burning region and was accompanied by a decrease in the eastern Pacific resembling a west-to-east dipole about the dateline. These features are well simulated in the GEOS-CHEM model which suggests that both the biomass burning and changes in meteorological conditions during the El Niño period contributed almost equally to the observed increase in TCO in the Indonesian region. During 1997 the net increase in TCO integrated over the tropical region between 15°N and 15°S was about 6-8 Tg (1 Tg = 1012 g) over the mean climatological value of about 77 Tg. The GEOS-CHEM model suggests that most of this increase may have been caused by biomass burning in the Indonesian region since dynamical components of El Niño induced changes in TCO tend to cancel out in the area-averaged data. In addition to biomass burning, the interannual variability in the area-averaged column ozone in the tropics is influenced by a number of factors including the quasi-biennial oscillation and solar cycle.

Emissions from Forest Fires near Mexico City

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yokelson, R.; Urbanski, S.; Atlas, E.; Toohey, D.; Alvarado, E.; Crounse, J.; Wennberg, P.; Fisher, M.; Wold, C.; Campos, T.;

From Cholera to Burns: A Role for Oral Rehydration Therapy

PubMed Central

Green, W.B.; Asuku, M.E.; Feldman, M.; Makam, R.; Noppenberger, D.; Price, L.A.; Prosciak, M.; van Loon, I.N.

2011-01-01

According to the practice guidelines of the American Burn Association on burn shock resuscitation, intravenous (IV) fluid therapy is the standard of care for the replacement of fluid and electrolyte losses in burn injury of ≥20% of the total body surface area. However, in mass burn casualties, IV fluid resuscitation may be delayed or unavailable. Oral rehydration therapy (ORT), which has been shown to be highly effective in the treatment of dehydration in epidemics of cholera, could be an alternate way to replace fluid losses in burns. A prospective case series of three patients was carried out as an initial step to establish whether oral Ceralyte®90 could replace fluid losses requiring IV fluid therapy in thermal injury. The requirement of the continuing IV fluid therapy was reduced by an average of 58% in the first 24 hours after the injury (range 37-78%). ORT may be a feasible alternative to IV fluid therapy in the resuscitation of burns. It could also potentially save many lives in mass casualty situations or in resource-poor settings where IV fluid therapy is not immediately available. Further studies are needed to assess the efficacy of this treatment and to determine whether the present formulations of ORT for cholera need modification. PMID:22283039

Prescribed burning weather in Minnesota.

Treesearch

Rodney W. Sando

1969-01-01

Describes the weather patterns in northern Minnesota as related to prescribed burning. The prevailing wind direction, average wind speed, most persistent wind direction, and average Buildup Index are considered in making recommendations.

Sources of variation in nitrous oxide flux from Amazonian ecosystems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Matson, P. A.; Vitousek, P. M.; Livingston, G. P.; Swanberg, N. A.

1990-01-01

Nitrous oxide flux and soil nutrient characteristics were measured in three undisturbed tropical ecosystem types, in cleared and burned areas, and in areas of forest converted to pasture near Manaus, Brazil. Nitrogen mineralization, nitrification, and soil nitrogen pools were high in upland forests on clay soils (terra firme) and low in the sand-type and floodplain (varzea) soils. Nitrous oxide flux followed the same pattern, with an average flux of 1.9 ng/sq cm per hr in terra firme, 0.3 in sand types, and 0.1 in varzea. Flux from recently cleared and burned areas did not differ from terra firme forest, but pastures had significantly elevated fluxes (10.3 ng/sq cm per hr). These data were combined with satellite data-based areal estimates of land cover classes to estimate total N2O-N flux from the intensive study area used by the Amazon Boundary Layer Experiment. Total N2O-N flux from the area was 22.9 kg/h; pastures covered 11 percent of the area but accounted for over 40 percent of the flux.

Influence of fire on black-tailed prairie dog colony expansion in shortgrass steppe

USGS Publications Warehouse

Augustine, D.J.; Cully, J.F.; Johnson, T.L.

2007-01-01

Factors influencing the distribution and abundance of black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) colonies are of interest to rangeland managers because of the significant influence prairie dogs can exert on both livestock and biodiversity. We examined the influence of 4 prescribed burns and one wildfire on the rate and direction of prairie dog colony expansion in shortgrass steppe of southeastern Colorado. Our study was conducted during 2 years with below-average precipitation, when prairie dog colonies were expanding throughout the study area. Under these dry conditions, the rate of black-tailed prairie dog colony expansion into burned grassland (X?? = 2.6 ha??100-m perimeter-1??y-1; range = 0.8-5.9 ha??100-m perimeter-1??y-1; N = 5 colonies) was marginally greater than the expansion rate into unburned grassland (X?? =1.3 ha??100-m perimeter-1??y-1; range = 0.2-4.9 ha??100-m perimeter-1??y-1; N = 23 colonies; P = 0.066). For 3 colonies that were burned on only a portion of their perimeter, we documented consistently high rates of expansion into the adjacent burned grassland (38%-42% of available burned habitat colonized) but variable expansion rates into the adjacent unburned grassland (2%-39% of available unburned habitat colonized). While our results provide evidence that burning can increase colony expansion rate even under conditions of low vegetative structure, this effect was minor at the scale of the overall colony complex because some unburned colonies were also able to expand at high rates. This result highlights the need to evaluate effects of fire on colony expansion during above-average rainfall years, when expansion into unburned grassland may be considerably lower.

Lessons from the fires of 2000: Post-fire heterogeneity in ponderosa pine forests

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kotliar, Natasha B.; Haire, Sandra L.; Key, Carl H.; Omni, Phillip N.; Joyce, Linda A.

2003-01-01

We evaluate burn-severity patterns for six burns that occurred in the southern Rocky Mountains and the Colorado Plateau in 2000. We compare the results of two data sources: Burned Area Rehabilitations Teams (BAER) and a spatial burnseverity model derived from satellite imagery (the Normalized Burn Ratio; NBR). BAER maps tended to overestimate area of severe burns and underestimate area of moderate-severity burns relative to NBR maps. Low elevation and more southern ponderosa pine burns were predominantly understory burns, whereas burns at higher elevations and farther north had a greater component of high-severity burns. Thus, much, if not most, of the area covered by these burns appears to be consistent with historic burns and contributes to healthy functioning ecosystems.

Clinical application and viability of cryopreserved cadaveric skin allografts in severe burn: a retrospective analysis.

PubMed

Cleland, Heather; Wasiak, Jason; Dobson, Hannah; Paul, Michelle; Pratt, George; Paul, Eldho; Herson, Marisa; Akbarzadeh, Shiva

2014-02-01

Cadaveric cutaneous allografts are used in burns surgery both as a temporary bio-dressing and occasionally as definitive management of partial thickness burns. Nonetheless, limitations in the understanding of the biology of these grafts have meant that their role in burns surgery continues to be controversial. A review of all patients suffering 20% or greater total body surface area (TBSA) burns over an eight year period that received cadaveric allografts were identified. To investigate whether tissue viability plays a role in engraftment success, five samples of cryopreserved cadaveric cutaneous allograft processed at the Donor Tissue Bank of Victoria (DTBV) were submitted to our laboratory for viability analysis using two methods of Trypan Blue Exclusion and tetrazolium salt (MTT) assays. During the study period, 36 patients received cadaveric allograft at our institution. The average total burn surface area (TBSA) for this group of patients was 40% and all patients received cadaveric skin as a temporizing measure prior to definitive grafting. Cadaveric allograft was used in complicated cases such as wound contamination, where synthetic dressings had failed. Viability tests showed fewer than 30% viability in processed allografts when compared to fresh skin following the thawing process. However, the skin structure in the frozen allografts was histologically well preserved. Cryopreserved cutaneous cadaveric allograft has a positive and definite role as an adjunct to conventional dressing and grafting where available, particularly in patients with large TBSA burns. The low viability of cryopreserved specimens processed at DTBV suggests that cell viability in cadaveric allograft may not be essential for its clinical function as a wound dressing or even as permanent dermal substitute. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Linking runoff response to burn severity after a wildfire

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moody, J.A.; Martin, D.A.; Haire, S.L.; Kinner, D.A.

2008-01-01

Extreme floods often follow wildfire in mountainous watersheds. However, a quantitative relation between the runoff response and burn severity at the watershed scale has not been established. Runoff response was measured as the runoff coefficient C, which is equal to the peak discharge per unit drainage area divided by the average maximum 30 min rainfall intensity during each rain storm. The magnitude of the bum severity was expressed as the change in the normalized burn ratio. A new burn severity variable, hydraulic functional connectivity ?? was developed and incorporates both the magnitude of the burn severity and the spatial sequence of the bum severity along hillslope flow paths. The runoff response and the burn severity were measured in seven subwatersheds (0.24 to 0.85 km2) in the upper part of Rendija Canyon burned by the 2000 Cerro Grande Fire Dear Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA. A rainfall-discharge relation was determined for four of the subwatersheds with nearly the same bum severity. The peak discharge per unit drainage area Qupeak was a linear function of the maximum 30 min rainfall intensity I30. This function predicted a rainfall intensity threshold of 8.5 mm h-1 below which no runoff was generated. The runoff coefficient C = Qupeak/I30 was a linear function of the mean hydraulic functional connectivity of the subwatersheds. Moreover, the variability of the mean hydraulic functional connectivity was related to the variability of the mean runoff coefficient, and this relation provides physical insight into why the runoff response from the same subwatershed can vary for different rainstorms with the same rainfall intensity. Published in 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Operative management of acute pavement burns: a case series.

PubMed

Silver, A G; Zamboni, W A; Baynosa, R C

2014-11-01

Acute burns suffered from contact with environmentally heated roadways and walkways are a rare entity. The aim of this report is to assess the information gained from the treatment of a series of patients. A retrospective review of a consecutive series of cases, where operative treatment was necessary, that occurred during July 2010 in southern Arizona. Seven patients were included, with an average total body surface area burn of 10.2%. Direct fascial excision and tangential excision were carried out on three and four patients, respectively. Although tangential excision was carried out to normal endpoints, there was commonly a need for repetitive debridement. The total hospital costs were over $4,400,000 (£2,730,000). Burns suffered from contact with roadways/walkways are often deeper than suggested by their appearance. Direct fascial excision minimises the number of debridement sessions. We hypothesise that the failure to offload pressure on these wounds may be a causative factor in their observed deepening.

A population-based study of the epidemiology of acute adult burns in Ecuador from 2005 to 2014.

PubMed

Ortiz-Prado, Esteban; Armijos, Luciana; Iturralde, Ana Lucia

2015-05-01

To describe the demographic, risk factor, occupational, and morbidity and mortality characteristics of burns in adults in Ecuador using national data. These data are from the only specialized public hospital in Ecuador that has a 12-bed burn unit. The National Institute of Statistics and Census provided data from the burn unit of the Hospital Eugenio Espejo, in Quito. Three different datasets pertaining to burn deaths, burn unit inpatient admissions, and hospital discharge were analyzed. Patients who died or were discharged before entering the burn unit were not included in this analysis. During the 10-year period, 1106 patients were admitted to the burn unit, men represent 69.37% with 768 cases and women represent 30.62% with 337 patients; the number of patients per year was on average 123 cases; the average age was 33-34 years old, with a range between 16 and 96 years old. Heat (thermal) burns represent 65.78% followed by electrical with 30.53%, friction burns with 2.06%, and chemical burns with 1.62%. Domestic methane gas was the most frequent agent causing thermal burns and the most affected occupational groups are construction workers and people who stay at home. The overall mortality is 10.2% and the average length of stay was 23 days. Thermal burns are more frequent than any other cause of burns. Electrical burns are more frequent in Ecuador than anywhere else according to our research, meaning that control and prevention of workplace safety, urban planning, and home safety are scarce. The most affected groups are those dedicated to labor work. Finally, mortality in hospitalized patient is higher when compared with developed countries. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Ultrafine and respirable particle exposure during vehicle fire suppression

PubMed Central

Fent, Kenneth W.

2015-01-01

Vehicle fires are a common occurrence, yet few studies have reported exposures associated with burning vehicles. This article presents an assessment of firefighters’ potential for ultrafine and respirable particle exposure during vehicle fire suppression training. Fires were initiated within the engine compartment and passenger cabins of three salvaged vehicles, with subsequent water suppression by fire crews. Firefighter exposures were monitored with an array of direct reading particle and air quality instruments. A flexible metallic duct and blower drew contaminants to the instrument array, positioned at a safe distance from the burning vehicles, with the duct inlet positioned at the nozzle operator’s shoulder. The instruments measured the particle number, active surface area, respirable particle mass, photoelectric response, aerodynamic particle size distributions, and air quality parameters. Although vehicle fires were suppressed quickly (<10 minutes), firefighters may be exposed to short duration, high particle concentration episodes during fire suppression, which are orders of magnitude greater than the ambient background concentration. A maximum transient particle concentration of 1.21 × 107 particles per cm3, 170 mg m−3 respirable particle mass, 4700 μm2 cm−3 active surface area and 1400 (arbitrary units) in photoelectric response were attained throughout the series of six fires. Expressed as fifteen minute time-weighted averages, engine compartment fires averaged 5.4 × 104 particles per cm3, 0.36 mg m−3 respirable particle mass, 92 μm2 cm−3 active particle surface area and 29 (arbitrary units) in photoelectric response. Similarly, passenger cabin fires averaged 2.04 × 105 particles per cm3, 2.7 mg m−3 respirable particle mass, 320 μm2 cm−3 active particle surface area, and 34 (arbitrary units) in photoelectric response. Passenger cabin fires were a greater potential source of exposure than engine compartment fires. The wind direction and the relative position of the fire crew to the stationary burning vehicle played a primary role in fire crews’ potential for exposure. We recommend that firefighters wear self-contained breathing apparatus during all phases of the vehicle fire response to significantly reduce their potential for particulate, vapor, and gaseous exposures. PMID:26308547

Ultrafine and respirable particle exposure during vehicle fire suppression.

PubMed

Evans, Douglas E; Fent, Kenneth W

2015-10-01

Vehicle fires are a common occurrence, yet few studies have reported exposures associated with burning vehicles. This article presents an assessment of firefighters' potential for ultrafine and respirable particle exposure during vehicle fire suppression training. Fires were initiated within the engine compartment and passenger cabins of three salvaged vehicles, with subsequent water suppression by fire crews. Firefighter exposures were monitored with an array of direct reading particle and air quality instruments. A flexible metallic duct and blower drew contaminants to the instrument array, positioned at a safe distance from the burning vehicles, with the duct inlet positioned at the nozzle operator's shoulder. The instruments measured the particle number, active surface area, respirable particle mass, photoelectric response, aerodynamic particle size distributions, and air quality parameters. Although vehicle fires were suppressed quickly (<10 minutes), firefighters may be exposed to short duration, high particle concentration episodes during fire suppression, which are orders of magnitude greater than the ambient background concentration. A maximum transient particle concentration of 1.21 × 10(7) particles per cm(3), 170 mg m(-3) respirable particle mass, 4700 μm(2) cm(-3) active surface area and 1400 (arbitrary units) in photoelectric response were attained throughout the series of six fires. Expressed as fifteen minute time-weighted averages, engine compartment fires averaged 5.4 × 10(4) particles per cm(3), 0.36 mg m(-3) respirable particle mass, 92 μm(2) cm(-3) active particle surface area and 29 (arbitrary units) in photoelectric response. Similarly, passenger cabin fires averaged 2.04 × 10(5) particles per cm(3), 2.7 mg m(-3) respirable particle mass, 320 μm(2) cm(-3) active particle surface area, and 34 (arbitrary units) in photoelectric response. Passenger cabin fires were a greater potential source of exposure than engine compartment fires. The wind direction and the relative position of the fire crew to the stationary burning vehicle played a primary role in fire crews' potential for exposure. We recommend that firefighters wear self-contained breathing apparatus during all phases of the vehicle fire response to significantly reduce their potential for particulate, vapor, and gaseous exposures.

Split thickness skin graft meshing ratio indications and common practices.

PubMed

Pripotnev, Stahs; Papp, Anthony

2017-12-01

Split thickness skin grafting is a commonly used technique in burn surgery for resurfacing wounds that are unlikely to heal without scarring. Meshing and expanding skin grafts allow for reconstruction of larger wounds with smaller donor sites. A retrospective chart review was performed of 210 patients with burns equal to or greater than 20% total body surface area admitted to Vancouver General Hospital between 1998 and 2014. Charts were reviewed to collect data on patient and burn demographics. A survey was sent to Canadian plastic surgeons registered with the CSPS to collect data on common practices in burn surgery nationwide. The patients that received 3:1 or higher meshed grafts were all flame burns, had a significantly higher average TBSA (51.89%±14.87 vs 29.13%±9.48, p=0.001), and a significantly higher full thickness burn TBSA (25.76%±21.97 vs 6.20%±9.04, p=0.001). We found no significant differences in gender, age, or burn location between the less than 2:1 and 3:1 or greater meshing ratio groups. The survey of plastic surgeons performing burn surgery in Canada revealed that 60% of responders had experience with skin grafts using meshing ratios of 3:1 or higher. Of these surgeons, 100% felt that burn size and 36% felt that burn location would influence their decision to use a 3:1 or higher meshing ratio. A larger burn size is the major influencing factor for the use of higher skin graft meshing ratios by Canadian burn surgeons. Furthermore, burn location determines the choice of donor and recipient sites in these cases. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

The use of botulinum toxin in the management of burns itching: preliminary results.

PubMed

Akhtar, N; Brooks, P

2012-12-01

Itching is a common and well recognised problem following burns. As the underlying pathways involved in burns itch have been identified, different pharmacological agents have been introduced to improve the effectiveness of management regimes. We present preliminary data from an on-going study in the use of botulinum toxin as a novel agent in the treatment of this problem. Patients with recalcitrant itching secondary to burns treated with Botox(©) were identified. Data pertaining to burn size, depth and management were recorded. The delay in the onset of the itch, its severity and the speed and duration of any improvement in symptoms were also noted. 10 patients were identified. 1 patient was excluded. Average follow-up was 11.3 months. All patients had deep partial thickness to full thickness burns. Eight patients underwent grafting. The average burn was 24% TBSA. 87.5% of patients rated their burns itch as being severe (>7 on the pain scale). Following the administration of Botox(©) this fell to 0 out of 10 at 4 weeks. The average duration of the symptom free period was nine months (range 3-18 months). Botox(©) can successfully be used to treat burns itch that are resistant to conventional therapies. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Interpretation of stable isotope, denitrification, and groundwater age data for samples collected from Sandia National Laboratories /New Mexico (SNL/NM) Burn Site Groundwater Area of Concern

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Madrid, V.; Singleton, M. J.; Visser, A.

This report combines and summarizes results for two groundwater-sampling events (October 2012 and October/November 2015) from the Sandia National Laboratories/New Mexico (SNL/NM) Burn Site Groundwater (BSG) Area of Concern (AOC) located in the Lurance Canyon Arroyo southeast of Albuquerque, NM in the Manzanita Mountains. The first phase of groundwater sampling occurred in October 2012 including samples from 19 wells at three separate sites that were analyzed by the Environmental Radiochemistry Laboratory at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as part of a nitrate Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA) evaluation. The three sites (BSG, Technical Area-V, and Tijeras Arroyo) are shown on the regionalmore » hydrogeologic map and described in the Sandia Annual Groundwater Monitoring Report. The first phase of groundwater sampling included six monitoring wells at the Burn Site, eight monitoring wells at Technical Area-V, and five monitoring wells at Tijeras Arroyo. Each groundwater sample was analyzed using the two specialized analytical methods, age-dating and denitrification suites. In September 2015, a second phase of groundwater sampling took place at the Burn Site including 10 wells sampled and analyzed by the same two analytical suites. Five of the six wells sampled in 2012 were resampled in 2015. This report summarizes results from two sampling events in order to evaluate evidence for in situ denitrification, the average age of the groundwater, and the extent of recent recharge of the bedrock fracture system beneath the BSG AOC.« less

Investigating the Impacts of Surface Temperature Anomalies due to Burned Area Albedo in Northern sub-Saharan Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gabbert, T.; Matsui, T.; Capehart, W. J.; Ichoku, C. M.; Gatebe, C. K.

2015-12-01

The northern Sub-Saharan African region (NSSA) is an area of intense focus due to periodic severe droughts that have dire consequences on the growing population, which relies mostly on rain fed agriculture for its food supply. This region's weather and hydrologic cycle are very complex and are dependent on the West African Monsoon. Different regional processes affect the West African Monsoon cycle and variability. One of the areas of current investigation is the water cycle response to the variability of land surface characteristics. Land surface characteristics are often altered in NSSA due to agricultural practices, grazing, and the fires that occur during the dry season. To better understand the effects of biomass burning on the hydrologic cycle of the sub-Saharan environment, an interdisciplinary team sponsored by NASA is analyzing potential feedback mechanisms due to the fires. As part of this research, this study focuses on the effects of land surface changes, particularly albedo and skin temperature, that are influenced by biomass burning. Surface temperature anomalies can influence the initiation of convective rainfall and surface albedo is linked to the absorption of solar radiation. To capture the effects of fire perturbations on the land surface, NASA's Unified Weather and Research Forecasting (NU-WRF) model coupled with NASA's Land Information System (LIS) is being used to simulate burned area surface albedo inducing surface temperature anomalies and other potential effects to environmental processes. Preliminary sensitivity results suggest an altered surface radiation budget, regional warming of the surface temperature, slight increase in average rainfall, and a change in precipitation locations.

PCDD/Fs in air and soil around an e-waste dismantling area with open burning of insulated wires in south China.

PubMed

Ren, M; Tang, Y H; Peng, P A; Cai, Y

2015-05-01

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) in ambient air and farmland soil sampled in 2006 around an e-waste dismantling area with open burning of insulated wires in Longtang in south China were investigated. The total toxic equivalent concentrations of PCDD/Fs were 3.2-31.7 pg/m(3) in air and 5.8 12.4 ng/kg in farmland soil at an e-waste site and 0.063-0.091 pg/m(3) in air at a background site. PCDD/Fs in the air at the e-waste site were characterized with dominant 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDF and OCDF and higher concentrations of furans than dioxins, suggesting open burning of insulated wires was likely to be the main source of PCDD/Fs. Compared with the results in this study, the level of PCDD/F tended to lessen with the average TEQ concentration decreasing by 41 % and the pattern changed to be dominated by OCDD in the air of Longtang in 2010 when insulated wires were openly burned in only a small scale. Our results indicate that the lower chlorinated congeners with higher vapor pressures have enhanced atmospheric transport tendencies.

Operating efficiency of an emergency Burns theatre: An eight month analysis.

PubMed

Mohan, Arvind; Lutterodt, Christopher; Leon-Villapalos, Jorge

2017-11-01

The efficient use of operating theatres is important to insure optimum cost-benefit for the hospital. We used the emergency Burns theatre as a model to assess theatre efficiency at our institution. Data was collected retrospectively on every operation performed in the Burns theatre between 01/04/15 and 30/11/15. Each component of the operating theatre process was considered and integrated to calculate values for surgical/anaesthetic time, changeover time and ultimately theatre efficiency. A total of 426 operations were carried out over 887h of allocated theatre time (ATT). Actual operating time represented 67.7%, anaesthetic time 8.8% and changeover time 14.2% of ATT. The average changeover time between patients was 30.1min. Lists started on average 27.7min late each day. There were a total of 5.8h of overruns and 9.6h of no useful activity. Operating theatre efficiency was 69.3% for the 8 month period. Our study highlights areas where theatre efficiency can be improved. We suggest various strategies to improve this that may be applied universally. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Semi-arid grassland bird responses to patch-burn grazing and drought

USGS Publications Warehouse

Skagen, Susan K.; Augustine, David J.; Derner, Justin D.

2018-01-01

As grassland birds of central North America experience steep population declines with changes in land use, management of remaining tracts becomes increasingly important for population viability. The integrated use of fire and grazing may enhance vegetation heterogeneity and diversity in breeding birds, but the subsequent effects on reproduction are unknown. We examined the influence of patch-burn grazing management in shortgrass steppe in eastern Colorado on habitat use and reproductive success of 3 grassland bird species, horned lark (Eremophila alpestris), lark bunting (Calamospiza melanocorys), and McCown’s longspur (Rhynchophanes mccownii), at several spatial scales during 2011 and 2012. Although no simple direct relationship to patch-burn grazing treatment existed, habitat selection depended on precipitation- and management-induced vegetation conditions and spatial scale. All species selected taller-than-expected vegetation at the nest site, whereas at the territory scale, horned larks and McCown’s longspurs selected areas with low vegetation height and sparse cover of tall plants (taller than the dominant shortgrasses). Buntings nested primarily in unburned grassland under average rainfall. Larks and longspurs shifted activity from patch burns during average precipitation (2011) to unburned pastures during drought (2012). Daily survival rate (DSR) of nests varied with time in season, species, weather, and vegetation structure. Daily survival rate of McCown’s longspur nests did not vary with foliar cover of relatively tall vegetation at the nest under average precipitation but declined with increasing cover during drought. At the 200-m scale, increasing cover of shortgrasses, rather than taller plant species, improved DSR of larks and longspurs. These birds experience tradeoffs in the selection of habitat at different spatial scales: tall structure at nests may reduce visual detection by predators and provide protection from sun, wind, and rain, yet taller structure surrounding territories may host nest predators. Patch-burn grazing management in combination with other strategies that retain taller-structured vegetation may help sustain a diversity of breeding habitats for shortgrass birds under varying weather conditions.

Water resources planning for a river basin with recurrent wildfires.

PubMed

Santos, R M B; Sanches Fernandes, L F; Pereira, M G; Cortes, R M V; Pacheco, F A L

2015-09-01

Situated in the north of Portugal, the Beça River basin is subject to recurrent wildfires, which produce serious consequences on soil erosion and nutrient exports, namely by deteriorating the water quality in the basin. In the present study, the ECO Lab tool embedded in the Mike Hydro Basin software was used for the evaluation of river water quality, in particular the dissolved concentration of phosphorus in the period 1990-2013. The phosphorus concentrations are influenced by the burned area and the river flow discharge, but the hydrologic conditions prevail: in a wet year (2000, 16.3 km(2) of burned area) with an average flow of 16.4 m(3)·s(-1) the maximum phosphorus concentration was as low as 0.02 mg·L(-1), while in a dry year (2005, 24.4 km(2) of burned area) with an average flow of 2 m(3)·s(-1) the maximum concentration was as high as 0.57 mg·L(-1). Phosphorus concentrations in the water bodies exceeded the bounds of good ecological status in 2005 and between 2009 and 2012, water for human consumption in 2009 and water for multiple uses in 2010. The River Covas, a right margin tributary of Beça River, is the most appropriate stream as regards the use of water for human consumption, because it presents the biggest water potential with the best water quality. Since wildfires in the basin result essentially from natural causes and climate change forecasts indicate an increase in their frequency and intensity in the near future, forestry measures are proposed to include as a priority the conversion of stands of maritime pine in mixed stands of conifer and hardwood species. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Satellite versus ground-based estimates of burned area: A comparison between MODIS based burned area and fire agency reports over North America in 2007

Treesearch

Stephane Mangeon; Robert Field; Michael Fromm; Charles McHugh; Apostolos Voulgarakis

2015-01-01

North American wildfire management teams routinely assess burned area on site during firefighting campaigns; meanwhile, satellite observations provide systematic and global burned-area data. Here we compare satellite and ground-based daily burned area for wildfire events for selected large fires across North America in 2007 on daily timescales. In a sample of 26 fires...

Aerosol transport model evaluation of an extreme smoke episode in Southeast Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hyer, Edward J.; Chew, Boon Ning

2010-04-01

Biomass burning is one of many sources of particulate pollution in Southeast Asia, but its irregular spatial and temporal patterns mean that large episodes can cause acute air quality problems in urban areas. Fires in Sumatra and Borneo during September and October 2006 contributed to 24-h mean PM 10 concentrations above 150 μg m -3 at multiple locations in Singapore and Malaysia over several days. We use the FLAMBE model of biomass burning emissions and the NAAPS model of aerosol transport and evolution to simulate these events, and compare our simulation results to 24-h average PM 10 measurements from 54 stations in Singapore and Malaysia. The model simulation, including the FLAMBE smoke source as well as dust, sulfate, and sea salt aerosol species, was able to explain 50% or more of the variance in 24-h PM 10 observations at 29 of 54 sites. Simulation results indicated that biomass burning smoke contributed to nearly all of the extreme PM 10 observations during September-November 2006, but the exact contribution of smoke was unclear because the model severely underestimated total smoke emissions. Using regression analysis at each site, the bias in the smoke aerosol flux was determined to be a factor of between 2.5 and 10, and an overall factor of 3.5 was estimated. After application of this factor, the simulated smoke aerosol concentration averaged 20% of observed PM 10, and 40% of PM 10 for days with 24-h average concentrations above 150 μg m -3. These results suggest that aerosol transport models can aid analysis of severe pollution events in Southeast Asia, but that improvements are needed in models of biomass burning smoke emissions.

Survival after burn in a sub-Saharan burn unit: challenges and opportunities.

PubMed

Tyson, Anna F; Boschini, Laura P; Kiser, Michelle M; Samuel, Jonathan C; Mjuweni, Steven N; Cairns, Bruce A; Charles, Anthony G

2013-12-01

Burns are among the most devastating of all injuries and a major global public health crisis, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. In developed countries, aggressive management of burns continues to lower overall mortality and increase lethal total body surface area (TBSA) at which 50% of patients die (LA50). However, lack of resources and inadequate infrastructure significantly impede such improvements in developing countries. This study is a retrospective analysis of patients admitted to the burn center at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi between June 2011 and December 2012. We collected information including patient age, gender, date of admission, mechanism of injury, time to presentation to hospital, total body surface area (TBSA) burn, comorbidities, date and type of operative procedures, date of discharge, length of hospital stay, and survival. We then performed bivariate analysis and logistic regression to identify characteristics associated with increased mortality. A total of 454 patients were admitted during the study period with a median age of 4 years (range 0.5 months to 79 years). Of these patients, 53% were male. The overall mean TBSA was 18.5%, and average TBSA increased with age--17% for 0-18 year olds, 24% for 19-60 year olds, and 41% for patients over 60 years old. Scald and flame burns were the commonest mechanisms, 52% and 41% respectively, and flame burns were associated with higher mortality. Overall survival in this population was 82%; however survival reduced with increasing age categories (84% in patients 0-18 years old, 79% in patients 19-60 years old, and 36% in patients older than 60 years). TBSA remained the strongest predictor of mortality after adjusting for age and mechanism of burn. The LA50 for this population was 39% TBSA. Our data reiterate that burn in Malawi is largely a pediatric disease and that the high burn mortality and relatively low LA50 have modestly improved over the past two decades. The lack of financial resources, health care personnel, and necessary infrastructure will continue to pose a significant challenge in this developing nation. Efforts to increase burn education and prevention in addition to improvement of burn care delivery are imperative. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Survival after burn in a sub-Saharan burn unit: Challenges and opportunities

PubMed Central

Tyson, Anna F.; Boschini, Laura P.; Kiser, Michelle M.; Samuel, Jonathan C.; Mjuweni, Steven N.; Cairns, Bruce A.; Charles, Anthony G.

2013-01-01

Background Burns are among the most devastating of all injuries and a major global public health crisis, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. In developed countries, aggressive management of burns continues to lower overall mortality and increase lethal total body surface area (TBSA) at which 50% of patients die (LA50). However, lack of resources and inadequate infrastructure significantly impede such improvements in developing countries. Methods This study is a retrospective analysis of patients admitted to the burn center at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi between June 2011 and December 2012. We collected information including patient age, gender, date of admission, mechanism of injury, time to presentation to hospital, total body surface area (TBSA) burn, comorbidities, date and type of operative procedures, date of discharge, length of hospital stay, and survival. We then performed bivariate analysis and logistic regression to identify characteristics associated with increased mortality. Results A total of 454 patients were admitted during the study period with a median age of 4 years (range 0.5 months to 79 years). Of these patients, 53% were male. The overall mean TBSA was 18.5%, and average TBSA increased with age—17% for 0–18 year olds, 24% for 19–60 year olds, and 41% for patients over 60 years old. Scald and flame burns were the commonest mechanisms, 52% and 41% respectively, and flame burns were associated with higher mortality. Overall survival in this population was 82%; however survival reduced with increasing age categories (84% in patients 0–18 years old, 79% in patients 19–60 years old, and 36% in patients older than 60 years). TBSA remained the strongest predictor of mortality after adjusting for age and mechanism of burn. The LA50 for this population was 39% TBSA. Discussion Our data reiterate that burn in Malawi is largely a pediatric disease and that the high burn mortality and relatively low LA50 have modestly improved over the past two decades. The lack of financial resources, health care personnel, and necessary infrastructure will continue to pose a significant challenge in this developing nation. Efforts to increase burn education and prevention in addition to improvement of burn care delivery are imperative. PMID:23768710

[Estimating Biomass Burned Areas from Multispectral Dataset Detected by Multiple-Satellite].

PubMed

Yu, Chao; Chen, Liang-fu; Li, Shen-shen; Tao, Jin-hua; Su, Lin

2015-03-01

Biomass burning makes up an important part of both trace gases and particulate matter emissions, which can efficiently degrade air quality and reduce visibility, destabilize the global climate system at regional to global scales. Burned area is one of the primary parameters necessary to estimate emissions, and considered to be the largest source of error in the emission inventory. Satellite-based fire observations can offer a reliable source of fire occurrence data on regional and global scales, a variety of sensors have been used to detect and map fires in two general approaches: burn scar mapping and active fire detection. However, both of the two approaches have limitations. In this article, we explore the relationship between hotspot data and burned area for the Southeastern United States, where a significant amount of biomass burnings from both prescribed and wild fire took place. MODIS (Moderate resolution imaging spectrometer) data, which has high temporal-resolution, can be used to monitor ground biomass. burning in time and provided hot spot data in this study. However, pixel size of MODIS hot spot can't stand for the real ground burned area. Through analysis of the variation of vegetation band reflectance between pre- and post-burn, we extracted the burned area from Landsat-5 TM (Thematic Mapper) images by using the differential normalized burn ratio (dNBR) which is based on TM band4 (0.84 μm) and TM band 7(2.22 μm) data. We combined MODIS fire hot spot data and Landsat-5 TM burned scars data to build the burned area estimation model, results showed that the linear correlation coefficient is 0.63 and the relationships vary as a function of vegetation cover. Based on the National Land Cover Database (NLCD), we built burned area estimation model over different vegetation cover, and got effective burned area per fire pixel, values for forest, grassland, shrub, cropland and wetland are 0.69, 1.27, 0.86, 0.72 and 0.94 km2 respectively. We validated the burned area estimates by using the ground survey data from National interagency Fire Center (NIFC), our results are more close to the ground survey data than burned area from Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED) and MODIS burned area product (MCD45), which omitted many small prescribed fires. We concluded that our model can provide more accurate burned area parameters for developing fire emission inventory, and be better for estimating emissions from biomass burning.

A mobile app for measuring the surface area of a burn in three dimensions: comparison to the Lund and Browder assessment.

PubMed

Goldberg, Harry; Klaff, Justin; Spjut, Aaron; Milner, Stephen

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to compare the ease and accuracy of measuring the surface area of a severe burn through the use of a mobile software application (BurnMed) to the traditional method of assessment, the Lund and Browder chart. BurnMed calculates the surface area of a burn by enabling the user to first manipulate a three-dimensional model on a mobile device and then by touching the model at the locations representing the patient's injury. The surface area of the burn is calculated in real time. Using a cohort of 18 first-year medical students with no experience in burn care, the surface area of a simulated burn on a mannequin was made using BurnMed and compared to estimates derived from the Lund and Browder chart. At the completion of this study, students were asked to complete a questionnaire designed to assess the ease of use of BurnMed. Users were able to easily and accurately measure the surface area of a simulated burn using the BurnMed application. In addition, there was less variability in surface area measurements with the application compared to the results obtained using the Lund and Browder chart. Users also reported that BurnMed was easier to use than the Lund and Browder chart. A software application, BurnMed, has been developed for a mobile device that easily and accurately determines the surface area of a burn. This system uses a three-dimensional model that can be rotated, enlarged, and transposed by the health care provider to easily determine the extent of a burn. Results show that the variability of measurements using BurnMed is lower than the measurements obtained using the Lund and Browder chart. BurnMed is available at no charge in the Apple™ Store.

Ponderosa pine snag densities following multiple fires in the Gila Wilderness, New Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Holden, Z.A.; Morgan, P.; Rollins, M.G.; Wright, R.G.

2006-01-01

Fires create and consume snags (standing dead trees), an important structural and ecological component of ponderosa pine forests. The effects of repeated fires on snag densities in ponderosa pine forests of the southwestern USA have not been studied. Line intercept sampling was used to estimate snag densities in areas of the Gila Wilderness that had burned one to three times under Wildland Fire Use for Resource Benefit (WFU), a fire management policy implemented since 1974 aimed at restoring natural fire regimes. Twenty randomly located transects were measured in areas burned since 1946; six in once-burned areas, six in twice-burned areas and eight in thrice-burned areas. The mean density ?? standard errors of large (>47.5 cm dbh) snags for areas that burned once, twice and thrice was 7.0 ?? 2.7, 4.4 ?? 1.1 and 4.1 ?? 1.3 snags/ha, respectively. Differences in snag densities between once- and multiple-burned areas were significant (F-test; p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in density of large snags between twice- and thrice-burned areas. Proportions of type 1 snags (recently created) were higher in once- and twice-burned areas than in areas that burned three times, likely reflecting high tree mortality and snag recruitment resulting from an initial entry fire. Type 3 snags (charred by previous fire) were more abundant in areas that burned multiple times. The lack of differences in snag densities between areas that burned two and three times suggests that repeated fires leave many snags standing. The increasing proportion of type 3 snags with repeated fires supports this conclusion. ?? 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Biomass burning and its relationship with water cycle dynamics of the Chari-Logone catchment of Lake Chad Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Black, F. W.; Lee, J.; Ellison, L.; Gupta, M.; Bolten, J. D.; Gatebe, C. K.; Ichoku, C. M.

2016-12-01

The cause of shrinkage of Lake Chad has been of great interest for issues of global warming and climate change. The present study investigates the effect of biomass burning on the water cycle dynamics of Lake Chad Basin in the Northern Sub-Saharan Africa. Burning activities increase from November to April when monsoonal precipitation is at its lowest and decreases dramatically from May to October when precipitation peaks. To circumvent weather station scarcity in the region, a variety of satellite products were used as input into a water balance model. The datasets include TRMM 3B31 for precipitation, SRTM for elevation, and MODIS: MOD11C3 for temperature, MOD12Q1 for land cover, and MOD14A for fire count. Non-satellite based data sources include soil maps from the Harmonized World Soil Database and wind speed from NOAA NCDC stations. The Chari-Logone catchment of the Lake Chad Basin was selected since it supplies over 90% of the water input to the Lake. Fire count data from MOD14A were integrated with land cover albedo changes to determine monthly potential evapotranspiration (PET) using a Penman equation. The resolution of the model is 2 km x 2 km which allows for delineation of physical features such as lakes and other water bodies. Fire counts, also at a resolution of 2 km x 2 km, vary dramatically depending on the season. A separate land cover dataset was created to account for the effect of burning of different vegetative land types, which affects vegetative area, bare area, leaf area index, vegetation height, Manning coefficient, and aerodynamic resistance. Two water balance simulations, one considering burning and one without, were compared from the years 2005 to 2010. Results indicate biomass burning contribute to an increase in average monthly runoff and a decrease in groundwater recharge. Actual evapotranspiration shows variation depending on the month.

Global fire emissions estimates during 1997-2016

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Werf, Guido R.; Randerson, James T.; Giglio, Louis; van Leeuwen, Thijs T.; Chen, Yang; Rogers, Brendan M.; Mu, Mingquan; van Marle, Margreet J. E.; Morton, Douglas C.; Collatz, G. James; Yokelson, Robert J.; Kasibhatla, Prasad S.

2017-09-01

Climate, land use, and other anthropogenic and natural drivers have the potential to influence fire dynamics in many regions. To develop a mechanistic understanding of the changing role of these drivers and their impact on atmospheric composition, long-term fire records are needed that fuse information from different satellite and in situ data streams. Here we describe the fourth version of the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED) and quantify global fire emissions patterns during 1997-2016. The modeling system, based on the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach (CASA) biogeochemical model, has several modifications from the previous version and uses higher quality input datasets. Significant upgrades include (1) new burned area estimates with contributions from small fires, (2) a revised fuel consumption parameterization optimized using field observations, (3) modifications that improve the representation of fuel consumption in frequently burning landscapes, and (4) fire severity estimates that better represent continental differences in burning processes across boreal regions of North America and Eurasia. The new version has a higher spatial resolution (0.25°) and uses a different set of emission factors that separately resolves trace gas and aerosol emissions from temperate and boreal forest ecosystems. Global mean carbon emissions using the burned area dataset with small fires (GFED4s) were 2.2 × 1015 grams of carbon per year (Pg C yr-1) during 1997-2016, with a maximum in 1997 (3.0 Pg C yr-1) and minimum in 2013 (1.8 Pg C yr-1). These estimates were 11 % higher than our previous estimates (GFED3) during 1997-2011, when the two datasets overlapped. This net increase was the result of a substantial increase in burned area (37 %), mostly due to the inclusion of small fires, and a modest decrease in mean fuel consumption (-19 %) to better match estimates from field studies, primarily in savannas and grasslands. For trace gas and aerosol emissions, differences between GFED4s and GFED3 were often larger due to the use of revised emission factors. If small fire burned area was excluded (GFED4 without the s for small fires), average emissions were 1.5 Pg C yr-1. The addition of small fires had the largest impact on emissions in temperate North America, Central America, Europe, and temperate Asia. This small fire layer carries substantial uncertainties; improving these estimates will require use of new burned area products derived from high-resolution satellite imagery. Our revised dataset provides an internally consistent set of burned area and emissions that may contribute to a better understanding of multi-decadal changes in fire dynamics and their impact on the Earth system. GFED data are available from http://www.globalfiredata.org.

Storm rainfall conditions for floods and debris flows from recently burned areas in southwestern Colorado and southern California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cannon, S.H.; Gartner, J.E.; Wilson, R.C.; Bowers, J.C.; Laber, J.L.

2008-01-01

Debris flows generated during rain storms on recently burned areas have destroyed lives and property throughout the Western U.S. Field evidence indicate that unlike landslide-triggered debris flows, these events have no identifiable initiation source and can occur with little or no antecedent moisture. Using rain gage and response data from five fires in Colorado and southern California, we document the rainfall conditions that have triggered post-fire debris flows and develop empirical rainfall intensity-duration thresholds for the occurrence of debris flows and floods following wildfires in these settings. This information can provide guidance for warning systems and planning for emergency response in similar settings. Debris flows were produced from 25 recently burned basins in Colorado in response to 13 short-duration, high-intensity convective storms. Debris flows were triggered after as little as six to 10??min of storm rainfall. About 80% of the storms that generated debris flows lasted less than 3??h, with most of the rain falling in less than 1??h. The storms triggering debris flows ranged in average intensity between 1.0 and 32.0??mm/h, and had recurrence intervals of two years or less. Threshold rainfall conditions for floods and debris flows sufficiently large to pose threats to life and property from recently burned areas in south-central, and southwestern, Colorado are defined by: I = 6.5D-??0.7 and I = 9.5D-??0.7, respectively, where I = rainfall intensity (in mm/h) and D = duration (in hours). Debris flows were generated from 68 recently burned areas in southern California in response to long-duration frontal storms. The flows occurred after as little as two hours, and up to 16??h, of low-intensity (2-10??mm/h) rainfall. The storms lasted between 5.5 and 33??h, with average intensities between 1.3 and 20.4??mm/h, and had recurrence intervals of two years or less. Threshold rainfall conditions for life- and property-threatening floods and debris flows during the first winter season following fires in Ventura County, and in the San Bernardino, San Gabriel and San Jacinto Mountains of southern California are defined by I = 12.5D-0.4, and I = 7.2D-0.4, respectively. A threshold defined for flood and debris-flow conditions following a year of vegetative recovery and sediment removal for the San Bernardino, San Gabriel and San Jacinto Mountains of I = 14.0D-0.5 is approximately 25??mm/h higher than that developed for the first year following fires. The thresholds defined here are significantly lower than most identified for unburned settings, perhaps because of the difference between extremely rapid, runoff-dominated processes acting in burned areas and longer-term, infiltration-dominated processes on unburned hillslopes. Crown Copyright ?? 2007.

Vegetation composition five years after silvicultural treatments to control competition in a natural stand of loblolly-shortleaf pines

Treesearch

M.D. Cain

2000-01-01

Woody nonpine vegetation, averaging over 6,000 rootstocksiac, was controlled by chain-saw felling, chain-saw felling plus prescribed burning,orby a broadcast herbicide spray to release even-aged loblolly and shortleafpine (Pinus taeda L. and P. echinata Mill.) saplings that became established from natural seedfall on a cutover area...

Advanced Subsonic Airplane Design and Economic Studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liebeck, Robert H.; Andrastek, Donald A.; Chau, Johnny; Girvin, Raquel; Lyon, Roger; Rawdon, Blaine K.; Scott, Paul W.; Wright, Robert A.

1995-01-01

A study was made to examine the effect of advanced technology engines on the performance of subsonic airplanes and provide a vision of the potential which these advanced engines offered. The year 2005 was selected as the entry-into-service (EIS) date for engine/airframe combination. A set of four airplane classes (passenger and design range combinations) that were envisioned to span the needs for the 2005 EIS period were defined. The airframes for all classes were designed and sized using 2005 EIS advanced technology. Two airplanes were designed and sized for each class: one using current technology (1995) engines to provide a baseline, and one using advanced technology (2005) engines. The resulting engine/airframe combinations were compared and evaluated on the basis on sensitivity to basic engine performance parameters (e.g. SFC and engine weight) as well as DOC+I. The advanced technology engines provided significant reductions in fuel burn, weight, and wing area. Average values were as follows: reduction in fuel burn = 18%, reduction in wing area = 7%, and reduction in TOGW = 9%. Average DOC+I reduction was 3.5% using the pricing model based on payload-range index and 5% using the pricing model based on airframe weight. Noise and emissions were not considered.

A Terminal Area Analysis of Continuous Ascent Departure Fuel Use at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roach, Keenan; Robinson, John E., III

2010-01-01

Aircraft departing from the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) encounter vertical restrictions that prevent continuous ascent operations. The result of these restrictions are temporary level-offs at 10,000 feet. A combination of flow direction, specific Area Navigation (RNAV) route geometry, and arrival streams have been found to be the biggest factors in the duration and frequency of a temporary level-offs. In total, 20% of DFW departures are affected by these level-offs, which have an average duration of just over 100 seconds. The use of continuous descent approaches at DFW are shown to lessen the impact arrivals have on the departures and allow more continuous ascents. The fuel used in a continuous ascent and an ascent with a temporary level-off have been calculated using a fuel burn rate model created from a combination of actual aircraft track data, aircraft manufacturer flight operations manuals, and Eurocontrol's Base of Aircraft Data (BADA) simulation tool. This model represents the average aggregate burn rates for the current fleet mix at DFW. Continuous ascents would save approximately seven gallons of fuel out of 450 gallons used to climb to a cruise altitude of 31,000ft per departure.

Carbon fluxes in ecosystems of Yellowstone National Park predicted from remote sensing data and simulation modeling

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background A simulation model based on remote sensing data for spatial vegetation properties has been used to estimate ecosystem carbon fluxes across Yellowstone National Park (YNP). The CASA (Carnegie Ames Stanford Approach) model was applied at a regional scale to estimate seasonal and annual carbon fluxes as net primary production (NPP) and soil respiration components. Predicted net ecosystem production (NEP) flux of CO2 is estimated from the model for carbon sinks and sources over multi-year periods that varied in climate and (wildfire) disturbance histories. Monthly Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) image coverages from the NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument (from 2000 to 2006) were direct inputs to the model. New map products have been added to CASA from airborne remote sensing of coarse woody debris (CWD) in areas burned by wildfires over the past two decades. Results Model results indicated that relatively cooler and wetter summer growing seasons were the most favorable for annual plant production and net ecosystem carbon gains in representative landscapes of YNP. When summed across vegetation class areas, the predominance of evergreen forest and shrubland (sagebrush) cover was evident, with these two classes together accounting for 88% of the total annual NPP flux of 2.5 Tg C yr-1 (1 Tg = 1012 g) for the entire Yellowstone study area from 2000-2006. Most vegetation classes were estimated as net ecosystem sinks of atmospheric CO2 on annual basis, making the entire study area a moderate net sink of about +0.13 Tg C yr-1. This average sink value for forested lands nonetheless masks the contribution of areas burned during the 1988 wildfires, which were estimated as net sources of CO2 to the atmosphere, totaling to a NEP flux of -0.04 Tg C yr-1 for the entire burned area. Several areas burned in the 1988 wildfires were estimated to be among the lowest in overall yearly NPP, namely the Hellroaring Fire, Mink Fire, and Falls Fire areas. Conclusions Rates of recovery for burned forest areas to pre-1988 biomass levels were estimated from a unique combination of remote sensing and CASA model predictions. Ecosystem production and carbon fluxes in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) result from complex interactions between climate, forest age structure, and disturbance-recovery patterns of the landscape. PMID:21835025

Carbon fluxes in ecosystems of Yellowstone National Park predicted from remote sensing data and simulation modeling.

PubMed

Potter, Christopher; Klooster, Steven; Crabtree, Robert; Huang, Shengli; Gross, Peggy; Genovese, Vanessa

2011-08-11

A simulation model based on remote sensing data for spatial vegetation properties has been used to estimate ecosystem carbon fluxes across Yellowstone National Park (YNP). The CASA (Carnegie Ames Stanford Approach) model was applied at a regional scale to estimate seasonal and annual carbon fluxes as net primary production (NPP) and soil respiration components. Predicted net ecosystem production (NEP) flux of CO2 is estimated from the model for carbon sinks and sources over multi-year periods that varied in climate and (wildfire) disturbance histories. Monthly Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) image coverages from the NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument (from 2000 to 2006) were direct inputs to the model. New map products have been added to CASA from airborne remote sensing of coarse woody debris (CWD) in areas burned by wildfires over the past two decades. Model results indicated that relatively cooler and wetter summer growing seasons were the most favorable for annual plant production and net ecosystem carbon gains in representative landscapes of YNP. When summed across vegetation class areas, the predominance of evergreen forest and shrubland (sagebrush) cover was evident, with these two classes together accounting for 88% of the total annual NPP flux of 2.5 Tg C yr-1 (1 Tg = 1012 g) for the entire Yellowstone study area from 2000-2006. Most vegetation classes were estimated as net ecosystem sinks of atmospheric CO2 on annual basis, making the entire study area a moderate net sink of about +0.13 Tg C yr-1. This average sink value for forested lands nonetheless masks the contribution of areas burned during the 1988 wildfires, which were estimated as net sources of CO2 to the atmosphere, totaling to a NEP flux of -0.04 Tg C yr-1 for the entire burned area. Several areas burned in the 1988 wildfires were estimated to be among the lowest in overall yearly NPP, namely the Hellroaring Fire, Mink Fire, and Falls Fire areas. Rates of recovery for burned forest areas to pre-1988 biomass levels were estimated from a unique combination of remote sensing and CASA model predictions. Ecosystem production and carbon fluxes in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) result from complex interactions between climate, forest age structure, and disturbance-recovery patterns of the landscape.

Source apportionment of carbonaceous aerosol in Sao Paulo using 13C and 14C measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oyama, Beatriz; Andrade, Maria de Fatima; Holzinger, Rupert; Röckmann, Thomas; Meijer, Harro A. J.; Dusek, Ulrike

2016-04-01

The Metropolitan Area of Sao Paulo is affected by high aerosol concentrations, which contain a large fraction of organic material. Up to date, not much is known about the composition and origin of the organic aerosol in this city. We present the first source apportionment of the carbonaceous aerosol fraction in Sao Paulo, using stable (13C) and radioactive carbon isotopes (14C). 14C provides a clear-cut distinction between fossil sources, which contain no 14C, and contemporary sources such as biofuels, biomass burning, or biogenic sources, which contain a typical contemporary 14C/12C ratio. 13C can be used to distinguish C3 plants, such as maize and sugarcane, from C4 plants. This can help to identify a possible impact of sugarcane field burning in the rural areas of Sao Paulo State on the aerosol carbon in the city. In the first part of the study, we compare two tunnel studies: Tunnel 1 is frequented only by light duty vehicles, which run mainly on mixtures of gasoline with ethanol (gasohol, 25% ethanol and 85% gasoline) or hydrated ethanol (5% water and 95% ethanol). Tunnel 2 contains a significant fraction of heavy-duty diesel vehicles, and therefore the fraction of biofuels in the average fleet is lower. Comparison of 14C in organic and elemental carbon (OC and EC) shows that in both tunnels there is no significant contribution of biofuels to EC. Combusting ethanol-gasoline fuels in a vehicle engine does apparently not result in significant EC formation from ethanol. Biofuels contribute around 45% to OC in Tunnel 1 an only 20% in Tunnel 2, reflecting a strong impact of diesel vehicles in Tunnel 2. In the second part of the study we conduct a source apportionment of ambient aerosol carbon collected in a field study during winter (July-August) 2012. Ambient EC has two main sources, vehicular emissions and biomass burning. We estimate a contribution of vehicular sources to EC of roughly 90% during weekdays and 80% during weekends, using the 14C values measured in the tunnel studies. The absolute concentration of biomass burning EC is roughly 0.5 μg/m3 both during weekend and weekdays, whereas vehicular EC concentrations almost double during weekdays, increasing from 1.8 to 3.7 μg/m3 on average. OC concentrations are dominated by secondary carbon from vehicular emissions, both on weekdays and during weekends, however primary OC from biomass burning and contemporary secondary OC (from both biogenic and biomass burning emissions) are important fractions as well. Overall, primary biomass burning contributes between 10 and 30% to the carbonaceous aerosol in Sao Paulo. 13C measurements indicate that sugarcane burning could account for up to 15% of OC in the Sao Paulo metropolitan area.

A data-driven approach for modeling post-fire debris-flow volumes and their uncertainty

USGS Publications Warehouse

Friedel, Michael J.

2011-01-01

This study demonstrates the novel application of genetic programming to evolve nonlinear post-fire debris-flow volume equations from variables associated with a data-driven conceptual model of the western United States. The search space is constrained using a multi-component objective function that simultaneously minimizes root-mean squared and unit errors for the evolution of fittest equations. An optimization technique is then used to estimate the limits of nonlinear prediction uncertainty associated with the debris-flow equations. In contrast to a published multiple linear regression three-variable equation, linking basin area with slopes greater or equal to 30 percent, burn severity characterized as area burned moderate plus high, and total storm rainfall, the data-driven approach discovers many nonlinear and several dimensionally consistent equations that are unbiased and have less prediction uncertainty. Of the nonlinear equations, the best performance (lowest prediction uncertainty) is achieved when using three variables: average basin slope, total burned area, and total storm rainfall. Further reduction in uncertainty is possible for the nonlinear equations when dimensional consistency is not a priority and by subsequently applying a gradient solver to the fittest solutions. The data-driven modeling approach can be applied to nonlinear multivariate problems in all fields of study.

Relationships between human population density and burned area at continental and global scales.

PubMed

Bistinas, Ioannis; Oom, Duarte; Sá, Ana C L; Harrison, Sandy P; Prentice, I Colin; Pereira, José M C

2013-01-01

We explore the large spatial variation in the relationship between population density and burned area, using continental-scale Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) based on 13 years of satellite-derived burned area maps from the global fire emissions database (GFED) and the human population density from the gridded population of the world (GPW 2005). Significant relationships are observed over 51.5% of the global land area, and the area affected varies from continent to continent: population density has a significant impact on fire over most of Asia and Africa but is important in explaining fire over < 22% of Europe and Australia. Increasing population density is associated with both increased and decreased in fire. The nature of the relationship depends on land-use: increasing population density is associated with increased burned are in rangelands but with decreased burned area in croplands. Overall, the relationship between population density and burned area is non-monotonic: burned area initially increases with population density and then decreases when population density exceeds a threshold. These thresholds vary regionally. Our study contributes to improved understanding of how human activities relate to burned area, and should contribute to a better estimate of atmospheric emissions from biomass burning.

Relationships between Human Population Density and Burned Area at Continental and Global Scales

PubMed Central

Bistinas, Ioannis; Oom, Duarte; Sá, Ana C. L.; Harrison, Sandy P.; Prentice, I. Colin; Pereira, José M. C.

2013-01-01

We explore the large spatial variation in the relationship between population density and burned area, using continental-scale Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) based on 13 years of satellite-derived burned area maps from the global fire emissions database (GFED) and the human population density from the gridded population of the world (GPW 2005). Significant relationships are observed over 51.5% of the global land area, and the area affected varies from continent to continent: population density has a significant impact on fire over most of Asia and Africa but is important in explaining fire over < 22% of Europe and Australia. Increasing population density is associated with both increased and decreased in fire. The nature of the relationship depends on land-use: increasing population density is associated with increased burned are in rangelands but with decreased burned area in croplands. Overall, the relationship between population density and burned area is non-monotonic: burned area initially increases with population density and then decreases when population density exceeds a threshold. These thresholds vary regionally. Our study contributes to improved understanding of how human activities relate to burned area, and should contribute to a better estimate of atmospheric emissions from biomass burning. PMID:24358108

Epidemiology of pediatric burns and future prevention strategies-a study of 475 patients from a high-volume burn center in North India.

PubMed

Dhopte, Amol; Tiwari, V K; Patel, Pankaj; Bamal, Rahul

2017-01-01

Pediatric burns have a long-term social impact. This is more apparent in a developing country such as India, where their incidence and morbidity are high. The aim of this study was to provide recent prospective epidemiological data on pediatric burns in India and to suggest future preventive strategies. Children up to 18 years old admitted to the Department of Burns, Plastic & Maxillofacial Surgery, VMMC & Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, between January and December 2014 were included in the study. Data regarding age, sex, etiology, total body surface area (TBSA), circumstances of injury, and clinical assessment were collected. The Mann-Whitney test or Kruskal-Wallis test or ANOVA was used to compare involved TBSA among various cohort groups accordingly. Univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses were used to determine the predictors of TBSA. There were a total of 475 patients involved in the study, including seven suicidal burns, all of whom were females with a mean age greater than the cohort average. Age, type of burns, mode of injury, presence or absence of inhalation injury, gender, and time of year (quarter) for admission were found to independently affect the TBSA involved. Electrical burns also formed an important number of presenting burn patients, mainly involving teenagers. Several societal issues have come forth, e.g., child marriage, child labor, and likely psychological problems among female children as suggested by a high incidence of suicidal burns. This study also highlights several issues such as overcrowding, lack of awareness, dangerous cooking practices, and improper use of kerosene oil. There is an emergent need to recognize the problems, formulate strategies, spread awareness, and ban or replace hazardous substances responsible for most burn accidents.

How Much Global Burned Area Can Be Forecast on Seasonal Time Scales Using Sea Surface Temperatures?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Yang; Morton, Douglas C.; Andela, Niels; Giglio, Louis; Randerson, James T.

2016-01-01

Large-scale sea surface temperature (SST) patterns influence the interannual variability of burned area in many regions by means of climate controls on fuel continuity, amount, and moisture content. Some of the variability in burned area is predictable on seasonal timescales because fuel characteristics respond to the cumulative effects of climate prior to the onset of the fire season. Here we systematically evaluated the degree to which annual burned area from the Global Fire Emissions Database version 4 with small fires (GFED4s) can be predicted using SSTs from 14 different ocean regions. We found that about 48 of global burned area can be forecast with a correlation coefficient that is significant at a p < 0.01 level using a single ocean climate index (OCI) 3 or more months prior to the month of peak burning. Continental regions where burned area had a higher degree of predictability included equatorial Asia, where 92% of the burned area exceeded the correlation threshold, and Central America, where 86% of the burned area exceeded this threshold. Pacific Ocean indices describing the El Nino-Southern Oscillation were more important than indices from other ocean basins, accounting for about 1/3 of the total predictable global burned area. A model that combined two indices from different oceans considerably improved model performance, suggesting that fires in many regions respond to forcing from more than one ocean basin. Using OCI-burned area relationships and a clustering algorithm, we identified 12 hotspot regions in which fires had a consistent response to SST patterns. Annual burned area in these regions can be predicted with moderate confidence levels, suggesting operational forecasts may be possible with the aim of improving ecosystem management.

A MODIS-based burned area assessment for Russian croplands: mapping requirements and challenges

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Although agricultural burning is banned in Russia it is still a widespread practice and the challenge in mapping cropland burning has led to a wide range of burned area estimates. Accurately monitoring cropland burned area is an important task as these estimates are used in the calculation of cropla...

Burned area detection based on Landsat time series in savannas of southern Burkina Faso

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jinxiu; Heiskanen, Janne; Maeda, Eduardo Eiji; Pellikka, Petri K. E.

2018-02-01

West African savannas are subject to regular fires, which have impacts on vegetation structure, biodiversity and carbon balance. An efficient and accurate mapping of burned area associated with seasonal fires can greatly benefit decision making in land management. Since coarse resolution burned area products cannot meet the accuracy needed for fire management and climate modelling at local scales, the medium resolution Landsat data is a promising alternative for local scale studies. In this study, we developed an algorithm for continuous monitoring of annual burned areas using Landsat time series. The algorithm is based on burned pixel detection using harmonic model fitting with Landsat time series and breakpoint identification in the time series data. This approach was tested in a savanna area in southern Burkina Faso using 281 images acquired between October 2000 and April 2016. An overall accuracy of 79.2% was obtained with balanced omission and commission errors. This represents a significant improvement in comparison with MODIS burned area product (67.6%), which had more omission errors than commission errors, indicating underestimation of the total burned area. By observing the spatial distribution of burned areas, we found that the Landsat based method misclassified cropland and cloud shadows as burned areas due to the similar spectral response, and MODIS burned area product omitted small and fragmented burned areas. The proposed algorithm is flexible and robust against decreased data availability caused by clouds and Landsat 7 missing lines, therefore having a high potential for being applied in other landscapes in future studies.

Relative abundance of small mammals in nest core areas and burned wintering areas of Mexican spotted owls in the Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico

Treesearch

Joseph L. Ganey; Sean C. Kyle; Todd A. Rawlinson; Darrell L. Apprill; James P Ward

2014-01-01

Mexican Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis lucida) are common in older forests within their range but also persist in many areas burned by wildfire and may selectively forage in these areas. One hypothesis explaining this pattern postulates that prey abundance increases in burned areas following wildfire. We observed movement to wintering areas within areas burned by...

Acceptability and functionality of the "Kettle Strap": An attempt to decrease kettle related burns in children.

PubMed

Makhubalo, Obakeng; Schulman, Dorothy; Rode, Heinz; Cox, Sharon

2018-05-15

Extensive hot water burns (HWB) are common at Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital (RCWMCH). The majority are caused by kettle scalds. These burn injuries usually affect toddlers living in poor socio-economic circumstances. The majority of these injuries are preventable. This trial aims to demonstrate the acceptability and functionality of the Kettle Strap as a kettle safety device. The feedback will be used for a public awareness program marketed by the Child Accident Prevention Foundation of Southern Africa and ChildSafe as part of their mandate to reduce kettle related thermal injuries. 50 caregivers of children at RCWMCH were given a Kettle Strap for use in their homes, 25 with kettle related burns (Group I) and 25 who had no history of burns (Group II). All participants were instructed on Kettle Strap installation and use. Telephonic interviews on the acceptability and functionality of the strap occurred 1 month and 1 year later. The average age in Groups I and II was 25 and 22 months respectively. In Group I, the average burn surface area was 15%. Nineteen (76%) of the accidents occurred in the kitchen. Eighteen (72%) received immediate first aid. Twelve (48%) in Group I and 15 (60%) in Group II lived in formal housing. The majority of caregivers (90%) indicated that installation was quick and easy and thought that the Kettle Strap would prevent kettle burns. At 1 month follow-up, all the participants in Group I indicated that they would continue using the apparatus and felt greater protection compared to 84% of Group II. Only 40% indicated that use of the Kettle Strap raised awareness of other possible household dangers. Thirty participants were available telephonically after 1 year, 22 of these were still using the device, others had moved or lost their homes to fire. All participants had informed neighbors about the Kettle Strap and burn safety. The participants were prepared to pay ZAR 44 for the complete apparatus. The Kettle Strap is an acceptable, affordable device to improve kettle safety in the home. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

A Computer Program to Evaluate Experimental Therapies for Treating Burned Patients

PubMed Central

Flora, Jairus D.; Flora, Sharyl Ann

1980-01-01

Determining the worth of new therapies for burn patients has been difficult because of the rarity of the burn injury and the disparate survival chances associated with different sizes of burns. Recently a burn survival model has been developed that estimates the risk of death from a burn as a function of the patient's age, sex, area of full thickness (third degree) burn, area of partial thickness burn, involvement of the perineum, and time from burn to admission. An alternative risk model uses the total area burned in place of the areas of partial thickness burn and full thickness burn, and is appropriate if the amount of full thickness burn is not determined accurately. This paper describes a program that uses these risk models to correct or standardize for demographic and severity factors, then, after that adjustment, tests whether a group of burn patients who received a new or experimental therapy shows a significantly better survival rate than that predicted by a baseline model. The program is a simple one written in Fortran for easy adaptation to other computer systems.

[Autogenous platelet-rich plasma gel with acellular xenogeneic dermal matrix for treatment of deep II degree burns].

PubMed

Hao, Tianzhi; Zhu, Jingmin; Hu, Wenbo; Zhang, Hua; Gao, Zhenhui; Wen, Xuehui; Zhou, Zhi; Lu, Gang; Liu, Jingjie; Li, Wen

2010-06-01

To investigate the effectiveness of autogenous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) gel with acellular xenogeneic dermal matrix in the treatment of deep II degree burns. From January 2007 to December 2009, 30 cases of deep II degree burns were treated. There were 19 males and 11 females with an average age of 42.5 years (range, 32-57 years). The burn area was 10% to 48% of total body surface area. The time from burn to hospitalization was 30 minutes to 8 hours. All patients were treated with tangential excision surgery, one side of the wounds were covered with autogenous PRP gel and acellular xenogeneic dermal matrix (PRP group), the other side of the wounds were covered with acellular xenogeneic dermal matrix only (control group). The healing rate, healing time, infection condition, and scar formation were observed. At 7 days after operation, the infection rate in PRP group (6.7%, 2/30) was significantly lower than that in control group (16.7%, 5/30, P < 0.05). The healing times were (18 +/- 4) days and (22 +/- 4) days respectively in PRP group and control group, showing significant difference (P < 0.05). The healing rates at 14 days and 21 days were 75% +/- 7% and 88% +/- 5% in PRP group, were 62% +/- 15% and 73% +/- 7% in control group, showing significant difference (P < 0.05). RPR group was superior to control group in elasticity, color, appearance, softness, scar formation, and healing quality. Autogenous PRP gel with acellular xenogeneic dermal matrix can accelerate the wound healing of deep II degree burns as well as alleviate the scar proliferation.

Mapping burned areas using dense time-series of Landsat data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hawbaker, Todd J.; Vanderhoof, Melanie; Beal, Yen-Ju G.; Takacs, Joshua; Schmidt, Gail L.; Falgout, Jeff T.; Williams, Brad; Brunner, Nicole M.; Caldwell, Megan K.; Picotte, Joshua J.; Howard, Stephen M.; Stitt, Susan; Dwyer, John L.

2017-01-01

Complete and accurate burned area data are needed to document patterns of fires, to quantify relationships between the patterns and drivers of fire occurrence, and to assess the impacts of fires on human and natural systems. Unfortunately, in many areas existing fire occurrence datasets are known to be incomplete. Consequently, the need to systematically collect burned area information has been recognized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which have both called for the production of essential climate variables (ECVs), including information about burned area. In this paper, we present an algorithm that identifies burned areas in dense time-series of Landsat data to produce the Landsat Burned Area Essential Climate Variable (BAECV) products. The algorithm uses gradient boosted regression models to generate burn probability surfaces using band values and spectral indices from individual Landsat scenes, lagged reference conditions, and change metrics between the scene and reference predictors. Burn classifications are generated from the burn probability surfaces using pixel-level thresholding in combination with a region growing process. The algorithm can be applied anywhere Landsat and training data are available. For this study, BAECV products were generated for the conterminous United States from 1984 through 2015. These products consist of pixel-level burn probabilities for each Landsat scene, in addition to, annual composites including: the maximum burn probability and a burn classification. We compared the BAECV burn classification products to the existing Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED; 1997–2015) and Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS; 1984–2013) data. We found that the BAECV products mapped 36% more burned area than the GFED and 116% more burned area than MTBS. Differences between the BAECV products and the GFED were especially high in the West and East where the BAECV products mapped 32% and 88% more burned area, respectively. However, the BAECV products found less burned area than the GFED in regions with frequent agricultural fires. Compared to the MTBS data, the BAECV products identified 31% more burned area in the West, 312% more in the Great Plains, and 233% more in the East. Most pixels in the MTBS data were detected by the BAECV, regardless of burn severity. The BAECV products document patterns of fire similar to those in the GFED but also showed patterns of fire that are not well characterized by the existing MTBS data. We anticipate the BAECV products will be useful to studies that seek to understand past patterns of fire occurrence, the drivers that created them, and the impacts fires have on natural and human systems.

Validation of the USGS Landsat Burned Area Essential Climate Variable (BAECV) across the conterminous United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Vanderhoof, Melanie; Fairaux, Nicole; Beal, Yen-Ju G.; Hawbaker, Todd J.

2017-01-01

The Landsat Burned Area Essential Climate Variable (BAECV), developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), capitalizes on the long temporal availability of Landsat imagery to identify burned areas across the conterminous United States (CONUS) (1984–2015). Adequate validation of such products is critical for their proper usage and interpretation. Validation of coarse-resolution products often relies on independent data derived from moderate-resolution sensors (e.g., Landsat). Validation of Landsat products, in turn, is challenging because there is no corresponding source of high-resolution, multispectral imagery that has been systematically collected in space and time over the entire temporal extent of the Landsat archive. Because of this, comparison between high-resolution images and Landsat science products can help increase user's confidence in the Landsat science products, but may not, alone, be adequate. In this paper, we demonstrate an approach to systematically validate the Landsat-derived BAECV product. Burned area extent was mapped for Landsat image pairs using a manually trained semi-automated algorithm that was manually edited across 28 path/rows and five different years (1988, 1993, 1998, 2003, 2008). Three datasets were independently developed by three analysts and the datasets were integrated on a pixel by pixel basis in which at least one to all three analysts were required to agree a pixel was burned. We found that errors within our Landsat reference dataset could be minimized by using the rendition of the dataset in which pixels were mapped as burned if at least two of the three analysts agreed. BAECV errors of omission and commission for the detection of burned pixels averaged 42% and 33%, respectively for CONUS across all five validation years. Errors of omission and commission were lowest across the western CONUS, for example in the shrub and scrublands of the Arid West (31% and 24%, respectively), and highest in the grasslands and agricultural lands of the Great Plains in central CONUS (62% and 57%, respectively). The BAECV product detected most (> 65%) fire events > 10 ha across the western CONUS (Arid and Mountain West ecoregions). Our approach and results demonstrate that a thorough validation of Landsat science products can be completed with independent Landsat-derived reference data, but could be strengthened by the use of complementary sources of high-resolution data.

Abundance and reproduction of songbirds in burned and unburned pine forests of the Georgia Piedmont

USGS Publications Warehouse

White, D.H.; Chapman, B.R.; Brunjes, J.H.; Raftovich, R.V.; Seginak, J.T.

1999-01-01

We studied the abundance and productivity of songbirds in prescribed burned and unburned mature (>60 yr) pine forests at Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia, during 1993-1995. We estimated species abundance, richness, and evenness using data from 312 point counts in 18 burned sites and six unburned sites. We measured gross habitat features in 0.04-ha circles centered on each point count station. We calculated productivity estimates at nests of seven of the most common nesting species. Habitat components we measured in 1-, 2-, and 3-yr post-burn sites were similar, but most components differed between burned and unburned sites. Although 98 species were detected during point counts, we report only on the 46 species that nested in the area and were detected >10% of the counts in either habitat class. Twenty-one species preferred burned sites and six preferred unburned sites. Avian species richness and evenness were similar for burned and unburned sites. Burned sites were preferred for nesting over unburned sites. Only nine nests of six species were found in unburned sites. Productivity estimates were low in burned sites. One or more eggs hatched in only 59 of 187 nests monitored, and an average of only 0.82 chicks per nest were estimated to have fledged. Predation was the most common probable cause for nest failure, ranging from 45% in the Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) to 64% in the Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra). Because the sources of predation at the refuge are unknown, future research should address this issue.

Evaluation of TCOM/HBOT practice guideline for the treatment of foot burns occurring in diabetic patients.

PubMed

Jones, Larry M; Rubadue, Christopher; Brown, Nicole V; Khandelwal, Sorabh; Coffey, Rebecca A

2015-05-01

A multidisciplinary team developed an evidence-based guideline for the management of foot burns occurring in diabetic patients that included transcutaneous oxygen measurements (TCOM) and application of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) to selected patients. This report represents an evaluation of preliminary TCOM/HBOT data. This is a retrospective review of patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) who were admitted to a single American Burn Association (ABA) verified burn center for the treatment of foot burns. Patients were treated via the guideline if they were over the age of 16, admitted for the initial care of burns involving the feet between 4/01/2012 and 7/22/2013, and had a known or new diagnosis of DM. Eighteen patients were treated according to the guideline, 14 men and 4 women. Average age was 54 years+14.78. Average BMI was 30.63+6.34. Median burn size was 0.88% TBSA (median partial thickness of 1% and median full thickness of 0.5%). The average HbA1c was 9.08+2.42. Seven patients received pre-operative HBOT, two received post-operative HBOT and three patients healed their wounds with HBOT alone. Average hospital length of stay was 13.39 days+9.94 and was significantly longer for the group receiving HBOT. Admission HbA1c was not a predictor of the need for HBOT. While TCOM/HBOT therapy has not been widely applied to the management of diabetic foot burns, the use of an evidence-based guideline incorporating TCOM/HBOT can provide a systematic way to evaluate the patients' microcirculation and ability to heal burns of the foot. The incorporation of TCOM determination and application of HBOT in selected patients with DM and burns of the feet warrant continued study. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Wound management and outcome of 595 electrical burns in a major burn center.

PubMed

Li, Haisheng; Tan, Jianglin; Zhou, Junyi; Yuan, Zhiqiang; Zhang, Jiaping; Peng, Yizhi; Wu, Jun; Luo, Gaoxing

2017-06-15

Electrical burns are important causes of trauma worldwide. This study aims to analyze the clinical characteristics, wound management, and outcome of electric burns. This retrospective study was performed at the Institute of Burn Research of the Third Military Medical University during 2013-2015. Data including the demographics, injury patterns, wound treatment, and outcomes were collected and analyzed. A total of 595 electrical burn patients (93.8% males) were included. The average age was 37.3 ± 14.6 y, and most patients (73.5%) were aged 19∼50 years. Most patients (67.2%) were injured in work-related circumstances. The mean total body surface area was 8.8 ± 11.8% and most wounds (63.5%) were full-thickness burns. Operation times of high-voltage burns and current burns were higher than those of low-voltage burns and arc burns, respectively. Of the 375 operated patients, 83.2% (n = 312) underwent skin autografting and 49.3% (n = 185) required skin flap coverage. Common types of skin flaps were adjacent (50.3%), random (42.2%), and pedicle (35.7%). Amputation was performed in 107 cases (18.0%) and concentrated on the hands (43.9%) and upper limbs (39.3%). The mean length of stay was 42.9 ± 46.3 d and only one death occurred (0.2%). Current burns and higher numbers of operations were major risk factors for amputation and length of stay, respectively. Electrical burns mainly affected adult males with occupational exposures in China. Skin autografts and various skin flaps were commonly used for electric burn wound management. More standardized and effective strategies of treatment and prevention are still needed to decrease amputation rates. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Estimating mercury emissions resulting from wildfire in forests of the Western United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Webster, Jackson; Kane, Tyler J.; Obrist, Daniel; Ryan, Joseph N.; Aiken, George R.

2016-01-01

Understanding the emissions of mercury (Hg) from wildfires is important for quantifying the global atmospheric Hg sources. Emissions of Hg from soils resulting from wildfires in the Western United States was estimated for the 2000 to 2013 period, and the potential emission of Hg from forest soils was assessed as a function of forest type and soil-heating. Wildfire released an annual average of 3100 ± 1900 kg-Hg y− 1 for the years spanning 2000–2013 in the 11 states within the study area. This estimate is nearly 5-fold lower than previous estimates for the study region. Lower emission estimates are attributed to an inclusion of fire severity within burn perimeters. Within reported wildfire perimeters, the average distribution of low, moderate, and high severity burns was 52, 29, and 19% of the total area, respectively. Review of literature data suggests that that low severity burning does not result in soil heating, moderate severity fire results in shallow soil heating, and high severity fire results in relatively deep soil heating (< 5 cm). Using this approach, emission factors for high severity burns ranged from 58 to 640 μg-Hg kg-fuel− 1. In contrast, low severity burns have emission factors that are estimated to be only 18–34 μg-Hg kg-fuel− 1. In this estimate, wildfire is predicted to release 1–30 g Hg ha− 1 from Western United States forest soils while above ground fuels are projected to contribute an additional 0.9 to 7.8 g Hg ha− 1. Land cover types with low biomass (desert scrub) are projected to release less than 1 g Hg ha− 1. Following soil sources, fuel source contributions to total Hg emissions generally followed the order of duff > wood > foliage > litter > branches.

[Etiological analysis of subambient temperature burn in 351 cases of Hefei area].

PubMed

Shi, Jie; Qi, Weiwei; Xu, Qinglian; Zhou, Shunying; Wang, Guobao

2010-06-01

To study the preventive measure of the subambient temperature burn by analysing the pathogenesis feature. The clinical data were analysed from 351 cases of subambient temperature burn between February 2004 and February 2009, including age, sex, burn season, burn factors, burn position, burn area, burn degree, treatment way, and wound healing. Subambient temperature burn occurred in every age stage. The susceptible age stages included infant, children, and the elderly. Female patients were more than male patients. The common burn reasons were hot-water bottle burn, honey warm keeper burn, and heating device burn. The peak season was winter. Lower limb was the most common site of the subambient temperature burn. The deep II degree to III degree were the most common level, and the burn area was always small, often < or = 1% of total body surface area. Most of patients were treated with changing dressings at clinic and few patients needed hospitalization. Though the surface of wound could heal finally, and the wound healed well with no obvious scar in patients who received operation. Subambient temperature burn is the frequently encountered disease in winter. Use of the warming articles should be cautious, at the same time safety awareness should be strengthened so as to decrease the incidence rate of subambient temperature burn and the injury degree.

Effect of tank diameter on thermal behavior of gasoline and diesel storage tanks fires.

PubMed

Leite, Ricardo Machado; Centeno, Felipe Roman

2018-01-15

Studies on fire behavior are extremely important as they contribute in a firefighting situation or even to avoid such hazard. Experimental studies of fire in real scale are unfeasible, implying that reduced-scale experiments must be performed, and results extrapolated to the range of interest. This research aims to experimentally study the fire behavior in tanks of 0.04m, 0.20m, 0.40m, 0.80m and 4.28m diameter, burning regular gasoline or diesel oil S-500. The following parameters were here obtained: burning rates, burning velocities, heat release rates, flame heights, and temperature distributions adjacent to the tank. Such parameters were obtained for each tank diameter with the purpose of correlating the results and understanding the relationship of each parameter for the different geometrical scale of the tanks. Asymptotic results for larger tanks were found as (regular gasoline and diesel oil S-500, respectively): burning rates 0.050kg/(m 2 s) and 0.031kg/(m 2 s), burning velocities 4.0mm/min and 2.5mm/min, heat release rates per unit area 2200kW/m 2 and 1500kW/m 2 , normalized averaged flame heights (H i /D, where H i is the average flame height, D is the tank diameter) 0.9 and 0.8. Maximum temperatures for gasoline pools were higher than for diesel oil pools, and temperature gradients close to the tanks were also higher for the former fuel. The behavior of the maximum temperature was correlated as a function of the tank diameter, the heat release rate of each fuel and the dimensionless distance from the tank. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Use and efficacy of a nutrition protocol for patients with burns in intensive care.

PubMed

Lown, D

1991-01-01

The University of Michigan Burn Center uses a protocol to standardize the assessment, initiation, and monitoring of nutritional support for patients with burns of greater than 30% total body surface area (TBSA). Six patients with 20% to 80% TBSA burns were followed for 3 weeks to determine the effect of the protocol on the assessment, initiation, monitoring, and adequacy of nutritional support. The protocol calls for resting energy expenditure (REE) measurement within 24 hours of injury, to be repeated 3 times per week, for assessment of caloric requirements. Patients experienced an average delay before first REE measurement of 3 days after burn injury because measurements were unavailable on weekends and surgical days. REE measurements were used to determine caloric requirements and to tailor nutritional support to fluctuating metabolic needs. In four of the six patients a Dobhoff feeding tube (Biosearch Medical Products, Inc., Somerville, N.J.) was placed in the small bowel and enteral nutrition was initiated within 24 hours of admission, as outlined in the protocol. Two patients received concurrent parenteral nutrition because of difficulty in placing the Dobhoff feeding tube when fluoroscopy was not available. The three patients receiving nutrition solely through enteral feeding had achieved 100% of their caloric requirements by day 2, 4, and greater than 7 days after injury, respectively. Overall, the six patients received enterally an average of 75% of their caloric requirements. The major reason for inadequate enteral support was interruption of tube feedings because of tube dislodgment or multiple surgical procedures. The protocol used weekly measurements of total iron-binding capacity and prealbumin level s parameters of nutritional support.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Wintertime aerosol chemical composition and source apportionment of the organic fraction across Ireland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ovadnevaite, J.; Lin, C.; Ceburnis, D.; Huang, R. J. J.; O'Dowd, C. D. D.

2017-12-01

A national wide characterization of PM1 was studied for the first time using a high-time resolution Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) and Aethalometer in Ireland during the heating season. Dublin, the capital of Ireland, is the most polluted area with an average PM1 of 7.6 μg/m3, with frequent occurrence of peak concentration over 200 μg/m3 primarily due to solid fuels burning, while Mace Head, in the west coast, is least polluted with an average PM1 of 0.8 μg/m3 due to the distance from the emission sources. The organic aerosol is the most dominant species across Ireland, contributing 65%, 58%, 32%, 33% to total PM1 mass in Dublin, Birr, Carnsore Point, and Mace Head, respectively. Birr, a small town in the midland of Ireland, has comparable PM1 levels (4.8 μg/m3) and similar chemical compositions with that in Dublin. Carnsore Point, on the southeast coast, has similar composition with that at Mace Head, but nearly 3 times the levels of PM1 mass due to its relative closeness to other European countries. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) with the multi-linear engine (ME-2) was performed on the organic matrix to quantify the contribution of factor candidates. Peat burning was found to be the dominant factor across Ireland, contributing more than 40% of the total organic mass in Dublin and Birr while OOA is dominant at rural Carnsore Point and Mace Head. Possible geographic origins of PM1 species and organic factors using polar plots were explored. The findings of solid fuels burning (primarily peat burning) driving the pollution episodes suggest an elimination or controlled emission of solid fuels burning would reduce PM1 by at least 50%.

Wildfire effects on hiking and biking demand in New Mexico: a travel cost study.

PubMed

Hesseln, Hayley; Loomis, John B; González-Cabán, Armando; Alexander, Susan

2003-12-01

We use a travel cost model to test the effects of wild and prescribed fire on visitation by hikers and mountain bikers in New Mexico. Our results indicate that net benefits for mountain bikers is $150 per trip and that they take an average of 6.2 trips per year. Hikers take 2.8 trips per year with individual net benefits per trip of $130. Both hikers' and mountain bikers' demand functions react adversely to prescribed burning. Net benefits for both groups fall as areas recover from prescribed burns. Because both visitation and annual recreation benefits decrease to these two types of visitors, this gives rise to multiple use costs associated with prescribed burning. With respect to wildfire, hikers and mountain bikers both exhibit decreased visitation as areas recover from wildfires, however, only hikers indicate an increase in per trip net benefits. Bikers' demand effectively drops to zero. These results differ from previous findings in the literature and have implications for efficient implementation of the National Fire Plan and whether prescribed burning is a cost effective tool for multiple use management of National Forests. Specifically, that fire and recreation managers cannot expect recreation users to react similarly to fire across recreation activities, or different geographic regions. What is cost effective in one region may not be so in another.

Burns in sub-Saharan Africa: A review.

PubMed

Nthumba, Peter M

2016-03-01

Burns are important preventable causes of morbidity and mortality, with a disproportionate incidence in sub-Saharan Africa. The management of these injuries in sub-Saharan Africa is a challenge because of multiple other competing problems such as infectious diseases (HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria), terrorist acts and political instability. There is little investment in preventive measures, pre-hospital, in-hospital and post-discharge care of burns, resulting in high numbers of burns, high morbidity and mortality. Lack of data that can be used in legislation and policy formulation is a major hindrance in highlighting the problem of burns in this sub-region. An online search of publications on burns from sub-Saharan countries was performed. A total of 54 publications with 32,862 patients from 14 countries qualified for inclusion in the study. The average age was 15.3 years. Children aged 10 years and below represented over 80% of the burn patient population. Males constituted 55% of those who suffered burns. Scalds were the commonest cause of thermal injuries, accounting for 59% of all burns, while flame burns accounted for 33%. The burn mortality averaged 17%, or the death of one of every five burn victims. These statistics indicate the need for an urgent review of burn policies and related legislation across the sub-Saharan region to help reduce burns, and provide a safe environment for children. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Effect of Permeability of Tipping Paper on Cigarette Burning Temperature and the Property of Mainstream Smoke

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Zhen-Yu; Shen, Yan; Huang, Hai-Qun; Xu, Ji-Cang

2016-05-01

Cigarette smoke analysis of tipping paper with different permeability was carried out. The infrared thermal imager was used to measure burning temperature of cigarette with different permeability tipping paper. The results indicated that with the increase of tipping paper permeability, Tar, CO and nicotine in cigarette mainstream were significantly linear decreased, puff count was increased. Tipping paper permeability had a great influence on cigarette burning temperature. With the increase of tipping paper permeability, the third puff burning temperature and the average peak temperature values were dropped obviously, but the changes of smoldering temperature were not obvious. In addition, smoldering average temperature was significantly lower than the third puff burning temperature and peak temperature.

Using Logistic Regression To Predict the Probability of Debris Flows Occurring in Areas Recently Burned By Wildland Fires

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rupert, Michael G.; Cannon, Susan H.; Gartner, Joseph E.

2003-01-01

Logistic regression was used to predict the probability of debris flows occurring in areas recently burned by wildland fires. Multiple logistic regression is conceptually similar to multiple linear regression because statistical relations between one dependent variable and several independent variables are evaluated. In logistic regression, however, the dependent variable is transformed to a binary variable (debris flow did or did not occur), and the actual probability of the debris flow occurring is statistically modeled. Data from 399 basins located within 15 wildland fires that burned during 2000-2002 in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and New Mexico were evaluated. More than 35 independent variables describing the burn severity, geology, land surface gradient, rainfall, and soil properties were evaluated. The models were developed as follows: (1) Basins that did and did not produce debris flows were delineated from National Elevation Data using a Geographic Information System (GIS). (2) Data describing the burn severity, geology, land surface gradient, rainfall, and soil properties were determined for each basin. These data were then downloaded to a statistics software package for analysis using logistic regression. (3) Relations between the occurrence/non-occurrence of debris flows and burn severity, geology, land surface gradient, rainfall, and soil properties were evaluated and several preliminary multivariate logistic regression models were constructed. All possible combinations of independent variables were evaluated to determine which combination produced the most effective model. The multivariate model that best predicted the occurrence of debris flows was selected. (4) The multivariate logistic regression model was entered into a GIS, and a map showing the probability of debris flows was constructed. The most effective model incorporates the percentage of each basin with slope greater than 30 percent, percentage of land burned at medium and high burn severity in each basin, particle size sorting, average storm intensity (millimeters per hour), soil organic matter content, soil permeability, and soil drainage. The results of this study demonstrate that logistic regression is a valuable tool for predicting the probability of debris flows occurring in recently-burned landscapes.

A rare case of failed healing in previously burned skin after a secondary burns.

PubMed

Goldie, Stephen J; Parsons, Shaun; Menezes, Hana; Ives, Andrew; Cleland, Heather

2017-01-01

Patients presenting with large surface area burns are common in our practice; however, patients with a secondary large burn on pre-existing burn scars and grafts are rare and not reported. We report on an unusual case of a patient sustaining a secondary large burn to areas previously injured by a burn from a different mechanism. We discuss the potential implications when managing a case like this and suggest potential biological reasons why the skin may behave differently. Our patient was a 33-year-old man who presented with a 5% TBSA burn on skin scarred by a previous 40% total body surface area (TBSA) burn and skin grafts. Initially assessed as superficial partial thickness in depth, the wounds were treated conservatively with dressings; however, they failed to heal and became infected requiring surgical management. Burns sustained in areas of previous burn scars and grafts may behave differently to normal patterns of healing, requiring more aggressive management and surgical intervention at an early stage.

Minor burn management: potions and lotions

PubMed Central

Hyland, Ela J; Connolly, Siobhan M; Fox, Jade A; Harvey, John G

2015-01-01

Summary The first aid for burns is to run cold water over the burn for 20 minutes. This is effective for up to three hours after the injury. Assess the affected body surface area using the rule of nines. Consult a burn unit if more than 5% of the total body surface area is burnt in a child or if more than 10% in an adult. Extensive or deep burns and burns to special areas, such as the hands, should be referred. Chemical or electrical burns should also be assessed by a burn unit. For minor burns, antimicrobial dressings are recommended, but oral antibiotics should be avoided unless there are signs of infection. As burns are tetanus prone, check the patient’s immunisation status. Burns that become infected or are slow to heal should be discussed with a burn unit. The burn unit can also provide advice if there are uncertainties about how to manage a patient. PMID:26648640

Test Area C-64 Range Environmental Assessment, Revision 1

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-10-01

DOI U.S. Department of the Interior DNL Day–Night Average Sound Level DU Depleted Uranium EBD Environmental Baseline Document EIAP Environmental...vulnerability, burning sensitivity, drop tests, bullet impact tests, sympathetic detonation tests, advanced warhead design tests, and depleted uranium (DU...land back to range use. Source: U.S. Air Force, 2009 DU = depleted uranium ; ERP = Environmental Restoration Program; LUC = land use control; RW

Landscape Patterns of Burn Severity in the Soberanes Fire of 2016

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Potter, Christopher

2016-01-01

The Soberanes Fire started on July 22, 2016 in Monterey County on the California Central Coast from an illegal campfire. This fire burned for 10 weeks at a record cost of more than $208 million for protection and control. A progressive analysis of the normalized burn ratio from the Landsat satellite showed that the final high burn severity (HBS) area for the Soberanes Fire comprised 22 percent of the total area burned, whereas final moderate burn severity (MBS) area comprised about 10 percent of the total area burned of approximately 53,470 ha (132,130 acres). The resulting landscape pattern of burn severity classes from the 2016 Soberanes Fire revealed that the majority of HBS area was located in the elevation zone between 500 and 1000 m, in the slope zone between 15 percent and 30 percent, or on south-facing aspects.

Deer habitat use after prescribed burning in Northern California

Treesearch

John G. Kie

1984-01-01

Prescribed burning was used to improve blacktailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) habitat in Trinity County, northern California. Deer response was measured by comparing pellet group deposition on one burned and three unburned areas. Pellet group counts were highest on the burned area for 3 years after burning. One year after burning, pellet...

Cost Analysis of 48 Burn Patients in a Mass Casualty Explosion Treated at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital.

PubMed

Mathews, Alexandra L; Cheng, Ming-Huei; Muller, John-Michael; Lin, Miffy Chia-Yu; Chang, Kate W C; Chung, Kevin C

2017-01-01

Little is known about the costs of treating burn patients after a mass casualty event. A devastating Color Dust explosion that injured 499 patients occurred on June 27, 2015 in Taiwan. This study was performed to investigate the economic effects of treating burn patients at a single medical center after an explosion disaster. A detailed retrospective analysis on 48 patient expense records at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital after the Color Dust explosion was performed. Data were collected during the acute treatment period between June 27, 2015 and September 30, 2015. The distribution of cost drivers for the entire patient cohort (n=48), patients with a percent total body surface area burn (%TBSA)≥50 (n=20), and those with %TBSA <50 (n=28) were analyzed. The total cost of 48 burn patients over the acute 3-month time period was $2,440,688, with a mean cost per patient of $50,848 ±36,438. Inpatient ward fees (30%), therapeutic treatment fees (22%), and medication fees (11%) were found to be the three highest cost drivers. The 20 patients with a %TBSA ≥50 consumed $1,559,300 (63.8%) of the total expenses, at an average cost of $77,965±34,226 per patient. The 28 patients with a %TBSA <50 consumed $881,387 (36.1%) of care expenses, at an average cost of $31,478±23,518 per patient. In response to this mass casualty event, inpatient ward fees represented the largest expense. Hospitals can reduce this fee by ensuring wound dressing and skin substitute materials are regionally stocked and accessible. Medication fees may be higher than expected when treating a mass burn cohort. In preparation for a future event, hospitals should anticipate patients with a %TBSA≥50 will contribute the majority of inpatient expenses. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The effect of adipose derived stromal vascular fraction on stasis zone in an experimental burn model.

PubMed

Eyuboglu, Atilla Adnan; Uysal, Cagri A; Ozgun, Gonca; Coskun, Erhan; Markal Ertas, Nilgun; Haberal, Mehmet

2018-03-01

Stasis zone is the surrounding area of the coagulation zone which is an important part determining the extent of the necrosis in burn patients. In our study we aim to salvage the stasis zone by injecting adipose derived stromal vascular fraction (ADSVF). Thermal injury was applied on dorsum of Sprague-Dawley rats (n=20) by the "comb burn" model as described previously. When the burn injury was established on Sprague-Dawley rats (30min); rat dorsum was separated into 2 equal parts consisting of 4 burn zones (3 stasis zone) on each pair. ADSVF cells harvested from inguinal fat pads of Sprague-Dawley rats (n=5) were injected on the right side while same amount of phosphate buffered saline (PBS) injected on the left side of the same animal. One week later, average vital tissue on the statis zone was determined by macroscopy, angiography and microscopy. Vascular density, inflammatory cell density, gradient of fibrosis and epithelial thickness were determined via immunohistochemical assay. Macroscopic stasis zone tissue viability (32±3.28%, 57±4.28%) (p<0.01), average number of vessels (10.28±1.28, 19.43±1.72) (p<0.01), capillary count (15.67±1.97, 25.35±2.15) (p<0.01) vascular density (1.55±0.38, 2.14±0.45) (p<0.01) epithelial thickness (0.014±0.009mm, 0.024±0.0011mm) were higher on ADSVF side. Fibrosis gradient (1.87±0.51, 1.50±0.43) (p<0.01) and inflammatory cell density (1.33±0.40, 1.20±0.32) (p<0.01) were higher on the PBS side. Macroscopic and microscopic findings determined that ADSVF has a statistically significant benefit for salvaging stasis zone on acute burn injuries. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Cost Analysis of 48 Burn Patients in a Mass Casualty Explosion Treated at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital

PubMed Central

Mathews, Alexandra L.; Cheng, Ming-Huei; Muller, John-Michael; Lin, Miffy Chia-Yu; Chang, Kate W.C.; Chung, Kevin C.

2016-01-01

Introduction Little is known about the costs of treating burn patients after a mass casualty event. A devastating Color Dust explosion that injured 499 patients occurred on June 27, 2015 in Taiwan. This study was performed to investigate the economic effects of treating burn patients at a single medical center after an explosion disaster. Methods A detailed retrospective analysis on 48 patient expense records at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital after the Color Dust explosion was performed. Data were collected during the acute treatment period between June 27, 2015 and September 30, 2015. The distribution of cost drivers for the entire patient cohort (n=48), patients with a percent total body surface area burn (%TBSA) ≥ 50 (n=20), and those with %TBSA <50 (n=28) were analyzed. Results The total cost of 48 burn patients over the acute 3-month time period was $2,440,688, with a mean cost per patient of $50,848 ±36,438. Inpatient ward fees (30%), therapeutic treatment fees (22%), and medication fees (11%) were found to be the three highest cost drivers. The 20 patients with a %TBSA ≥50 consumed $1,559,300 (63.8%) of the total expenses, at an average cost of $77,965 ± 34,226 per patient. The 28 patients with a %TBSA <50 consumed $881,387 (36.1%) of care expenses, at an average cost of $31,478 ± 23,518 per patient. Conclusions In response to this mass casualty event, inpatient ward fees represented the largest expense. Hospitals can reduce this fee by ensuring wound dressing and skin substitute materials are regionally stocked and accessible. Medication fees may be higher than expected when treating a mass burn cohort. In preparation for a future event, hospitals should anticipate patients with a %TBSA ≥ 50 will contribute the majority of inpatient expenses. PMID:27553390

Burden of burns in Portugal, 2000-2013: A clinical and economic analysis of 26,447 hospitalisations.

PubMed

Santos, João V; Oliveira, Andreia; Costa-Pereira, Altamiro; Amarante, José; Freitas, Alberto

2016-06-01

There is a lack of recent and nation-wide epidemiological studies of burns in Europe, mainly in southern Europe. There are no recent studies describing the clinical and economic burden of burns in this European area. Hence, this research aimed to describe the clinical and economic burden of burn hospitalisations in Portugal. A retrospective observational study was performed and the Portuguese hospitalisation database of public hospitals was used; all inpatients, discharged between 2000 and 2013, with a main or secondary diagnosis of burns (ICD-9-CM: 940.xx-949.xx) were taken into account. Furthermore, admissions to hospitals with and without burn centres were compared. A total of 26,447 burn hospitalisations were registered (mean of 1889burn admissions/year). The total hospitalisation rate was of 18.9hospitalisations/100,000inhabitants/year, and there was a higher incidence of male patients. Burn hospitalisations and hospitalisation rates are significantly decreasing - mostly in 0-14-year-old patients - and children below the age of 5 years represented a fifth of all admissions. Besides the important morbidity, the in-hospital mortality rate was of 4.4%. With a total annual charge of almost 13million Euros, the average cost per burn admission is increasing, and reached 8032Euros in 2013. Additionally, more than half of the patients admitted to hospitals without burn centres were not transferred to hospitals with burn centres, not following the European Burns Association transferral criteria. As the largest southern European nation-wide epidemiological study of burn patients, this research highlights that burn admissions, as well as hospitalisation rates, are decreasing significantly. This was particularly obvious among the youngest patients despite the fact that the numbers still remain very high. Moreover, the in-hospital mortality rate is still excessively high and the burn transferral criteria are not being followed. Thus, it is important to improve preventive measures, reach out to and educate providers about the burn transferral criteria, and develop specific health care strategies for children with these injuries. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Global Burned Area and Biomass Burning Emissions from Small Fires

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Randerson, J. T.; Chen, Y.; vanderWerf, G. R.; Rogers, B. M.; Morton, D. C.

2012-01-01

In several biomes, including croplands, wooded savannas, and tropical forests, many small fires occur each year that are well below the detection limit of the current generation of global burned area products derived from moderate resolution surface reflectance imagery. Although these fires often generate thermal anomalies that can be detected by satellites, their contributions to burned area and carbon fluxes have not been systematically quantified across different regions and continents. Here we developed a preliminary method for combining 1-km thermal anomalies (active fires) and 500 m burned area observations from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) to estimate the influence of these fires. In our approach, we calculated the number of active fires inside and outside of 500 m burn scars derived from reflectance data. We estimated small fire burned area by computing the difference normalized burn ratio (dNBR) for these two sets of active fires and then combining these observations with other information. In a final step, we used the Global Fire Emissions Database version 3 (GFED3) biogeochemical model to estimate the impact of these fires on biomass burning emissions. We found that the spatial distribution of active fires and 500 m burned areas were in close agreement in ecosystems that experience large fires, including savannas across southern Africa and Australia and boreal forests in North America and Eurasia. In other areas, however, we observed many active fires outside of burned area perimeters. Fire radiative power was lower for this class of active fires. Small fires substantially increased burned area in several continental-scale regions, including Equatorial Asia (157%), Central America (143%), and Southeast Asia (90%) during 2001-2010. Globally, accounting for small fires increased total burned area by approximately by 35%, from 345 Mha/yr to 464 Mha/yr. A formal quantification of uncertainties was not possible, but sensitivity analyses of key model parameters caused estimates of global burned area increases from small fires to vary between 24% and 54%. Biomass burning carbon emissions increased by 35% at a global scale when small fires were included in GFED3, from 1.9 Pg C/yr to 2.5 Pg C/yr. The contribution of tropical forest fires to year-to-year variability in carbon fluxes increased because small fires amplified emissions from Central America, South America and Southeast Asia-regions where drought stress and burned area varied considerably from year to year in response to El Nino-Southern Oscillation and other climate modes.

Burn severity of areas reburned by wildfires in the Gila National Forest, New Mexico, USA

Treesearch

Zachary A. Holden; Penelope Morgan; Andrew T. Hudak

2010-01-01

We describe satellite-inferred burn severity patterns of areas that were burned and then reburned by wildland fire from 1984 to 2004 within the Gila Aldo Leopold Wilderness Complex, New Mexico, USA. Thirteen fires have burned 27 000 hectares across multiple vegetation types at intervals between fires ranging from 3 yr to 14 yr. Burn severity of reburned areas showed...

Landsat-Based Detection and Severity Analysis of Burned Sugarcane Plots in Tarlac, Philippines Using Differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baloloy, A. B.; Blanco, A. C.; Gana, B. S.; Sta. Ana, R. C.; Olalia, L. C.

2016-09-01

The Philippines has a booming sugarcane industry contributing about PHP 70 billion annually to the local economy through raw sugar, molasses and bioethanol production (SRA, 2012). Sugarcane planters adapt different farm practices in cultivating sugarcane, one of which is cane burning to eliminate unwanted plant material and facilitate easier harvest. Information on burned sugarcane extent is significant in yield estimation models to calculate total sugar lost during harvest. Pre-harvest burning can lessen sucrose by 2.7% - 5% of the potential yield (Gomez, et al 2006; Hiranyavasit, 2016). This study employs a method for detecting burn sugarcane area and determining burn severity through Differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR) using Landsat 8 Images acquired during the late milling season in Tarlac, Philippines. Total burned area was computed per burn severity based on pre-fire and post-fire images. Results show that 75.38% of the total sugarcane fields in Tarlac were burned with post-fire regrowth; 16.61% were recently burned; and only 8.01% were unburned. The monthly dNBR for February to March generated the largest area with low severity burn (1,436 ha) and high severity burn (31.14 ha) due to pre-harvest burning. Post-fire regrowth is highest in April to May when previously burned areas were already replanted with sugarcane. The maximum dNBR of the entire late milling season (February to May) recorded larger extent of areas with high and low post-fire regrowth compared to areas with low, moderate and high burn severity. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was used to analyse vegetation dynamics between the burn severity classes. Significant positive correlation, rho = 0.99, was observed between dNBR and dNDVI at 5% level (p = 0.004). An accuracy of 89.03% was calculated for the Landsat-derived NBR validated using actual mill data for crop year 2015-2016.

LANDSAT digital analysis of the initial recovery of the Kokolik River tundra fire area, Alaska

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, D. K.; Ormsby, J. P.; Johnson, L.; Brown, J. (Principal Investigator)

1979-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Considerable regrowth of vegetation was observed between August 1977 and August 1978, both in the field and through analysis of LANDSAT near infrared digital data. The spectral reflectances in the burned areas were found to increase with the age of the burn in a one year period due to vegetation regrowth. Regrowth was particularly evident in the lightly burned portions of the burned area. Image analysis techniques using the AOIPS system permitted delineation of burn severity categories. The conditions and type of ground cover prior to the fire influenced the severity of burning, as did the direction of the winds while the burning was in progress as determined from field and LANDSAT observations. More severe burning was induced by winds blowing in the northeastern and southeastern portions of the burned area.

A thirty year, fine-scale, characterization of area burned in Canadian forests shows evidence of regionally increasing trends in the last decade

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Fire as a dominant disturbance has profound implications on the terrestrial carbon cycle. We present the first ever multi-decadal, spatially-explicit, 30 meter assessment of fire regimes across the forested ecoregions of Canada at an annual time-step. From 1985 to 2015, 51 Mha burned, impacting over 6.5% of forested ecosystems. Mean annual area burned was 1,651,818 ha and varied markedly (σ = 1,116,119), with 25% of the total area burned occurring in three years: 1989, 1995, and 2015. Boreal forest types contained 98% of the total area burned, with the conifer-dominated Boreal Shield containing one-third of all burned area. While results confirm no significant national trend in burned area for the period of 1985 to 2015, a significant national increasing trend (α = 0.05) of 11% per year was evident for the past decade (2006 to 2015). Regionally, a significant increasing trend in total burned area from 1985 to 2015 was observed in the Montane Cordillera (2.4% increase per year), while the Taiga Plains and Taiga Shield West displayed significant increasing trends from 2006 to 2015 (26.1% and 12.7% increases per year, respectively). The Atlantic Maritime, which had the lowest burned area of all ecozones (0.01% burned per year), was the only ecozone to display a significant negative trend (2.4% decrease per year) from 1985 to 2015. Given the century-long fire return intervals in many of these ecozones, and large annual variability in burned area, short-term trends need to be interpreted with caution. Additional interpretive cautions are related to year used for trend initiation and the nature and extents of spatial regionalizations used for summarizing findings. The results of our analysis provide a baseline for monitoring future national and regional trends in burned area and offer spatially and temporally detailed insights to inform science, policy, and management. PMID:29787562

A thirty year, fine-scale, characterization of area burned in Canadian forests shows evidence of regionally increasing trends in the last decade.

PubMed

Coops, Nicholas C; Hermosilla, Txomin; Wulder, Michael A; White, Joanne C; Bolton, Douglas K

2018-01-01

Fire as a dominant disturbance has profound implications on the terrestrial carbon cycle. We present the first ever multi-decadal, spatially-explicit, 30 meter assessment of fire regimes across the forested ecoregions of Canada at an annual time-step. From 1985 to 2015, 51 Mha burned, impacting over 6.5% of forested ecosystems. Mean annual area burned was 1,651,818 ha and varied markedly (σ = 1,116,119), with 25% of the total area burned occurring in three years: 1989, 1995, and 2015. Boreal forest types contained 98% of the total area burned, with the conifer-dominated Boreal Shield containing one-third of all burned area. While results confirm no significant national trend in burned area for the period of 1985 to 2015, a significant national increasing trend (α = 0.05) of 11% per year was evident for the past decade (2006 to 2015). Regionally, a significant increasing trend in total burned area from 1985 to 2015 was observed in the Montane Cordillera (2.4% increase per year), while the Taiga Plains and Taiga Shield West displayed significant increasing trends from 2006 to 2015 (26.1% and 12.7% increases per year, respectively). The Atlantic Maritime, which had the lowest burned area of all ecozones (0.01% burned per year), was the only ecozone to display a significant negative trend (2.4% decrease per year) from 1985 to 2015. Given the century-long fire return intervals in many of these ecozones, and large annual variability in burned area, short-term trends need to be interpreted with caution. Additional interpretive cautions are related to year used for trend initiation and the nature and extents of spatial regionalizations used for summarizing findings. The results of our analysis provide a baseline for monitoring future national and regional trends in burned area and offer spatially and temporally detailed insights to inform science, policy, and management.

Gaseous and particulate emissions from prescribed burning in Georgia.

PubMed

Lee, Sangil; Baumann, Karsten; Schauer, James J; Sheesley, Rebecca J; Naeher, Luke P; Meinardi, Simone; Blake, Donald R; Edgerton, Eric S; Russell, Armistead G; Clements, Mark

2005-12-01

Prescribed burning is a significant source of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the southeastern United States. However, limited data exist on the emission characteristics from this source. Various organic and inorganic compounds both in the gas and particle phase were measured in the emissions of prescribed burnings conducted at two pine-dominated forest areas in Georgia. The measurements of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and PM2.5 allowed the determination of emission factors for the flaming and smoldering stages of prescribed burnings. The VOC emission factors from smoldering were distinctly higher than those from flaming except for ethene, ethyne, and organic nitrate compounds. VOC emission factors show that emissions of certain aromatic compounds and terpenes such as alpha and beta-pinenes, which are important precursors for secondary organic aerosol (SOA), are much higher from active prescribed burnings than from fireplace wood and laboratory open burning studies. Levoglucosan is the major particulate organic compound (POC) emitted for all these studies, though its emission relative to total organic carbon (mg/g OC) differs significantly. Furthermore, cholesterol, an important fingerprint for meat cooking, was observed only in our in situ study indicating a significant release from the soil and soil organisms during open burning. Source apportionment of ambient primary fine particulate OC measured at two urban receptor locations 20-25 km downwind yields 74 +/- 11% during and immediately after the burns using our new in situ profile. In comparison with the previous source profile from laboratory simulations, however, this OC contribution is on average 27 +/- 5% lower.

Determination of burning area and port volume in complex burning regions of a solid rocket motor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kingsbury, J. A.

1977-01-01

An analysis of the geometry of the burning in both star-cylindrical port interface regions and regions of partially inhibited slots is presented. Some characteristics parameters are defined and illustrated. Methods are proposed for calculating burning areas which functionally depend only on the total distance burned. According to this method, several points are defined where abrupt changes in geometry occur, and these are tracked throughout the burn. Equations are developed for computing port perimeter and port area at pre-established longitudinal positions. Some common formulas and some newly developed formulas are then used to compute burning surface area and port volume. Some specific results are presented for the solid rocket motor committed to the space shuttle project.

[Estimation of carbonaceous gases emission from forest fires in Xiao Xing'an Mountains of Northeast China in 1953-2011].

PubMed

Hu, Hai-Qing; Luo, Bi-Zhen; Wei, Shu-Jing; Sun, Long; Wei, Shu-Wei; Wen, Zheng-Min

2013-11-01

Based on the forest resources investigation data and the forest fire inventory in 1953-2011, in combining with our field research in burned areas and our laboratory experiments, this paper estimated the carbonaceous gases carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4), and nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHC) emission from the forest fires in Xiao Xing' an Mountains of Heilongjiang Province, Northeast China in 1953-2011. The total carbon emission from the forest fires in the Xiao Xing'an Mountains in 1953-2011 was 1.12 x 10(7) t, and the annual emission was averagely 1.90 x10(5) t, accounting for 1.7% of the annual average total carbon emission from the forest fires in China. The emission of CO2, CO, CH4, and NMHC was 3.39 x 10(7), 1.94 x 10(5), 1.09 x 10(5), and 7.46 x 10(4) t, respectively, and the corresponding annual average emission was 5.74 x 10(5), 3.29 x 10(4), 1.85 x 10(3), and 1.27 x 10(3) t, accounting for 1.4%, 1.2%, 1.7%, and 1.1% of the annual carbonaceous gases emitted from the forest fires in China, respectively. The combustion efficiency and the carbon emission per unit burned area of different forest types decreased in order of coniferous forest > broad-leaved forest > coniferous broadleaved mixed forest. Some rational forest fire management measures were put forward.

Pediatric deep burns caused by hot incense ashes during 2014 Spring Festival in Fuyang city, China.

PubMed

Wang, Jian; Zhou, Bo; Tao, Ren Qin; Chen, Xu Lin

2016-01-01

The Chinese people in Fuyang city, a northwest city of Anhui Province, are accustomed to burning incense at home for blessing during the Spring Festival. Their children, especially toddlers, like playing around the burning incense and are at risk of burning by hot incense ashes. The purpose of this study was to describe the unique cause and clinical characteristics of pediatric deep burns caused by hot incense ashes during 2014 Spring Festival. Twelve consecutive children admitted to our Burn Center and Fuyang People's Hospital during 2014 Spring Festival, with burn injuries caused by hot incense ashes which were epidemiologically studied retrospectively. Data on age, gender, size, depth and site of burn, incidence by day, number of operation, hospital stay, and causes of burns were collected. All patients came from Fuyang city. Of the 12 patients, the average age was 2.17 years, with a range of 1-6. The boy-to-girl ratio was 2: 1. The mean total burn surface area (TBSA) was 5.83%, and 91.67% of the children sustained full-thickness burn. Hands were the most common parts of the body to be injured. Dry necrosis developed in 14 fingers of 3 patients. January 31, 2014, the first day of the Chinese New Year, was the time of highest incidence. Six patients (50%) required surgical intervention while the number of operations including escharectomy, excision, skin grafting, or amputation of necrotic fingers, per patient was 2. A total of 14 fingers were amputated of the necrotic parts. All children survived and mean length of hospital stay of the patients was 20 days. Hot incense ashes cause serious injuries to children in Fuyang city during the Spring Festival. Preventive programs should be directed towards high risk groups to reduce the incidence of this burn.

An Outcomes Study on the Effects of the Singapore General Hospital Burns Protocol.

PubMed

Liang, Weihao; Kok, Yee Onn; Tan, Bien Keem; Chong, Si Jack

2018-01-01

The Singapore General Hospital Burns Protocol was implemented in May 2014 to standardize treatment for all burns patients, incorporate new techniques and materials, and streamline the processes and workflow of burns management. This study aims to analyze the effects of the Burns Protocol 2 years after its implementation. Using a REDCap electronic database, all burns patients admitted from May 2013 to April 2016 were included in the study. The historical preimplementation control group composed of patients admitted from May 2013 to April 2014 (n = 96). The postimplementation prospective study cohort consisted of patients admitted from May 2014 to April 2016 (n = 243). Details of the patients collected included age, sex, comorbidities, total body surface area (TBSA) burns, time until surgery, number of surgeries, number of positive tissue and blood cultures, and length of hospital stay. There was no statistically significant difference in the demographics of both groups. The study group had a statistically significant shorter time to surgery compared with the control group (20.8 vs 38.1, P < 0.0001). The study group also averaged fewer surgeries performed (1.96 vs 2.29, P = 0.285), which, after accounting for the extent of burns, was statistically significant (number of surgeries/TBSA, 0.324 vs 0.506; P = 0.0499). The study group also had significantly shorter length of stay (12.5 vs 16.8, P = 0.0273), a shorter length of stay/TBSA burns (0.874 vs 1.342, P = 0.0101), and fewer positive tissue cultures (0.6 vs 1.3, P = 0.0003). The study group also trended toward fewer positive blood culture results (0.09 vs 0.35, P = 0.0593), although the difference was just shy of statistical significance. The new Singapore General Hospital Burns Protocol had revolutionized Singapore burns care by introducing a streamlined, multidisciplinary burns management, resulting in improved patient outcomes, lowered health care costs, and improved system resource use.

Impact of postfire management on soil respiration and C concentration in a managed hemiboreal forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Köster, Kajar; Seglinš, Katrin; Parro, Kristi; Metslaid, Marek

2017-04-01

Fire is the main natural disturbance in boreal forests and it is expected that its frequency will increase as a result of climate change. Fire is the primary process which organizes the physical and biological attributes of the boreal biome and influences energy flows and biogeochemical cycles, particularly the carbon (C) cycle. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of forest fire and time since forest fire on soil respiration and soil C concentrations in scenarios where the area was managed or was not managed after fire disturbance. This study was carried out in two permanent research areas in northwestern Estonia (hemiboreal forest zone) that were damaged by fire: Vihterpalu (59o13' N 23o49' E) and Nõva (59o10' N 23o45' E). Fire occurred in Vihterpalu in year 1992 (550 ha burned), when the forest was 52 years old, and in Nõva in year 2008 (800 ha burned), when the forest was 70 years old. Before the fire disturbance both sites were covered with planted or sown Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) forests originally regenerated after heavy fires in 1940 (Nõva) and 1951 (Vihterpalu). In all areas we are dealing with stand replacing fires where all (or almost all) of the stand was destroyed by fire. In both study areas three different types of sample areas were set up: 1) control areas (CO), that are unburned and no management activities carried out; 2) burned and cleared (BC) with salvage logging, areas in which all dead and live trees were harvested from the plot after fire; 3) burned and uncleared areas (BU), areas without management in which both dead and live trees were left on the plots after fire disturbance. On every area three measuring transects (40 m long) were established where soil respiration (g CO2 m-2h-1) was measured on five collars, and five soil samples (0.5 m long and 0.05 m in diameter) were taken to estimate soil C (kg m-2) content. In our study, highest soil respiration values were recorded in control (CO) areas, which are not affected by forest fires. In the fire areas (BC and BU) the average soil respiration values were more than two times lower than in the areas which were not affected by forest fires. Different post-fire management activities (removing or leaving damaged trees) did not affect the soil respiration values. Soil temperature had a significant impact on the CO2 flows. The recorded average soil temperature was lowest in CO and highest in BU areas, respectively. In spring and autumn soil temperatures in disturbed areas, as well as in cleared areas, were rising faster than in CO areas. In our study, 1992 fire areas had thicker litter and organic layer compared to 2008 fire areas. Most of the litter and organic matter was found in CO areas, followed by BU and BC areas. The highest C concentrations were found in CO areas. In the fire areas C concentration was also affected by the post-disturbance management, as in BC areas soil C concentration was lower compared to BU areas.

Total N exports from once vs. repeatedly burnt Pine plantations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonzalez Pelayo, Oscar; Hosseini, Mohammadreza; Varandas, Daniela; Machado, Ana Isabel; Prats Alegre, Sergio; Coelho, Celeste O. A.; Geissen, Violette; Ritsema, Coen; Keizer, Jan Jacob

2014-05-01

Post-fire nutrient losses in Mediterranean forested areas have been suggested as a key driver for ecosystem degradation. The role of fire recurrence in soil nutrient depletion, however, has been poorly studied. The EU-funded CASCADE project addresses this research gap in the study case in Portugal, having as overarching aim to assess if repeated wildfires lead to land degradation in Maritime Pine stands through a gradual process or, instead, through tipping-points in plant-water-soil relationships. Following a large wildfire in September 2012 affecting more than 3000 ha in the municipality of Viseu (central Portugal), total N losses are being monitored in three zones: 4x burnt since 1975; 1x burnt since 197, i.e. in 2012); unburnt since 1975. Within each zone, three replicate slopes were selected with similar slope angles and expositions and, at each slope, three pairs of erosion plots of approximately 0.25 m2 were installed on the lower, middle and lower slope section. Additionally, a catchment outlet within the 4x burned zones was equipped with a gauging station for automatic recording of water level sensor and tubidity and for collecting stream flow samples using an automatic sampler. Preliminary results from the first 6 months after the 2012-wildfire suggested that total N losses were, on average, twice as high at the 4x times burned slopes than at the 1x burned slopes. Nonetheless, temporal patterns in average losses during these initial six months were similar for the two zones. By contrast, the results obtained during the subsequent spring and summer seasons suggested that average total N losses from the 1x burned slopes closely approximated those from the 4x burned slopes. At the unburned slopes, total N losses were very small and limited to few rainfall events. Interestingly, at the catchment outlet the total N values were 66% higher compared to the 4x times burned microplots, highlighting the importance of up-scaling effects in terms of nutrient losses. Preliminary results on total N losses during the first post-fire year showed that nutrient depletion can be triggered by increasing the fire regime. The up-scaling effect suggested an increase in nutrient exportations from micro-plot to catchment scale. These results are being further investigated to establish the relationships between soil fertility losses and fire recurrence.

Predictive Value of IL-8 for Sepsis and Severe Infections after Burn Injury - A Clinical Study

PubMed Central

Kraft, Robert; Herndon, David N; Finnerty, Celeste C; Cox, Robert A; Song, Juquan; Jeschke, Marc G

2014-01-01

The inflammatory response induced by burn injury contributes to increased incidence of infections, sepsis, organ failure, and mortality. Thus, monitoring post-burn inflammation is of paramount importance but so far there are no reliable biomarkers available to monitor and/or predict infectious complications after burn. As IL-8 is a major mediator for inflammatory responses, the aim of our study was to determine whether IL-8 expression can be used to predict post-burn sepsis, infections, and mortality other outcomes post-burn. Plasma cytokines, acute phase proteins, constitutive proteins, and hormones were analyzed during the first 60 days post injury from 468 pediatric burn patients. Demographics and clinical outcome variables (length of stay, infection, sepsis, multiorgan failure (MOF), and mortality were recorded. A cut-off level for IL-8 was determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Statistical significance is set at (p<0.05). ROC analysis identified a cut-off level of 234 pg/ml for IL-8 for survival. Patients were grouped according to their average IL-8 levels relative to this cut off and stratified into high (H) (n=133) and low (L) (n=335) groups. In the L group, regression analysis revealed a significant predictive value of IL-8 to percent of total body surface area (TBSA) burned and incidence of MOF (p<0.001). In the H group IL-8 levels were able to predict sepsis (p<0.002). In the H group, elevated IL-8 was associated with increased inflammatory and acute phase responses compared to the L group (p<0.05). High levels of IL-8 correlated with increased MOF, sepsis, and mortality. These data suggest that serum levels of IL-8 may be a valid biomarker for monitoring sepsis, infections, and mortality in burn patients. PMID:25514427

Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Unburned Areas within Fire Perimeters in the Northwestern United States from 1984 to 2014

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meddens, A. J.; Kolden, C.; Lutz, J. A.; Abatzoglou, J. T.; Hudak, A. T.

2016-12-01

Recently, there has been concern about increasing extent and severity of wildfires across the globe given rapid climate change. Areas that do not burn within fire perimeters can act as fire refugia, providing (1) protection from the detrimental effects of the fire, (2) seed sources, and (3) post-fire habitat on the landscape. However, recent studies have mainly focused on the higher end of the burn severity spectrum whereas the lower end of the burn severity spectrum has been largely ignored. We developed a spatially explicit database for 2,200 fires across the inland northwestern USA, delineating unburned areas within fire perimeters from 1984 to 2014. We used 1,600 Landsat scenes with one or two scenes before and one or two scenes after the fires to capture the unburned proportion of the fire. Subsequently, we characterized the spatial and temporal patterns of unburned areas and related the unburned proportion to interannual climate variability. The overall classification accuracy detecting unburned locations was 89.2% using a 10-fold cross-validation classification tree approach in combination with 719 randomly located field plots. The unburned proportion ranged from 2% to 58% with an average of 19% for a select number of fires. We find that using both an immediate post-fire image and a one-year post fire image improves classification accuracy of unburned islands over using just a single post-fire image. The spatial characteristics of the unburned islands differ between forested and non-forested regions with a larger amount of unburned area within non-forest. In addition, we show trends of unburned proportion related primarily to concurrent climatic drought conditions across the entire region. This database is important for subsequent analyses of fire refugia prioritization, vegetation recovery studies, ecosystem resilience, and forest management to facilitate unburned islands through fuels breaks, prescribed burning, and fire suppression strategies.

Spatial and temporal variation of historical anthropogenic NMVOCs emission inventories in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bo, Y.; Cai, H.; Xie, S. D.

2008-12-01

Multiyear emission inventories of anthropogenic NMVOCs in China for 1980-2005 were established based on time-varying statistical data, literature surveyed and model calculated emission factors, which were further gridded at a high spatial resolution of 40 km×40 km using the GIS methodology. Results show a continuous growth trend of China's historical NMVOCs emissions during the period of 1980-2005, with the emission increasing by 4.2 times at an annual average rate of 10.6% from 3.91 Tg in 1980 to 16.49 Tg in 2005. Vehicles, biomass burning, industrial processes, fossil fuel combustion, solvent utilization, and storage and transport generated 5.50 Tg, 3.84 Tg, 2.76 Tg, 1.98 Tg, 1.87 Tg, and 0.55 Tg of NMVOCs, respectively, in 2005. Motorcycles, biofuel burning, heavy duty vans, synthetic fibre production, biomass open burning, and industrial and commercial consumption were primary emission sources. Besides, source contributions of NMVOCs emissions showed remarkable annual variation. However, emissions of these sources had been continuously increasing, which coincided well with China's economic growth. Spatial distribution of NMVOCs emissions illustrates that high emissions mainly concentrates in developed regions of northern, eastern and southern coastal areas, which produced more emissions than the relatively underdeveloped western and inland regions. Particularly, southeastern, northern, and central China covering 35.2% of China's territory, generated 59.4% of the total emissions, while the populous capital cities covering merely 4.5% of China's territory, accounted for 24.9% of the national emissions. Annual variation of regional emission intensity shows that emissions concentrating in urban areas tended to transfer to rural areas year by year. Moreover, eastern, southern, central, and northeastern China were typical areas of high emission intensity and had a tendency of expanding to the northwestern China, which revealed the transfer of emission-intensive plants to these areas, together with the increase of biomass open burning.

Sensitivity of spectral reflectance values to different burn and vegetation ratios: A multi-scale approach applied in a fire affected area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pleniou, Magdalini; Koutsias, Nikos

2013-05-01

The aim of our study was to explore the spectral properties of fire-scorched (burned) and non fire-scorched (vegetation) areas, as well as areas with different burn/vegetation ratios, using a multisource multiresolution satellite data set. A case study was undertaken following a very destructive wildfire that occurred in Parnitha, Greece, July 2007, for which we acquired satellite images from LANDSAT, ASTER, and IKONOS. Additionally, we created spatially degraded satellite data over a range of coarser resolutions using resampling techniques. The panchromatic (1 m) and multispectral component (4 m) of IKONOS were merged using the Gram-Schmidt spectral sharpening method. This very high-resolution imagery served as the basis to estimate the cover percentage of burned areas, bare land and vegetation at pixel level, by applying the maximum likelihood classification algorithm. Finally, multiple linear regression models were fit to estimate each land-cover fraction as a function of surface reflectance values of the original and the spatially degraded satellite images. The main findings of our research were: (a) the Near Infrared (NIR) and Short-wave Infrared (SWIR) are the most important channels to estimate the percentage of burned area, whereas the NIR and red channels are the most important to estimate the percentage of vegetation in fire-affected areas; (b) when the bi-spectral space consists only of NIR and SWIR, then the NIR ground reflectance value plays a more significant role in estimating the percent of burned areas, and the SWIR appears to be more important in estimating the percent of vegetation; and (c) semi-burned areas comprising 45-55% burned area and 45-55% vegetation are spectrally closer to burned areas in the NIR channel, whereas those areas are spectrally closer to vegetation in the SWIR channel. These findings, at least partially, are attributed to the fact that: (i) completely burned pixels present low variance in the NIR and high variance in the SWIR, whereas the opposite is observed in completely vegetated areas where higher variance is observed in the NIR and lower variance in the SWIR, and (ii) bare land modifies the spectral signal of burned areas more than the spectral signal of vegetated areas in the NIR, while the opposite is observed in SWIR region of the spectrum where the bare land modifies the spectral signal of vegetation more than the burned areas because the bare land and the vegetation are spectrally more similar in the NIR, and the bare land and burned areas are spectrally more similar in the SWIR.

Effects of olive tree branches burning emissions on PM2.5 concentrations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papadakis, G. Z.; Megaritis, A. G.; Pandis, S. N.

2015-07-01

An olive tree branches burning emission inventory for Greece is developed based on recently measured emission factors and the spatial distribution of olive trees. A three-dimensional chemical transport model (CTM), PMCAMx, is used to estimate the corresponding impact on PM2.5 concentrations during a typical winter period. Assuming that burning of olive tree branches takes place only during days with low wind speed and without precipitation, the contribution of olive tree branches burning emissions on PM2.5 levels is more significant during the most polluted days. Increases of hourly PM2.5 exceeding 50% and locally reaching up to 150% in Crete are predicted during the most polluted periods. On a monthly-average basis, the corresponding emissions are predicted to increase PM2.5 levels up to 1.5 μg m-3 (20%) in Crete and Peloponnese, where the largest fraction of olive trees is located, and by 0.4 μg m-3 (5%) on average over Greece. OA and EC levels increase by 20% and 13% respectively on average over Greece, and up to 70% in Crete. The magnitude of the effect is quite sensitive to burning practices. Assuming that burning of olive tree branches takes place during all days results in a smaller effect of burning on PM2.5 levels (9% increase instead of 20%). These results suggest that this type of agricultural waste burning is a major source of particulate pollution in the Mediterranean countries where this practice is prevalent during winter.

Fluorine-fixing efficiency on calcium-based briquette: pilot experiment, demonstration and promotion.

PubMed

Yang, Jiao-lan; Chen, Dong-qing; Li, Shu-min; Yue, Yin-ling; Jin, Xin; Zhao, Bing-cheng; Ying, Bo

2010-02-05

The fluorosis derived from coal burning is a very serious problem in China. By using fluorine-fixing technology during coal burning we are able to reduce the release of fluorides in coal at the source in order to reduce pollution to the surrounding environment by coal burning pollutants as well as decrease the intake and accumulating amounts of fluorine in the human body. The aim of this study was to conduct a pilot experiment on calcium-based fluorine-fixing material efficiency during coal burning to demonstrate and promote the technology based on laboratory research. A proper amount of calcium-based fluorine sorbent was added into high-fluorine coal to form briquettes so that the fluorine in high-fluorine coal can be fixed in coal slag and its release into atmosphere reduced. We determined figures on various components in briquettes and fluorine in coal slag as well as the concentrations of indoor air pollutants, including fluoride, sulfur dioxide and respirable particulate matter (RPM), and evaluated the fluorine-fixing efficiency of calcium-based fluorine sorbents and the levels of indoor air pollutants. Pilot experiments on fluorine-fixing efficiency during coal burning as well as its demonstration and promotion were carried out separately in Guiding and Longli Counties of Guizhou Province, two areas with coal burning fluorosis problems. If the calcium-based fluorine sorbent mixed coal was made into honeycomb briquettes the average fluorine-fixing ratio in the pilot experiment was 71.8%. If the burning calcium-based fluorine-fixing bitumite was made into a coalball, the average of fluorine-fixing ratio was 77.3%. The concentration of fluoride, sulfur dioxide and PM10 of indoor air were decreased significantly. There was a 10% increase in the cost of briquettes due to the addition of calcium-based fluorine sorbent. The preparation process of calcium-based fluorine-fixing briquette is simple yet highly flammable and it is applicable to regions with abundant bitumite coal. As a small scale application, villagers may make fluorine-fixing coalballs or briquettes by themselves, achieving the optimum fluorine-fixing efficiency and reducing indoor air pollutants providing environmental and social benefits.

[Effect of prescribed burning on grassland nitrogen gross mineralization and nitrification].

PubMed

Li, Yuzhong; Zhu, Tingcheng; Li, Jiandong; Zhou, Daowei

2003-02-01

The seasonal dynamics of nitrogen gross mineralization, nitrification, and mineral nitrogen consumption rates in burned and unburned Leymus chinensis grasslands were studied with 15N pool dilution technique. The results indicated that the gross mineralization and nitrification rates in burned area were higher than those in unburned area in April and May, and lower than those in unburned area in September. NH4(+)-N consumption rates were higher than unburned area in April and May, and lower in September. NO3(-)-N consumption rates were higher than control in April and May, and lower than control in July and September. The NH4(+)-N concentrations were higher in burned area in April, May and July, and no difference in September. NO3(-)-N concentrations were no difference between burned and unburned areas in April and May, and higher in burned areas in July and September.

Recent acceleration of biomass burning and carbon losses in Alaskan forests and peatlands

USGS Publications Warehouse

Turetsky, M.R.; Kane, E.S.; Harden, J.W.; Ottmar, R.D.; Manies, K.L.; Hoy, E.; Kasischke, E.S.

2011-01-01

Climate change has increased the area affected by forest fires each year in boreal North America. Increases in burned area and fire frequency are expected to stimulate boreal carbon losses. However, the impact of wildfires on carbon emissions is also affected by the severity of burning. How climate change influences the severity of biomass burning has proved difficult to assess. Here, we examined the depth of ground-layer combustion in 178 sites dominated by black spruce in Alaska, using data collected from 31 fire events between 1983 and 2005. We show that the depth of burning increased as the fire season progressed when the annual area burned was small. However, deep burning occurred throughout the fire season when the annual area burned was large. Depth of burning increased late in the fire season in upland forests, but not in peatland and permafrost sites. Simulations of wildfire-induced carbon losses from Alaskan black spruce stands over the past 60 years suggest that ground-layer combustion has accelerated regional carbon losses over the past decade, owing to increases in burn area and late-season burning. As a result, soils in these black spruce stands have become a net source of carbon to the atmosphere, with carbon emissions far exceeding decadal uptake.

Fuels planning: science synthesis and integration; environmental consequences fact sheet 06: wildland fire use: the "other" treatment option

Treesearch

Anne Black

2004-01-01

Fire suppression has reduced acres burned to an average of 2 million acres a year. An unfortunate result of this has been the accumulation of even more above-normal fuel loads in many areas. This paper discusses (1) the important ecological role of fire, (2) using fire as a fuels treatment, and (2) the benefits and risks of fire.

High-voltage electrical burn injuries: functional upper extremity assessment.

PubMed

Mazzetto-Betti, K C; Amâncio, A C G; Farina, J A; Barros, M E P M; Fonseca, M C R

2009-08-01

High-voltage electric injuries have many manifestations, and an important complication is the damage of the central/peripheral nervous system. The purpose of this work was to assess the upper limb dysfunction in patients injured by high-voltage current. The evaluation consisted of analysis of patients' records, cutaneous-sensibility threshold, handgrip and pinch strength and a specific questionnaire about upper limb dysfunctions (DASH) in 18 subjects. All subjects were men; the average age at the time of the injury was 38 years. Of these, 72% changed job/retired after the injury. The current entrance was the hand in 94% and grounding in the lower limb in 78%. The average burned surface area (BSA) was 8.6%. The handgrip strength of the injured limb was reduced (p<0.05) and so also that of the three pinch types. The relationship between the handgrip strength and the DASH was statistically significant (p<0.001) as well as the relationship between the three pinch types (p

MORBIDITY AND SURVIVAL PROBABILITY IN BURN PATIENTS IN MODERN BURN CARE

PubMed Central

Jeschke, Marc G.; Pinto, Ruxandra; Kraft, Robert; Nathens, Avery B.; Finnerty, Celeste C.; Gamelli, Richard L.; Gibran, Nicole S.; Klein, Matthew B.; Arnoldo, Brett D.; Tompkins, Ronald G.; Herndon, David N.

2014-01-01

Objective Characterizing burn sizes that are associated with an increased risk of mortality and morbidity is critical because it would allow identifying patients who might derive the greatest benefit from individualized, experimental, or innovative therapies. Although scores have been established to predict mortality, few data addressing other outcomes exist. The objective of this study was to determine burn sizes that are associated with increased mortality and morbidity after burn. Design and Patients Burn patients were prospectively enrolled as part of the multicenter prospective cohort study, Inflammation and the Host Response to Injury Glue Grant, with the following inclusion criteria: 0–99 years of age, admission within 96 hours after injury, and >20% total body surface area burns requiring at least one surgical intervention. Setting Six major burn centers in North America. Measurements and Main Results Burn size cutoff values were determined for mortality, burn wound infection (at least two infections), sepsis (as defined by ABA sepsis criteria), pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and multiple organ failure (DENVER2 score >3) for both children (<16 years) and adults (16–65 years). Five-hundred seventy-three patients were enrolled, of which 226 patients were children. Twenty-three patients were older than 65 years and were excluded from the cutoff analysis. In children, the cutoff burn size for mortality, sepsis, infection, and multiple organ failure was approximately 60% total body surface area burned. In adults, the cutoff for these outcomes was lower, at approximately 40% total body surface area burned. Conclusions In the modern burn care setting, adults with over 40% total body surface area burned and children with over 60% total body surface area burned are at high risk for morbidity and mortality, even in highly specialized centers. PMID:25559438

They're heating up: Internet search query trends reveal significant public interest in heat-not-burn tobacco products.

PubMed

Caputi, Theodore L; Leas, Eric; Dredze, Mark; Cohen, Joanna E; Ayers, John W

2017-01-01

Heat-not-burn tobacco products, battery powered devices that heat leaf tobacco to approximately 500 degrees Fahrenheit to produce an inhalable aerosol, are being introduced in markets around the world. Japan, where manufacturers have marketed several heat-not-burn brands since 2014, has been the focal national test market, with the intention of developing global marketing strategies. We used Google search query data to estimate, for the first time, the scale and growth potential of heat-not-burn tobacco products. Average monthly searches for heat-not-burn products rose 1,426% (95%CI: 746,3574) between their first (2015) and second (2016) complete years on the market and an additional 100% (95%CI: 60, 173) between the products second (2016) and third years on the market (Jan-Sep 2017). There are now between 5.9 and 7.5 million heat-not-burn related Google searches in Japan each month based on September 2017 estimates. Moreover, forecasts relying on the historical trends suggest heat-not-burn searches will increase an additional 32% (95%CI: -4 to 79) during 2018, compared to current estimates for 2017 (Jan-Sep), with continued growth thereafter expected. Contrasting heat-not-burn's rise in Japan to electronic cigarettes' rise in the United States we find searches for heat-not-burn eclipsed electronic cigarette searches during April 2016. Moreover, the change in average monthly queries for heat-not-burn in Japan between 2015 and 2017 was 399 (95% CI: 184, 1490) times larger than the change in average monthly queries for electronic cigarettes in the Unites States over the same time period, increasing by 2,956% (95% CI: 1729, 7304) compared to only 7% (95% CI: 3,13). Our findings are a clarion call for tobacco control leaders to ready themselves as heat-not-burn tobacco products will likely garner substantial interest as they are introduced into new markets. Public health practitioners should expand heat-not-burn tobacco product surveillance, adjust existing tobacco control strategies to account for heat-not-burn tobacco products, and preemptively study the health risks/benefits, popular perceptions, and health messaging around heat-not-burn tobacco products.

Reptile and amphibian responses to large-scale wildfires in southern California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rochester, C.J.; Brehme, C.S.; Clark, D.R.; Stokes, D.C.; Hathaway, S.A.; Fisher, R.N.

2010-01-01

In 2003, southern California experienced several large fires that burned thousands of hectares of wildlife habitats and conserved lands. To investigate the effects of these fires on the reptile and amphibian communities, we compared the results from prefire herpetofauna and vegetation sampling to two years of postfire sampling across 38 burned and 17 unburned plots. The sampling plots were spread over four vegetation types and four open space areas within San Diego County. Our capture results indicated that burned chaparral and coastal sage scrub plots lost herpetofaunal species diversity after the fires and displayed a significant shift in overall community structure. Shrub and tree cover at the burned plots, averaged across the second and third postfire years, had decreased by 53 in chaparral and 75 in coastal sage scrub. Additionally, postfire herpetofauna community structure at burned plots was more similar to that found in unburned grasslands. In grassland and woodland/riparian vegetation plots, where shrub and tree cover was not significantly affected by fires, we found no differences in the herpetofaunal species diversity or community composition. At the individual species level, Sceloporus occidentalis was the most abundant reptile in these areas both before and after the fires. We saw increases in the net capture rates for several lizard species, including Aspidoscelis tigris, Phrynosoma coronatum, and Uta stansburiana in burned chaparral plots and Aspidoscelis hyperythra and U. stansburiana in burned coastal sage scrub plots. The toad, Bufo boreas, was detected at significantly fewer burned plots in chaparral after the fires. Additionally, we documented decreases in the number of plots occupied by lizards (Elgaria multicarinata), salamanders (Batrachoseps major), and snakes (Coluber constrictor, Lampropeltis getula, Pituophis catenifer, and Masticophis lateralis) in coastal sage scrub and chaparral after the fires. We discuss the individual species results as they relate to such life-history traits as the susceptibility to initial mortality, the response to the altered postfire habitat, and shifts in the availability of potential prey. We foresee that a continued unnatural fire regime will result in a simplification of the southern California reptile and amphibian communities. ?? 2010 Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles.

Impacts of Wildfires on Long-term Land Surface Phenology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, J.; Zhang, X.

2016-12-01

Land surface phenology (LSP) detected from satellite data characterizes seasonal dynamics of vegetation communities within a moderate or coarse resolution pixel. Its long-term variation has been widely used to indicate the biological responses to climate changes. However, few studies have focused on the influence of land disturbance on LSP variations. The wildfire is one of the most important drivers of land disturbances across the world, which shows an increasing trend during past decades. To explore the wildfire impacts on LSP, we analyzed post-fire and pre-fire LSP in two forest fire events that are Hayman Fire occurred in 2002 and Mason Fire occurred in 2005 in Colorado. Specifically, we first generated a two band enhanced vegetation index (EVI2) from MODIS daily surface reflectance product (MOD09GQ) at a spatial resolution of 250 m from 2001-2014. The time series of daily EVI2 was then used to detect the start of growing season (SOS) by applying the LSP detection algorithm based on a hybrid piecewise logistic model (HPLM-LSPD). The SOS was further separated for four levels of burn severity obtained from Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) maps for each fire event. The long-term SOS in the burn scars was finally deviated from surrounding areas based on land cover types. Results show that forests were mainly converted to shrubs in both fire events with some grasslands in Hayman. On average, SOS in Hayman burn scar area was advanced 11 days relative to surrounding region while it was delayed 9 days in Mason fire. The deviation also varied with the burn severity spatially. Moreover, the long-term SOS trend in the local area from 2001-2014 was significantly different with and without considerations of the fire influences. This study demonstrates that the long-term LSP SOS trend is significantly influenced by land disturbances in a local and regional scales.

Evapotranspiration from a cypress and pine forest subjected to natural fires, Volusia County, Florida, 1998-99

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sumner, D.M.

2001-01-01

Daily values of evapotranspiration from a watershed in Volusia County, Florida, were estimated for a 2-year period (January 1998 through December 1999) by using an energy-budget variant of the eddy correlation method and a Priestley-Taylor model. The watershed consisted primarily of pine flatwood uplands interspersed within cypress wetlands. A drought-induced fire in spring 1998 burned about 40 percent of the watershed, most of which was subsequently logged. The model reproduced the 449 measured values of evapotranspiration reasonably well (r2=0.90) over a wide range of seasonal and surface-cover conditions. Annual evapotranspiration from the watershed was estimated to be 916 millimeters (36 inches) for 1998 and 1,070 millimeters (42 inches) for 1999. Evapotranspiration declined from near potential rates in the wet conditions of January 1998 to less than 50 percent of potential evapotranspiration after the fire and at the peak of the drought in June 1998. After the drought ended in early July 1998 and water levels returned to near land-surface, evapotranspiration increased sharply; however, the evapotranspiration rate was only about 60 percent of the potential rate in the burned areas, compared to about 90 percent of the potential rate in the unburned areas. This discrepancy can be explained as a result of fire damage to vegetation. Beginning in spring 1999, evapotranspiration from burned areas increased sharply relative to unburned areas, sometimes exceeding unburned evapotranspiration by almost 100 percent. Possible explanations for the dramatic increase in evapotranspiration from burned areas could include phenological changes associated with maturation or seasonality of plants that emerged after the fire or successional changes in composition of plant community within burned areas. Variations in daily evapotranspiration are primarily the result of variations in surface cover, net radiation, photosynthetically active radiation, air temperature, and water-table depth. A water budget for the watershed supports the validity of the daily measurements and estimates of evapotranspiration. A water budget constructed using independent estimates of average rates of rainfall, runoff, and deep leakage, as well as evapotranspiration, was consistent within 3.8 percent. An alternative water budget constructed using evapotrans-piration estimated by the standard eddy correlation method was consistent only within 9.1 percent. This result indicates that the standard eddy correlation method is not as accurate as the energy-budget variant.

Field validation of Burned Area Reflectance Classification (BARC) products for post fire assessment

Treesearch

Andrew T. Hudak; Peter R. Robichaud; Jeffery B. Evans; Jess Clark; Keith Lannom; Penelope Morgan; Carter Stone

2004-01-01

The USFS Remote Sensing Applications Center (RSAC) and the USGS EROS Data Center (EDC) produce Burned Area Reflectance Classification (BARC) maps for use by Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation (BAER) teams in rapid response to wildfires. BAER teams desire maps indicative of soil burn severity, but photosynthetic and nonphotosynthetic vegetation also influences the...

Trout Creek 1999 Burn

Treesearch

Sherel Goodrich

2008-01-01

A small prescribed fire near the mouth of Trout Creek in Strawberry Valley, Wasatch County, Utah, on the Uinta National Forest provided an opportunity to compare production and vascular plant composition in unburned and burned areas. At four years post burn, production of herbaceous plants was about four times greater in the burned area than in the unburned area. Most...

Mammals and habitat disturbance: the case of brown hare and wildfire.

PubMed

Sokos, Christos; Birtsas, Periklis; Papaspyropoulos, Konstantinos G; Tsachalidis, Efstathios; Giannakopoulos, Alexios; Milis, Chrysostomos; Spyrou, Vassiliki; Manolakou, Katerina; Valiakos, George; Iakovakis, Christos; Athanasiou, Labrini V; Sfougaris, Athanasios; Billinis, Charalambos

2016-10-01

Ecosystem disturbances, such as wildfires, are driving forces that determine ecology and conservation measures. Species respond differentially to wildfires, having diverse post-fire population evolution. This study reports, for first time, the responses of brown hare ( Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778) to wildfires. Hare relative abundance, age ratio, diet quality, body condition, and diseases were studied. Fire influence on vegetation was calculated at a micro-scale level. Hare abundance was lower the first year after wildfires in burned relative to unburned areas. The reverse was found in the second year when hare abundance was higher in burned areas. Hare abundance in burned areas was also higher in the third and fourth years. In the fifth and sixth years after wildfire no significant difference was found in abundance. At a micro-scale level, higher numbers of hare feces were counted in places with greater wildfire influence on vegetation. Age ratio analysis revealed more juveniles in burned areas, but the same number of neonates in burned and unburned areas, indicating lower mortality of juveniles in burned areas. Reduced predation in burned areas provides the most plausible explanation for our findings.

An epidemiological analysis of paediatric burns in urban and rural areas in south central China.

PubMed

Zhou, Bo; Zhou, Xiao; Ouyang, Li-zhi; Huang, Xiao-yuan; Zhang, Pi-hong; Zhang, Ming-hua; Ren, Li-cheng; Liang, Peng-fei

2014-02-01

This study aims to analyse the epidemiology of paediatric burns in south central China, illustrate the differences between rural and urban areas, and discern prevention measures to reduce paediatric burns. Data were obtained from all paediatric patients admitted to Department of Burns unit of Xiangya Hospital during 2009-2012. A retrospective review was performed, including cause of burn, pre-hospital treatment, place of burn occurrence, anatomical areas involved, extent of burn, date of injury, number of operations, complications, length of hospital stay, hospitalisation cost and cure rate. A total of 278 hospitalised paediatric patients were admitted in this study. The majority (56.47%) were 1-3 years old. Rural patients accounted for 67.99% in total; the ratio of boys to girls was 2.05. Scalding with hot fluids was the most common cause of burns in children (62.59%), followed by flame (17.63), fireworks (9.71%), electricity (5.76%) and other factors such as contact and chemical (4.32%). The living room was the location with the highest frequency of burns in children (53.24%). Burns were more likely to happen in winter and the upper extremities were the most involved anatomic site (53.24%). Total burn surface area (TBSA) ranging from 0% to 9% accounted for 55.4% in total. Rural patients underwent more operations and had longer and costlier hospital stays than urban patients. Compared with treatment in urban areas, rural burn patients received less first-aid treatment, underwent more surgery, had more complications and longer and more costly hospital stays. This finding strongly suggests that it is necessary to make more efforts to prevent burns, especially in rural areas. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

The inter-rater reliability of estimating the size of burns from various burn area chart drawings.

PubMed

Wachtel, T L; Berry, C C; Wachtel, E E; Frank, H A

2000-03-01

The accuracy and variability of burn size calculations using four Lund and Browder charts currently in clinical use and two Rule of Nine's diagrams were evaluated. The study showed that variability in estimation increased with burn size initially, plateaued in large burns and then decreased slightly in extensive burns. The Rule of Nine's technique often overestimates the burn size and is more variable, but can be performed somewhat faster than the Lund and Browder method. More burn experience leads to less variability in burn area chart drawing estimates. Irregularly shaped burns and burns on the trunk and thighs had greater variability than less irregularly shaped burns or burns on more defined anatomical parts of the body.

A multi-sensor burned area algorithm for crop residue burning in northwestern India: validation and sources of error

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, T.; Marlier, M. E.; Karambelas, A. N.; Jain, M.; DeFries, R. S.

2017-12-01

A leading source of outdoor emissions in northwestern India comes from crop residue burning after the annual monsoon (kharif) and winter (rabi) crop harvests. Agricultural burned area, from which agricultural fire emissions are often derived, can be poorly quantified due to the mismatch between moderate-resolution satellite sensors and the relatively small size and short burn period of the fires. Many previous studies use the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED), which is based on the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) burned area product MCD64A1, as an outdoor fires emissions dataset. Correction factors with MODIS active fire detections have previously attempted to account for small fires. We present a new burned area classification algorithm that leverages more frequent MODIS observations (500 m x 500 m) with higher spatial resolution Landsat (30 m x 30 m) observations. Our approach is based on two-tailed Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) thresholds, abbreviated as ModL2T NBR, and results in an estimated 104 ± 55% higher burned area than GFEDv4.1s (version 4, MCD64A1 + small fires correction) in northwestern India during the 2003-2014 winter (October to November) burning seasons. Regional transport of winter fire emissions affect approximately 63 million people downwind. The general increase in burned area (+37% from 2003-2007 to 2008-2014) over the study period also correlates with increased mechanization (+58% in combine harvester usage from 2001-2002 to 2011-2012). Further, we find strong correlation between ModL2T NBR-derived burned area and results of an independent survey (r = 0.68) and previous studies (r = 0.92). Sources of error arise from small median landholding sizes (1-3 ha), heterogeneous spatial distribution of two dominant burning practices (partial and whole field), coarse spatio-temporal satellite resolution, cloud and haze cover, and limited Landsat scene availability. The burned area estimates of this study can be used to build a new agricultural fire emissions inventory to re-evaluate the contributions of winter agricultural fires to rural and urban air quality degradation.

Kite-flying: a unique but dangerous mode of electrical injury in children.

PubMed

Tiwari, V K; Sharma, D

1999-09-01

A retrospective study was conducted to evaluate the cause of a sudden rise in number of pediatric admissions with electrical injuries at our centre during the year 1998. In evaluating the cause, six out of twelve admissions were found to be related to kite-flying which is a popular sport during the months of June, July, August and September. In two out of six cases current travelled directly through the string of the kite. In two others, flame burns occured following ignition of clothing. Another patient had contact with wire through a metal rod. In the last case, arcing pulled the hand of the patient leading to direct contact with wire. The average burns size was approximately 31% body surface area (BSA), with all patients having burns over the palmar aspect of at least one hand. No patient required amputation for the injuries. In this article, attention has been focussed on the various modes of electrical injuries associated with kite-flying and some measures have been advised to avoid such accidents.

Ecological impacts of wheat seeding after a Sierra Nevada wildfire

USGS Publications Warehouse

Keeley, Jon E.

2004-01-01

The Highway Fire burned 1680 ha of mixed ponderosa pine–oak–chaparral in the newly created Giant Sequoia National Monument and the adjacent Sequoia National Forest of Fresno County, California in August 2001. The USDA Forest Service Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation (BAER) program recommended that portions of the burned forest be seeded with a non-persistent variety of wheat at a density of 157 kg ha–1 (140 lb/ac). The present study compared the vascular plant diversity and cover in seeded and unseeded parts of this burn to evaluate the ecological impact of seeding an alien grass. In the first post-fire growing season, the natural regeneration of unseeded control sites averaged ~55% ground surface covered. Wheat seeding enhanced the ground cover, averaging 95% ground surface cover. Wheat was the dominant species on the seeded sites, comprising 67% of the total cover. Dominance–diversity curves were markedly affected by the seeding and indicated a disruption in the natural ecological structure of these communities. On seeded sites, wheat dominated and all other species were poorly represented whereas, on unseeded control sites, there was a more equitable distribution of species. Correlated with the wheat cover was a significant decrease in species richness at all scales examined. Total species richness was reduced from 152 species across all unseeded sites to 104 species on all seeded sites. Average species richness, at scales from 1 to 1000 m2, was 30–40% lower on seeded sites. Species most strongly inhibited were post-fire endemics whose lifecycle is restricted to immediate post-fire environments. Seeded sites had fewer alien species than unseeded sites; however, this may not have any lasting effect since other studies show the primary alien threat is not in the first post-fire year. Seeding was also associated with an order of magnitude drop in Pinus ponderosa seedling recruitment and, coupled with the massive thatch still remaining on the site, it is likely that recruitment will be inhibited in subsequent years.

Source apportionment of PM2.5 organic carbon in the San Joaquin Valley using monthly and daily observations and meteorological clustering.

PubMed

Skiles, Matthew J; Lai, Alexandra M; Olson, Michael R; Schauer, James J; de Foy, Benjamin

2018-06-01

Two hundred sixty-three fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) samples collected on 3-day intervals over a 14-month period at two sites in the San Joaquin Valley (SJV) were analyzed for organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), water soluble organic carbon (WSOC), and organic molecular markers. A unique source profile library was applied to a chemical mass balance (CMB) source apportionment model to develop monthly and seasonally averaged source apportionment results. Five major OC sources were identified: mobile sources, biomass burning, meat smoke, vegetative detritus, and secondary organic carbon (SOC), as inferred from OC not apportioned by CMB. The SOC factor was the largest source contributor at Fresno and Bakersfield, contributing 44% and 51% of PM mass, respectively. Biomass burning was the only source with a statistically different average mass contribution (95% CI) between the two sites. Wintertime peaks of biomass burning, meat smoke, and total OC were observed at both sites, with SOC peaking during the summer months. Exceptionally strong seasonal variation in apportioned meat smoke mass could potentially be explained by oxidation of cholesterol between source and receptor and trends in wind transport outlined in a Residence Time Analysis (RTA). Fast moving nighttime winds prevalent during warmer months caused local emissions to be replaced by air mass transported from the San Francisco Bay Area, consisting of mostly diluted, oxidized concentrations of molecular markers. Good agreement was observed between SOC derived from the CMB model and from non-biomass burning WSOC mass, suggesting the CMB model is sufficiently accurate to assist in policy development. In general, uncertainty in monthly mass values derived from daily CMB apportionments were lower than that of CMB results produced with monthly marker composites, further validating daily sampling methodologies. Strong seasonal trends were observed for biomass and meat smoke OC apportionment, and monthly mass averages had lowest uncertainty when derived from daily CMB apportionments. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Impact of Increasing Fire Frequency on Forest Transformations in the Zabaikal Region, Southern Siberia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Conard, S. G.; Kukavskaya, E. A.; Buryak, L. V.; Shvetsov, E.; Kalenskaya, O. P.; Zhila, S.

2017-12-01

The Zabaikal region of southern Siberia is characterized by some of the highest fire activity in Russia. There has been a significant increase of fire frequency and burned area in the region over the last two decades due to a combination of high anthropogenic pressure, decreased funding to the forestry sector, and increased fire danger, which was associated with higher frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Central and southern parts of the Zabaikal region where population density is higher and road network is relatively more developed are the most disturbed by fires. Larch stands cover the largest proportion of fire-disturbed lands in the region, while the less common pine and birch stands are characterized by higher fire frequency. About 13% (3.9 M ha) of the total forest area in the Zabaikal region was burned more than once in the 20 years from 1996 to 2015, with many sites burned multiple times. Repeat disturbances led to inadequate tree regeneration on all but the moistest sites. Pine stands on dry soils, which are common in the forest-steppe zone, were the most vulnerable. After repeat burns and over large burned sites we observed transformation of the forests to steppe ecosystems. The most likely causes of insufficient forest regeneration are soil overheating, dominance of tall grasses, and lack of nearby seed sources. Extensive tree plantations have potential to mitigate negative fire impacts; however, due to high fire hazard in the recent decade about half of the plantation area has been burned. Changes in the SWVI index were used to assess postfire reforestation based on a combination of satellite and field data. In the southwestern part of the Zabaikal region, we estimated that reforestation had been hampered over 11% of the forest land area. Regional climate models project increasing temperatures and decreasing precipitation across Siberia by the end of the 21st century, with changes in the Zabaikal region projected to be more than twice the average rate in Siberia. This would likely lead to higher fire activity in the region. Implementation of sustainable forest management strategies has the potential to mitigate effects of changing climate and fire regimes on forest ecosystems in the Zabaikal region. This research was supported by the RFBR grant (# 15-04-06567) and the NASA LCLUC Program.

The Perfect Fire? Aging Stands in the Alaskan Boreal Forest Encounter Global Warming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mann, D.; Rupp, S.; Duffy, P.

2008-12-01

The ecological responses of the boreal forest to climate change have global significance because of the large amount of carbon stored in its soils and biomass. Fire, mostly ignited by lightning, is the keystone disturbance agent in this forest. It triggers cycles of forest succession in its wake, and burning is the main avenue for carbon release back to the atmosphere. We studied the interactions between climate, fires, forest succession, and the age distributions of forest stands in a 60-million hectare region of Interior Alaska over the past 150 years. First we developed a statistical model relating climate to area burned over the period of record (1950-2005). Next we combined this model with climate reconstructions to extend the estimates of area burned back to A.D. 1860. We checked the resultant fire history against stand-age data from 5000 living trees sampled in the study region. Then we fed the history of area burned into a computer model that simulates forest succession on real landscapes. Results show striking changes in the means and variances of stand ages over the last 150 years in response to interactions between climate change and the successional dynamics of the boreal forest. Average stand age increased steadily between 1880 and 1940 and has fluctuated at high levels since then, indicating a historically unusual abundance of flammable stands. This accumulation of old stands has created the potential for unusually large fires. Some support for this conclusion comes from the unprecedented large sizes of the areas burned in 2004 and 2005. Further support comes when we add to the analysis the forecasts made by global climate models for Alaska over the next twenty years. Bracketing estimates for climate warming and precipitation change suggest that warmer, drier summers combined with aging forest stands will cause a series of unusually large fires, the like of which have not occurred in the region for >150 years. We infer that the enhanced burning of the Alaska boreal forest over the next 20 years will increase the release of trace gases from this region. We speculate that the forest will be transformed from being conifer dominated to one dominated by deciduous tree species, which could have sweeping effects on the region's other biota, its hydrology, and the role of the boreal forest in the global carbon cycle.

Soil-water dynamics and unsaturated storage during snowmelt following wildfire

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ebel, Brian A.; Hinckley, E.S.; Martin, Deborah

2012-01-01

Many forested watersheds with a substantial fraction of precipitation delivered as snow have the potential for landscape disturbance by wildfire. Little is known about the immediate effects of wildfire on snowmelt and near-surface hydrologic responses, including soil-water storage. Montane systems at the rain-snow transition have soil-water dynamics that are further complicated during the snowmelt period by strong aspect controls on snowmelt and soil thawing. Here we present data from field measurements of snow hydrology and subsurface hydrologic and temperature responses during the first winter and spring after the September 2010 Fourmile Canyon Fire in Colorado, USA. Our observations of soil-water content and soil temperature show sharp contrasts in hydrologic and thermal conditions between north- and south-facing slopes. South-facing burned soils were ∼1–2 °C warmer on average than north-facing burned soils and ∼1.5 °C warmer than south-facing unburned soils, which affected soil thawing during the snowmelt period. Soil-water dynamics also differed by aspect: in response to soil thawing, soil-water content increased approximately one month earlier on south-facing burned slopes than on north-facing burned slopes. While aspect and wildfire affect soil-water dynamics during snowmelt, soil-water storage at the end of the snowmelt period reached the value at field capacity for each plot, suggesting that post-snowmelt unsaturated storage was not substantially influenced by aspect in wildfire-affected areas. Our data and analysis indicate that the amount of snowmelt-driven groundwater recharge may be larger in wildfire-impacted areas, especially on south-facing slopes, because of earlier soil thaw and longer durations of soil-water contents above field capacity in those areas.

Characterization of Particulate Matter Profiling and Alveolar Deposition from Biomass Burning in Northern Thailand: The 7-SEAS Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chuang, Hsiao-Chi; Hsiao, Ta-Chih; Wang, Sheng-Hsiang; Tsay, Si-Chee; Lin, Neng-Huei

2016-01-01

Biomass burning (BB) frequently occurs in SouthEast Asia (SEA), which significantly affects the air quality and could consequently lead to adverse health effects. The aim of this study was to characterize particulate matter (PM) and black carbon (BC) emitted from BB source regions in SEA and their potential of deposition in the alveolar region of human lungs. A 31-day characterization of PM profiling was conducted at the Doi Ang Khang (DAK) meteorology station in northern Thailand in March 2013. Substantial numbers of PM (10147 +/- 5800 # per cubic centimeter) with a geometric mean diameter (GMD) of 114.4 +/- 9.2 nm were found at the study site. The PM of less than 2.5 micron in aerodynamic diameter (PM sub 2.5) hourly-average mass concentration was 78.0 +/- 34.5 per cubic microgram whereas the black carbon (BC) mass concentration was 4.4 +/- 2.6 micrograms per cubic meter. Notably, high concentrations of nanoparticle surface area (100.5 +/- 54.6 square micrometers per cubic centimeter) emitted from biomass burning can be inhaled into the human alveolar region. Significant correlations with fire counts within different ranges around DAK were found for particle number, the surface area concentration of alveolar deposition, and BC. In conclusion, biomass burning is an important PM source in SEA, particularly nanoparticles, which has high potency to be inhaled into the lung environment and interact with alveolar cells, leading to adverse respiratory effects. The fire counts within 100 to 150 km shows the highest Pearson's r for particle number and surface area concentration. It suggests 12 to 24 hr could be a fair time scale for initial aging process of BB aerosols. Importantly, the people lives in this region could have higher risk for PM exposure.

Evaluating the socioeconomic and cultural factors associated with pediatric burn injuries in Maputo, Mozambique.

PubMed

Karan, Abraar; Amado, Vanda; Vitorino, Pio; Kulber, David; Taela, Atanasio; DeUgarte, Daniel A

2015-11-01

Pediatric burn injuries are one of the leading causes of preventable morbidity and mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa. Research on the complex system of social, economic and cultural factors contributing to burn injuries in this setting is much needed. We conducted a prospective questionnaire-based analysis of pediatric burn patients presenting to the Hospital Central de Maputo. A total of 39 patients were included in the study. Interviews were conducted with the children's caretakers by two trained medical students at the Eduardo Mondlane Medical School in Maputo with the aid of local nursing staff. Most burns occurred from scald wounds (26/39) particularly from bathwater, followed by fire burns (11/39). Burns occurred more frequently in the afternoon (16/39) and evening (16/39). Over one quarter of burns (9/33) occurred in the absence of a caretaker. One-third (12/36) of participants attempted to treat the burn at home prior to bringing the child into the hospital, and roughly two-thirds (24/37) reported using traditional remedies for burn care. The average household had just 2 rooms for an average of 5 family members. Most burns were second degree (25/37). Prevention efforts in this setting are much needed and can be implemented taking complex cultural and social factors into account. Education regarding regulation of water temperature for baths is important, given the prevalence of scald burns. Moreover, the introduction of low-cost, safer cooking technology can help mitigate inhalation injury and reduce fire burns. Additionally, burn care systems must be integrated with local traditional medical interventions to respect local cultural medicinal practices.

Combination of medical needling and non-cultured autologous skin cell transplantation (ReNovaCell) for repigmentation of hypopigmented burn scars.

PubMed

Busch, K H; Bender, R; Walezko, N; Aziz, H; Altintas, M A; Aust, M C

2016-11-01

Burn scars remain a serious physical and psychological problem for the affected people. Clinical studies as well as basic scientific research have shown that medical needling can significantly increase the quality of burn scars with comparatively low risk and stress for the patient with regards to skin elasticity, moisture, erythema and transepidermal water loss. However, medical needling has no influence on repigmentation of large hypopigmented scars. The goal of this study is to evaluate whether two established methods - needling (for improvement of scar quality) and non-cultured autologous skin cell suspension (for repigmentation) - can be successfully combined. Twenty subjects with mean age of 33 years (6-60 years) with scars from deep second and third degree burns have been treated. The average treated surface area was 94cm 2 (15-250cm 2 ) and was focused on prominent areas such as the face, neck, chest and arm. Percutaneous collagen induction or "medical needling" was performed using a roller covered with 3mm long needles. The roller is vertically, horizontally and diagonally rolled over the scar, inducing microtrauma. Then, non-cultured autologous skin cell suspension (NCASCS) was produced and applied using the ReNovaCell Autologous Cell Harvesting Device (Avita Medical), according to the manufacturer's instructions. The patients were followed 12 months postoperatively. Pigmentation changes were measured objectively, as well as with patient and observer ratings. Patient satisfaction/preference was also obtained. Taken together, the pigmentation ratings and objective measures indicate individual improvement in 17 of the study participants. The melanin increases seen 12 months after NCASCS treatment are statistically significant. Medical needling in combination with NCASCS shows promise for repigmentation of burn cars. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Total sugars in atmospheric aerosols: An alternative tracer for biomass burning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scaramboni, C.; Urban, R. C.; Lima-Souza, M.; Nogueira, R. F. P.; Cardoso, A. A.; Allen, A. G.; Campos, M. L. A. M.

2015-01-01

Ambient aerosols were collected in an agro-industrial region of São Paulo State (Brazil) between May 2010 and February 2012 (n = 87). The atmosphere of the study region is highly affected by the emissions of gases and particles from sugar and fuel ethanol production, because part of the area planted with sugarcane is still burned before manual harvesting. This work proposes the quantification of total sugars as an alternative chemical tracer of biomass burning, instead of levoglucosan. The quantification of total sugars requires a small area of a filter sample and a simple spectrophotometer, in contrast to the determination of levoglucosan, which is much more complex and time-consuming. Total sugars concentrations in the aerosol ranged from 0.28 to 12.5 μg m-3, and (similarly to levoglucosan) the emissions were significantly higher at night and during the sugarcane harvest period, when most agricultural fires occur. The linear correlation between levoglucosan and total sugars (r = 0.612) was stronger than between levoglucosan and potassium (r = 0.379), which has previously been used as a biomass burning tracer. In the study region, potassium is used in fertilizers, and this, together with substantial soil dust resuspension, makes potassium unsuitable for use as a tracer. On average, ca. 40% of the total sugars was found in particles smaller than 0.49 μm. By including data from previous work, it was possible to identify from 35 to 42% of the total sugars, with biomass burning making the largest contribution. The high solubility in water of these sugars means that determination of their concentrations could also provide important information concerning the hydrophilic properties of atmospheric aerosols.

Automated mapping of burned areas in semi-arid ecosystems using modis time-series imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hardtke, L. A.; Blanco, P. D.; del Valle, H. F.; Metternicht, G. I.; Sione, W. F.

2015-04-01

Understanding spatial and temporal patterns of burned areas at regional scales, provides a long-term perspective of fire processes and its effects on ecosystems and vegetation recovery patterns, and it is a key factor to design prevention and post-fire restoration plans and strategies. Standard satellite burned area and active fire products derived from the 500-m MODIS and SPOT are avail - able to this end. However, prior research caution on the use of these global-scale products for regional and sub-regional applica - tions. Consequently, we propose a novel algorithm for automated identification and mapping of burned areas at regional scale in semi-arid shrublands. The algorithm uses a set of the Normalized Burned Ratio Index products derived from MODIS time series; using a two-phased cycle, it firstly detects potentially burned pixels while keeping a low commission error (false detection of burned areas), and subsequently labels them as seed patches. Region growing image segmentation algorithms are applied to the seed patches in the second-phase, to define the perimeter of fire affected areas while decreasing omission errors (missing real burned areas). Independently-derived Landsat ETM+ burned-area reference data was used for validation purposes. The correlation between the size of burnt areas detected by the global fire products and independently-derived Landsat reference data ranged from R2 = 0.01 - 0.28, while our algorithm performed showed a stronger correlation coefficient (R2 = 0.96). Our findings confirm prior research calling for caution when using the global fire products locally or regionally.

Computer Program Applications to Tactical Missile Conceptual Design.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-06-01

initialized at a potential maximum of 1.25 inches/second (Ref. 21 and is allowed to decrease to arrive at a compati- ble burn area and web thickness...the same restrictions. The burn rate starts at 0.45 inches/sec- ond (Ref. 21 and is decreased to provide an acceptable web thickness and burn area. The...0.45 inches/sec- ond to provide a proper web thickness. "THE.SUSTAINER MOTOR HAS AN END BURNING GRAIN." The required burn area for the sustainer was

They’re heating up: Internet search query trends reveal significant public interest in heat-not-burn tobacco products

PubMed Central

Caputi, Theodore L.; Leas, Eric; Dredze, Mark; Cohen, Joanna E.; Ayers, John W.

2017-01-01

Heat-not-burn tobacco products, battery powered devices that heat leaf tobacco to approximately 500 degrees Fahrenheit to produce an inhalable aerosol, are being introduced in markets around the world. Japan, where manufacturers have marketed several heat-not-burn brands since 2014, has been the focal national test market, with the intention of developing global marketing strategies. We used Google search query data to estimate, for the first time, the scale and growth potential of heat-not-burn tobacco products. Average monthly searches for heat-not-burn products rose 1,426% (95%CI: 746,3574) between their first (2015) and second (2016) complete years on the market and an additional 100% (95%CI: 60, 173) between the products second (2016) and third years on the market (Jan-Sep 2017). There are now between 5.9 and 7.5 million heat-not-burn related Google searches in Japan each month based on September 2017 estimates. Moreover, forecasts relying on the historical trends suggest heat-not-burn searches will increase an additional 32% (95%CI: -4 to 79) during 2018, compared to current estimates for 2017 (Jan-Sep), with continued growth thereafter expected. Contrasting heat-not-burn’s rise in Japan to electronic cigarettes’ rise in the United States we find searches for heat-not-burn eclipsed electronic cigarette searches during April 2016. Moreover, the change in average monthly queries for heat-not-burn in Japan between 2015 and 2017 was 399 (95% CI: 184, 1490) times larger than the change in average monthly queries for electronic cigarettes in the Unites States over the same time period, increasing by 2,956% (95% CI: 1729, 7304) compared to only 7% (95% CI: 3,13). Our findings are a clarion call for tobacco control leaders to ready themselves as heat-not-burn tobacco products will likely garner substantial interest as they are introduced into new markets. Public health practitioners should expand heat-not-burn tobacco product surveillance, adjust existing tobacco control strategies to account for heat-not-burn tobacco products, and preemptively study the health risks/benefits, popular perceptions, and health messaging around heat-not-burn tobacco products. PMID:29020019

Use of multi-sensor active fire detections to map fires in the United States: the future of monitoring trends in burn severity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Picotte, Joshua J.; Coan, Michael; Howard, Stephen M.

2014-01-01

The effort to utilize satellite-based MODIS, AVHRR, and GOES fire detections from the Hazard Monitoring System (HMS) to identify undocumented fires in Florida and improve the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) mapping process has yielded promising results. This method was augmented using regression tree models to identify burned/not-burned pixels (BnB) in every Landsat scene (1984–2012) in Worldwide Referencing System 2 Path/Rows 16/40, 17/39, and 1839. The burned area delineations were combined with the HMS detections to create burned area polygons attributed with their date of fire detection. Within our study area, we processed 88,000 HMS points (2003–2012) and 1,800 Landsat scenes to identify approximately 300,000 burned area polygons. Six percent of these burned area polygons were larger than the 500-acre MTBS minimum size threshold. From this study, we conclude that the process can significantly improve understanding of fire occurrence and improve the efficiency and timeliness of assessing its impacts upon the landscape.

Healthcare costs of burn patients from homes without fire sprinklers

PubMed Central

Banfield, Joanne; Rehou, Sarah; Gomez, Manuel; Redelmeier, Donald A.; Jeschke, Marc G.

2014-01-01

The treatment of burn injuries requires high-cost services for healthcare and society. Automatic fire sprinklers are a preventive measure that can decrease fire injuries, deaths, property damage and environmental toxins. This study’s aim was to conduct a cost-analysis of patients with burn or inhalation injuries due to residential fires, and to compare this to the cost of implementing residential automatic fire sprinklers. We conducted a cohort analysis of adult burn patients admitted to our provincial burn center (1995–2012). Patient demographics and injury characteristics were collected from medical records, and clinical and coroner databases. Resource costs included average cost per day at our intensive care and rehabilitation program, transportation, and property loss. During the study period there were 1,557 residential fire-related deaths province-wide and 1,139 patients were admitted to our provincial burn center due to a flame injury occurring at home. At our burn center, the average cost was CAN$84,678 per patient with a total cost of CAN$96,448,194. All resources totaled CAN$3,605,775,200. This study shows the considerable healthcare costs of burn patients from homes without fire sprinklers. PMID:25412056

Preventable burns associated with the misuse of gasoline.

PubMed

Barillo, D J; Stetz, C K; Zak, A L; Shirani, K Z; Goodwin, C W

1998-08-01

Gasoline is intended for use as a motor fuel, but the universal availability of gasoline in the home encourages misuse as a solvent, insecticide, accelerant or cleaning solution. The careless or inappropriate use of gasoline may result in burn injury. We examined the circumstance of gasoline-related injury in a population admitted to one burn centre to determine the potential for burn prevention efforts. A retrospective review of all burn admissions to one centre for the years 1978 to 1996 demonstrated hat 1011 of 4339 acute admissions (23.3%) were gasoline-related. This group had an average total burn size of 29.8% total body surface (TBSA) and an average full thickness injury of 14.4% TBSA. There were 144 fatalities resulting from gasoline-associated burn injury. Where such determination could be made, the use of gasoline was judged to be inappropriate or unsafe in 687 of 788 cases (87.1%). Ninety of 144 fatalities (62.5%) were associated with inappropriate or unsafe use of gasoline. The careless or inappropriate use of gasoline poses significant risk of burn injury. The indoor use of gasoline, as well as use of gasoline for purposes other than as a motor fuel, should be strongly discouraged.

Does nurses'perceived burn prevention knowledge and ability to teach burn prevention correlate with their actual burn prevention knowledge?

PubMed

Lehna, Carlee; Myers, John

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship among nurses'perceived burn prevention knowledge, their perceived ability to teach about burn prevention, and their actual burn prevention knowledge and to test if their actual burn knowledge could be predicted by these perceived measures. A two-page, anonymous survey that included a 10-item burn prevention knowledge test and an assessment of nurses'perceived knowledge of burn prevention and their perceived ability to teach burn prevention was administered to 313 nurses. Actual burn prevention knowledge was determined and the correlation among actual burn prevention knowledge, perceived knowledge, and perceived ability to teach was determined. Differences in these outcome variables based on specialty area were tested using analysis of variance techniques. Generalized linear modeling techniques were used to investigate which variables significantly predict a nurse's actual burn prevention knowledge. Test for interaction effects were performed, and significance was set at .05. Responding nurses (N = 265) described practicing in a variety of settings, such as pediatric settings (40.2%, n = 105), emergency departments (25.4%, n = 86), medical/surgical settings (8.4%, n = 22), and one pediatric burn setting (4.1%, n = 14), with all specialty areas as having similar actual burn prevention knowledge (P = .052). Seventy-seven percent of the nurses said they never taught about burn prevention (n = 177). Perceived knowledge and actual knowledge (r = .124, P = .046) as well as perceived knowledge and perceived ability were correlated (r = .799, P < .001). Significant predictors of actual knowledge were years in practice (beta = -0.063, P = .034), years in current area (beta = 0.072, P = .003), perceived knowledge (beta = 0.109, P = .042), and perceived ability (beta = 0.137, P = .019). All nurses, regardless of specialty area, have poor burn prevention knowledge, which is correlated with their perceived lack of knowledge of burn prevention. In addition, nurses'perceived burn knowledge and ability predicts their actual burn knowledge. This is a fruitful area that merits further research and exploration.

Effects of Post-fire Succession and Edaphic Conditions on Tree Transpiration in a Boreal Black Spruce Forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Angstmann, J. L.; Ewers, B. E.; Kwon, H.; Bond-Lamberty, B.; Amiro, B.; Gower, S. T.

2007-12-01

Boreal forest ecosystems play an integral role in global climate change because of their large land area and ability to store large quantities of carbon. Quantifying and explaining tree water use in both well- and poorly- drained soils and across successional development is critical in understanding the influence of physiological processes on carbon, water, and energy cycling. Four black spruce stands burned in 1850, 1930, 1964, and 1989 were chosen for this research because they had been shown in previous studies to represent critical stages of forest development that capture the successional impacts of both leaf area and species composition change. We hypothesized that tree transpiration will differ between well- and poorly-drained areas and with age due to 1) tree size and age and edaphic-related hydraulic adjustments and 2) tree size will be explained by species specific growth differences from edaphic conditions. Sap flux, leaf water potential (\\PsiL), site specific allometric relationships between sapwood area and leaf area and soil properties such as texture and organic matter depth in each of the four burn ages were utilized to test these hypotheses. Results show that sap flux for Picea mariana at the 1964 burn age differed between well- and poorly-drained soils when scaled per unit xylem area with trees located on poorly-drained soils experiencing higher sap flux rates than trees in well- drained areas (101.79 & 83.02 g cm-2 day-1 respectively). However, when scaled to transpiration on a per tree basis, taking tree size into account, trees on well-drained soils had higher rates than those in poorly- drained locations (366.96 & 216.82 g tree-1 day-1 respectively). The presence of Pinus banksiana and Populus tremuloides in the well-drained areas increased stand transpiration rates for these areas considerably as compared to the poorly-drained areas. Midday \\PsiL for all four burns show no significant difference between well- and poorly-drained (average midday \\PsiL = -1.23 & -1.29 MPa respectively) sites for Picea mariana (t-value = -0.591, df = 6, p-value = 0.576). This indicates that tree size, which is constrained by growth and anaerobic conditions, drives differences in tree transpiration for well- and poorly-drained soils.

Brazil Fire Characterization and Burn Area Estimation Using the Airborne Infrared Disaster Assessment (AIRDAS) System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brass, J. A.; Riggan, P. J.; Ambrosia, V. G.; Lockwood, R. N.; Pereira, J. A.; Higgins, R. G.; Peterson, David L. (Technical Monitor)

1995-01-01

Remotely sensed estimations of regional and global emissions from biomass combustion have been used to characterize fire behavior, determine fire intensity, and estimate burn area. Highly temporal, low resolution satellite data have been used to calculate estimates of fire numbers and area burned. These estimates of fire activity and burned area have differed dramatically, resulting in a wide range of predictions on the ecological and environmental impacts of fires. As part of the Brazil/United States Fire Initiative, an aircraft campaign was initiated in 1992 and continued in 1994. This multi-aircraft campaign was designed to assist in the characterization of fire activity, document fire intensity and determine area burned over prescribed, agricultural and wildland fires in the savanna and forests of central Brazil. Using a unique, multispectral scanner (AIRDAS), designed specifically for fire characterization, a variety of fires and burned areas were flown with a high spatial and high thermal resolution scanner. The system was used to measure flame front size, rate of spread, ratio of smoldering to flaming fronts and fire intensity. In addition, long transects were flown to determine the size of burned areas within the cerrado and transitional ecosystems. The authors anticipate that the fire activity and burned area estimates reported here will lead to enhanced information for precise regional trace gas prediction.

Global burned-land estimation in Latin America using MODIS composite data.

PubMed

Chuvieco, Emilio; Opazo, Sergio; Sione, Walter; Del Valle, Hector; Anaya, Jesús; Di Bella, Carlos; Cruz, Isabel; Manzo, Lilia; López, Gerardo; Mari, Nicolas; González-Alonso, Federico; Morelli, Fabiano; Setzer, Alberto; Csiszar, Ivan; Kanpandegi, Jon Ander; Bastarrika, Aitor; Libonati, Renata

2008-01-01

This paper presents results of the AQL2004 project, which has been develope within the GOFC-GOLD Latin American network of remote sensing and forest fires (RedLatif). The project intended to obtain monthly burned-land maps of the entire region, from Mexico to Patagonia, using MODIS (moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer) reflectance data. The project has been organized in three different phases: acquisition and preprocessing of satellite data; discrimination of burned pixels; and validation of results. In the first phase, input data consisting of 32-day composites of MODIS 500-m reflectance data generated by the Global Land Cover Facility (GLCF) of the University of Maryland (College Park, Maryland, U.S.A.) were collected and processed. The discrimination of burned areas was addressed in two steps: searching for "burned core" pixels using postfire spectral indices and multitemporal change detection and mapping of burned scars using contextual techniques. The validation phase was based on visual analysis of Landsat and CBERS (China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite) images. Validation of the burned-land category showed an agreement ranging from 30% to 60%, depending on the ecosystem and vegetation species present. The total burned area for the entire year was estimated to be 153 215 km2. The most affected countries in relation to their territory were Cuba, Colombia, Bolivia, and Venezuela. Burned areas were found in most land covers; herbaceous vegetation (savannas and grasslands) presented the highest proportions of burned area, while perennial forest had the lowest proportions. The importance of croplands in the total burned area should be taken with reserve, since this cover presented the highest commission errors. The importance of generating systematic products of burned land areas for different ecological processes is emphasized.

Our initial learning curve in the enzymatic debridement of severely burned hands-Management and pit falls of initial treatments and our development of a post debridement wound treatment algorithm.

PubMed

Schulz, A; Perbix, W; Shoham, Y; Daali, S; Charalampaki, C; Fuchs, P C; Schiefer, J

2017-03-01

Excisional surgical debridement (SD) is still the gold standard in the treatment of deeply burned hands, though the intricate anatomy is easily damaged. Previous studies demonstrated that enzymatic debridement with the bromelain debriding agent NexoBrid ® (EDNX) is more selective and thus can preserve viable tissue with excellent outcome results. So far no method paper has been published presenting different treatment algorithms in this new field. Therefore our aim was to close this gap by presenting our detailed learning curve in EDNX of deeply burned hands. We conducted a single-center prospective observational clinical trial treating 20 patients with deeply burned hands with EDNX. Different anaesthetic procedures, debridement and wound treatment algorithms were compared and main pitfalls described. EDNX was efficient in 90% of the treatments though correct wound bed evaluation was challenging and found unusual compared to SD. Post EDNX surprisingly the majority of the burn surface area was found overestimated (18 wounds). Finally we simplified our process and reduced treatment costs by following a modified treatment algorithm and treating under plexus anaesthesia bedside through a single nurse and one burn surgeon solely. Suprathel ® could be shown to be an appropriate dressing for wound treatment after EDNX. Complete healing (less 5% rest defect) was achieved at an average of day 28. EDNX in deep burned hands is promising regarding handling and duration of the treatment, efficiency and selectivity of debridement, healing potential and early rehabilitation. Following our treatment algorithm EDNX can be performed easily and even without special knowledge in burn wound depth evaluation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

A high-resolution open biomass burning emission inventory based on statistical data and MODIS observations in mainland China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Y.; Fan, M.; Huang, Z.; Zheng, J.; Chen, L.

2017-12-01

Open biomass burning which has adverse effects on air quality and human health is an important source of gas and particulate matter (PM) in China. Current emission estimations of open biomass burning are generally based on single source (alternative to statistical data and satellite-derived data) and thus contain large uncertainty due to the limitation of data. In this study, to quantify the 2015-based amount of open biomass burning, we established a new estimation method for open biomass burning activity levels by combining the bottom-up statistical data and top-down MODIS observations. And three sub-category sources which used different activity data were considered. For open crop residue burning, the "best estimate" of activity data was obtained by averaging the statistical data from China statistical yearbooks and satellite observations from MODIS burned area product MCD64A1 weighted by their uncertainties. For the forest and grassland fires, their activity levels were represented by the combination of statistical data and MODIS active fire product MCD14ML. Using the fire radiative power (FRP) which is considered as a better indicator of active fire level as the spatial allocation surrogate, coarse gridded emissions were reallocated into 3km ×3km grids to get a high-resolution emission inventory. Our results showed that emissions of CO, NOx, SO2, NH3, VOCs, PM2.5, PM10, BC and OC in mainland China were 6607, 427, 84, 79, 1262, 1198, 1222, 159 and 686 Gg/yr, respectively. Among all provinces of China, Henan, Shandong and Heilongjiang were the top three contributors to the total emissions. In this study, the developed open biomass burning emission inventory with a high-resolution could support air quality modeling and policy-making for pollution control.

BurnCase 3D software validation study: Burn size measurement accuracy and inter-rater reliability.

PubMed

Parvizi, Daryousch; Giretzlehner, Michael; Wurzer, Paul; Klein, Limor Dinur; Shoham, Yaron; Bohanon, Fredrick J; Haller, Herbert L; Tuca, Alexandru; Branski, Ludwik K; Lumenta, David B; Herndon, David N; Kamolz, Lars-P

2016-03-01

The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of burn size estimation using the computer-assisted software BurnCase 3D (RISC Software GmbH, Hagenberg, Austria) with that using a 2D scan, considered to be the actual burn size. Thirty artificial burn areas were pre planned and prepared on three mannequins (one child, one female, and one male). Five trained physicians (raters) were asked to assess the size of all wound areas using BurnCase 3D software. The results were then compared with the real wound areas, as determined by 2D planimetry imaging. To examine inter-rater reliability, we performed an intraclass correlation analysis with a 95% confidence interval. The mean wound area estimations of the five raters using BurnCase 3D were in total 20.7±0.9% for the child, 27.2±1.5% for the female and 16.5±0.1% for the male mannequin. Our analysis showed relative overestimations of 0.4%, 2.8% and 1.5% for the child, female and male mannequins respectively, compared to the 2D scan. The intraclass correlation between the single raters for mean percentage of the artificial burn areas was 98.6%. There was also a high intraclass correlation between the single raters and the 2D Scan visible. BurnCase 3D is a valid and reliable tool for the determination of total body surface area burned in standard models. Further clinical studies including different pediatric and overweight adult mannequins are warranted. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Mapping the Daily Progression of Large Wildland Fires Using MODIS Active Fire Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Veraverbeke, Sander; Sedano, Fernando; Hook, Simon J.; Randerson, James T.; Jin, Yufang; Rogers, Brendan

2013-01-01

High temporal resolution information on burned area is a prerequisite for incorporating bottom-up estimates of wildland fire emissions in regional air transport models and for improving models of fire behavior. We used the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) active fire product (MO(Y)D14) as input to a kriging interpolation to derive continuous maps of the evolution of nine large wildland fires. For each fire, local input parameters for the kriging model were defined using variogram analysis. The accuracy of the kriging model was assessed using high resolution daily fire perimeter data available from the U.S. Forest Service. We also assessed the temporal reporting accuracy of the MODIS burned area products (MCD45A1 and MCD64A1). Averaged over the nine fires, the kriging method correctly mapped 73% of the pixels within the accuracy of a single day, compared to 33% for MCD45A1 and 53% for MCD64A1.

Production of Landsat ETM+ reference imagery of burned areas within Southern African savannahs: comparison of methods and application to MODIS

Treesearch

A. M. S. Smith; N. A. Drake; M. J. Wooster; A. T. Hudak; Z. A. Holden; C. J. Gibbons

2007-01-01

Accurate production of regional burned area maps are necessary to reduce uncertainty in emission estimates from African savannah fires. Numerous methods have been developed that map burned and unburned surfaces. These methods are typically applied to coarse spatial resolution (1 km) data to produce regional estimates of the area burned, while higher spatial resolution...

Fine particles and carbon monoxide from wood burning in 17th-19th century Danish kitchens: Measurements at two reconstructed farm houses at the Lejre Historical-Archaeological Experimental Center

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryhl-Svendsen, Morten; Clausen, Geo; Chowdhury, Zohir; Smith, Kirk R.

2010-02-01

Carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM 2.5) were measured in two reconstructed Danish farmhouses (17-19th century) during two weeks of summer. During the first week intensive measurements were performed while test cooking fires were burned, during the second week the houses were monitored while occupied by guest families. A masonry hearth was located in the middle of each house for open cooking fires and with heating stoves. One house had a chimney leading to the outside over the hearth; in the other, a brickwork hood led the smoke into an attic and through holes in the roof. During the first week the concentration of PM 2.5 averaged daily between 138 and 1650 μg m -3 inside the hearths and 21-160 μg m -3 in adjacent living rooms. CO averaged daily between 0.21 and 1.9 ppm in living areas, and up to 12 ppm in the hearths. Highest concentrations were measured when two fires were lit at the same time, which would cause high personal exposure for someone working in the kitchens. 15 min averages of up to 25 400 μg m -3 (PM 2.5) and 260 ppm CO were recorded. WHO air quality guidelines were occasionally exceeded for CO and constantly for PM 2.5. However, air exchange and air distribution measurements revealed a large draw in the chimney, which ensured a fast removal of wood smoke from the hearth area. The guest families were in average exposed to no more than 0.21 ppm CO during 48 h. Based on a hypothetical time-activity pattern, however, a woman living in this type of house during the 17-19th century would be exposed to daily averages of 1.1 ppm CO and 196 μg m -3 PM 2.5, which exceeds WHO guideline for PM 2.5, and is comparable to what is today observed for women in rural areas of developing countries.

Waterlogging accelerates the loss of soil organic carbon from abandoned paddy fields in the hilly terrain in subtropical China.

PubMed

Xie, Xiao Li; Wang, Wei; Tian, Wen Wen; Xie, Ke Jun

2017-11-06

Paddy soils have been widely recognized as important carbon sinks. However, paddy field abandonment is increasing in the hilly area in subtropical China. Soil waterlogging and weed burning are common practices in abandoned paddy fields, which could affect vegetation cover and carbon sequestration. An rice cultivation experiment was ceased in 2006, and four new treatments were applied as waterlogging (W), drainage (D), waterlogging combined with burning (WB), and drainage combined with burning (DB). Waterlogging altered the vegetation cover and caused an associated change in biomass. Paspalum paspaloides, Murdannia triquetra, and Bidens frondosa dominated W and WB plots, and Microstegium vimineum and Bidens frondosa dominated D and DB plots. Abandonment of paddy fields led to a rapid decrease in soil organic carbon (SOC), and waterlogging accelerates SOC loss which should be attributed mainly to alteration of the vegetation cover. Six years' rice cultivation increased SOC content by 13.5% (2.4 g kg -1 ) on average. In contrast, six years' abandonment reduced SOC content by 14.5% (3.0 g kg -1 ) on average. Decline rate of SOC was 0.38, 0.64, 0.30, and 0.65 g kg -1 a -1 for D, W, DB, and WB, respectively. Such results indicate a significant risk of SOC loss from abandoned paddy fields.

Sensitivity of global terrestrial carbon cycle dynamics to variability in satellite-observed burned area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poulter, Benjamin; Cadule, Patricia; Cheiney, Audrey; Ciais, Philippe; Hodson, Elke; Peylin, Philippe; Plummer, Stephen; Spessa, Allan; Saatchi, Sassan; Yue, Chao; Zimmermann, Niklaus E.

2015-02-01

Fire plays an important role in terrestrial ecosystems by regulating biogeochemistry, biogeography, and energy budgets, yet despite the importance of fire as an integral ecosystem process, significant advances remain to improve its prognostic representation in carbon cycle models. To recommend and to help prioritize model improvements, this study investigates the sensitivity of a coupled global biogeography and biogeochemistry model, LPJ, to observed burned area measured by three independent satellite-derived products, GFED v3.1, L3JRC, and GlobCarbon. Model variables are compared with benchmarks that include pantropical aboveground biomass, global tree cover, and CO2 and CO trace gas concentrations. Depending on prescribed burned area product, global aboveground carbon stocks varied by 300 Pg C, and woody cover ranged from 50 to 73 Mkm2. Tree cover and biomass were both reduced linearly with increasing burned area, i.e., at regional scales, a 10% reduction in tree cover per 1000 km2, and 0.04-to-0.40 Mg C reduction per 1000 km2. In boreal regions, satellite burned area improved simulated tree cover and biomass distributions, but in savanna regions, model-data correlations decreased. Global net biome production was relatively insensitive to burned area, and the long-term land carbon sink was robust, 2.5 Pg C yr-1, suggesting that feedbacks from ecosystem respiration compensated for reductions in fuel consumption via fire. CO2 transport provided further evidence that heterotrophic respiration compensated any emission reductions in the absence of fire, with minor differences in modeled CO2 fluxes among burned area products. CO was a more sensitive indicator for evaluating fire emissions, with MODIS-GFED burned area producing CO concentrations largely in agreement with independent observations in high latitudes. This study illustrates how ensembles of burned area data sets can be used to diagnose model structures and parameters for further improvement and also highlights the importance in considering uncertainties and variability in observed burned area data products for model applications.

The Characteristics of Peats and Co2 Emission Due to Fire in Industrial Plant Forests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ratnaningsih, Ambar Tri; Rayahu Prasytaningsih, Sri

2017-12-01

Riau Province has a high threat to forest fire in peat soils, especially in industrial forest areas. The impact of fires will produce carbon (CO2) emissions in the atmosphere. The magnitude of carbon losses from the burning of peatlands can be estimated by knowing the characteristics of the fire peat and estimating CO2 emissions produced. The objectives of the study are to find out the characteristics of fire-burning peat, and to estimate carbon storage and CO2 emissions. The location of the research is in the area of industrial forest plantations located in Bengkalis Regency, Riau Province. The method used to measure peat carbon is the method of lost in ignation. The results showed that the research location has a peat depth of 600-800 cm which is considered very deep. The Peat fiber content ranges from 38 to 75, classified as hemic peat. The average bulk density was 0.253 gram cm-3 (0.087-0,896 gram cm-3). The soil ash content is 2.24% and the stored peat carbon stock with 8 meter peat thickness is 10723,69 ton ha-1. Forest fire was predicted to burn peat to a depth of 100 cm and produced CO2 emissions of 6,355,809 tons ha-1.

Himawari-8 Satellite Based Dynamic Monitoring of Grassland Fire in China-Mongolia Border Regions

PubMed Central

Na, Li; Bao, Yulong; Bao, Yongbin; Na, Risu; Tong, Siqin; Si, Alu

2018-01-01

In this study, we used bands 7, 4, and 3 of the Advance Himawari Imager (AHI) data, combined with a Threshold Algorithm and a visual interpretation method to monitor the entire process of grassland fires that occurred on the China-Mongolia border regions, between 05:40 (UTC) on April 19th to 13:50 (UTC) on April 21st 2016. The results of the AHI data monitoring are evaluated by the fire point product data, the wind field data, and the environmental information data of the area in which the fire took place. The monitoring result shows that, the grassland fire burned for two days and eight hours with a total burned area of about 2708.29 km2. It mainly spread from the northwest to the southeast, with a maximum burning speed of 20.9 m/s, a minimum speed of 2.52 m/s, and an average speed of about 12.07 m/s. Thus, using AHI data can not only quickly and accurately track the dynamic development of a grassland fire, but also estimate the spread speed and direction. The evaluation of fire monitoring results reveals that AHI data with high precision and timeliness can be highly consistent with the actual situation. PMID:29346289

Unsupervised Spatio-Temporal Data Mining Framework for Burned Area Mapping

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kumar, Vipin (Inventor); Boriah, Shyam (Inventor); Mithal, Varun (Inventor); Khandelwal, Ankush (Inventor)

2016-01-01

A method reduces processing time required to identify locations burned by fire by receiving a feature value for each pixel in an image, each pixel representing a sub-area of a location. Pixels are then grouped based on similarities of the feature values to form candidate burn events. For each candidate burn event, a probability that the candidate burn event is a true burn event is determined based on at least one further feature value for each pixel in the candidate burn event. Candidate burn events that have a probability below a threshold are removed from further consideration as burn events to produce a set of remaining candidate burn events.

Mammals and habitat disturbance: the case of brown hare and wildfire

PubMed Central

Sokos, Christos; Birtsas, Periklis; Papaspyropoulos, Konstantinos G.; Tsachalidis, Efstathios; Giannakopoulos, Alexios; Milis, Chrysostomos; Spyrou, Vassiliki; Manolakou, Katerina; Valiakos, George; Iakovakis, Christos; Athanasiou, Labrini V.; Sfougaris, Athanasios; Billinis, Charalambos

2016-01-01

Abstract Ecosystem disturbances, such as wildfires, are driving forces that determine ecology and conservation measures. Species respond differentially to wildfires, having diverse post-fire population evolution. This study reports, for first time, the responses of brown hare (Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778) to wildfires. Hare relative abundance, age ratio, diet quality, body condition, and diseases were studied. Fire influence on vegetation was calculated at a micro-scale level. Hare abundance was lower the first year after wildfires in burned relative to unburned areas. The reverse was found in the second year when hare abundance was higher in burned areas. Hare abundance in burned areas was also higher in the third and fourth years. In the fifth and sixth years after wildfire no significant difference was found in abundance. At a micro-scale level, higher numbers of hare feces were counted in places with greater wildfire influence on vegetation. Age ratio analysis revealed more juveniles in burned areas, but the same number of neonates in burned and unburned areas, indicating lower mortality of juveniles in burned areas. Reduced predation in burned areas provides the most plausible explanation for our findings. PMID:29491931

Transported vs. local contributions from secondary and biomass burning sources to PM2.5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Bong Mann; Seo, Jihoon; Kim, Jin Young; Lee, Ji Yi; Kim, Yumi

2016-11-01

The concentration of fine particulates in Seoul, Korea has been lowered over the past 10 years, as a result of the city's efforts in implementing environmental control measures. Yet, the particulate concentration level in Seoul remains high as compared to other urban areas globally. In order to further improve fine particulate air quality in the Korea region and design a more effective control strategy, enhanced understanding of the sources and contribution of fine particulates along with their chemical compositions is necessary. In turn, relative contributions from local and transported sources on Seoul need to be established, as this city is particularly influenced by sources from upwind geographic areas. In this study, PM2.5 monitoring was conducted in Seoul from October 2012 to September 2013. PM2.5 mass concentrations, ions, metals, organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), water soluble OC (WSOC), humic-like substances of carbon (HULIS-C), and 85 organic compounds were chemically analyzed. The multivariate receptor model SMP was applied to the PM2.5 data, which then identified nine sources and estimated their source compositions as well as source contributions. Prior studies have identified and quantified the transported and local sources. However, no prior studies have distinguished contributions of an individual source between transported contribution and locally produced contribution. We differentiated transported secondary and biomass burning sources from the locally produced secondary and biomass burning sources, which was supported with potential source contribution function (PSCF) analysis. Of the total secondary source contribution, 32% was attributed to transported secondary sources, and 68% was attributed to locally formed secondary sources. Meanwhile, the contribution from the transported biomass burning source was revealed as 59% of the total biomass burning contribution, which was 1.5 times higher than that of the local biomass burning source. Four-season average source contributions from the transported and the local sources were 28% and 72%, respectively.

Controls on variations in MODIS fire radiative power in Alaskan boreal forests: implications for fire severity conditions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Barrett, Kirsten; Kasischke, Eric S.

2013-01-01

Fire activity in the Alaskan boreal forest, though episodic at annual and intra-annual time scales, has experienced an increase over the last several decades. Increases in burned area and fire severity are not only releasing more carbon to the atmosphere, but likely shifting vegetation composition in the region towards greater deciduous dominance and a reduction in coniferous stands. While some recent studies have addressed qualitative differences between large and small fire years in the Alaskan boreal forest, the ecological effects of a greater proportion of burning occurring during large fire years and during late season fires have not yet been examined. Some characteristics of wildfires that can be detected remotely are related to fire severity and can provide new information on spatial and temporal patterns of burning. This analysis focused on boreal wildfire intensity (fire radiative power, or FRP) contained in the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) daily active fire product from 2003 to 2010. We found that differences in FRP resulted from seasonality and intra-annual variability in fire activity levels, vegetation composition, latitudinal variation, and fire spread behavior. Our studies determined two general categories of active fire detections: new detections associated with the spread of the fire front and residual pixels in areas that had already experienced front burning. Residual pixels had a lower average FRP than front pixels, but represented a high percentage of all pixels during periods of high fire activity (large fire years, late season burning, and seasonal periods of high fire activity). As a result, the FRP from periods of high fire activity was less intense than those from periods of low fire activity. Differences related to latitude were greater than expected, with higher latitudes burning later in the season and at a higher intensity than lower latitudes. Differences in vegetation type indicate that coniferous vegetation is the most fire prone, but deciduous vegetation is not particularly fire resistant, as the proportion of active fire detections in deciduous stands is roughly the same as the fraction of deciduous vegetation in the region. Qualitative differences between periods of high and low fire activity are likely to reflect important differences in fire severity. Large fire years are likely to be more severe, characterized by more late season fires and a greater proportion of residual burning. Given the potential for severe fires to effect changes in vegetation cover, the shift toward a greater proportion of area burning during large fire years may influence vegetation patterns in the region over the medium to long term.

Burns inflicted by self or by others--an 11 year snapshot.

PubMed

Malic, C C; Karoo, R O S; Austin, O; Phipps, A

2007-02-01

In the United Kingdom, the incidence of assault by burning and of self inflicted burns increased significantly over the last decade. This has major implications both for service providers and society as a whole. Our aim was to investigate the differences in patients' characteristics, management and outcome following a burn sustained by either an assault or self immolation. Acute admissions to a tertiary Burn Centre were retrospectively reviewed over an 11 year period (1994-2005). Demographic data and information regarding the circumstances surrounding the incident, burn severity, treatment and outcomes of the patients were collected. Over an 11 year period, 1745 patients were admitted to the tertiary Burn Centre. Of this total, 41 patients (mean age 29 years+/-16) sustained burns following an assault, a further 86 patients (mean age of 37 years+/-12) had self inflicted burn injuries; males were preponderant in both groups. In this series, a history of alcohol or substance abuse was present in 25% of both cohorts, 63% of the patients with self inflicted injuries having a previously diagnosed psychiatric disorder. Petrol, accelerants and other flammable liquids were the main agents chosen to inflict injury in both the assault and self inflicted groups. The burn depth and surface area distribution was greater in the self inflicted group compared to those assaulted (29% versus 21%). A difference was also noted in the pattern of distribution of burns between the two groups, as well as between genders although this difference was not significant. Two-thirds (67.4%) of the self immolated patients and 56% of the assaulted group required surgery. The length of hospital stay was similar for both groups, averaging 20 days. The crude mortality for the self inflicted group was 29%, whereas in the assaulted patients, the overall mortality was 4.9%. Although the incidence of burns caused either by assault or attempted suicide is low, the affected patients require a multidisciplinary approach. Their management requires significant medical, psychological occupational and social support. Increased awareness and education of those vulnerable individuals maybe of benefit to help prevent self inflicted injuries by burning.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tagestad, Jerry; Brooks, Matthew; Cullinan, Valerie

Mojave Desert ecosystem processes are dependent upon the amount and seasonality of precipitation. Multi-decadal periods of drought or above-average rainfall affect landscape vegetation condition, biomass and susceptibility to fire. The seasonality of precipitation events can also affect the likelihood of lightning, a key ignition source for fires. To develop an understanding of precipitation regimes and fire patterns we used monthly average precipitation data and GIS data representing burned areas from 1971-2010. We applied a K-means cluster analysis to the monthly precipitation data identifying three distinct precipitation seasons; winter (October – March), spring (April-June) and summer (July-September) and four discrete precipitationmore » regimes within the Mojave ecoregion.« less

Distribution of trace gases and aerosols in the Siberian air shed during wildfires of summer 2012

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belan, Boris D.; Paris, Jean-Daiel; Nedelec, Philippe; Antokhin, Pavel N.; Arshinova, Victoriya; Arshinov, Mikhail Yu.; Belan, Sergey B.; Davydov, Denis K.; Ivlev, Georgii A.; Fofonov, Alexandre V.; Kozlov, Artem V.; Rasskazchikova, Tatyana M.; Savkin, Denis E.; Simonenkov, Denis V.; Sklyadneva, Tatyana K.; Tolmachev, Gennadii N.

2017-04-01

During the last two decades, three strong biomass burning events have been observed in Russia: two of them in 2002 and 2010 in the European part of Russia, and another one in 2012 in West and East Siberia. In this paper we present results of the extensive airborne study of the vertical distribution of trace gases and aerosols carried out during strong wildfire event happened in summer 2012 in Siberia. For this purpose, the Optik TU-134 aircraft laboratory was used as a research platform. A large-scale airborne campaign has been undertaken along the route Novosibirsk-Mirny-Yakutsk-Bratsk-Novosibirsk on 31st of July and 1st of August, 2012. Flight pattern consisted of a number of ascents and descents between close to the ground and 8 km altitude that enabled 20 vertical profiles to be obtained. Campaign was conducted under the weather conditions of low-gradient baric field that determined the low speed transport of air masses, as well as the accumulation of biomass burning emissions in the region under study. Highest concentrations of CO2, CH4 and CO over wildfire spots reached 432 ppm, 2367 ppb, and 4036 ppb, correspondingly. If we exclude from the analysis the data obtained when crossing smoke plumes, we can find a difference between background concentrations measured in the atmosphere over regions affected by biomass burning and clean areas. Enhancement of CO2 over the wildfire areas changed with altitude. On average, it was 10.5 ppm in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) and 5-6 ppm in the free troposphere. Maximum CO2 enhancements reached 27 ppm and 24 ppm, correspondingly. The averaged CH4 enhancement varied from 75 ppb in the boundary layer to 30 ppb in the upper troposphere, and a little bit lower than 30 ppb in the middle troposphere. Maximum CH4 enhancements reached 202 ppb, 108 ppb, and 50-60 ppb, correspondingly. The averaged and maximum enhancements of CO differed by an order of magnitude. Thus, in the ABL the maximum difference in concentration between clean and wildfire areas reached 2300 ppb, while averaged one was 170 ppb. In the middle troposphere maximum enhancements varied from 1000 to 1700 ppb. The vertical distribution of ozone has its own peculiarities. Ozone concentration decreased in the layers with enhanced aerosol concentration and it increased in the areas with lower aerosol content. At the same time, photochemical production ozone was observed at the plume edges in the zone of fresh air entrainment. This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (grant No 17-05-00374).

Urban Telemedicine: The Applicability of Teleburns in the Rehabilitative Phase.

PubMed

Liu, Yuk Ming; Mathews, Katie; Vardanian, Andrew; Bozkurt, Taylan; Schneider, Jeffrey C; Hefner, Jaye; Schulz, John T; Fagan, Shawn P; Goverman, Jeremy

Telemedicine has been successfully used in many areas of medicine, including triage and evaluation of the acute burn patient. The utility of telemedicine during the rehabilitative phase of burn care has yet to be evaluated; therefore, we expanded our telemedicine program to link our burn center with a rehabilitation facility. The goal of this project was to demonstrate cost-effective improvements in the transition and quality of care. A retrospective review was performed on all patients enrolled in our telemedicine/rehabilitation program between March 2013 and March 2014. Data collected included total number of encounters, visits, type of visit, physician time, and readmissions. Transportation costs were based on local ambulance rates between the two facilities. The impact of telemedicine was evaluated with respect to the time saved for the physician, burn center, and burn clinic, as well as rehabilitative days saved. A patient satisfaction survey was also administered. A total of 29 patients participated in 73 virtual visits through the telemedicine project. Virtual visits included new consults, preoperative evaluations, and postoperative follow-ups. A total of 146 ambulance transports were averted during the study period, totaling $101,110. Virtual visits saved 6.8 outpatient burn clinic days, or 73 clinic appointments of 30-min duration. The ability to perform more outpatient surgery resulted in 80 inpatient bed days saved at the burn hospital. The rehabilitation hospital saved an average of 2 to 3 patient days secondary to unnecessary travel. Satisfaction surveys demonstrated patient satisfaction with the encounters, primarily related to time saved. The decrease in travel time for the patient from the rehabilitation hospital to outpatient burn clinic improved adherence to the rehabilitation care plan and resulted in increased throughput at the rehabilitation facility. Videoconferencing between a burn center and rehabilitation hospital streamlined patient care and reduced health care costs, while maintaining quality of care and patient satisfaction. This program has improved inpatient burn rehabilitation by maximizing time spent in therapy and avoiding unnecessary patient travel to offsite appointments.

Modeling crop residue burning experiments to evaluate smoke emissions and plume transport.

PubMed

Zhou, Luxi; Baker, Kirk R; Napelenok, Sergey L; Pouliot, George; Elleman, Robert; O'Neill, Susan M; Urbanski, Shawn P; Wong, David C

2018-06-15

Crop residue burning is a common land management practice that results in emissions of a variety of pollutants with negative health impacts. Modeling systems are used to estimate air quality impacts of crop residue burning to support retrospective regulatory assessments and also for forecasting purposes. Ground and airborne measurements from a recent field experiment in the Pacific Northwest focused on cropland residue burning was used to evaluate model performance in capturing surface and aloft impacts from the burning events. The Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model was used to simulate multiple crop residue burns with 2 km grid spacing using field-specific information and also more general assumptions traditionally used to support National Emission Inventory based assessments. Field study specific information, which includes area burned, fuel consumption, and combustion completeness, resulted in increased biomass consumption by 123 tons (60% increase) on average compared to consumption estimated with default methods in the National Emission Inventory (NEI) process. Buoyancy heat flux, a key parameter for model predicted fire plume rise, estimated from fuel loading obtained from field measurements can be 30% to 200% more than when estimated using default field information. The increased buoyancy heat flux resulted in higher plume rise by 30% to 80%. This evaluation indicates that the regulatory air quality modeling system can replicate intensity and transport (horizontal and vertical) features for crop residue burning in this region when region-specific information is used to inform emissions and plume rise calculations. Further, previous vertical emissions allocation treatment of putting all cropland residue burning in the surface layer does not compare well with measured plume structure and these types of burns should be modeled more similarly to prescribed fires such that plume rise is based on an estimate of buoyancy. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Derivation of burn scar depths and estimation of carbon emissions with LIDAR in Indonesian peatlands

PubMed Central

Ballhorn, Uwe; Siegert, Florian; Mason, Mike; Limin, Suwido

2009-01-01

During the 1997/98 El Niño-induced drought peatland fires in Indonesia may have released 13–40% of the mean annual global carbon emissions from fossil fuels. One major unknown in current peatland emission estimations is how much peat is combusted by fire. Using a light detection and ranging data set acquired in Central Kalimantan, Borneo, in 2007, one year after the severe peatland fires of 2006, we determined an average burn scar depth of 0.33 ± 0.18 m. Based on this result and the burned area determined from satellite imagery, we estimate that within the 2.79 million hectare study area 49.15 ± 26.81 megatons of carbon were released during the 2006 El Niño episode. This represents 10–33% of all carbon emissions from transport for the European Community in the year 2006. These emissions, originating from a comparatively small area (approximately 13% of the Indonesian peatland area), underline the importance of peat fires in the context of green house gas emissions and global warming. In the past decade severe peat fires occurred during El Niño-induced droughts in 1997, 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2009. Currently, this important source of carbon emissions is not included in IPCC carbon accounting or in regional and global carbon emission models. Precise spatial measurements of peat combusted and potential avoided emissions in tropical peat swamp forests will also be required for future emission trading schemes in the framework of Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation in developing countries. PMID:19940252

Water quality concerns due to forest fires: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) contamination of groundwater from mountain areas.

PubMed

Mansilha, C; Carvalho, A; Guimarães, P; Espinha Marques, J

2014-01-01

Water quality alterations due to forest fires may considerably affect aquatic organisms and water resources. These impacts are cumulative as a result of pollutants mobilized from fires, chemicals used to fight fire, and postfire responses. Few studies have examined postfire transport into water resources of trace elements, including the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), which are organic pollutants produced during combustion and are considered carcinogenic and harmful to humans. PAH are also known to adversely affect survival, growth, and reproduction of many aquatic species. This study assessed the effects of forest wildfires on groundwater from two mountain regions located in protected areas from north and central Portugal. Two campaigns to collect water samples were performed in order to measure PAH levels. Fifteen of 16 studied PAH were found in groundwater samples collected at burned areas, most of them at concentrations significantly higher than those found in control regions, indicating aquifer contamination. The total sum of PAH in burned areas ranged from 23.1to 95.1 ng/L with a median of 62.9 ng/L, which is one- to sixfold higher than the average level measured in controls (16.2 ng/L). In addition, in control samples, the levels of light PAH with two to four rings were at higher levels than heavy PAH with five or six rings, thus showing a different profile between control and burned sites. The contribution of wildfires to groundwater contamination by PAH was demonstrated, enabling a reliable assessment of the impacts on water quality and preparation of scientifically based decision criteria for postfire forest management practices.

Efficacy of enzymatic debridement of deeply burned hands.

PubMed

Krieger, Yuval; Bogdanov-Berezovsky, Alexander; Gurfinkel, Reuven; Silberstein, Eldad; Sagi, Amiram; Rosenberg, Lior

2012-02-01

The burned hand is a common and difficult to care-for entity in the field of burns. Due to the anatomy of the hand (important and delicate structures crowded in a small limited space without sub-dermal soft tissue), surgical debridement of the burned tissue is technically difficult and may cause considerable complications and, therefore, should be performed judiciously. Selective enzymatic debridement of the burn wound can preserve the spontaneous epithelialisation potential and reduce the added injury to the traumatised tissue added by a surgical debridement. The aim of the study was to assess the implication of a selective enzymatic compound (Debrase(®) - Ds) in the special field of deep hand burns, by comparing the actual burn area that required surgical coverage after enzymatic debridement to the burn area clinically judged to require skin grafting prior to debridement. This was a retrospective data collection and analysis from 154 complete files of prospective, open-label study in 275 hospitalised, Ds-treated burn patients. A total of 69 hand burns diagnosed as 'deep' was analysed; 36% of the wounds required surgical intervention after enzymatic debridement; 28.6% of the total burned area estimated initially as deep was covered by skin graft (statistically significant p<0.001). Debridement of deep-hand burns with a selective enzymatic agent decreased the perceived full-thickness wound area and skin-graft use. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

The revised burn diagram and its effect on diagnosis-related group coding.

PubMed

Turner, D G; Berger, N; Weiland, A P; Jordan, M H

1996-01-01

Diagnosis-related group (DRG) codes for burn injuries are defined by thresholds of the percentage of total body surface area and depth of burns, and by whether surgery, debridement, or grafting or both occurred. This prospective study was designed to determine whether periodic revisions of the burn diagram resulted in more accurate assignment of the International Classification of Diseases and DRG codes. The admission burn diagrams were revised after admission and after each surgical procedure. All areas grafted (deep second-and third-degree burns) were diagrammed as "third-degree," after the current convention that both are biologically the same and require grafting. The multiple diagrams from 82 charts were analyzed to determine the disparities in the percentage of total body surface area burn and the percentage of body surface area third-degree burn. The revised diagrams differed from the admission diagrams in 96.5% of the cases. In 77% of the cases, the revised diagram correctly depicted the percentage of body surface area third-degree burn as confirmed intraoperatively. In 7.3% of the cases, diagram revision changed the DRG code. Documenting wound evolution in this manner allows more accurate assignment of the International Classification of Diseases and DRG codes, assuring optimal reimbursement under the prospective payment system.

[Clinical effect of three dimensional human body scanning system BurnCalc in the evaluation of burn wound area].

PubMed

Lu, J; Wang, L; Zhang, Y C; Tang, H T; Xia, Z F

2017-10-20

Objective: To validate the clinical effect of three dimensional human body scanning system BurnCalc developed by our research team in the evaluation of burn wound area. Methods: A total of 48 burn patients treated in the outpatient department of our unit from January to June 2015, conforming to the study criteria, were enrolled in. For the first 12 patients, one wound on the limbs or torso was selected from each patient. The stability of the system was tested by 3 attending physicians using three dimensional human body scanning system BurnCalc to measure the area of wounds individually. For the following 36 patients, one wound was selected from each patient, including 12 wounds on limbs, front torso, and side torso, respectively. The area of wounds was measured by the same attending physician using transparency tracing method, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Image J method, and three dimensional human body scanning system BurnCalc, respectively. The time for getting information of 36 wounds by three methods was recorded by stopwatch. The stability among the testers was evaluated by the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Data were processed with randomized blocks analysis of variance and Bonferroni test. Results: (1) Wound area of patients measured by three physicians using three dimensional human body scanning system BurnCalc was (122±95), (121±95), and (123±96) cm(2,) respectively, and there was no statistically significant difference among them ( F =1.55, P >0.05). The ICC among 3 physicians was 0.999. (2) The wound area of limbs of patients measured by transparency tracing method, NIH Image J method, and three dimensional human body scanning system BurnCalc was (84±50), (76±46), and (84±49) cm(2,) respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the wound area of limbs of patients measured by transparency tracing method and three dimensional human body scanning system BurnCalc ( P >0.05). The wound area of limbs of patients measured by NIH Image J method was smaller than that measured by transparency tracing method and three dimensional human body scanning system BurnCalc (with P values below 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the wound area of front torso of patients measured by transparency tracing method, NIH Image J method, and three dimensional human body scanning system BurnCalc ( F =0.33, P >0.05). The wound area of side torso of patients measured by transparency tracing method, NIH Image J method, and three dimensional human body scanning system BurnCalc was (169±88), (150±80), and (169±86) cm(2,) respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the wound area of side torso of patients measured by transparency tracing method and three dimensional human body scanning system BurnCalc ( P >0.05). The wound area of side torso of patients measured by NIH Image J method was smaller than that measured by transparency tracing method and three dimensional human body scanning system BurnCalc (with P values below 0.05). (3) The time for getting information of wounds of patients by transparency tracing method, NIH Image J method, and three dimensional human body scanning system BurnCalc was (77±14), (10±3), and (9±3) s, respectively. The time for getting information of wounds of patients by transparency tracing method was longer than that by NIH Image J method and three dimensional human body scanning system BurnCalc (with P values below 0.05). The time for getting information of wounds of patients by three dimensional human body scanning system BurnCalc was close to that by NIH Image J method ( P >0.05). Conclusions: The three dimensional human body scanning system BurnCalc is stable and can accurately evaluate the wound area on limbs and torso of burn patients.

Combined Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 Burned Area Mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, H.; Roy, D. P.; Zhang, H.; Boschetti, L.; Yan, L.; Li, Z.

2017-12-01

Fire products derived from coarse spatial resolution satellite data have become an important source of information for the multiple user communities involved in fire science and applications. The advent of the MODIS on NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites enabled systematic production of 500m global burned area maps. There is, however, an unequivocal demand for systematically generated higher spatial resolution burned area products, in particular to examine the role of small-fires for various applications. Moderate spatial resolution contemporaneous satellite data from Landsat-8 and the Sentinel-2A and -2B sensors provide the opportunity for detailed spatial mapping of burned areas. Combined, these polar-orbiting systems provide 10m to 30m multi-spectral global coverage more than once every three days. This NASA funded research presents results to prototype a combined Landsat-8 Sentinel-2 burned area product. The Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 pre-processing, the time-series burned area mapping algorithm, and preliminary results and validation using high spatial resolution commercial satellite data over Africa are presented.

Evaluating the Socioeconomic and Cultural Factors Associated with Pediatric Burn Injuries in Maputo, Mozambique

PubMed Central

Karan, Abraar; Amado, Vanda; Vitorino, Pio; Kulber, David; Taela, Atanasio; DeUgarte, Daniel

2015-01-01

Background Pediatric burn injuries are one of the leading causes of preventable morbidity and mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa. Research on the complex system of social, economic and cultural factors contributing to burn injuries in this setting is much needed. Methods We conducted a prospective questionnaire-based analysis of pediatric burn patients presenting to the Hospital Central de Maputo. A total of 39 patients were included in the study. Interviews were conducted with the children’s caretakers by two trained medical students at the Eduardo Mondlane Medical School in Maputo with the aid of local nursing staff. Results Most burns occurred from scald wounds (26/39) particularly from bathwater, followed by fire burns (11/39). Burns occurred more frequently in the afternoon (16/39) and evening (16/39). Over one quarter of burns (9/33) occurred in the absence of a caretaker. One third (12/36) of participants attempted to treat the burn at home prior to bringing the child in to the hospital, and roughly two-thirds (24/37) reported using traditional remedies for burn care. The average household had just 2 rooms for an average of 5 family members. Most burns were grade II (25/37). Conclusions Prevention efforts in this setting are much needed and can be implemented taking complex cultural and social factors into account. Education regarding regulation of water temperature for baths is important, given the prevalence of scald burns. Moreover, the introduction of low-cost, safer cooking technology can help mitigate inhalation injury and reduce fire burns. Additionally, burn care systems must be integrated with local traditional medical interventions to respect local cultural medicinal practices. PMID:26280740

Management of patients in a dedicated burns intensive care unit (BICU) in a developing country.

PubMed

Hashmi, Madiha; Kamal, Rehana

2013-05-01

In Pakistan the practice of managing extensive burns in dedicated intensive care units is not well established. This audit aims to define the characteristics of the victims of major burns and factors that increase mortality and outcome of the protocol-based management in a dedicated burns intensive care unit (BICU). This prospective audit included all patients admitted to the BICU of Suleiman Dawood Burns Unit in Karachi from 1st September 2002 to 31st August 2011. Demographic information, type and place of burn, total body surface area burn (TBSA), type of organ support provided, length of ICU stay, any associated medical diseases, and out outcome were documented. A total of 1597 patients were admitted to the BICU in 9 years. Median age of the patients was 22 (IQR =32-7). 32% victims were children <14 years and only 7% were >50 years old. Male to female ratio was 1.4:1. Fire was the leading cause of burns in adults (64%) and scald burns were most common in (64%) in children. 72.4% of the accidents happened at home, where kitchen was the commonest location (597 cases). Mean TBSA burnt was 32.5% (SD ± 22.95%, 95%CI: 31.36-33.61). 27% patients needed ventilatory support, 4% were dialyzed and split skin graftings were performed in 20% patients. Average length of ICU stay was 10.42 days. Epilepsy, psychiatric illness and drug addiction were not common associations with burns. Overall mortality was 41.30% but it decreased over the years from 75% to 27%. Groups of people most vulnerable to sustain burn are young females getting burnt in the kitchen, young males getting burnt at work, and small children falling in pots of hot water stored for drinking or bathing. TBSA >40%, age >50 years, fire burn and female gender were associated with a higher risk of death. Carefully planned, protocol based management of burn patients by burn teams of dedicated healthcare professionals, even with limited resources reduced mortality. Burn hazard awareness, prevention and educational programmes targeted at the vulnerable population, i.e. women and young children at home and men at their work place is the single most cost-effective way of reducing the incidence of burns in developing countries. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Resuscitation burn card--a useful tool for burn injury assessment.

PubMed

Malic, C C; Karoo, R O S; Austin, O; Phipps, A

2007-03-01

It is well recognised that the initial assessment of body surface area affected by a burn is often over estimated in Accident and Emergency Departments. A useful aide-memoir in the acute setting is Wallace's "rule of nines" or using the patients' palmar surface of the hand, which approximates 1% of the total body surface area, as a method of assessment. Unfortunately, as with every system, limitations apply. Factors such as patient size and the interpretation of what is exactly the 'palmar surface' may significantly influence burn size estimations and subsequently fluid resuscitation. Our aim is to develop a simple, quick and easy reproducible method of calculating burn injuries for medical professionals in the acute setting. Worldwide, the dimensions of a credit card are standardized (8.5 cm x 5.3 cm), thus producing a surface area of 45 cm2. We created a resuscitation burn card (RBC) using these exact same proportions, upon which a modified body surface area (BSA) nomogram was printed. Knowing the patient height and weight, we calculated the surface area of the card as percentage of total body surface area (TBSA). On the opposite site of the RBC, a Lund and Browder chart was printed, as well as the Parkland formula and a formula to calculate paediatric burn fluid requirements. The plastic, flexible RBC conformed well to the body contour and was designed for single use. We used the resuscitation burn card in the initial assessment of simulated burns in a Regional Burn Centre and in an Accident and Emergency Department. The information present on the card was found to be clear and straightforward to use. The evaluation of burn extent was found to be more accurately measured than the estimation obtained without the RBC. The resuscitation burn card can be a valuable tool in the hands of less experienced medical professionals for the early assessment and fluid resuscitation of a burn.

Global analysis of the persistence of the spectral signal associated with burned areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melchiorre, A.; Boschetti, L.

2015-12-01

Systematic global burned area maps at coarse spatial resolution (350 m - 1 km) have been produced in the past two decades from several Earth Observation (EO) systems (including MODIS, Spot-VGT, AVHRR, MERIS), and have been extensively used in a variety of applications related to emissions estimation, fire ecology, and vegetation monitoring (Mouillot et al. 2014). There is however a strong need for moderate to high resolution (10-30 m) global burned area maps, in order to improve emission estimations, in particular on heterogeneous landscapes and for local scale air quality applications, for fire management and environmental restoration, and in support of carbon accounting (Hyer and Reid 2009; Mouillot et al. 2014; Randerson et al. 2012). Fires causes a non-permanent land cover change: the ash and charcoal left by the fire can be visible for a period ranging from a few weeks in savannas and grasslands ecosystems, to over a year in forest ecosystems (Roy et al. 2010). This poses a major challenge for designing a global burned area mapping system from moderate resolution (10-30 m) EO data, due to the low revisit time frequency of the satellites (Boschetti et al. 2015). As a consequence, a quantitative assessment of the permanence of the spectral signature of burned areas at global scale is a necessary step to assess the feasibility of global burned area mapping with moderate resolution sensors. This study presents a global analysis of the post-fire reflectance of burned areas, using the MODIS MCD45A1 global burned area product to identify the location and timing of burning, and the MO(Y)D09 global surface reflectance product to retrieve the time series of reflectance values after the fire. The result is a spatially explicit map of persistence of burned area signal, which is then summarized by landcover type, and by fire zone using the subcontinental regions defined by Giglio et al. (2006).

Semi-automated mapping of burned areas in semi-arid ecosystems using MODIS time-series imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hardtke, Leonardo A.; Blanco, Paula D.; Valle, Héctor F. del; Metternicht, Graciela I.; Sione, Walter F.

2015-06-01

Understanding spatial and temporal patterns of burned areas at regional scales, provides a long-term perspective of fire processes and its effects on ecosystems and vegetation recovery patterns, and it is a key factor to design prevention and post-fire restoration plans and strategies. Remote sensing has become the most widely used tool to detect fire affected areas over large tracts of land (e.g., ecosystem, regional and global levels). Standard satellite burned area and active fire products derived from the 500-m Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Satellite Pour l'Observation de la Terre (SPOT) are available to this end. However, prior research caution on the use of these global-scale products for regional and sub-regional applications. Consequently, we propose a novel semi-automated algorithm for identification and mapping of burned areas at regional scale. The semi-arid Monte shrublands, a biome covering 240,000 km2 in the western part of Argentina, and exposed to seasonal bushfires was selected as the test area. The algorithm uses a set of the normalized burned ratio index products derived from MODIS time series; using a two-phased cycle, it firstly detects potentially burned pixels while keeping a low commission error (false detection of burned areas), and subsequently labels them as seed patches. Region growing image segmentation algorithms are applied to the seed patches in the second-phase, to define the perimeter of fire affected areas while decreasing omission errors (missing real burned areas). Independently-derived Landsat ETM+ burned-area reference data was used for validation purposes. Additionally, the performance of the adaptive algorithm was assessed against standard global fire products derived from MODIS Aqua and Terra satellites, total burned area (MCD45A1), the active fire algorithm (MOD14); and the L3JRC SPOT VEGETATION 1 km GLOBCARBON products. The correlation between the size of burned areas detected by the global fire products and independently-derived Landsat reference data ranged from R2 = 0.01-0.28, while our algorithm performed showed a stronger correlation coefficient (R2 = 0.96). Our findings confirm prior research calling for caution when using the global fire products locally or regionally.

The effect of fire on habitat selection of mammalian herbivores: the role of body size and vegetation characteristics.

PubMed

Eby, Stephanie L; Anderson, T Michael; Mayemba, Emilian P; Ritchie, Mark E

2014-09-01

Given the role of fire in shaping ecosystems, especially grasslands and savannas, it is important to understand its broader impact on these systems. Post-fire stimulation of plant nutrients is thought to benefit grazing mammals and explain their preference for burned areas. However, fire also reduces vegetation height and increases visibility, thereby potentially reducing predation risk. Consequently, fire may be more beneficial to smaller herbivores, with higher nutritional needs and greater risks of predation. We tested the impacts of burning on different sized herbivores' habitat preference in Serengeti National Park, as mediated by burning's effects on vegetation height, live : dead biomass ratio and leaf nutrients. Burning caused a less than 4 month increase in leaf nitrogen (N), and leaf non-N nutrients [copper (Cu), potassium (K), and magnesium (Mg)] and a decrease in vegetation height and live : dead biomass. During this period, total herbivore counts were higher on burned areas. Generally, smaller herbivores preferred burned areas more strongly than larger herbivores. Unfortunately, it was not possible to determine the vegetation characteristics that explained burned area preference for each of the herbivore species observed. However, total herbivore abundance and impala (Aepyceros melampus) preference for burned areas was due to the increases in non-N nutrients caused by burning. These findings suggest that burned area attractiveness to herbivores is mainly driven by changes to forage quality and not potential decreases in predation risk caused by reductions in vegetation height. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2014 British Ecological Society.

Incidence and cost of non-fatal burns in Iran: a nationwide population-based study.

PubMed

Abouie, Abolfazl; Salamati, Payman; Hafezi-Nejad, Nima; Rahimi-Movaghar, Afarin; Saadat, Soheil; Amin-Esmaeili, Masoumeh; Sharifi, Vandad; Hajebi, Ahmad; Rahimi-Movaghar, Vafa

2018-03-01

To determine the incidence and cost of non-fatal burns in Iran; this cross-sectional household survey of a nationally representative sample of 15-64 years old was conducted. Through face-to-face interviews and telephone calls, the data on the demographics, history and cost of burns were collected. The annual incidence rate of burns was estimated 129.85 per 1000 population. Burns occurred higher in younger age, female gender and urban residency. The most common burn description was as follows: unpaid work (activity during burn), home (place of burn), heat and hot substances (mechanism of burn) and upper limb (site of burn). The average total cost of burn includes victims seeking medical care was US$124 per case. The main findings of this study suggest that burns are a major public health concern in Iran. To stop this important health issue, a national program for burn prevention and education must be developed.

Heterogeneity in fire severity within early season and late season prescribed burns in a mixed-conifer forest

USGS Publications Warehouse

Knapp, E.E.; Keeley, J.E.

2006-01-01

Structural heterogeneity in forests of the Sierra Nevada was historically produced through variation in fire regimes and local environmental factors. The amount of heterogeneity that prescription burning can achieve might now be more limited owing to high fuel loads and increased fuel continuity. Topography, woody fuel loading, and vegetative composition were quantified in plots within replicated early and late season burn units. Two indices of fire severity were evaluated in the same plots after the burns. Scorch height ranged from 2.8 to 25.4 m in early season plots and 3.1 to 38.5 m in late season plots, whereas percentage of ground surface burned ranged from 24 to 96% in early season plots and from 47 to 100% in late season plots. Scorch height was greatest in areas with steeper slopes, higher basal area of live trees, high percentage of basal area composed of pine, and more small woody fuel. Percentage of area burned was greatest in areas with less bare ground and rock cover (more fuel continuity), steeper slopes, and units burned in the fall (lower fuel moisture). Thus topographic and biotic factors still contribute to the abundant heterogeneity in fire severity with prescribed burning, even under the current high fuel loading conditions. Burning areas with high fuel loads in early season when fuels are moister may lead to patterns of heterogeneity in fire effects that more closely approximate the expected patchiness of historical fires.

Recent changes in annual area burned in interior Alaska: The impact of fire management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Calef, M.P.; Varvak, Anna; McGuire, A. David; Chapin, F. S.; Reinhold, K. B.

2015-01-01

The Alaskan boreal forest is characterized by frequent extensive wildfires whose spatial extent has been mapped for the past 70 years. Simple predictions based on this record indicate that area burned will increase as a response to climate warming in Alaska. However, two additional factors have affected the area burned in this time record: the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) switched from cool and moist to warm and dry in the late 1970s and the Alaska Fire Service instituted a fire suppression policy in the late 1980s. In this paper a geographic information system (GIS) is used in combination with statistical analyses to reevaluate the changes in area burned through time in Alaska considering both the influence of the PDO and fire management. The authors found that the area burned has increased since the PDO switch and that fire management drastically decreased the area burned in highly suppressed zones. However, the temporal analysis of this study shows that the area burned is increasing more rapidly in suppressed zones than in the unsuppressed zone since the late 1980s. These results indicate that fire policies as well as regional climate patterns are important as large-scale controls on fires over time and across the Alaskan boreal forest.

Towards global Landsat burned area mapping: revisit time and availability of cloud free observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melchiorre, A.; Boschetti, L.

2016-12-01

Global, daily coarse resolution satellite data have been extensively used for systematic burned area mapping (Giglio et al. 2013; Mouillot et al. 2014). The adoption of similar approaches for producing moderate resolution (10 - 30 m) global burned area products would lead to very significant improvements for the wide variety of fire information users. It would meet a demand for accurate burned area perimeters needed for fire management, post-fire assessment and environmental restoration, and would lead to more accurate and precise atmospheric emission estimations, especially over heterogeneous areas (Mouillot et al. 2014; Randerson et al. 2012; van der Werf et al. 2010). The increased spatial resolution clearly benefits mapping accuracy: the reduction of mixed pixels directly translates in increased spectral separation compared to coarse resolution data. As a tradeoff, the lower temporal resolution (e.g. 16 days for Landsat), could potentially cause large omission errors in ecosystems with fast post-fire recovery. The spectral signal due to the fire effects is non-permanent, can be detected for a period ranging from a few weeks in savannas and grasslands, to over a year in forest ecosystems (Roy et al. 2010). Additionally, clouds, smoke, and other optically thick aerosols limit the number of available observations (Roy et al. 2008; Smith and Wooster 2005), exacerbating the issues related to mapping burned areas globally with moderate resolution sensors. This study presents a global analysis of the effect of cloud cover on Landsat data availability over burned areas, by analyzing the MODIS data record of burned area (MCD45) and cloud detections (MOD35), and combining it with the Landsat acquisition calendar and viewing geometry. For each pixel classified as burned in the MCD45 product, the MOD35 data are used to determine how many cloud free observations would have been available on Landsat overpass days, within the period of observability of the burned area spectral signal in the specific ecosystem. If a burned area pixel is covered by clouds on all the post-fire Landsat overpass days, we assume that it would not be detected in a hypothetical Landsat global burned area product. The resulting maps of expected omission errors are combined for the full 15-year MODIS dataset, and summarized by ecoregion and landcover class.

Using a 3D tool to document and determine graft loss: A mini-review and case report.

PubMed

Benjamin, Nicole C; Wurzer, Paul; Voigt, Charles D; Benjamin, Debra A; Herndon, David N

2016-06-01

In severe burns, accurate determination of burn wound size and areas of debridement and graft loss is challenging. In this case report, we describe the use of 3D wound measurement software (BurnCase 3D, RISC Software GmbH, Hagenberg, Austria) in a 29-year-old patient with burns covering 92% of the total body surface area. BurnCase 3D was used to assess burn and monitor all surgical interventions. The software allowed us to calculate areas of graft loss and graft take throughout the acute hospitalization (until 90% of the wounds were covered with homografts). It also enabled preoperative planning for wound coverage and blood loss. Thus, BurnCase 3D appears to be a useful tool for accurate determination of burn wound areas and preoperative planning. However, whether the benefit of more efficient preoperative planning overcomes the disadvantage of the additional time needed to document the wound using the software needs to be evaluated further. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

High-frequency spectral ultrasound imaging (SUSI) visualizes early post-traumatic heterotopic ossification (HO) in a mouse model.

PubMed

Ranganathan, Kavitha; Hong, Xiaowei; Cholok, David; Habbouche, Joe; Priest, Caitlin; Breuler, Christopher; Chung, Michael; Li, John; Kaura, Arminder; Hsieh, Hsiao Hsin Sung; Butts, Jonathan; Ucer, Serra; Schwartz, Ean; Buchman, Steven R; Stegemann, Jan P; Deng, Cheri X; Levi, Benjamin

2018-04-01

Early treatment of heterotopic ossification (HO) is currently limited by delayed diagnosis due to limited visualization at early time points. In this study, we validate the use of spectral ultrasound imaging (SUSI) in an animal model to detect HO as early as one week after burn tenotomy. Concurrent SUSI, micro CT, and histology at 1, 2, 4, and 9weeks post-injury were used to follow the progression of HO after an Achilles tenotomy and 30% total body surface area burn (n=3-5 limbs per time point). To compare the use of SUSI in different types of injury models, mice (n=5 per group) underwent either burn/tenotomy or skin incision injury and were imaged using a 55MHz probe on VisualSonics VEVO 770 system at one week post injury to evaluate the ability of SUSI to distinguish between edema and HO. Average acoustic concentration (AAC) and average scatterer diameter (ASD) were calculated for each ultrasound image frame. Micro CT was used to calculate the total volume of HO. Histology was used to confirm bone formation. Using SUSI, HO was visualized as early as 1week after injury. HO was visualized earliest by 4weeks after injury by micro CT. The average acoustic concentration of HO was 33% more than that of the control limb (n=5). Spectroscopic foci of HO present at 1week that persisted throughout all time points correlated with the HO present at 9weeks on micro CT imaging. SUSI visualizes HO as early as one week after injury in an animal model. SUSI represents a new imaging modality with promise for early diagnosis of HO. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Near real-time estimation of burned area using VIIRS 375 m active fire product

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliva, P.; Schroeder, W.

2016-12-01

Every year, more than 300 million hectares of land burn globally, causing significant ecological and economic consequences, and associated climatological effects as a result of fire emissions. In recent decades, burned area estimates generated from satellite data have provided systematic global information for ecological analysis of fire impacts, climate and carbon cycle models, and fire regimes studies, among many others. However, there is still need of near real-time burned area estimations in order to assess the impacts of fire and estimate smoke and emissions. The enhanced characteristics of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) 375 m channels on board the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnesship (S-NPP) make possible the use of near real-time active fire detection data for burned area estimation. In this study, consecutive VIIRS 375 m active fire detections were aggregated to produce the VIIRS 375 m burned area (BA) estimation over ten ecologically diverse study areas. The accuracy of the BA estimations was assessed by comparison with Landsat-8 supervised burned area classification. The performance of the VIIRS 375 m BA estimates was dependent on the ecosystem characteristics and fire behavior. Higher accuracy was observed in forested areas characterized by large long-duration fires, while grasslands, savannas and agricultural areas showed the highest omission and commission errors. Complementing those analyses, we performed the burned area estimation of the largest fires in Oregon and Washington states during 2015 and the Fort McMurray fire in Canada 2016. The results showed good agreement with NIROPs airborne fire perimeters proving that the VIIRS 375 m BA estimations can be used for near real-time assessments of fire effects.

Fire frequency, area burned, and severity: A quantitative approach to defining a normal fire year

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lutz, J.A.; Key, C.H.; Kolden, C.A.; Kane, J.T.; van Wagtendonk, J.W.

2011-01-01

Fire frequency, area burned, and fire severity are important attributes of a fire regime, but few studies have quantified the interrelationships among them in evaluating a fire year. Although area burned is often used to summarize a fire season, burned area may not be well correlated with either the number or ecological effect of fires. Using the Landsat data archive, we examined all 148 wildland fires (prescribed fires and wildfires) >40 ha from 1984 through 2009 for the portion of the Sierra Nevada centered on Yosemite National Park, California, USA. We calculated mean fire frequency and mean annual area burned from a combination of field- and satellite-derived data. We used the continuous probability distribution of the differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR) values to describe fire severity. For fires >40 ha, fire frequency, annual area burned, and cumulative severity were consistent in only 13 of 26 years (50 %), but all pair-wise comparisons among these fire regime attributes were significant. Borrowing from long-established practice in climate science, we defined "fire normals" to be the 26 year means of fire frequency, annual area burned, and the area under the cumulative probability distribution of dNBR. Fire severity normals were significantly lower when they were aggregated by year compared to aggregation by area. Cumulative severity distributions for each year were best modeled with Weibull functions (all 26 years, r2 ??? 0.99; P < 0.001). Explicit modeling of the cumulative severity distributions may allow more comprehensive modeling of climate-severity and area-severity relationships. Together, the three metrics of number of fires, size of fires, and severity of fires provide land managers with a more comprehensive summary of a given fire year than any single metric.

Prescribed burning for oak savanna restoration in central Minnesota.

Treesearch

Alan S. White

1986-01-01

Low intensity, spring prescribed burns have been used since 1964 at the Cedar Creek Natural History Area in Minnesota in an attempt to restore the area to an oak savanna. Burned areas are now more savanna like (having greater grass and forb and lower shrub and lower tree representation) than unburned areas but still have higher overstory densities than apparently...

Development of the ClearSky smoke dispersion forecast system for agricultural field burning in the Pacific Northwest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jain, Rahul; Vaughan, Joseph; Heitkamp, Kyle; Ramos, Charleston; Claiborn, Candis; Schreuder, Maarten; Schaaf, Mark; Lamb, Brian

The post-harvest burning of agricultural fields is commonly used to dispose of crop residue and provide other desired services such as pest control. Despite careful regulation of burning, smoke plumes from field burning in the Pacific Northwest commonly degrade air quality, particularly for rural populations. In this paper, ClearSky, a numerical smoke dispersion forecast system for agricultural field burning that was developed to support smoke management in the Inland Pacific Northwest, is described. ClearSky began operation during the summer through fall burn season of 2002 and continues to the present. ClearSky utilizes Mesoscale Meteorological Model version 5 (MM5v3) forecasts from the University of Washington, data on agricultural fields, a web-based user interface for defining burn scenarios, the Lagrangian CALPUFF dispersion model and web-served animations of plume forecasts. The ClearSky system employs a unique hybrid source configuration, which treats the flaming portion of a field as a buoyant line source and the smoldering portion of the field as a buoyant area source. Limited field observations show that this hybrid approach yields reasonable plume rise estimates using source parameters derived from recent field burning emission field studies. The performance of this modeling system was evaluated for 2003 by comparing forecast meteorology against meteorological observations, and comparing model-predicted hourly averaged PM 2.5 concentrations against observations. Examples from this evaluation illustrate that while the ClearSky system can accurately predict PM 2.5 surface concentrations due to field burning, the overall model performance depends strongly on meteorological forecast error. Statistical evaluation of the meteorological forecast at seven surface stations indicates a strong relationship between topographical complexity near the station and absolute wind direction error with wind direction errors increasing from approximately 20° for sites in open areas to 70° or more for sites in very complex terrain. The analysis also showed some days with good forecast meteorology with absolute mean error in wind direction less than 30° when ClearSky correctly predicted PM 2.5 surface concentrations at receptors affected by field burns. On several other days with similar levels of wind direction error the model did not predict apparent plume impacts. In most of these cases, there were no reported burns in the vicinity of the monitor and, thus, it appeared that other, non-reported burns were responsible for the apparent plume impact at the monitoring site. These cases do not provide information on the performance of the model, but rather indicate that further work is needed to identify all burns and to improve burn reports in an accurate and timely manner. There were also a number of days with wind direction errors exceeding 70° when the forecast system did not correctly predict plume behavior.

Femoral venous access is safe in burned children: an analysis of 224 catheters.

PubMed

Goldstein, A M; Weber, J M; Sheridan, R L

1997-03-01

To document the incidence of septic and mechanical complications associated with femoral venous catheters in a subgroup of patients thought to be at particularly high risk of both: young children with large burns. An analysis of data collected prospectively on all femoral venous catheters placed during a 4-year period at a regional pediatric burn facility. There were 224 femoral catheters placed in 86 children with an average age of 5.3 +/- 5.1 years and an average burn size of 38% +/- 23%. Catheters were left in place for a mean duration of 5.7 days. Catheter-related sepsis occurred with 4.9% of the catheters, and mechanical complications occurred in 3.5% of the patients. There was no statistically significant association between the risk of catheter sepsis and the placement of catheters through burned versus unburned skin. Similarly, the risk of sepsis was equivalent between lines placed over a guide wire and those placed of a new site. Femoral venous catheters are safe in burned children and are associated with a low incidence of infectious and mechanical complications.

Seasonal impact of regional outdoor biomass burning on air pollution in three Indian cities: Delhi, Bengaluru, and Pune

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Tianjia; Marlier, Miriam E.; DeFries, Ruth S.; Westervelt, Daniel M.; Xia, Karen R.; Fiore, Arlene M.; Mickley, Loretta J.; Cusworth, Daniel H.; Milly, George

2018-01-01

Air pollution in many of India's cities exceeds national and international standards, and effective pollution control strategies require knowledge of the sources that contribute to air pollution and their spatiotemporal variability. In this study, we examine the influence of a single pollution source, outdoor biomass burning, on particulate matter (PM) concentrations, surface visibility, and aerosol optical depth (AOD) from 2007 to 2013 in three of the most populous Indian cities. We define the upwind regions, or ;airsheds,; for the cities by using atmospheric back trajectories from the HYSPLIT model. Using satellite fire radiative power (FRP) observations as a measure of fire activity, we target pre-monsoon and post-monsoon fires upwind of the Delhi National Capital Region and pre-monsoon fires surrounding Bengaluru and Pune. We find varying contributions of outdoor fires to different air quality metrics. For the post-monsoon burning season, we find that a subset of local meteorological variables (air temperature, humidity, sea level pressure, wind speed and direction) and FRP as the only pollution source explained 39% of variance in Delhi station PM10 anomalies, 77% in visibility, and 30% in satellite AOD; additionally, per unit increase in FRP within the daily airshed (1000 MW), PM10 increases by 16.34 μg m-3, visibility decreases by 0.155 km, and satellite AOD increases by 0.07. In contrast, for the pre-monsoon burning season, we find less significant contributions from FRP to air quality in all three cities. Further, we attribute 99% of FRP from post-monsoon outdoor fires within Delhi's average airshed to agricultural burning. Our work suggests that although outdoor fires are not the dominant air pollution source in India throughout the year, post-monsoon fires contribute substantially to regional air pollution and high levels of population exposure around Delhi. During 3-day blocks of extreme PM2.5 in the 2013 post-monsoon burning season, which coincided with statistically significant high fire activity, concentrations in Delhi averaged 304 μg m-3, or more than 1000% above the 24-h PM2.5 guideline (25 μg m-3) of the World Health Organization. These results suggest that providing viable alternatives to agricultural residue burning could help improve post-monsoon air quality for a growing population of 63 million (39% in urban areas) within Delhi's airshed.

Impacts of Wildfires on Mercury Contamination in Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dastoor, A.; Fraser, A.; Ryjkov, A.

2017-12-01

Wildfires frequency has increased in past four decades in Canada, and is expected to increase in future as a result of climate change. Biomass Burning Mercury Emissions (BBMEs) are known to be significant; however, the impact of biomass burning on Mercury (Hg) burden in Canada has not been previously quantified. We investigated the spatio-temporal variability of BBME in Canada, and used Environment and Climate Change Canada's air quality and mercury model, GEM-MACH-Hg, to quantify the impacts of BBME on spatio-temporal variability of air concentrations and deposition fluxes of Hg in Canada. We optimized the biomass burning Emission Factors (EFs) for gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) using observations, GEM-MACH-Hg and an inversion technique for five vegetation types represented in North American fires to constrain the BBME impacts of Hg. We used three BBME scenarios (i.e., two scenarios where mercury is emitted only as GEM using literature or optimized EFs, and a third scenario where mercury is emitted as GEM using literature EFs and particle bound mercury (PBM) emitted using a GEM/PBM ratio from lab measurements) in Canada to conduct three sets of model simulations for 2010-2015. The three BBME scenarios represent the range of possible values for the impacts of BBME in Canada on mercury concentration and deposition. We found total BBME and its spatial distribution to be highly variable from year to year, and total atmospheric BBME averaged for 2010-2015 in Canada to be between 6 - 14 tonnes, which is 3 - 7 times the mercury emission from anthropogenic sources in Canada during the biomass burning season (i.e., from May to September). We found that while BBME have a small impact on surface air concentrations of GEM and total Hg deposition averaged over individual provinces/territories, these impacts for individual ecosystems can be as high as 95% during the burning season. We found that northern Alberta and Saskatchewan, central British Columbia, and the area around Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories are at greater risk of mercury contamination from biomass burning. We analysed the uncertainties in BBME, and found that reducing uncertainty in the speciation of Hg in BBME would provide the largest benefit to constraining the mercury contamination from biomass burning source to Canadian ecosystems.

Seasonal Impact of Regional Outdoor Biomass Burning on Air Pollution in Three Indian Cities: Delhi, Bengaluru, and Pune

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Tianjia; Marlier, Miriam E.; DeFries, Ruth S.; Westervelt, Daniel M.; Xia, Karen R.; Fiore, Arlene M.; Mickley, Loretta J.; Cusworth, Daniel H.; Milly, George

2017-01-01

Air pollution in many of India's cities exceeds national and international standards, and effective pollution control strategies require knowledge of the sources that contribute to air pollution and their spatiotemporal variability. In this study, we examine the influence of a single pollution source, outdoor biomass burning, on particulate matter (PM) concentrations, surface visibility, and aerosol optical depth (AOD) from 2007 to 2013 in three of the most populous Indian cities. We define the upwind regions, or "airsheds," for the cities by using atmospheric back trajectories from the HYSPLIT model. Using satellite fire radiative power (FRP) observations as a measure of fire activity, we target pre-monsoon and post-monsoon fires upwind of the Delhi National Capital Region and pre-monsoon fires surrounding Bengaluru and Pune. We find varying contributions of outdoor fires to different air quality metrics. For the post-monsoon burning season, we find that a subset of local meteorological variables (air temperature, humidity, sea level pressure, wind speed and direction) and FRP as the only pollution source explained 39% of variance in Delhi station PM(sub 10) anomalies, 77% in visibility, and 30% in satellite AOD; additionally, per unit increase in FRP within the daily airshed (1000 MW), PM(sub 10) increases by 16.34 micrograms per cubic meter, visibility decreases by 0.097 km, and satellite AOD increases by 0.07. In contrast, for the pre-monsoon burning season, we find less significant contributions from FRP to air quality in all three cities. Further, we attribute 99% of FRP from post-monsoon outdoor fires within Delhi's average airshed to agricultural burning. Our work suggests that although outdoor fires are not the dominant air pollution source in India throughout the year, post-monsoon fires contribute substantially to regional air pollution and high levels of population exposure around Delhi. During 3-day blocks of extreme PM(sub 2.5) in the 2013 post-monsoon burning season, which coincided with statistically significant high fire activity, concentrations in Delhi averaged 304 micrograms per cubic meter, or more than 1000% above the 24-h PM(sub 2.5) guideline (25 micrograms per cubic meter) of the World Health Organization. These results suggest that providing viable alternatives to agricultural residue burning could help improve post-monsoon air quality for a growing population of 63 million (39% in urban areas) within Delhi's airshed.

Blood transfusions in severe burn patients: Epidemiology and predictive factors.

PubMed

Wu, Guosheng; Zhuang, Mingzhu; Fan, Xiaoming; Hong, Xudong; Wang, Kangan; Wang, He; Chen, Zhengli; Sun, Yu; Xia, Zhaofan

2016-12-01

Blood is a vital resource commonly used in burn patients; however, description of blood transfusions in severe burns is limited. The purpose of this study was to describe the epidemiology of blood transfusions and determine factors associated with increased transfusion quantity. This is a retrospective study of total 133 patients with >40% total body surface area (TBSA) burns admitted to the burn center of Changhai hospital from January 2008 to December 2013. The study characterized blood transfusions in severe burn patients. Univariate and Multivariate regression analyses were used to evaluate the association of clinical variables with blood transfusions. The overall transfusion rate was 97.7% (130 of 133). The median amount of total blood (RBC and plasma), RBC and plasma transfusions was 54 units (Interquartile range (IQR), 20-84), 19 units (IQR, 4-37.8) and 28.5 units (IQR, 14.8-51.8), respectively. The number of RBC transfusion in and outside operation room was 7 (0, 14) and 11 (2, 20) units, and the number of plasma was 6 (0.5, 12) and 21 (11.5, 39.3) units. A median of one unit of blood was transfused per TBSA and an average of 4 units per operation was given in the series. The consumption of plasma is higher than that of RBC. On multivariate regression analysis, age, full-thickness TBSA and number of operations were significant independent predictors associated with the number of RBC transfusion, and coagulopathy and ICU length showed a trend toward RBC consumption. Predictors for increased plasma transfusion were female, high full-thickness TBSA burn and more operations. Severe burn patients received an ample volume of blood transfusions. Fully understanding of predictors of blood transfusions will allow physicians to better optimize burn patients during hospitalization in an effort to use blood appropriately. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Numerical and experimental study of thermal explosions in LX-10 and PBX 9501: Influence of thermal damage on deflagration processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tringe, J. W.; Kercher, J. R.; Springer, H. K.; Glascoe, E. A.; Levie, H. W.; Hsu, P.; Willey, T. M.; Molitoris, J. D.

2013-07-01

We employ in-situ flash x-ray imaging, together with a detailed multiphase convective burn model, to demonstrate how explosives' binder characteristics influence the burning processes in thermal explosions. Our study focuses on the HMX-based explosives LX-10 and PBX 9501. While the HMX (cyclotetramethylene-tetranitramine) crystallite size distributions for these two explosives are nearly identical before heating, our experiments and simulations indicate that after heating, variations result due to differences in binder composition. Post-ignition flash x-ray images reveal that the average density decreases at late times more rapidly in PBX 9501 than LX-10, suggesting a faster conductive burning rate in PBX-9501. Heated permeability measurements in LX-10 and PBX 9501 demonstrate that the binder system characteristics influence the evolution of connected porosity. Once ignited, connected porosity provides pathways for product gas heating ahead of the reaction front and additional surface area for burning, facilitating the transition from conductive to convective burning modes. A multiphase convective burn model implemented in the ALE3D code is used to better understand the influence on burn rates of material properties such as porosity and effective thermally damaged particle size. In this context, particles are defined as gas-impermeable binder-coated crystallites and agglomerations with a set of effective radii reff. Model results demonstrate quantitative agreement with containment wall velocity for confined PBX 9501 and LX-10, and qualitative agreement with density as a function of position in the burning explosive. The model predicts a decrease in post-ignition containment wall velocity with larger radii in reff. These experimental data and model results together provide insight into the initiation and propagation of the reaction wave that defines the convective burn front in HMX-based explosives, a necessary step toward predicting violence under a broad range of conditions.

[Surgical treatment of burns : Special aspects of pediatric burns].

PubMed

Bührer, G; Beier, J P; Horch, R E; Arkudas, A

2017-05-01

Treatment of pediatric burn patients is very important because of the sheer frequency of burn wounds and the possible long-term ramifications. Extensive burns need special care and are treated in specialized burn centers. The goal of this work is to present current standards in burn therapy and important innovations in the treatment of burns in children so that the common and small area burn wounds and scalds in pediatric patients in day-to-day dermatological practice can be adequately treated. Analysis of current literature, discussion of reviews, incorporation of current guidelines. Burns in pediatric patients are common. Improvement of survival can be achieved by treatment in burn centers. The assessment of burn depth and area is an important factor for proper treatment. We give an overview for outpatient treatment of partial thickness burns. New methods may result in better long-term outcome. Adequate treatment of burn injuries considering current literature and guidelines improves patient outcome. Rational implementation of new methods is recommended.

Outdoor recreational fires: a review of 329 adult and pediatric patients.

PubMed

Neaman, Keith C; Do, Viet H; Olenzek, Emily K; Baca, Marissa; Ford, Ronald D; Wilcox, Richard M

2010-01-01

Outdoor recreational fires are a frequent occurrence during the summer months and can be associated with burns resulting in significant morbidity. Both pediatric and adult populations can be affected, and their mechanism of injury is often different. Understanding these mechanisms is important when designing prevention programs. It is the goal of this study to review our experience with outdoor recreational fires. All patients who presented to Spectrum Health Blodgett Regional Burn Unit for burns secondary to an outdoor recreational fire over an 8-year period were reviewed. Demographic data, mechanism of injury, body area involved, TBSA burned, treatments undertaken, and subsequent complications were recorded. Pediatric patients (aged 16 years and younger) were analyzed independently, and risk factors were determined. A total of 329 patients suffered burns secondary to outdoor recreational fires over the length of the study. More than 35% required inpatient treatment, with an average length of stay of 4.8 days. Hands were the most frequently affected body part, with the mean TBSA involved being 3.5%. Ninety-four patients (28.6%) required split-thickness skin grafting. The most common mechanism of injury in both adult and pediatric populations was falling into an ongoing fire. Wound infection was the most common complication. Alcohol intoxication was associated with a higher burn severity and complication rate. Pediatric patients represented 39.8% of the sample. Burns secondary to outdoor recreational fires are associated with significant morbidity. Adult prevention programs should target awareness with respect to alcohol consumption and campfires secondary to the morbidity associated with these injuries. Pediatric patients are particularly susceptible, and parents should remain diligent about campfire safety and be educated about the inherent dangers of both active and extinguished fires.

Effects of exotic grasses on soil seed banks in Southeastern Arizona grasslands

USGS Publications Warehouse

McLaughlin, S.P.; Bowers, Janice E.

2007-01-01

At the Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch, an ungrazed grassland preserve in southeastern Arizona, soil seed banks were sampled in June, August, and October 2002 and June 2003. Wildfire had previously burned 90% of the research ranch in May 2002. Seed density and species richness in burned native grassland (2 plots) were compared to those in burned exotic grassland (2 plots). Averaged over 4 sample dates, seed densities were as follows: burned native grassland, 591 ?? 243.1 seeds??m-2 and 784 ?? 334.9 seeds??m-2; burned exotic grassland, 501 ?? 198.9 seeds??m-2 and 196 ?? 123.8 seeds??m-2. Species richness in the seed bank, also averaged over 4 sample dates, was as follows: burned native grassland, 16.3 ?? 1.7 species??m -2 and 19.5 ?? 1.0 species??m-2; burned exotic grassland, 12.0 ?? 3.4 species??m-2 and 11.06 ?? 2.5 species??m-2. The seed bank of burned exotic grassland contained significantly fewer seeds and species than that of burned native grassland. In addition, the seed bank in burned exotic grassland comprised mainly exotic grasses, whereas annual and perennial herbs, most of them native, dominated the seed bank of burned native grassland. Of the 50 species detected in soil samples, only 20 had a persistent seed bank, and only 1 of these was a native perennial bunchgrass. The preponderance of transient species means that eradication of exotic grasses must be followed by reseeding of native grasses and herbs, perhaps repeatedly, if native grassland is to replace exotic grassland.

Desert tortoise use of burned habitat in the Eastern Mojave desert

USGS Publications Warehouse

Drake, Karla K.; Esque, Todd C.; Nussear, Kenneth E.; DeFalco, Lesley; Scoles, Sara; Modlin, Andrew T.; Medica, Philip A.

2015-01-01

Wildfires burned 24,254 ha of critical habitat designated for the recovery of the threatened Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) in southern Nevada during 2005. The proliferation of non-native annual grasses has increased wildfire frequency and extent in recent decades and continues to accelerate the conversion of tortoise habitat across the Mojave Desert. Immediate changes to vegetation are expected to reduce quality of critical habitat, yet whether tortoises will use burned and recovering habitat differently from intact unburned habitat is unknown. We compared movement patterns, home-range size, behavior, microhabitat use, reproduction, and survival for adult desert tortoises located in, and adjacent to, burned habitat to understand how tortoises respond to recovering burned habitat. Approximately 45% of home ranges in the post-fire environment contained burned habitat, and numerous observations (n = 12,223) corroborated tortoise use of both habitat types (52% unburned, 48% burned). Tortoises moved progressively deeper into burned habitat during the first 5 years following the fire, frequently foraging in burned habitats that had abundant annual plants, and returning to adjacent unburned habitat for cover provided by intact perennial vegetation. However, by years 6 and 7, the live cover of the short-lived herbaceous perennial desert globemallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua) that typically re-colonizes burned areas declined, resulting in a contraction of tortoise movements from the burned areas. Health and egg production were similar between burned and unburned areas indicating that tortoises were able to acquire necessary resources using both areas. This study documents that adult Mojave desert tortoises continue to use habitat burned once by wildfire. Thus, continued management of this burned habitat may contribute toward the recovery of the species in the face of many sources of habitat loss.

Burned areas for the conterminous U.S. from 1984 through 2015, an automated approach using dense time-series of Landsat data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hawbaker, T. J.; Vanderhoof, M.; Beal, Y. J. G.; Takacs, J. D.; Schmidt, G.; Falgout, J.; Brunner, N. M.; Caldwell, M. K.; Picotte, J. J.; Howard, S. M.; Stitt, S.; Dwyer, J. L.

2016-12-01

Complete and accurate burned area data are needed to document patterns of fires, to quantify relationships between the patterns and drivers of fire occurrence, and to assess the impacts of fires on human and natural systems. Unfortunately, many existing fire datasets in the United States are known to be incomplete and that complicates efforts to understand burned area patterns and introduces a large amount of uncertainty in efforts to identify their driving processes and impacts. Because of this, the need to systematically collect burned area information has been recognized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which have both called for the production of essential climate variables. To help meet this need, we developed a novel algorithm that automatically identifies burned areas in temporally-dense time series of Landsat image stacks to produce Landsat Burned Area Essential Climate Variable (BAECV) products. The algorithm makes use of predictors derived from individual Landsat scenes, lagged reference conditions, and change metrics between the scene and reference predictors. Outputs of the BAECV algorithm, generated for the conterminous United States for 1984 through 2015, consist of burn probabilities for each Landsat scene, in addition to, annual composites including: the maximum burn probability, burn classification, and the Julian date of the first Landsat scene a burn was observed. The BAECV products document patterns of fire occurrence that are not well characterized by existing fire datasets in the United States. We anticipate that these data could help to better understand past patterns of fire occurrence, the drivers that created them, and the impacts fires had on natural and human systems.

Precipitation regime classification for the Mojave Desert: Implications for fire occurrence

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tagestad, Jerry; Brooks, Matthew L.; Cullinan, Valerie; Downs, Janelle; McKinley, Randy

2016-01-01

Long periods of drought or above-average precipitation affect Mojave Desert vegetation condition, biomass and susceptibility to fire. Changes in the seasonality of precipitation alter the likelihood of lightning, a key ignition source for fires. The objectives of this study were to characterize the relationship between recent, historic, and future precipitation patterns and fire. Classifying monthly precipitation data from 1971 to 2010 reveals four precipitation regimes: low winter/low summer, moderate winter/moderate summer, high winter/low summer and high winter/high summer. Two regimes with summer monsoonal precipitation covered only 40% of the Mojave Desert ecoregion but contain 88% of the area burned and 95% of the repeat burn area. Classifying historic precipitation for early-century (wet) and mid-century (drought) periods reveals distinct shifts in regime boundaries. Early-century results are similar to current, while the mid-century results show a sizeable reduction in area of regimes with a strong monsoonal component. Such a shift would suggest that fires during the mid-century period would be minimal and anecdotal records confirm this. Predicted precipitation patterns from downscaled global climate models indicate numerous epochs of high winter precipitation, inferring higher fire potential for many multi-decade periods during the next century.

Effectiveness of protected areas in mitigating fire within their boundaries: case study of Chiapas, Mexico.

PubMed

Román-Cuesta, María Rosa; Martínez-Vilalta, Jordi

2006-08-01

Since the severe 1982-1983 El Niño drought, recurrent burning has been reported inside tropical protected areas (TPAs). Despite the key role of fire in habitat degradation, little is known about the effectiveness of TPAs in mitigating fire incidence and burned areas. We used a GPS fire database (1995-2005) (n=3590 forest fires) obtained from the National Forest Commission to compare fire incidence (number of fires) and burned areas inside TPAs and their surrounding adjacent buffer areas in Southern Mexico (Chiapas). Burned areas inside parks ranged from 2% (Palenque) to 45% (Lagunas de Montebello) of a park's area, and the amount burned was influenced by two severe El Niño events (1998 and 2003). These two years together resulted in 67% and 46% of the total area burned in TPAs and buffers, respectively during the period under analysis. Larger burned areas in TPAs than in their buffers were exclusively related to the extent of natural habitats (flammable area excluding agrarian and pasture lands). Higher fuel loads together with access and extinction difficulties were likely behind this trend. A higher incidence of fire in TPAs than in their buffers was exclusively related to anthropogenic factors such as higher road densities and agrarian extensions. Our results suggest that TPAs are failing to mitigate fire impacts, with both fire incidence and total burned areas being significantly higher in the reserves than in adjacent buffer areas. Management plans should consider those factors that facilitate fires in TPAs: anthropogenic origin of fires, sensitivity of TPAs to El Niñio-droughts, large fuel loads and fuel continuity inside parks, and limited financial resources. Consideration of these factors favors lines of action such as alternatives to the use of fire (e.g., mucuna-maize system), climatic prediction to follow the evolution of El Niño, fuel management strategies that favor extinction practices, and the strengthening of local communities and ecotourism.

Principal components technique analysis for vegetation and land use discrimination. [Brazilian cerrados

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parada, N. D. J. (Principal Investigator); Formaggio, A. R.; Dossantos, J. R.; Dias, L. A. V.

1984-01-01

Automatic pre-processing technique called Principal Components (PRINCO) in analyzing LANDSAT digitized data, for land use and vegetation cover, on the Brazilian cerrados was evaluated. The chosen pilot area, 223/67 of MSS/LANDSAT 3, was classified on a GE Image-100 System, through a maximum-likehood algorithm (MAXVER). The same procedure was applied to the PRINCO treated image. PRINCO consists of a linear transformation performed on the original bands, in order to eliminate the information redundancy of the LANDSAT channels. After PRINCO only two channels were used thus reducing computer effort. The original channels and the PRINCO channels grey levels for the five identified classes (grassland, "cerrado", burned areas, anthropic areas, and gallery forest) were obtained through the MAXVER algorithm. This algorithm also presented the average performance for both cases. In order to evaluate the results, the Jeffreys-Matusita distance (JM-distance) between classes was computed. The classification matrix, obtained through MAXVER, after a PRINCO pre-processing, showed approximately the same average performance in the classes separability.

A comparative analysis of potential impact area of common sugar cane burning methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hiscox, A. L.; Flecher, S.; Wang, J. J.; Viator, H. P.

2015-04-01

The negative effects of agricultural burning are well-known, although the actual impact area of different activities has not previously been quantified. An elastic backscatter lidar system was used to examine the impact-area size and dispersion of smoke generated from different types of sugarcane burning activities; pre-harvest (standing) burning and post-harvest (ground) burning. Experiments were conducted in the sugarcane harvest season of 2010 and 2011 at two locations in Louisiana, USA. Current dispersion theory would suggest that the primary difference between burn types would be primarily in the initial plume rise, but that the overall plume shape would remain the same. However, remotely sensed lidar data with the capability to measure plume dispersion and the short time dynamics of plume location showed pre-harvest (standing) burning produced a larger plume with greater rise and more spread within the 300 m of the plume, but a decrease in dispersion, but not concentration further downwind. Post-harvest (ground) burning produced a more traditional plume shape, but still exceeded impact area predictions near the source. Moreover, large changes in plume size can occur with small increases in wind speed. These are the first instrumented measurements of the meteorological effects of the different types of sugarcane burning. These results indicate that ground burning is preferable, but should be avoided in lower wind speed conditions.

Temporal resolution requirements of satellite constellations for 30 m global burned area mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melchiorre, A.; Boschetti, L.

2017-12-01

Global burned area maps have been generated systematically with daily, coarse resolution satellite data (Giglio et al. 2013). The production of moderate resolution (10 - 30 m) global burned area products would meet the needs of several user communities: improved carbon emission estimations due to heterogeneous landscapes and for local scale air quality and fire management applications (Mouillot et al. 2014; van der Werf et al. 2010). While the increased spatial resolution reduces the influence of mixed burnt/unburnt pixels and it would increase the spectral separation of burned areas, moderate resolution satellites have reduced temporal resolution (10 - 16 days). Fire causes a land-cover change spectrally visible for a period ranging from a few weeks in savannas to over a year in forested ecosystems (Roy et al. 2010); because clouds, smoke, and other optically thick aerosols limit the number of available observations (Roy et al. 2008; Smith and Wooster 2005), burned areas might disappear before they are observed by moderate resolution sensors. Data fusion from a constellation of different sensors has been proposed to overcome these limits (Boschetti et al. 2015; Roy 2015). In this study, we estimated the probability of moderate resolution satellites and virtual constellations (including Landsat-8/9, Sentinel-2A/B) to provide sufficient observations for burned area mapping globally, and by ecosystem. First, we estimated the duration of the persistence of the signal associated with burned areas by combining the MODIS Global Burned Area and the Nadir BRDF-Adjusted Reflectance Product by characterizing the post-fire trends in reflectance to determine the length of the period in which the burn class is spectrally distinct from the unburned and, therefore, detectable. The MODIS-Terra daily cloud data were then used to estimate the probability of cloud cover. The cloud probability was used at each location to estimate the minimum revisit time needed to obtain at least one cloud-free observation within the duration of the persistence of burned areas. As complementary results, the expected omission error due to insufficient observations was estimated for each of the satellite combination considered making use of the calendar and geometry of acquisition for each of the sensor included in the virtual constellation.

The direct hospitalization cost of care for acute burns in Lagos, Nigeria: a one-year prospective study

PubMed Central

Ahachi, C.N.; Fadeyibi, I.O.; Abikoye, F.O.; Chira, M.K.; Ugburo, A.O.; Ademiluyi, S.A.

2011-01-01

Summary Objective. We conducted a prospective study to identify the direct hospitalization cost of managing major acute burns in Lagos, Nigeria, and to determine the factors that influence the cost. Method. All consecutive and consenting patients seen and managed for major burns at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, between 1 June 2007 and 31 May 2008 were recruited for the study. A special form designed for the study was used to collect the necessary data. Results. Fifty-two patients were seen during the study period (27 males and 25 females). The ages ranged from 2 months to 69 yr with a mean of 25.4 ± 17.1 yr. The length of hospital stay ranged from 0.3-12 months (mean, 3.2 ± 3.1 months). The average daily cost of treating a patient was ₦ (naira) 8,855 (₦1000 = €4.44) and the average overall cost was ₦209,303.70, with the costs of wound dressings, hospital admission, and surgery constituting respectively 29.5%, 25.7%, and 19.1% of the total amount spent. Conclusion. The length of hospital stay was prolonged in many patients and management methods should be reviewed to reduce this. The cost of managing burns is prohibitive for an average Nigerian. Efforts should be intensified to prevent burn injury and a Special Health Insurance policy should be established to finance burns management. PMID:22262967

Recent acceleration of biomass burning and carbon losses in Alaskan forests and peatlands

Treesearch

Merritt R. Turetsky; Evan S. Kane; Jennifer W. Harden; Roger D. Ottmar; Kristen L. Maines; Elizabeth Hoy; Eric S. Kasischke

2010-01-01

Climate change has increased the area affected by forest fires each year in boreal North America. Increases in burned area and fire frequency are expected to stimulate boreal carbon losses. However, the impact of wildfires on carbon emissions is also affected by the severity of burning. How climate change influences the severity of biomass burning has proved difficult...

A model of ponderosa pine growth response to prescribed burning

Treesearch

Elaine Kennedy Sutherland; W. Wallace Covington; Steve Andariese

1991-01-01

Our objective was to model the radial growth response of individual ponderosa pines to prescribed burning in northern Arizona. We sampled 188 trees from two study areas, which were burned in 1976. Within each study area, control and burned trees were of similar age, vigor, height, and competition index. At Chimney Spring, trees were older, less vigorous, and taller and...

Potential impact of air quality restrictions on logging residue burning

Treesearch

Owen P. Cramer; James N. Westwood

1970-01-01

The number of potential burning days and the potential burn acreage under smoke control restrictions were estimated for hypothetical forest areas on both sides of a pollution prone area, the Willamette Valley in western Oregon. On the basis of a sample of 2 dry years, the greatest impact on burning operations applied to low elevation forests west of the Valley. The...

Comparison of AVIRIS and Landsat ETM+ detection capabilities for burn severity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Van Wagtendonk, Jan W.; Root, Ralph R.; Key, Carl H.

2004-01-01

Our study compares data on burn severity collected from multi-temporal Airborne Visible and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) with similar data from the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) using the differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR). Two AVIRIS and ETM+ data acquisitions recorded surface conditions immediately before the Hoover Fire began to spread rapidly and again the following year. Data were validated with 63 field plots using the Composite Burn Index (CBI). The relationship between spectral channels and burn severity was examined by comparing pre- and post-fire datasets. Based on the high burn severity comparison, AVIRIS channels 47 and 60 at wavelengths of 788 and 913 nm showed the greatest negative response to fire. Post-fire reflectance values decreased the most on average at those wavelengths, while channel 210 at 2370 nm showed the greatest positive response on average. Fire increased reflectance the most at that wavelength over the entire measured spectral range. Furthermore, channel 210 at 2370 nm exhibited the greatest variation in spectral response, suggesting potentially high information content for fire severity. Based on general remote sensing principles and the logic of variable spectral responses to fire, dNBR from both sensors should produce useful results in quantifying burn severity. The results verify the band–response relationships to burn severity as seen with ETM+ data and confirm the relationships by way of a distinctly different sensor system.

Habitat relationships of birds overwintering in a managed coastal prairie

USGS Publications Warehouse

Baldwin, H.Q.; Grace, J.B.; Barrow, W.C.; Rohwer, F.C.

2007-01-01

Grassland birds are considered to be rapidly declining in North America. Management approaches for grassland birds frequently rely on prescribed burning to maintain habitat in suitable condition. We evaluated the relationships among years since burn, vegetation structure, and overwintering grassland bird abundance in coastal prairie. Le Conte's Sparrows (Ammodramus leconteii) were most common in areas that had: (1) been burned within the previous 2 years, (2) medium density herbaceous vegetation, and (3) sparse shrub densities. Savannah Sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis) were associated with areas: (1) burned within 1 year, (2) with sparse herbaceous vegetation, and (3) with sparse shrub densities. Sedge Wrens (Cistothorus platensis) were most common in areas that had: (1) burned greater than 2 years prior and (2) dense herbaceous vegetation. Swamp Sparrows (Melospiza georgiana): (1) were most common in areas of dense shrubs, (2) not related to time since burnings, and (3) demonstrated no relationship to herbaceous vegetation densities. The relationships to fire histories for all four bird species could be explained by the associated vegetation characteristics indicating the need for a mosaic of burn rotations and modest levels of woody vegetation.

Postwildfire preliminary debris flow hazard assessment for the area burned by the 2011 Las Conchas Fire in north-central New Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tillery, Anne C.; Darr, Michael J.; Cannon, Susan H.; Michael, John A.

2011-01-01

The Las Conchas Fire during the summer of 2011 was the largest in recorded history for the state of New Mexico, burning 634 square kilometers in the Jemez Mountains of north-central New Mexico. The burned landscape is now at risk of damage from postwildfire erosion, such as that caused by debris flows and flash floods. This report presents a preliminary hazard assessment of the debris-flow potential from 321 basins burned by the Las Conchas Fire. A pair of empirical hazard-assessment models developed using data from recently burned basins throughout the intermountain western United States was used to estimate the probability of debris-flow occurrence and volume of debris flows at the outlets of selected drainage basins within the burned area. The models incorporate measures of burn severity, topography, soils, and storm rainfall to estimate the probability and volume of debris flows following the fire. In response to a design storm of 28.0 millimeters of rain in 30 minutes (10-year recurrence interval), the probabilities of debris flows estimated for basins burned by the Las Conchas Fire were greater than 80 percent for two-thirds (67 percent) of the modeled basins. Basins with a high (greater than 80 percent) probability of debris-flow occurrence were concentrated in tributaries to Santa Clara and Rio del Oso Canyons in the northeastern part of the burned area; some steep areas in the Valles Caldera National Preserve, Los Alamos, and Guaje Canyons in the east-central part of the burned area; tributaries to Peralta, Colle, Bland, and Cochiti canyons in the southwestern part of the burned area; and tributaries to Frijoles, Alamo, and Capulin Canyons in the southeastern part of the burned area (within Bandelier National Monument). Estimated debris-flow volumes ranged from 400 cubic meters to greater than 72,000 cubic meters. The largest volumes (greater than 40,000 cubic meters) were estimated for basins in Santa Clara, Los Alamos, and Water Canyons, and for two basins at the northeast edge of the burned area tributary to Rio del Oso and Vallecitos Creek. The Combined Relative Debris-Flow Hazard Rankings identify the areas of highest probability of the largest debris flows. Basins with high Combined Relative Debris-Flow Hazard Rankings include upper Santa Clara Canyon in the northern section of the burn scar, and portions of Peralta, Colle, Bland, Cochiti, Capulin, Alamo, and Frijoles Canyons in the southern section of the burn scar. Three basins with high Combined Relative Debris-Flow Hazard Rankings also occur in areas upstream from the city of Los Alamos—the city is home to and surrounded by numerous technical sites for the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Potential debris flows in the burned area could affect the water supply for Santa Clara Pueblo and several recreational lakes, as well as recreational and archeological resources in Bandelier National Monument. Debris flows could damage bridges and culverts along State Highway 501 and other roadways. Additional assessment is necessary to determine if the estimated volume of material is sufficient to travel into areas downstream from the modeled basins along the valley floors, where they could affect human life, property, agriculture, and infrastructure in those areas. Additionally, further investigation is needed to assess the potential for debris flows to affect structures at or downstream from basin outlets and to increase the threat of flooding downstream by damaging or blocking flood mitigation structures. The maps presented here may be used to prioritize areas where erosion mitigation or other protective measures may be necessary within a 2- to 3-year window of vulnerability following the Las Conchas Fire.

Hydrologic Effects of the 1988 Galena Fire, Black Hills Area, South Dakota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Driscoll, Daniel G.; Carter, Janet M.; Ohlen, Donald O.

2004-01-01

The Galena Fire burned about 16,788 acres of primarily ponderosa pine forest during July 5-8, 1988, in the Black Hills area of South Dakota. The fire burned primarily within the Grace Coolidge Creek drainage basin and almost entirely within the boundaries of Custer State Park. A U.S. Geological Survey gaging station with streamflow records dating back to 1977 was located along Grace Coolidge Creek within the burned area. About one-half of the gaging station's 26.8-square-mile drainage area was burned. The drainage basin for Bear Gulch, which is tributary to Grace Coolidge Creek, was burned particularly severely, with complete deforestation occurring in nearly the entirety of the area upstream from a gaging station that was installed in 1989. A study to evaluate effects of the Galena Fire on streamflow, geomorphology, and water quality was initiated in 1988. The geomorphologic and water-quality components of the study were completed by 1990 and are summarized in this report. A data-collection network consisting of streamflow- and precipitation-gaging stations was operated through water year 1998 for evaluation of effects on streamflow characteristics, including both annual-yield and peak-flow characteristics, which are the main focus of this report. Moderately burned areas did not experience a substantial increase in the rate of surface erosion; however, severely burned areas underwent surficial erosion nearly twice that of the unburned areas. The sediment production rate of Bear Gulch estimated 8 to 14 months after the fire was 870 ft3/acre (44 tons/acre). Substantial degradation of stream channels within the severely burned headwater areas of Bear Gulch was documented. Farther downstream, channel aggradation resulted from deposition of sediments transported from the headwater areas. The most notable water-quality effect was on concentrations of suspended sediment, which were orders of magnitude higher for Bear Gulch than for the unburned control area. Effects on several other water-quality constituents, such as organic carbon and nitrogen and phosphorus nutrient constituents, probably were influenced by the large concentrations of suspended matter that were documented in initial post-fire, storm-flow events. The first post-fire stormflow produced the highest measured concentrations of specific conductance, nitrogen, phosphorus, organic carbon, calcium, magnesium, potassium, manganese, and sulfate in the burned areas. For most constituents sampled, differences in concentrations between burned and unburned areas were no longer discernible within about 1 year following the Galena Fire. The effects of the Galena Fire on annual-yield characteristics of Grace Coolidge Creek were evaluated primarily from comparisons with long-term streamflow records for Battle Creek, which is hydrogeologically similar and is located immediately to the north. Annual yield for Grace Coolidge Creek increased by about 20 percent as a result of the fire. This estimate was based on relations between annual yield for Grace Coolidge Creek and Battle Creek for pre- and post-burn periods. Many of the post-burn data points are well beyond the range of the pre-burn data, which is a source of uncertainty for this estimate. Substantial increases in peak-flow characteristics for severely burned drainages were visually apparent from numerous post-fire field observations. Various analyses of streamflow data indicated substantial increases in peak-flow response for burned drainage areas; however, quantification of effects was particularly difficult because peak-flow response diminished quickly and returned to a generally pre-burn condition by about 1991. Field observations of vegetation and analysis of remotely sensed data indicated that establishment of grasses and forbs occurred within a similar timeframe. Comparison of pre-fire peak flows to post-1991 peak flows indicates that these grasses and forbs were equally effective in suppressing peak flows

Ten Years of Forest Cover Change in the Sierra Nevada Detected Using Landsat Satellite Image Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Potter, Christopher S.

2014-01-01

The Landsat Ecosystem Disturbance Adaptive Processing System (LEDAPS) methodology was applied to detected changes in forest vegetation cover for areas burned by wildfires in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California between the periods of 1975- 79 and 1995-1999. Results for areas burned by wildfire between 1995 and 1999 confirmed the importance of regrowing forest vegetation over 17% of the combined burned areas. A notable fraction (12%) of the entire 5-km (unburned) buffer area outside the 1995-199 fires perimeters showed decline in forest cover, and not nearly as many regrowing forest areas, covering only 3% of all the 1995-1999 buffer areas combined. Areas burned by wildfire between 1975 and 1979 confirmed the importance of disturbed (or declining evergreen) vegetation covering 13% of the combined 1975- 1979 burned areas. Based on comparison of these results to ground-based survey data, the LEDAPS methodology should be capable of fulfilling much of the need for consistent, low-cost monitoring of changes due to climate and biological factors in western forest regrowth following stand-replacing disturbances.

Drought in Southeastern United States

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2007-01-01

May 2007 was a record-setting month in Georgia. Typically a dry month in this southern state, May 2007 was exceptionally so, with many locations setting record-low rainfall records and some receiving no rain at all, said state climatologist David Emory Stooksbury on GeorgiaDrought.org. The lack of rain slowed plant growth, as shown in this vegetation index image. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite collected the data used to make this image between May 9 and May 24, 2007. The image shows vegetation conditions compared to average conditions observed from 2000 through 2006. Areas in which plants are more sparse or are growing more slowly than average are brown, while better-than-average growth is green. Georgia and its neighbors (South Carolina, Alabama, and Florida) are all brown, an indication that the lack of rainfall is suppressing plant growth. The gray area in southern Georgia and northern Florida shows where MODIS could not collect valid vegetation measurements, either because of clouds or smoke. In this case, the area corresponds with land that burned during this period and was probably masked by smoke. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided by Inbal Reshef, Global Agricultural Monitoring Project.

Projecting climate-driven increases in North American fire activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, D.; Morton, D. C.; Collatz, G. J.

2013-12-01

Climate regulates fire activity through controls on vegetation productivity (fuels), lightning ignitions, and conditions governing fire spread. In many regions of the world, human management also influences the timing, duration, and extent of fire activity. These coupled interactions between human and natural systems make fire a complex component of the Earth system. Satellite data provide valuable information on the spatial and temporal dynamics of recent fire activity, as active fires, burned area, and land cover information can be combined to separate wildfires from intentional burning for agriculture and forestry. Here, we combined satellite-derived burned area data with land cover and climate data to assess fire-climate relationships in North America between 2000-2012. We used the latest versions of the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED) burned area product and Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) climate data to develop regional relationships between burned area and potential evaporation (PE), an integrated dryness metric. Logistic regression models were developed to link burned area with PE and individual climate variables during and preceding the fire season, and optimal models were selected based on Akaike Information Criterion (AIC). Overall, our model explained 85% of the variance in burned area since 2000 across North America. Fire-climate relationships from the era of satellite observations provide a blueprint for potential changes in fire activity under scenarios of climate change. We used that blueprint to evaluate potential changes in fire activity over the next 50 years based on twenty models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). All models suggest an increase of PE under low and high emissions scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5, respectively), with largest increases in projected burned area across the western US and central Canada. Overall, near-term climate projections point to pronounced changes in fire season length, total burned area, and the frequency of extreme events across North America by 2050.

MODIS Observation of Aerosols over Southern Africa During SAFARI 2000: Data, Validation, and Estimation of Aerosol Radiative Forcing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ichoku, Charles; Kaufman, Yoram; Remer, Lorraine; Chu, D. Allen; Mattoo, Shana; Tanre, Didier; Levy, Robert; Li, Rong-Rong; Kleidman, Richard; Lau, William K. M. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Aerosol properties, including optical thickness and size parameters, are retrieved operationally from the MODIS sensor onboard the Terra satellite launched on 18 December 1999. The predominant aerosol type over the Southern African region is smoke, which is generated from biomass burning on land and transported over the southern Atlantic Ocean. The SAFARI-2000 period experienced smoke aerosol emissions from the regular biomass burning activities as well as from the prescribed burns administered on the auspices of the experiment. The MODIS Aerosol Science Team (MAST) formulates and implements strategies for the retrieval of aerosol products from MODIS, as well as for validating and analyzing them in order to estimate aerosol effects in the radiative forcing of climate as accurately as possible. These activities are carried out not only from a global perspective, but also with a focus on specific regions identified as having interesting characteristics, such as the biomass burning phenomenon in southern Africa and the associated smoke aerosol, particulate, and trace gas emissions. Indeed, the SAFARI-2000 aerosol measurements from the ground and from aircraft, along with MODIS, provide excellent data sources for a more intensive validation and a closer study of the aerosol characteristics over Southern Africa. The SAFARI-2000 ground-based measurements of aerosol optical thickness (AOT) from both the automatic Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) and handheld Sun photometers have been used to validate MODIS retrievals, based on a sophisticated spatio-temporal technique. The average global monthly distribution of aerosol from MODIS has been combined with other data to calculate the southern African aerosol daily averaged (24 hr) radiative forcing over the ocean for September 2000. It is estimated that on the average, for cloud free conditions over an area of 9 million square kin, this predominantly smoke aerosol exerts a forcing of -30 W/square m C lose to the terrestrial surface and -10 W/square m at the top of the atmosphere (TOA). While cooling the surface and Earth system, the difference of 20 W/square m is energy that heats the atmosphere.

Response of white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) to fire and fire surrogate fuel reduction treatments in a southern Appalachian hardwood forest

USGS Publications Warehouse

Greenberg, C.H.; Otis, D.L.; Waldrop, T.A.

2006-01-01

An experiment conducted as part of the multidisciplinary National Fire and Fire Surrogate Study was designed to determine effects of three fuel reduction techniques on small mammals and habitat structure in the southern Appalachian mountains. Four experimental units, each >14-ha were contained within each of three replicate blocks at the Green River Game Land, Polk County, NC. Treatments were (1) prescribed burning (B); (2) mechanical felling of shrubs and small trees (M); (3) mechanical felling + burning (MB); (4) controls (C). Mechanical understory felling treatments were conducted in winter 2001-2002, and prescribed burning was conducted in March 2003. After treatment, there were fewer live trees, more snags, and greater canopy openness in MB than in other treatments. Leaf litter depth was reduced by burning in both B and MB treatments, and tall shrub cover was reduced in all fuel reduction treatments compared to C. Coarse woody debris pieces and percent cover were similar among treatments and controls. We captured 990 individuals of eight rodent species a total of 2823 times. Because white-footed mice composed >79% of all captures, we focused on this species. Populations in experimental units increased 228% on average between 2001 and 2002, but there was no evidence of an effect of the mechanical treatment. From 2002 to 2003, all units again showed an average increase in relative population size, but increases were greater in MB than in the other treatments. Age structure and male to female ratio were not affected by the fuel reduction treatment. Average adult body weight declined from 2001 to 2002, but less so in M than in units that remained C in both years. The proportion of mice captured near coarse woody debris was similar to the proportion captured in open areas for all treatments, indicating that white-footed mice did not use coarse woody debris preferentially or change their use patterns in response to fuel reduction treatments. Land managers should understand possible effects of different fuel reduction treatments on white-footed mouse populations, as they are an important component of the fauna and food chain of deciduous southern Appalachian forests.

Monitoring the extent and occurence of fire in the different veld types of South Africa with particular reference to it's ecological role

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edwards, D. (Principal Investigator)

1976-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Imagery showed the highest amount of burned area to be in the western, southern, and eastern Transvaal and in one scene of the Transkei coast region. The percentage of burned area per image in all instances exceeded 1.4% reaching a maximum of 8.24% equivalent to 121,758 ha out of 1,476,540 ha of one image in the eastern Transvaal lowveld. There was a consistent increase in the amount of burnt area on images from July through to the end of October. From October onwards, there was a decrease in burned area so that during December there was none or very little burning evident. Four scenes comprising nine images showed burning according to the twelve veld types. Considerable variation was evident in the burning between different veld types: between 10 and 19% of the mixed, sourish-mixed, and sour bushveld types was burnt, but in other veld types the percentage of burnt area was less than 1%.

What determines area burned in large landscapes? Insights from a decade of comparative landscape-fire modelling

Treesearch

Geoffrey J. Cary; Robert E. Keane; Mike D. Flannigan; Ian D. Davies; Russ A. Parsons

2015-01-01

Understanding what determines area burned in large landscapes is critical for informing wildland fire management in fire-prone environments and for representing fire activity in Dynamic Global Vegetation Models. For the past ten years, a group of landscape-fire modellers have been exploring the relative influence of key determinants of area burned in temperate and...

Burned area emergency watershed rehabilitation: Program goals, techniques, effectiveness, and future directions in the 21st Century

Treesearch

Daniel G. Neary; Peter R. Robichaud; Jan L. Beyers

2000-01-01

Following wildfires, burned areas are assessed by special teams to determine if emergency watershed rehabilitation measures are required to restore watershed function and minimize damage to soil resources. The objective of burned area emergency rehabilitation (BAER) treatments is to restore watershed condition and reduce erosional losses on hillslopes, in channels, and...

On the effects of wildfires on precipitation in Southern Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Sales, Fernando; Okin, Gregory S.; Xue, Yongkang; Dintwe, Kebonye

2018-03-01

This study investigates the impact of wildfire on the climate of Southern Africa. Moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer derived burned area fraction data was implemented in a set of simulations to assess primarily the role of wildfire-induced surface changes on monthly precipitation. Two post-fire scenarios are examined namely non-recovering and recovering vegetation scenarios. In the former, burned vegetation fraction remains burned until the end of the simulations, whereas in the latter it is allowed to regrow following a recovery period. Control simulations revealed that the model can dependably capture the monthly precipitation and surface temperature averages in Southern Africa thus providing a reasonable basis against which to assess the impacts of wildfire. In general, both wildfire scenarios have a negative impact on springtime precipitation. September and October were the only months with statistically significant precipitation changes. During these months, precipitation in the region decreases by approximately 13 and 9% in the non-recovering vegetation scenario, and by about 10 and 6% in the recovering vegetation wildfire scenario, respectively. The primary cause of precipitation deficit is the decrease in evapotranspiration resulting from a reduction in surface net radiation. Areas impacted by the precipitation reduction includes the Luanda, Kinshasa, and Brazzaville metropolitan areas, The Angolan Highlands, which are the source of the Okavango Rive, and the Okavango Delta region. This study suggests that a probable intensification in wildfire frequency and extent resulting from projected population increase and global warming in Southern Africa could potentially exacerbate the impacts of wildfires in the region's seasonal precipitation.

Paediatric injuries associated with the use of disposable barbecues: are we finding ourselves in hot sand?

PubMed

Vermaak, Pieter; Haj Basheer, Mahammed; Taki, Hussein; Burge, Timothy

2012-08-01

To document, describe and raise awareness of a preventable injury associated with the use of disposable barbecues. We conducted a retrospective study of incidents involving barbecue burns. Cases were identified through the burn injury database of a tertiary paediatric burns referral centre and case notes reviewed. Experiments were performed to evaluate the dissipation of heat from sand. Over a 3-month period, 9 children were identified out of a series of 296. The median age was 5 years and burns were sustained through contact with hot sand where disposable barbecues had been used. 87% (n=13) of the burns were partial thickness and most affected critical areas such as the hands and feet. The majority (93%) responded well to debridement and simple dressings and all patients made a complete recovery. Experiments show that, even after a prolonged period of time, sand can retain sufficient heat to cause a contact burn. We have noted an increased incidence of burns with this mechanism of injury. The burns are usually superficial, they tend to occur predominantly in children and involve critical areas. We suggest that areas where disposable barbecues have stood should be cooled and children kept away from the area for at least 5min. The results of the study have been forwarded to the Prevention Committee of the British Burn Association with the aim of raising awareness of this mechanism of burn. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Mineral Resources of the Black Mountains North and Burns Spring Wilderness Study Areas, Mohave County, Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Conrad, James E.; Hill, Randall H.; Jachens, Robert C.; Neubert, John T.

1990-01-01

At the request of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, approximately 19,300 acres of the Black Mountains North Wilderness Study Area (AZ-020-009) and 23,310 acres of the Burns Spring Wilderness Study Area (AZ-02D-010) were evaluated for mineral resources and mineral resource potential. In this report, the area studied is referred to, collectively or individually, as the 'wilderness study area' or simply 'the study area'; any reference to the Black Mountains North or Burns Spring Wilderness Study Areas refers only to that part of the wilderness study area for which a mineral survey was requested by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The study area is located in western Arizona, about 30 mi northwest of Kingman. There are no identified resources in the study area. An area surrounding the Portland mine and including the southern part of the Black Mountains North Wilderness Study Area and the extreme northwestern part of the Burns Spring Wilderness Study Area has high resource potential for gold and moderate resource potential for silver, lead, and mercury. The area surrounding this and including much of the northern part of the Burns Spring Wilderness Study Area has moderate potential for gold, silver, and lead. The northeastern corner of the Black Mountains North Wilderness Study Area has moderate potential for gold and low potential for silver, copper, and molybdenum resources. The central part, including the narrow strip of land just west of the central part, of the Black Mountains North Wilderness Study Area and the southern and extreme eastern parts of the Burns Spring Wilderness Study Area have low resource potential for gold. The central and southern parts of the Black Mountains North Wilderness Study Area and all but the southwestern part of the Burns Spring Wilderness Study Area have moderate resource potential for perlite. Moderate resource potential for zeolites is assigned to a large area around the Portland mine that includes parts of both study areas, to a narrow strip of land just west of the central part of the Black Mountains North Wilderness Study Area, and to all but the southwest corner of the Burns Spring Wilderness Study Area. There is no potential for oil and gas in either study area. Sand and gravel are present in both study areas, but abundant quantities of these resources are available closer to existing markets.

Post-fire Thermokarst Development Along a Planned Road Corridor in Arctic Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, B. M.; Grosse, G.; Larsen, C. F.; Hayes, D. J.; Arp, C. D.; Liu, L.; Miller, E.

2015-12-01

Wildfire disturbance in northern high latitude regions is an important factor contributing to ecosystem and landscape change. In permafrost influenced terrain, fire may initiate thermokarst development which impacts hydrology, vegetation, wildlife, carbon storage and infrastructure. In this study we differenced two airborne LiDAR datasets that were acquired in the aftermath of the large and severe Anaktuvuk River tundra fire, which in 2007 burned across a proposed road corridor in Arctic Alaska. The 2009 LiDAR dataset was acquired by the Alaska Department of Transportation in preparation for construction of a gravel road that would connect the Dalton Highway with the logistical camp of Umiat. The 2014 LiDAR dataset was acquired by the USGS to quantify potential post-fire thermokarst development over the first seven years following the tundra fire event. By differencing the two 1 m resolution digital terrain models, we measured permafrost thaw subsidence across 34% of the burned tundra area studied, and observed less than 1% in similar, undisturbed tundra terrain units. Ice-rich, yedoma upland terrain was most susceptible to thermokarst development following the disturbance, accounting for 50% of the areal and volumetric change detected, with some locations subsiding more than six meters over the study period. Calculation of rugosity, or surface roughness, in the two datasets showed a doubling in microtopography on average across the burned portion of the study area, with a 340% increase in yedoma upland terrain. An additional LiDAR dataset was acquired in April 2015 to document the role of thermokarst development on enhanced snow accumulation and subsequent snowmelt runoff within the burn area. Our findings will enable future vulnerability assessments of ice-rich permafrost terrain as a result of shifting disturbance regimes. Such assessments are needed to address questions focused on the impact of permafrost degradation on physical, ecological, and socio-economic processes.

Cross-scale controls on carbon emissions from boreal forest megafires.

PubMed

Walker, Xanthe J; Rogers, Brendan M; Baltzer, Jennifer L; Cumming, Steven G; Day, Nicola J; Goetz, Scott J; Johnstone, Jill F; Schuur, Edward A G; Turetsky, Merritt R; Mack, Michelle C

2018-04-26

Climate warming and drying is associated with increased wildfire disturbance and the emergence of megafires in North American boreal forests. Changes to the fire regime are expected to strongly increase combustion emissions of carbon (C) which could alter regional C balance and positively feedback to climate warming. In order to accurately estimate C emissions and thereby better predict future climate feedbacks, there is a need to understand the major sources of heterogeneity that impact C emissions at different scales. Here, we examined 211 field plots in boreal forests dominated by black spruce (Picea mariana) or jack pine (Pinus banksiana) of the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada after an unprecedentedly large area burned in 2014. We assessed both aboveground and soil organic layer (SOL) combustion, with the goal of determining the major drivers in total C emissions, as well as to develop a high spatial resolution model to scale emissions in a relatively understudied region of the boreal forest. On average, 3.35 kg C m -2 was combusted and almost 90% of this was from SOL combustion. Our results indicate that black spruce stands located at landscape positions with intermediate drainage contribute the most to C emissions. Indices associated with fire weather and date of burn did not impact emissions, which we attribute to the extreme fire weather over a short period of time. Using these results, we estimated a total of 94.3 Tg C emitted from 2.85 Mha of burned area across the entire 2014 NWT fire complex, which offsets almost 50% of mean annual net ecosystem production in terrestrial ecosystems of Canada. Our study also highlights the need for fine-scale estimates of burned area that represent small water bodies and regionally specific calibrations of combustion that account for spatial heterogeneity in order to accurately model emissions at the continental scale. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Quantifying spatial variability of depth of peat burn in wetlands in relation to antecedent characteristics using field data, multi-temporal and multi-spectral LiDAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chasmer, L.; Flade, L.; Virk, R.; Montgomery, J. S.; Hopkinson, C.; Thompson, D. K.; Petrone, R. M.; Devito, K.

2017-12-01

Landscape changes in the hydrological characteristics of wetlands in some parts of the Boreal region of Canada are occurring as a result of climate-induced feedbacks and anthropogenic disturbance. Wetlands are largely resilient to wildfire, however, natural, climatic and anthropogenic disturbances can change surface water regimes and predispose wetlands to greater depth of peat burn. Over broad areas, peat loss contributes to significant pollution emissions, which can affect community health. In this study, we a) quantify depth of peat burn and relationships to antecedent conditions (species type, topography, surficial geology) within three classified wetlands found in the Boreal Plains ecoregion of western Canada; and b) examine the impacts of wildfire on post-fire ground surface energy balance to determine how peat loss might affect local hydro-climatology and surface water feedbacks. High-resolution optical imagery, pre- and post-burn multi-spectral Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR), airborne thermal infrared imagery, and field validation data products are integrated to identify multiple complex interactions within the study wetlands. LiDAR-derived depth of peat burn is within 1 cm (average) compared with measured (RMSE = 9 cm over the control surface), demonstrating the utility of LiDAR with high point return density. Depth of burn also correlates strongly with variations in Normalised Burn Ratio (NBR) determined for ground surfaces only. Antecedent conditions including topographic position, soil moisture, soil type and wetland species also have complex interactions with depth of peat loss within wetlands observed in other studies. However, while field measurements are important for validation and understanding eco-hydrological processes, results from remote sensing are spatially continuous. Temporal LiDAR data illustrate the full range of variability in depth of burn and wetland characteristics following fire. Finally, measurements of instantaneous surface temperature indicate that the temperatures of burned wetlands are significantly warmer by up to 10oC compared to non-burned wetlands, altering locally variable sensible vs. latent energy exchanges and implications for further post-fire evaporative losses.

Organic molecular tracers in the atmospheric aerosols from Lumbini, Nepal, in the northern Indo-Gangetic Plain: influence of biomass burning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Xin; Kang, Shichang; Li, Quanlian; Rupakheti, Dipesh; Zhang, Qianggong; Guo, Junming; Chen, Pengfei; Tripathee, Lekhendra; Rupakheti, Maheswar; Panday, Arnico K.; Wang, Wu; Kawamura, Kimitaka; Gao, Shaopeng; Wu, Guangming; Cong, Zhiyuan

2017-07-01

To better understand the characteristics of biomass burning in the northern Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP), total suspended particles were collected in a rural site, Lumbini, Nepal, during April 2013 to March 2014 and analyzed for the biomass burning tracers (i.e., levoglucosan, mannosan, vanillic acid). The annual average concentration of levoglucosan was 734 ± 1043 ng m-3 with the maximum seasonal mean concentration during post-monsoon season (2206 ± 1753 ng m-3), followed by winter (1161 ± 1347 ng m-3), pre-monsoon (771 ± 524 ng m-3) and minimum concentration during monsoon season (212 ± 279 ng m-3). The other biomass burning tracers (mannosan, galactosan, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, syringic acid and dehydroabietic acid) also showed the similar seasonal variations. There were good correlations among levoglucosan, organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC), indicating significant impact of biomass burning activities on carbonaceous aerosol loading throughout the year in Lumbini area. According to the characteristic ratios, levoglucosan / mannosan (lev / man) and syringic acid / vanillic acid (syr / van), we deduced that the high abundances of biomass burning products during non-monsoon seasons were mainly caused by the burning of crop residues and hardwood while the softwood had less contribution. Based on the diagnostic tracer ratio (i.e., lev / OC), the OC derived from biomass burning constituted large fraction of total OC, especially during post-monsoon season. By analyzing the MODIS fire spot product and 5-day air-mass back trajectories, we further demonstrated that organic aerosol composition was not only related to the local agricultural activities and residential biomass usage but also impacted by the regional emissions. During the post-monsoon season, the emissions from rice residue burning in western India and eastern Pakistan could impact particulate air pollution in Lumbini and surrounding regions in southern Nepal. Therefore, our finding is meaningful and has a great importance for adopting the appropriate mitigation measures, not only at the local level but also by involving different regions and nations, to reduce the biomass burning emissions in the broader IGP region nations.

[Experimental determination of the time-dependent extent of after-burning with reference to possibilities of the plastic surgery reconstruction of 3d degree burns].

PubMed

Bäumer, F; Henrich, H A; Ussmüller, J

1986-02-01

The present experiments try to answer the question as to the time-dependent extent of the after-burning process after full-thickness burn (third degree). For an early plastic surgical treatment it was of interest to determine the most early time of escharotomy. The time-dependent spreading of the after-burning area reached its maximum five days after the burn injury. The after-burning area was marked by intravenous injections of Patentblau which caused distinct intravital colouring. Subsequently no further progress could be observed. In the present experiments we suggest this time as the earliest time for plastic covering in case it would be dependent upon the end of the after-burning process.

A spatiotemporal land-use regression model of winter fine particulate levels in residential neighbourhoods.

PubMed

Smargiassi, Audrey; Brand, Allan; Fournier, Michel; Tessier, François; Goudreau, Sophie; Rousseau, Jacques; Benjamin, Mario

2012-07-01

Residential wood burning can be a significant wintertime source of ambient fine particles in urban and suburban areas. We developed a statistical model to predict minute (min) levels of particles with median diameter of <1 μm (PM1) from mobile monitoring on evenings of winter weekends at different residential locations in Quebec, Canada, considering wood burning emissions. The 6 s PM1 levels were concurrently measured on 10 preselected routes travelled 3 to 24 times during the winters of 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 by vehicles equipped with a GRIMM or a dataRAM sampler and a Global Positioning System device. Route-specific and global land-use regression (LUR) models were developed using the following spatial and temporal covariates to predict 1-min-averaged PM1 levels: chimney density from property assessment data at sampling locations, PM2.5 "regional background" levels of particles with median diameter of <2.5 μm (PM2.5) and temperature and wind speed at hour of sampling, elevation at sampling locations and day of the week. In the various routes travelled, between 49% and 94% of the variability in PM1 levels was explained by the selected covariates. The effect of chimney density was not negligible in "cottage areas." The R(2) for the global model including all routes was 0.40. This LUR is the first to predict PM1 levels in both space and time with consideration of the effects of wood burning emissions. We show that the influence of chimney density, a proxy for wood burning emissions, varies by regions and that a global model cannot be used to predict PM in regions that were not measured. Future work should consider using both survey data on wood burning intensity and information from numerical air quality forecast models, in LUR models, to improve the generalisation of the prediction of fine particulate levels.

A human-driven decline in global burned area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andela, N.; Morton, D. C.; Chen, Y.; van der Werf, G.; Giglio, L.; Kasibhatla, P. S.; Randerson, J. T.

2016-12-01

Fire is an important and dynamic ecosystem process that influences many aspects of the global Earth system. Here, we used several different satellite datasets to assess trends in global burned area during 1998 to 2014. Global burned area decreased by about 21.6 ± 8.5% over the period from 1998-2014, with large regional declines observed in savanna and grassland ecosystems in northern Africa, Eurasia, and South America. The decrease in burned area remained robust after removing the influence of climate (16.0 ± 6.0%), implicating human activity as a likely driver. To further investigate the mechanisms contributing to regional and global trends, we conducted several kinds of analysis, including separation of burned area into ignition and fire size components and geospatial analysis of fire trends in relationship with demographic and land use variables. We found that fire number was a more important factor contributing to burned area trends than fire size, suggesting a reduction in the use of fire for management purposes. Concurrent decreases in fire size also contributed to the trend outside of North and South America, suggesting a role for greater landscape fragmentation. From our geospatial analysis, we developed a conceptual model that incorporates a range of drivers for human-driven changes in biomass burning that can be used to guide global fire models, currently unable to reproduce these large scale recent trends. Patterns of agricultural expansion and land use intensification are likely to further contribute to declining burned area trends in future decades, with important consequences for Earth system processes mediated by surface albedo, greenhouse gas emissions, and aerosols. Our results also highlight the vulnerability of savannas and grassland to land use changes with unprecedented global scale consequences for vegetation structure and the carbon cycle.

3D photography is as accurate as digital planimetry tracing in determining burn wound area.

PubMed

Stockton, K A; McMillan, C M; Storey, K J; David, M C; Kimble, R M

2015-02-01

In the paediatric population careful attention needs to be made concerning techniques utilised for wound assessment to minimise discomfort and stress to the child. To investigate whether 3D photography is a valid measure of burn wound area in children compared to the current clinical gold standard method of digital planimetry using Visitrak™. Twenty-five children presenting to the Stuart Pegg Paediatric Burn Centre for burn dressing change following acute burn injury were included in the study. Burn wound area measurement was undertaken using both digital planimetry (Visitrak™ system) and 3D camera analysis. Inter-rater reliability of the 3D camera software was determined by three investigators independently assessing the burn wound area. A comparison of wound area was assessed using intraclass correlation co-efficients (ICC) which demonstrated excellent agreement 0.994 (CI 0.986, 0.997). Inter-rater reliability measured using ICC 0.989 (95% CI 0.979, 0.995) demonstrated excellent inter-rater reliability. Time taken to map the wound was significantly quicker using the camera at bedside compared to Visitrak™ 14.68 (7.00)s versus 36.84 (23.51)s (p<0.001). In contrast, analysing wound area was significantly quicker using the Visitrak™ tablet compared to Dermapix(®) software for the 3D Images 31.36 (19.67)s versus 179.48 (56.86)s (p<0.001). This study demonstrates that images taken with the 3D LifeViz™ camera and assessed with Dermapix(®) software is a reliable method for wound area assessment in the acute paediatric burn setting. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

The influence of weather and fuel type on the fuel composition of the area burned by forest fires in Ontario, 1996-2006.

PubMed

Podur, Justin J; Martell, David L

2009-07-01

Forest fires are influenced by weather, fuels, and topography, but the relative influence of these factors may vary in different forest types. Compositional analysis can be used to assess the relative importance of fuels and weather in the boreal forest. Do forest or wild land fires burn more flammable fuels preferentially or, because most large fires burn in extreme weather conditions, do fires burn fuels in the proportions they are available despite differences in flammability? In the Canadian boreal forest, aspen (Populus tremuloides) has been found to burn in less than the proportion in which it is available. We used the province of Ontario's Provincial Fuels Database and fire records provided by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources to compare the fuel composition of area burned by 594 large (>40 ha) fires that occurred in Ontario's boreal forest region, a study area some 430,000 km2 in size, between 1996 and 2006 with the fuel composition of the neighborhoods around the fires. We found that, over the range of fire weather conditions in which large fires burned and in a study area with 8% aspen, fires burn fuels in the proportions that they are available, results which are consistent with the dominance of weather in controlling large fires.

Assessing the response of area burned to changing climate in western boreal North America using a Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS) approach

Treesearch

Michael S. Balshi; A. David McGuire; Paul Duffy; Mike Flannigan; John Walsh; Jerry Melillo

2009-01-01

We developed temporally and spatially explicit relationships between air temperature and fuel moisture codes derived from the Canadian Fire Weather Index System to estimate annual area burned at 2.5o (latitude x longitude) resolution using a Multivariate Adaptive Regression Spline (MARS) approach across Alaska and Canada. Burned area was...

Joint simulation of regional areas burned in Canadian forest fires: A Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach

Treesearch

Steen Magnussen

2009-01-01

Areas burned annually in 29 Canadian forest fire regions show a patchy and irregular correlation structure that significantly influences the distribution of annual totals for Canada and for groups of regions. A binary Monte Carlo Markov Chain (MCMC) is constructed for the purpose of joint simulation of regional areas burned in forest fires. For each year the MCMC...

Wildfire contribution to world-wide desertification.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neary, D.; Wittenberg, L.; Bautista, S.; Ffolliott, P.

2009-04-01

Wildfire is a natural phenomenon that began with the development of terrestrial vegetation in a lightning-filled atmosphere. Sediments from the Carboniferous Period (307-359 million years before the present) contain evidence of charcoal from post-fire ash slurry flows. As human populations developed in the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs, mankind transformed fire into one of its oldest tools. Human and natural ignited fires from lightning altered and steered the trajectories of ecosystem development in most parts of the world. Humans are now the primary source of forest and grass fire ignitions throughout the world. As human populations have increased and industrialized in the past two centuries, fire ignitions and burned areas have increased due to both sheer numbers of people and anthropogenic changes in the global climate. Recent scientific findings have bolstered the hypothesis that climate change is resulting in fire seasons starting earlier, lasting longer, burning greater areas, and being more severe Computer models point to the Western U.S., Mediterranean nations and Brazil as "hot spots" that will get extremes at their worst. The climatic change to drier and warmer conditions has the potential to aggravate wildfire conditions, resulting in burning over longer seasons, larger areas of vegetation conflagration, and higher fire severities. Wildfire is now driving desertification in some of the forest lands in the western United States. The areas of wildfire in the Southwest USA have increased dramatically in the past two decades from <10,000 ha yr-1 in the early 20th Century to over 230,000 ha yr-1 in the first decade of the 21st Century. Individual wildfires are now larger and produce higher severity burns than in the past. A combination of natural drought, climate change, excessive fuel loads, and increased ignition sources have produced the perfect conditions for fire-induced desertification. Portugal suffered the worst and second worst wildfire seasons in a three-year period (2003 - 2005). In 2005, 338,262 ha of forest land burned. This was a 77% increase over the 10-year burn average of 189,500 ha. Desertification is about the loss of the land's proper hydrologic function, biological productivity, and other ecosystem services as a result of human activities and climate change. It affects one third of the earth's surface and over a billion people. In the past, desertification was considered a problem of only arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas. However, humid zones can undergo desertification with the wrong combination of human impacts. The Amazon region is an example of where forest harvesting, shifting cut and burn agriculture, and large-scale grazing are producing desertification of a tropical rain forest on a large scale. Some of the environmental consequences of wildfires are vegetation destruction, plant species and type shifts, exotic plant invasions, wildlife habitat destruction, soil erosion, floods, watershed function decline, water supply disruption, and air pollution. All of these are immediate impacts. Some impacts will persist beyond the careers and lifetimes of individuals. Small, isolated areas do not produce noticeable desertification. But, the cumulative effect of multiple, large area, and adjacent fires can be landscape-level desertification. This paper examines wildfire contributions to desertification in regions of the world that are prone to wildfire and climate change.

Climate and Wildfire in Mountains of the Western United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alfaro, E.; Westerling, A. L.; Cayan, D. R.

2004-12-01

Since the mid-1980s, there has been a dramatic increase in the area burned in wildfires in mountain forests of the western United States, with mean annual area burned nearly three and a half times higher compared to the preceding one and a half decades.(1) Concomitant increases in variability in annual area burned and in fire suppression costs pose a serious challenge for land management in the mountainous West. The variance in annual area burned since 1987 is nineteen times its previous level. Since managers must be prepared for the worst possible scenarios in every fire season, increased uncertainty about the scale of the western fire season each year imposes high costs on public agencies. Annual real suppression costs in western forests have more than doubled for the Forest Service since 1987, while the variance in annual suppression costs is over four times higher. Although federal agencies' fire suppression budgets have increased recently, they are still close to what would be spent in an "average" year that seldom occurs, while costs tend to fluctuate between low and high extremes. Modeling area burned and suppression costs as a function of climate variability alone, Westerling (2004, unpublished work) found that the probability of the Forest Service's suppression expenses exceeding the current annual suppression budget has exceeded 50% since 1987, a substantial increase from the one-in-three chance over the preceding 40 years. Recent progress in our understanding of the links between climate and wildfire, and in our ability to forecast some aspects of both climate and wildfire season severity a season or more in advance, offers some hope that these costs might be ameliorated through the integration of climate information into fire and fuels management. In addition to the effects of climate variability on wildfire, long-term biomass accumulations in some western ecosystems have fueled an increasing incidence of large, stand-replacing wildfires where such fires were previously rare. These severe large fires can result in erosion and changes in vegetation type, with consequences for water quality, stream flow, future biological productivity of the affected areas, and habitat loss for endangered species. Apart from their deleterious ecological consequences, severe fires can also dramatically affect amenity values for public lands and for homeowners living in the wildland-urban interface. In the National Fire Plan, land management agencies have committed to reducing fuels on millions of hectares of public lands. The primary means are mechanical removal, prescribed fire and wildland fire use. The Forest Service estimates they will need to spend hundreds of millions of dollars per year to meet their fuel reduction targets, while efforts in recent years have not kept up with the current rate of biomass increase. Use of climate information for targeting resources and scheduling prescribed burns could increase the efficiency of these efforts. In this study we review the fire history since 1970 for western mountain forests, and demonstrate apparent links between regional climate variability and decadal-scale changes in annual area burned. This analysis explores how wildfire size and frequency have varied over the past thirty-five years by elevation and latitude, and how climate indices such as precipitation, temperature, drought indices and the timing of spring runoff vary in importance for fire season severity by elevation in forests around the western United States.

Local and remote black carbon sources in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diaz Resquin, Melisa; Santágata, Daniela; Gallardo, Laura; Gómez, Darío; Rössler, Cristina; Dawidowski, Laura

2018-06-01

Equivalent black carbon (EBC) mass concentrations in the fine inhalable fraction of airborne particles (PM2.5) were determined using a 7-wavelength Aethalometer for 17 months, between November 2014 and March 2016, for a suburban location of the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (MABA), Argentina. In addition to describing seasonal and diurnal black carbon (BC) cycles for the first time in this region, the relative contributions of fossil fuel and remote and local biomass burning were determined by distinguishing different carbonaceous components based on their effect on light attenuation for different wavelengths. Trajectory analyses and satellite-based fire products were used to illustrate the impact of long-range transport of particles emitted by non-local sources. EBC data showed a marked diurnal cycle, largely modulated by traffic variations and the height of the boundary layer, and a seasonal cycle with monthly median EBC concentrations (in μg /m3) ranging from 1.5 (February) to 3.4 (June). Maximum values were found during winter due to the combination of prevailingly stable atmospheric conditions and the increase of fossil fuel emissions, derived primarily from traffic and biomass burning from the domestic use of wood for heating. The use of charcoal grills was also detected and concentrated during weekends. The average contribution of fossil fuel combustion sources to EBC concentrations was 96%, with the remaining 4% corresponding to local and regional biomass burning. During the entire study period, only two events were identified during which EBC concentrations attributed to regional biomass burning accounted for over 50% of total EBC ; these events demonstrate the relevance of agricultural and forestry activities that take place far from the city yet whose emissions can affect the urban atmosphere of the MABA.

Rapid recovery of gross ecosystem production and ecosystem-level respiration in a semiarid sagebrush shrubland following prescribed fire.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fellows, A.; Flerchinger, G. N.

2016-12-01

The impact of fire remains a key uncertainty in our understanding of the spatio-temporal dynamics of carbon cycling on Western US rangelands. We, therefore, tracked the recovery of carbon fluxes and vegetative carbon stocks following prescribed fire in a sagebrush shrubland located in the Western US Great Basin. We quantified the change in plant function type, Leaf Area Index (LAI), aboveground carbon stocks, Gross Ecosystem Production (GEP), and Ecosystem-level Respiration (Reco) for 2 years before and 5 years following a prescribed fire that burned in 2007. Recruitment of burned sagebrush shrubland by fast growing grasses and forbs drove a rapid recovery of LAI, GEP, and Reco following fire; LAI, GEP, and Reco recovered within 1-3 years. These findings are consistent with previous measurement and modeling work by Flerchinger that demonstrated rooting depths, soil moisture withdrawal, and evapotranspiration also recovered within a few years of this fire. Live aboveground biomass reached 15% of pre-fire aboveground biomass after 5 years. The rapid recovery of LAI, rooting depth, GEP and Reco may partially reflect conducive environmental conditions at this site and at the time of the fire. In particular, the site was wet for a sagebrush shrubland; annual precipitation averaged 545 mm during the study and large-deep snow drifts formed upslope of the site. Post-fire weather was particularly wet, with the second, third and fourth years following fire receiving 587, 614, and 745 mm of water. Grazing was excluded from the burned area, which limited herbivory and may have facilitated vegetation establishment and growth. Lastly, the fire burned in September after many grasses and herbaceous plants had already senesced.

[The post-burn process--a determinant in local surgical treatment of deep burns].

PubMed

Bäumer, F; Henrich, H A

1988-12-01

Afterburning has been studied in the animal experiment by use of intravital dye indicators and by measuring partial oxygen pressure. After third degree burn the oxygen conduction of the damaged skin increased. The afterburning was seen to be finished on the 5th day after the burn trauma. The histological changes in the depth of the afterburn area reaches to the subcutis. The extend of the afterburn area was not related to the applied temperature or the duration of the experimental burn injury.

The management of small area burns and unexpected illness after burn in children under five years of age - A costing study in the English healthcare setting.

PubMed

Kandiyali, R; Sarginson, J H; Hollén, L I; Spickett-Jones, F; Young, A E R

2018-02-01

The objective of this economic study was to evaluate the resource use and cost associated with the management of small area burns, including the additional costs associated with unexpected illness after burn in children of less than five years of age. This study was conducted as a secondary analysis of a multi-centre prospective observational cohort study investigating the physiological response to burns in children. 452 children were included in the economic analysis (median age=1.60years, 61.3% boys, median total burn surface area [TBSA]=1.00%) with a mean length of stay of 0.69 days. Of these children, 21.5% re-presented to medical care with an unexpected illness within fourteen days of injury. The cost of managing a burn of less than 10% TBSA in a child less than five years of age was £785. The additional cost associated with the management of illness after burn was £1381. A generalised linear regression model was used to determine the association between an unexpected illness after burn, presenting child characteristics and NHS cost. Our findings may be of value to those planning economic evaluations of novel technologies in burn care. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Use of methylnaltrexone to induce laxation in acutely injured patients with burns and necrotizing soft-tissue infections.

PubMed

Hewitt, Kelly; Lin, Hsin; Faraklas, Iris; Morris, Stephen; Cochran, Amalia; Saffle, Jeffrey

2014-01-01

The routine use of high-dose opioids for analgesia in patients with acute burns and soft-tissue injuries often leads to the development of opioid-induced constipation. The opioid antagonist methylnaltrexone (MLTX) reverses narcotic-related ileus without affecting systemic pain treatment. The authors' burn center developed a bowel protocol that included administration of MLTX for relief of opioid-induced constipation after other methods failed. The authors performed a retrospective review of patients with acute burns or necrotizing soft-tissue infections, who had been given subcutaneous MLTX to induce laxation. All patients who received MLTX were included and all administrations of the drug were included in the analysis. The primary outcome examined was time to laxation from drug administration. Forty-eight patients received MLTX a total of 112 times. Six patients were admitted with soft-tissue injuries and the rest suffered burns with an average TBSA of 17%. The median patient age was 41 years and the majority (75%) were men. Administration of a single dose of MLTX resulted in laxation within 4 hours in 38% of cases, and within 24 hours in 68%. Patients given MLTX received an average of 174 mg morphine equivalents daily for pain control. MLTX was given after an average of 52 hours since the last bowel movement. As this experience has evolved, it has been incorporated into an organized bowel protocol, which includes MLTX administration after other laxatives have failed. MLTX is an effective laxation agent in patients with burn and soft-tissue injuries, who have failed conventional agents.

Using multiple continuous fine particle monitors to characterize tobacco, incense, candle, cooking, wood burning, and vehicular sources in indoor, outdoor, and in-transit settings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ott, Wayne R.; Siegmann, Hans C.

This study employed two continuous particle monitors operating on different measurement principles to measure concentrations simultaneously from common combustion sources in indoor, outdoor, and in-transit settings. The pair of instruments use (a) photo-charging (PC) operating on the principle ionization of fine particles that responds to surface particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PPAHs), and (b) diffusion charging (DC) calibrated to measure the active surface area of fine particles. The sources studied included: (1) secondhand smoke (cigarettes, cigars, and pipes), (2) incense (stick and cone), (3) candles used as food warmers, (4) cooking (toasting bread and frying meat), (5) fireplaces and ambient wood smoke, and (6) in-vehicle exposures traveling on California arterials and interstate highways. The ratio of the PC to the DC readings, or the PC/DC ratio, was found to be different for major categories of sources. Cooking, burning toast, and using a "canned heat" food warmer gave PC/DC ratios close to zero. Controlled experiments with 10 cigarettes averaged 0.15 ng mm -2 (ranging from 0.11 to 0.19 ng mm -2), which was similar to the PC/DC ratio for a cigar, although a pipe was slightly lower (0.09 ng mm -2). Large incense sticks had PC/DC ratios similar to those of cigarettes and cigars. The PC/DC ratios for ambient wood smoke averaged 0.29 ng mm -2 on 6 dates, or about twice those of cigarettes and cigars, reflecting a higher ratio of PAH to active surface area. The smoke from two artificial logs in a residential fireplace had a PC/DC ratio of 0.33-0.35 ng mm -2. The emissions from candles were found to vary, depending on how the candles were burned. If the candle flickered and generated soot, a higher PC/DC ratio resulted than if the candle burned uniformly in still air. Inserting piece of metal into the candle's flame caused high PPAH emissions with a record PC/DC reading of 1.8 ng mm -2. In-vehicle exposures measured on 43- and 50-min drives on a California arterial highway gave PC/DC ratios of 0.42 and 0.58 ng mm -2, with one-min average PC/DC ratios varying along the roadway due to the different types of vehicles. Interstate highways had PC/DC ratios of approximately 0.5 ng mm -2 with ratios above 1 ng mm -2 when driving behind diesel trucks. These PC/DC ratios were higher than the "signature" value of the cigarette (0.11-0.19 ng mm -2) measured in a large Indian gaming casino with smoking. Simultaneous continuous monitors operating together can provide useful information to help differentiate source categories. The PC/DC ratio reflects the mass of PAHs per unit of active surface area of the particles, and therefore we expect it to be relevant to the toxicity of fine particles.

Burns education for non-burn specialist clinicians in Western Australia.

PubMed

McWilliams, Tania; Hendricks, Joyce; Twigg, Di; Wood, Fiona

2015-03-01

Burn patients often receive their initial care by non-burn specialist clinicians, with increasingly collaborative burn models of care. The provision of relevant and accessible education for these clinicians is therefore vital for optimal patient care. A two phase design was used. A state-wide survey of multidisciplinary non-burn specialist clinicians throughout Western Australia identified learning needs related to paediatric burn care. A targeted education programme was developed and delivered live via videoconference. Pre-post-test analysis evaluated changes in knowledge as a result of attendance at each education session. Non-burn specialist clinicians identified numerous areas of burn care relevant to their practice. Statistically significant differences between perceived relevance of care and confidence in care provision were reported for aspects of acute burn care. Following attendance at the education sessions, statistically significant increases in knowledge were noted for most areas of acute burn care. Identification of learning needs facilitated the development of a targeted education programme for non-burn specialist clinicians. Increased non-burn specialist clinician knowledge following attendance at most education sessions supports the use of videoconferencing as an acceptable and effective method of delivering burns education in Western Australia. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Space Radar Image of Yellowstone Park, Wyoming

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-05-01

These two radar images show the majestic Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, the oldest national park in the United States and home to the world's most spectacular geysers and hot springs. The region supports large populations of grizzly bears, elk and bison. In 1988, the park was burned by one of the most widespread fires to occur in the northern Rocky Mountains in the last 50 years. Surveys indicated that 793,880 acres of land burned. Of that, 41 percent was burned forest, with tree canopies totally consumed by the fire; 35 percent was a combination of unburned, scorched and blackened trees; 13 percent was surface burn under an unburned canopy; 6 percent was non-forest burn; and 5 percent was undifferentiated burn. Six years later, the burned areas are still clearly visible in these false-color radar images obtained by the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar on board the space shuttle Endeavour. The image at the left was obtained using the L-band radar channel, horizontally received and vertically transmitted, on the shuttle's 39th orbit on October 2, 1994. The area shown is 45 kilometers by 71 kilometers (28 miles by 44 miles) in size and centered at 44.6 degrees north latitude, 110.7 degrees west longitude. North is toward the top of the image (to the right). Most trees in this area are lodge pole pines at different stages of fire succession. Yellowstone Lake appears as a large dark feature at the bottom of the scene. At right is a map of the forest crown, showing its biomass, or amount of vegetation, which includes foliage and branches. The map was created by inverting SIR-C data and using in situ estimates of crown biomass gathered by the Yellowstone National Biological Survey. The map is displayed on a color scale from blue (rivers and lakes with no biomass) to brown (non-forest areas with crown biomass of less than 4 tons per hectare) to light brown (areas of canopy burn with biomass of between 4 and 12 tons per hectare). Yellow indicates areas of canopy burn and mixed burn with a biomass of between 12 to 20 tons per hectare; light green is mixed burn and on-burn forest with a biomass of 20 to 35 tons per hectare; and green is non-burned forest with a biomass of greater than 35 tons per hectare. Forest recovery from the fire seems to depend on fire intensity and soil conditions. In areas of severe canopy burn and poor soil conditions, crown biomass was still low in 1994 (indicated by the brown areas at the center left), whereas in areas of mixed burn with nutrient-rich soils, seen west of Yellowstone Lake, crown biomass has increased significantly in six years (indicated by the yellow and light green areas). Imaging fire-affected regions with spaceborne radar illustrates SIR-C/X-SAR's keen abilities to monitor regrowth after a fire. Knowing the amount of carbon accumulated in the atmosphere by regenerating forest in the 20 to 50 years following a fire disturbance is also a significant factor in understanding the global carbon cycle. Measuring crown biomass is necessary to evaluate the effects of past and future fires in specific regions. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01741

Timber Management of NASA's John C. Stennis Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carr, Hugh; Johnson, Gary; Smoot, James; Cohan, Tyrus; O'Connor, Tina

2001-01-01

John C. Stennis Space Center occupies over 48560 hectares or just over 120000 acres in southwestern Mississippi and southeastern Louisiana near border of the two states. This area includes the Stennis Fee Area, which is the Center itself and the Acoustic Buffer Zone (ABZ) surrounding the Center. The ABZ is owned by several government, public and private entities and managed accordingly. The Fee Area and ABZ include wetlands, pine woodlands and areas of mixed floral species. The included maps detail the delineation of land in and around the Stennis Space Center. Areas owned by the federal government are divided into three stands to facilitate timber management. The stands are classified by species, density and average size to determine several timber in management issues including the schedule for controlled burns, economic viability of stands, and the creation of low impact recreational areas such as scenic trails or bike paths.

Implications of emission inventory choice for modeling fire-related pollution in the U.S.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koplitz, S. N.; Nolte, C. G.; Pouliot, G.

2017-12-01

Wildland fires are a major source of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), one of the most harmful ambient pollutants for human health globally. Within the U.S., wildland fires can account for more than 30% of total annual PM2.5 emissions. In order to represent the influence of fire emissions on atmospheric composition, regional and global chemical transport models (CTMs) rely on fire emission inventories developed from estimates of burned area (i.e. fire size and location). Burned area can be estimated using a range of top-down and bottom-up approaches, including satellite-derived remote sensing and on-the-ground incident reports. While burned area estimates agree with each other reasonably well in the western U.S. (within 20-30% for most years during 2002-2014), estimates for the southern U.S. vary by more than a factor of 3. Differences in burned area estimation methods lead to significant variability in the spatial and temporal allocation of emissions across fire emission inventory platforms. In this work, we implement fire emission estimates for 2011 from three different products - the USEPA National Emission Inventory (NEI), the Fire INventory of NCAR (FINN), and the Global Fire Emission Database (GFED4s) - into the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model to quantify and characterize differences in simulated fire-related PM2.5 and ozone concentrations across the contiguous U.S. due solely to the emission inventory used. Preliminary results indicate that the estimated contribution to national annual average PM2.5 from wildland fire in 2011 is highest using GFED4s emissions (1.0 µg m-3) followed by NEI (0.7 µg m-3) and FINN (0.3 µg m-3), with comparisons varying significantly by region and season. Understanding the sensitivity of modeling fire-related PM2.5 and ozone in the U.S. to fire emission inventory choice will inform future efforts to assess the implications of present and future fire activity for air quality and human health at national and global scales.

Carbon emissions from spring 1998 fires in tropical Mexico

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cairns, M.A.; Hao, W.M.; Alvarado, E.

1999-04-01

The authors used NOAA-AVHRR satellite imagery, biomass density maps, fuel consumption estimates, and a carbon emission factor to estimate the total carbon (C) emissions from the Spring 1998 fires in tropical Mexico. All eight states in southeast Mexico were affected by the wildfires, although the activity was concentrated near the common border of Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Veracruz. The fires burned approximately 482,000 ha and the land use/land cover classes most extensively impacted were the tall/medium selvas (tropical evergreen forests), open/fragmented forests, and perturbed areas. The total prompt emissions were 4.6 TgC during the two-month period of the authors` study, contributingmore » an additional 24% to the region`s average annual net C emissions from forestry and land-use change. Mexico in 1998 experienced its driest Spring since 1941, setting the stage for the widespread burning.« less

Determining the Limiting Factors Controlling Soil Ecosystem Regeneration After a Stand-replacing Wildfire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cooperdock, S.; Breecker, D.

2016-12-01

Like all forest disturbances, wildfires remove vegetation but additionally they can remove or transform soil nutrients through volatilization due to extreme temperatures. As the stability and nutrient source for plants, soils are the key to forest regeneration after disturbances and in order to predict and mitigate damage, it is essential to understand how soils are affected by fires. In this study, soil respiration and temperature were measured in-situ at 20 sites affected by two fires that occurred during September 2011 and October 2015 in Bastrop County TX. At each site, soil samples were collected from 0-5 cm depth. These samples were incubated in the dark at 25° C and 22% water content to determine respiration rates under controlled environmental conditions. Total C, N, trace element concentrations and pH were measured in each soil sample to determine the effect of fire on soil chemistry and the effect of soil chemistry on soil activity. These methods of respiration measurement were performed to distinguish the impact of environmental and chemical factors on soil biological activity. Results show that from May to July 2016, soil temperatures increased an average of 6° C and 1° C more in burned areas than in unburned areas at depths of 5 cm and 15 cm, respectively. This likely results from fire-induced decrease in overstory cover, decrease in organic matter insulation and darkening soil color. Increasing temperatures correspond with a decrease in water content and respiration. Pearson's tests of the effect of soil moisture loss on a decrease of in-situ respiration rate show a correlation for burned soils, especially at sites burned in both fires (rho=0.90, p=0.04) and no correlation for unburned soils, suggesting a larger impact of environmental factors on soil activity in burned soils. Microcosm experiments show N concentration significantly affects respiration rate in unburned plots (rho=0.89, p=0.04) and both N (rho=0.92, p=0.03) and C concentration (rho=0.92, p=0.03) affect respiration rate in plots burned in 2011. No correlation was detected between nutrient concentration and respiration rate in recently burned plots, suggesting a larger influence of nutrient limitation on regeneration as time since burn increases. These results reveal that the limiting factors governing soil activity shift after wildfires.

Hygroscopic properties of atmospheric particles emitted during wintertime biomass burning episodes in Athens

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Psichoudaki, Magda; Nenes, Athanasios; Florou, Kalliopi; Kaltsonoudis, Christos; Pandis, Spyros N.

2018-04-01

This study explores the Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN) activity of atmospheric particles during intense biomass burning periods in an urban environment. During a one-month campaign in the center of Athens, Greece, a CCN counter coupled with a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) and a high resolution Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (HR-AMS) were used to measure the size-resolved CCN activity and composition of the atmospheric aerosols. During the day, the organic fraction of the particles was more than 50%, reaching almost 80% at night, when the fireplaces were used. Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) analysis revealed 4 factors with biomass burning being the dominant source after 18:00 until the early morning. The CCN-based overall hygroscopicity parameter κ ranged from 0.15 to 0.25. During the night, when the biomass burning organic aerosol (bbOA) dominated, the hygroscopicity parameter for the mixed organic/inorganic particles was on average 0.16. The hygroscopicity of the biomass-burning organic particles was 0.09, while the corresponding average value for all organic particulate matter during the campaign was 0.12.

Burning rate of solid wood measured in a heat release rate calorimeter

Treesearch

H. C. Tran; R. H. White

1992-01-01

Burning rate is a key factor in modeling fire growth and fire endurance of wood structures. This study investigated the burning rate of selected wood materials as determined by heat release, mass loss and charring rates. Thick samples of redwood, southern pine, red oak and basswood were tested in a heat release rate calorimeter. Results on ignitability and average beat...

Emissions, energy return and economics from utilizing forest residues for thermal energy compared to onsite pile burning

Treesearch

Greg Jones; Dan Loeffler; Edward Butler; Woodam Chung; Susan Hummel

2010-01-01

The emissions from delivering and burning forest treatment residue biomass in a boiler for thermal energy were compared with onsite disposal by pile-burning and using fossil fuels for the equivalent energy. Using biomass for thermal energy reduced carbon dioxide emissions on average by 39 percent and particulate matter emissions by 89 percent for boilers with emission...

Body Composition Changes in Severely Burned Children During ICU Hospitalization.

PubMed

Cambiaso-Daniel, Janos; Malagaris, Ioannis; Rivas, Eric; Hundeshagen, Gabriel; Voigt, Charles D; Blears, Elizabeth; Mlcak, Ron P; Herndon, David N; Finnerty, Celeste C; Suman, Oscar E

2017-12-01

Prolonged hospitalization due to burn injury results in physical inactivity and muscle weakness. However, how these changes are distributed among body parts is unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the degree of body composition changes in different anatomical regions during ICU hospitalization. Retrospective chart review. Children's burn hospital. Twenty-four severely burned children admitted to our institution between 2000 and 2015. All patients underwent a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry within 2 weeks after injury and 2 weeks before discharge to determine body composition changes. No subject underwent anabolic intervention. We analyzed changes of bone mineral content, bone mineral density, total fat mass, total mass, and total lean mass of the entire body and specifically analyzed the changes between the upper and lower limbs. In the 24 patients, age was 10 ± 5 years, total body surface area burned was 59% ± 17%, time between dual-energy x-ray absorptiometries was 34 ± 21 days, and length of stay was 39 ± 24 days. We found a significant (p < 0.001) average loss of 3% of lean mass in the whole body; this loss was significantly greater (p < 0.001) in the upper extremities (17%) than in the lower extremities (7%). We also observed a remodeling of the fat compartments, with a significant whole-body increase in fat mass (p < 0.001) that was greater in the truncal region (p < 0.0001) and in the lower limbs (p < 0.05). ICU hospitalization is associated with greater lean mass loss in the upper limbs of burned children. Mobilization programs should include early mobilization of upper limbs to restore upper extremity function.

Thinning and burning result in low-level invasion by nonnative plants but neutral effects on natives.

PubMed

Nelson, Cara R; Halpern, Charles B; Agee, James K

2008-04-01

Many historically fire-adapted forests are now highly susceptible to damage from insects, pathogens, and stand-replacing fires. As a result, managers are employing treatments to reduce fuel loadings and to restore the structure, species, and processes that characterized these forests prior to widespread fire suppression, logging, and grazing. However, the consequences of these activities for understory plant communities are not well understood. We examined the effects of thinning and prescribed fire on plant composition and diversity in Pinus ponderosa forests of eastern Washington (USA). Data on abundance and richness of native and nonnative plants were collected in 70 stands in the Colville, Okanogan, and Wenatchee National Forests. Stands represented one of four treatments: thinning, burning, thinning followed by burning, or control; treatments had been conducted 3-19 years before sampling. Multi-response permutation procedures revealed no significant effect of thinning or burning on understory plant composition. Similarly, there were no significant differences among treatments in cover or richness of native plants. In contrast, nonnative plants showed small, but highly significant, increases in cover and richness in response to both thinning and burning. In the combined treatment, cover of nonnative plants averaged 2% (5% of total plant cover) but did not exceed 7% (16% of total cover) at any site. Cover and richness of nonnative herbs showed small increases with intensity of disturbance and time since treatment. Nonnative plants were significantly less abundant in treated stands than on adjacent roadsides or skid trails, and cover within these potential source areas explained little of the variation in abundance within treated stands. Although thinning and burning may promote invasion of nonnative plants in these forests, our data suggest that their abundance is limited and relatively stable on most sites.

Inundation and Fire Shape the Structure of Riparian Forests in the Pantanal, Brazil

PubMed Central

Arruda, Wellinton de Sá; Oldeland, Jens; Paranhos Filho, Antonio Conceição; Pott, Arnildo; Cunha, Nicolay L.; Ishii, Iria Hiromi; Damasceno-Junior, Geraldo Alves

2016-01-01

Inundation and fire can affect the structure of riparian vegetation in wetlands. Our aim was to verify if there are differences in richness, abundance, basal area, composition and topographic preference of woody species in riparian forests related to the fire history, flooding duration, or the interaction between both. The study was conducted in the riparian forests of the Paraguay River some of which were burned three times between 2001 and 2011. We sampled trees with a girth of at least 5 cm at breast height in 150 5 × 10 m plots (79 burned and 71 unburned). We also measured height of the flood mark and estimated the flooding duration of each plot. We performed Generalized Linear Mixed Models to verify differences in richness, basal area, and abundance of individuals associated to interaction of fire and inundation. We used an analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) and indicator species analysis to identify differences in composition of species and the association with burned and unburned area according to different levels of inundation. Finally, we used a hierarchical set of Generalized Linear Models (GLM), the so-called HOF models, to analyse each species’ specific response to inundation based on topography and to determine their preferred optimal topographic position for both burned as well as unburned areas. Richness was positively associated with elevation only in burned areas while abundance was negatively influenced by inundation only in burned areas. Basal area was negatively associated with time of inundation independent of fire history. There were 15 species which were significant indicators for at least one combination of the studied factors. We found nine species in burned areas and 15 in unburned areas, with response curves in HOF models along the inundation gradient. From these, five species shifted their optimal position along the inundation gradient in burned areas. The interaction of fire and inundation did not appear to affect the basal area, but it did affect the richness, number of individuals, success of some species, and seemed to shape the boundary of these forests as shown by the difference in the positioning of these species along the inundation gradient. PMID:27280879

Inundation and Fire Shape the Structure of Riparian Forests in the Pantanal, Brazil.

PubMed

Arruda, Wellinton de Sá; Oldeland, Jens; Paranhos Filho, Antonio Conceição; Pott, Arnildo; Cunha, Nicolay L; Ishii, Iria Hiromi; Damasceno-Junior, Geraldo Alves

2016-01-01

Inundation and fire can affect the structure of riparian vegetation in wetlands. Our aim was to verify if there are differences in richness, abundance, basal area, composition and topographic preference of woody species in riparian forests related to the fire history, flooding duration, or the interaction between both. The study was conducted in the riparian forests of the Paraguay River some of which were burned three times between 2001 and 2011. We sampled trees with a girth of at least 5 cm at breast height in 150 5 × 10 m plots (79 burned and 71 unburned). We also measured height of the flood mark and estimated the flooding duration of each plot. We performed Generalized Linear Mixed Models to verify differences in richness, basal area, and abundance of individuals associated to interaction of fire and inundation. We used an analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) and indicator species analysis to identify differences in composition of species and the association with burned and unburned area according to different levels of inundation. Finally, we used a hierarchical set of Generalized Linear Models (GLM), the so-called HOF models, to analyse each species' specific response to inundation based on topography and to determine their preferred optimal topographic position for both burned as well as unburned areas. Richness was positively associated with elevation only in burned areas while abundance was negatively influenced by inundation only in burned areas. Basal area was negatively associated with time of inundation independent of fire history. There were 15 species which were significant indicators for at least one combination of the studied factors. We found nine species in burned areas and 15 in unburned areas, with response curves in HOF models along the inundation gradient. From these, five species shifted their optimal position along the inundation gradient in burned areas. The interaction of fire and inundation did not appear to affect the basal area, but it did affect the richness, number of individuals, success of some species, and seemed to shape the boundary of these forests as shown by the difference in the positioning of these species along the inundation gradient.

Climate, fire size, and biophysical setting control fire severity and spatial pattern in the northern Cascade Range, USA

Treesearch

C. Alina Cansler; Donald. McKenzie

2014-01-01

Warmer and drier climate over the past few decades has brought larger fire sizes and increased annual area burned in forested ecosystems of western North America, and continued increases in annual area burned are expected due to climate change. As warming continues, fires may also increase in severity and produce larger contiguous patches of severely burned areas. We...

Comparison between satellite wildfire databases in Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amraoui, Malik; Pereira, Mário; DaCamara, Carlos

2013-04-01

For Europe, several databases of wildfires based on the satellite imagery are currently available and being used to conduct various studies and produce official reports. The European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) burned area perimeters database comprises fires with burnt area greater than 1.0 ha occurred in the Europe countries during the 2000 - 2011 period. The MODIS Burned Area Product (MCD45A1) is a monthly global Level 3 gridded 500m product containing per-pixel burning, quality information, and tile-level metadata. The Burned Area Product was developed by the MODIS Fire Team at the University of Maryland and is available April 2000 onwards. Finally, for Portugal the National Forest Authority (AFN) discloses the national mapping of burned areas of the years 1990 to 2011, based on Landsat imagery which accounts for fires larger than 5.0 ha. This study main objectives are: (i) provide a comprehensive description of the datasets, its limitations and potential; (ii) do preliminary statistics on the data; and, (iii) to compare the MODIS and EFFIS satellite wildfires databases throughout/across the entire European territory, based on indicators such as the spatial location of the burned areas and the extent of area burned annually and complement the analysis for Portugal will the inclusion of database AFN. This work is supported by European Union Funds (FEDER/COMPETE - Operational Competitiveness Programme) and by national funds (FCT - Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) under the project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-022692, the project FLAIR (PTDC/AAC-AMB/104702/2008) and the EU 7th Framework Program through FUME (contract number 243888).

Fire in the Brazilian Amazon : 3. Dynamics of biomass, C, and nutrient pools in regenerating forests.

PubMed

Hughes, R F; Kauffman, J B; Cummings, D L

2000-09-01

Regenerating forests have become a common land-cover type throughout the Brazilian Amazon. However, the potential for these systems to accumulate and store C and nutrients, and the fluxes resulting from them when they are cut, burned, and converted back to croplands and pastures have not been well quantified. In this study, we quantified pre- and post-fire pools of biomass, C, and nutrients, as well as the emissions of those elements, at a series of second- and third-growth forests located in the states of Pará and Rondônia, Brazil. Total aboveground biomass (TAGB) of second- and third-growth forests averaged 134 and 91 Mg ha -1 , respectively. Rates of aboveground biomass accumulation were rapid in these systems, but were not significantly different between second- and third-growth forests, ranging from 9 to 16 Mg ha -1 year -1 . Residual pools of biomass originating from primary forest vegetation accounted for large portions of TAGB in both forest types and were primarily responsible for TAGB differences between the two forest types. In second-growth forests this pool (82 Mg ha -1 ) represented 58% of TAGB, and in third-growth forests (40 Mg ha -1 ) it represented 40% of TAGB. Amounts of TAGB consumed by burning of second- and third-growth forests averaged 70 and 53 Mg ha -1 , respectively. Aboveground pre-fire pools in second- and third-growth forests averaged 67 and 45 Mg C ha -1 , 821 and 707 kg N ha -1 , 441 and 341 kg P ha -1 , and 46 and 27 kg Ca ha -1 , respectively. While pre-fire pools of C, N, S and K were not significantly different between second- and third-growth forests, pools of both P and Ca were significantly higher in second-growth forests. This suggests that increasing land use has a negative impact on these elemental pools. Site losses of elements resulting from slashing and burning these sites were highly variable: losses of C ranged from 20 to 47 Mg ha -1 ; N losses ranged from 306 to 709 kg ha -1 ; Ca losses ranged from 10 to 145 kg ha -1 ; and P losses ranged from 2 to 20 kg ha -1 . Elemental losses were controlled to a large extent by the relative distribution of elemental mass within biomass components of varying susceptibilities to combustion and the temperatures of volatilization of each element. Due to a relatively low temperature of volatilization and its concentration in highly combustible biomass pools, site losses of N averaged 70% of total pre-fire pools. In contrast, site losses of P and Ca resulting from burning were 33 and 20% of total pre-fire pools, respectively, as much of the mass of those elements was deposited on site as ash. Pre- and post-fire biomass and elemental pools of second- and third-growth forests, as well as the emissions from those systems, were intermediate between those of primary forests and pastures in the Brazilian Amazon. Overall, regenerating forests have the capacity to act as either large terrestrial sinks or sources of C and nutrients, depending on the course of land-use patterns within the Brazilian Amazon. Combining remote sensing techniques with field measures of aboveground C accumulation in regenerating forests and C fluxes from those forests when they are cut and burned, we estimate that during 1990-1991 roughly 104 Tg of C was accumulated by regenerating forests across the Brazilian Amazon. Further, we estimate that approximately 103 Tg of C was lost via the cutting and burning of regenerating forests across the Brazilian Amazon during this same period. Since average C accumulations (5.5 Mg ha -1 year -1 ) in regenerating forests were 19% of the C lost when such forests are cut and burned (29.3 Mg ha -1 ), our results suggest that when less than 19% of the total area accounted for by secondary forests is cut and burned in a given year, those forests will be net accumulators of C during that year. Conversely, when more than 19% of regenerating forests are burned, those forests will be a net source of C to the atmosphere.

Desertification and other ecological impacts produced by the historic Rodeo-Chediski Wildfire of 2000, Arizona, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neary, D.; Ffolliott, P.; Stropki, C.

2009-04-01

The Rodeo-Chediski Wildfire - the largest in Arizona's history - damaged or destroyed ecosystem resources and disrupted ecosystem functioning in a largely mosaic pattern throughout the ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests exposed to the burn. Impacts of this wildfire on tree overstories were studied on two watersheds in the area burned; one watershed burned by a high severity (stand-replacing) fire, while the other watershed burned by a low severity (stand-modifying) fire. The Rodeo-Chediski wildfire damaged or destroyed ecosystem resources and disrupted the ecological functioning on much of the 189,015 ha impacted by the burning. Intermingling chaparral shrub communities and pinyon-juniper woodlands at lower elevations and ponderosa pine forests at high elevations were located within the burned area. The wildfire was caused by two human ignitions that merged into one inferno. The Rodeo Fire was started by an arsonist on June 18, 2002, while the Chediski Fire was ignited as a signal fire by a stranded motorist on June 20th. The two fires merged on June 26, 2002, to become the Rodeo-Chediski Wildfire. The combined wildfires were contained on July 7th at a suppression (firefighting) cost of about €37.9 million (USA 50 million). However, the estimated costs associated with property losses; losses of ecosystem, anthropological, and cultural resources; and post-fire rehabilitation efforts increased the costs of the wildfire to over €114 million (USA 150 million). About one-half of the total area that was burned by the Rodeo-Chediski Wildfire experienced a high-severity fire, other areas burned at a low- to medium-severity fire, and still other areas were largely unburned according to a Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation (BAER) report and fire severity map prepared shortly after containment of the wildfire. A mosaic of areas burned at varying fire severities within intermingling unburned areas resulted. Post-fire rehabilitation efforts, including establishment of water bars, wattles, k-rails, and aerial seeding and mulching of herbaceous plants to mitigate that anticipated accelerated post-fire soil erosion, began immediately after the fire was extinguished and it was declared safe for people to enter the burned area and initiate rehabilitation. An assessment of the impacts of the Rodeo-Chediski wildfire on soil erosion was carried out on two watersheds situated at the headwaters of the Little Colorado River. One of the watersheds experienced a high severity burn and the other a low-to-medium severity burn. Estimates of soil erosion on a watershed-basis and relative to physiographic characteristics on the two watersheds following the (a) high-intensity summer monsoonal rains and (2) low-intensity winter precipitation and spring snowmelt-runoff events are presented and compared with estimates of soil erosion following other wildfires in the region. Monitoring of soil erosion and other hydrologic and ecological parameters is continuing to obtain a longer, more comprehensive picture of the impacts of this catastrophic wildfire event. The Rodeo-Chediski Wildfire altered the species composition and impacted the production of herbaceous plants on the burned watersheds studied. Effects of the post-fire vegetation changes reduced the capabilities of watersheds to support livestock and some of the other larger herbivores in the region. When these watersheds will return to pre-fire conditions is largely unknown. Not only must the forage resources be restored but the magnitude of post-fire soil erosion and accompanying nutrient losses must be mitigated. Post-fire rehabilitation efforts including the seeding of herbaceous species and installation of controls to reduce soil erosion and sedimentation processes have helped to accelerate this recovery to some extent. A much longer time will obviously be required for severely burned areas to recover than those areas burned by at a low severity. Portions of the latter have already returned to pre-fire conditions.

Prescribed burning in the South: trends, purpose, and barriers

Treesearch

Terry K. Haines; Rodney L. Busby; David A. Cleaves

2001-01-01

The results of a survey of fire management officials concerning historical and projected prescribed burning activity in the South are reported. Prescribed burning programs on USDA Forest Service and private and State-owned lands are described in terms of area burned by ownership and State, intended resource benefits, barriers to expanded burning, and optimum burning...

A modified surgical technique in the management of eyelid burns: a case series

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Introduction Contractures, ectropion and scarring, the most common sequelae of skin grafts after eyelid burn injuries, can result in corneal exposure, corneal ulceration and even blindness. Split-thickness or full-thickness skin grafts are commonly used for the treatment of acute eyelid burns. Plasma exudation and infection are common early complications of eyelid burns, which decrease the success rate of grafts. Case presentation We present the cases of eight patients, two Chinese women and six Chinese men. The first Chinese woman was 36 years old, with 70% body surface area second or third degree flame burn injuries involving her eyelids on both sides. The other Chinese woman was 28 years old, with sulfuric acid burns on her face and third degree burn on her eyelids. The six Chinese men were aged 21, 31, 38, 42, 44, and 55 years, respectively. The 38-year-old patient was transferred from the ER with 80% body surface area second or third degree flame burn injuries and third degree burn injuries to his eyelids. The other five men were all patients with flame burn injuries, with 7% to 10% body surface area third degree burns and eyelids involved. All patients were treated with a modified surgical procedure consisting of separation and loosening of the musculus orbicularis oculi between tarsal plate and septum orbital, followed by grafting a large full-thickness skin graft in three days after burn injury. The use of our modified surgical procedure resulted in 100% successful eyelid grafting on first attempt, and all our patients were in good condition at six-month follow-up. Conclusions This new surgical technique is highly successful in treating eyelid burn injuries, especially flame burn injuries of the eyelid. PMID:21843322

Large-area burns with pandrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection and respiratory failure.

PubMed

Ning, Fang-Gang; Zhao, Xiao-Zhuo; Bian, Jing; Zhang, Guo-An

2011-02-01

Infection due to pandrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PDRPA) has become a challenge in clinical practice. The aim of this research was to summarize the treatment of large-area burns (60% - 80%) with PDRPA infection and respiratory failure in our hospital over the last two years, and to explore a feasible treatment protocol for such patients. We retrospectively analyzed the treatment of five patients with large-area burns accompanied by PDRPA infection and respiratory failure transferred to our hospital from burn units in hospitals in other Chinese cities from January 2008 to February 2010. Before PDRPA infection occurred, all five patients had open wounds with large areas of granulation because of the failure of surgery and dissolving of scar tissue; they had also undergone long-term administration of carbapenems. This therapy included ventilatory support, rigorous repair of wounds, and combined antibiotic therapy targeted at drug-resistance mechanisms, including carbapenems, ciprofloxacin, macrolide antibiotics and β-lactamase inhibitors. Four patients recovered from burns and one died after therapy. First, compromised immunity caused by delayed healing of burn wounds in patients with large-area burns and long-term administration of carbapenems may be the important factors in the initiation and progression of PDRPA infection. Second, if targeted at drug-resistance mechanisms, combined antibiotic therapy using carbapenems, ciprofloxacin, macrolide antibiotics and β-lactamase inhibitors could effectively control PDRPA infection. Third, although patients with large-area burns suffered respiratory failure and had high risks from anesthesia and surgery, only aggressive skin grafting with ventilatory support could control the infection and save lives. Patients may not be able to tolerate a long surgical procedure, so the duration of surgery should be minimized, and the frequency of surgery increased.

Preparation of Partial-Thickness Burn Wounds in Rodents Using a New Experimental Burning Device.

PubMed

Sakamoto, Michiharu; Morimoto, Naoki; Ogino, Shuichi; Jinno, Chizuru; Kawaguchi, Atsushi; Kawai, Katsuya; Suzuki, Shigehiko

2016-06-01

The manual application of hot water or hot metal to an animal's skin surface is often used to prepare burn wound models. However, manual burn creation is subject to human variability. We developed a new device that can control the temperature, time, and pressure of contact to produce precise and reproducible animal burn wounds and investigated the conditions required to prepare various burn wounds using our new device. We prepared burn wounds on F344 rats using 3 contact times 2, 4, and 10 seconds using a stamp heated to 80°C. We observed the wound-healing process macroscopically and histologically and evaluated the burn depth using a laser speckle contrast-imaging device, which evaluated the blood flow of the wound. The changes in the burned area over time, tissue perfusion of the burn wounds, histological evaluation of the burn depth by hematoxylin-eosin and azocarmine and aniline blue staining, and the epithelialization rate (the ratio of the epithelialized area to the wound length) were evaluated on histological sections. Results indicated that the burn wounds prepared with contact times of 2, 4, and 10 seconds corresponded to superficial dermal burns, deep dermal burns, and full-thickness burns, respectively. We demonstrated that partial- and full-thickness burn wounds can be precisely and reproducibly created with our new automated burning device.

Assessment of fire emission inventories during the South American Biomass Burning Analysis (SAMBBA) experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pereira, Gabriel; Siqueira, Ricardo; Rosário, Nilton E.; Longo, Karla L.; Freitas, Saulo R.; Cardozo, Francielle S.; Kaiser, Johannes W.; Wooster, Martin J.

2016-06-01

Fires associated with land use and land cover changes release large amounts of aerosols and trace gases into the atmosphere. Although several inventories of biomass burning emissions cover Brazil, there are still considerable uncertainties and differences among them. While most fire emission inventories utilize the parameters of burned area, vegetation fuel load, emission factors, and other parameters to estimate the biomass burned and its associated emissions, several more recent inventories apply an alternative method based on fire radiative power (FRP) observations to estimate the amount of biomass burned and the corresponding emissions of trace gases and aerosols. The Brazilian Biomass Burning Emission Model (3BEM) and the Fire Inventory from NCAR (FINN) are examples of the first, while the Brazilian Biomass Burning Emission Model with FRP assimilation (3BEM_FRP) and the Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS) are examples of the latter. These four biomass burning emission inventories were used during the South American Biomass Burning Analysis (SAMBBA) field campaign. This paper analyzes and inter-compared them, focusing on eight regions in Brazil and the time period of 1 September-31 October 2012. Aerosol optical thickness (AOT550 nm) derived from measurements made by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) operating on board the Terra and Aqua satellites is also applied to assess the inventories' consistency. The daily area-averaged pyrogenic carbon monoxide (CO) emission estimates exhibit significant linear correlations (r, p > 0.05 level, Student t test) between 3BEM and FINN and between 3BEM_ FRP and GFAS, with values of 0.86 and 0.85, respectively. These results indicate that emission estimates in this region derived via similar methods tend to agree with one other. However, they differ more from the estimates derived via the alternative approach. The evaluation of MODIS AOT550 nm indicates that model simulation driven by 3BEM and FINN typically underestimate the smoke particle loading in the eastern region of Amazon forest, while 3BEM_FRP estimations to the area tend to overestimate fire emissions. The daily regional CO emission fluxes from 3BEM and FINN have linear correlation coefficients of 0.75-0.92, with typically 20-30 % higher emission fluxes in FINN. The daily regional CO emission fluxes from 3BEM_FRP and GFAS show linear correlation coefficients between 0.82 and 0.90, with a particularly strong correlation near the arc of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. In this region, GFAS has a tendency to present higher CO emissions than 3BEM_FRP, while 3BEM_FRP yields more emissions in the area of soybean expansion east of the Amazon forest. Atmospheric aerosol optical thickness is simulated by using the emission inventories with two operational atmospheric chemistry transport models: the IFS from Monitoring Atmospheric Composition and Climate (MACC) and the Coupled Aerosol and Tracer Transport model to the Brazilian developments on the Regional Atmospheric Modelling System (CCATT-BRAMS). Evaluation against MODIS observations shows a good representation of the general patterns of the AOT550 nm time series. However, the aerosol emissions from fires with particularly high biomass consumption still lead to an underestimation of the atmospheric aerosol load in both models.

Les Sequelles de Brulures: Epidemiologie et Traitements

PubMed Central

Chafiki, N.; Fassi Fihri, J.; Boukind, E.H.

2007-01-01

Summary An epidemiological study was performed in the Burns and Reconstructive Surgery Centre in Casablanca University Hospital (Morocco). A one-hundred patient cohort was studied, with adults accounting for 55% of the cases; the average age was 20 years. Females represented 61% of the cohort. More than 50% of the patients were seen first in regional hospitals. The average time before healing was 7 months and 11 days, and minor and major burn scarring was frequent. The clinical epidemiology is described for each topographical body part and the results are compared with those in the literature. Various therapeutic approaches, using medical and surgical treatment, were followed. It is shown that prevention is still the best approach in the treatment of burns sequelae. PMID:21991083

Combustion characteristics of nanoaluminum, liquid water, and hydrogen peroxide mixtures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sabourin, J.L.; Yetter, R.A.; Risha, G.A.

2008-08-15

An experimental investigation of the combustion characteristics of nanoaluminum (nAl), liquid water (H{sub 2}O{sub (l)}), and hydrogen peroxide (H{sub 2}O{sub 2}) mixtures has been conducted. Linear and mass-burning rates as functions of pressure, equivalence ratio ({phi}), and concentration of H{sub 2}O{sub 2} in H{sub 2}O{sub (l)} oxidizing solution are reported. Steady-state burning rates were obtained at room temperature using a windowed pressure vessel over an initial pressure range of 0.24 to 12.4 MPa in argon, using average nAl particle diameters of 38 nm, {phi} from 0.5 to 1.3, and H{sub 2}O{sub 2} concentrations between 0 and 32% by mass. Atmore » a nominal pressure of 3.65 MPa, under stoichiometric conditions, mass-burning rates per unit area ranged between 6.93 g/cm{sup 2} s (0% H{sub 2}O{sub 2}) and 37.04 g/cm{sup 2} s (32% H{sub 2}O{sub 2}), which corresponded to linear burning rates of 9.58 and 58.2 cm/s, respectively. Burning rate pressure exponents of 0.44 and 0.38 were found for stoichiometric mixtures at room temperature containing 10 and 25% H{sub 2}O{sub 2}, respectively, up to 5 MPa. Burning rates are reduced above {proportional_to}5 MPa due to the pressurization of interstitial spaces of the packed reactant mixture with argon gas, diluting the fuel and oxidizer mixture. Mass burning rates were not measured above {proportional_to}32% H{sub 2}O{sub 2} due to an anomalous burning phenomena, which caused overpressurization within the quartz sample holder, leading to tube rupture. High-speed imaging displayed fingering or jetting ahead of the normal flame front. Localized pressure measurements were taken along the sample length, determining that the combustion process proceeded as a normal deflagration prior to tube rupture, without significant pressure buildup within the tube. In addition to burning rates, chemical efficiencies of the combustion reaction were determined to be within approximately 10% of the theoretical maximum under all conditions studied. (author)« less

Heparin Reduced Mortality and Sepsis in Severely Burned Children

PubMed Central

Zayas, G.J.; Bonilla, A.M.; Saliba, M.J

2007-01-01

Summary Objectives. In El Salvador, before 1999, morbidity and mortality in severely burned children were high. In 1998, all children with burns of 40% or larger size died and sepsis was found. With heparin use in 1999, some similarly burned children survived, and sepsis, pain, procedures, and scars were noted to be less. This retrospective study presents the details. Methods. A study was conducted at the National Children's Hospital in El Salvador of all children with burns over 20% size treated in 1998, when no heparin was used, and in 1999, when heparin was added to burns treatment, using an ethics committee approved protocol in use in twelve other countries. Sodium aqueous heparin solution USP from an intestinal source was infused intravenously and applied topically onto burn surfaces and within blisters for the first 1-3 days post-burn. Then heparin, in diminishing doses, was continued only topically until healing. The treatments in 1998 and 1999 were otherwise the same, except that fewer procedures were needed in 1999. Results. There were no significant differences in gender, age, weight, burn aetiology, or burn size between the burned children in 1998 and those in 1999. Burn pain was relieved and pain medicine was not needed in children treated with heparin in 1999. In 1998, one child survived who had a 35% size burn, and the eight children died who had burns of 40% and over. The survival rate was one out of nine (11%). The average burn size was 51.7%. With heparin use in 1999, six of the ten children survived burns of 50.7% average size. The increase in survival with heparin from 11% to 60% and, therefore, the decrease in mortality from 89% to 40% were significant (p < 0.04). Clinical symptoms and positive blood cultures documented bacterial sepsis in the nine children in 1998. In 1999, the blood cultures for sepsis were positive in the four children who died and negative in the six who survived. The nine versus four differences in the incidence of sepsis between 1998 and 1999 was significant (p < 0.008). The survivors had notably smooth skin. Conclusions. The use of heparin in this study relieved burn pain, significantly reduced mortality and sepsis with fewer procedures, and discernibly improved cosmetic results. PMID:21991064

Investigation of the burning configuration of a coaxial injector in a combustion chamber

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ohara, J.

1978-01-01

An analytical investigation was made into the stability of the burning configuration of a single coaxial injector surrounded by similar injectors. The stability criteria was based on an average pressure difference along the boundaries of the adjacent stream tubes as calculated using Spaulding's numerical method. The results indicate qualitatively that there is a tendency for the injectors to have different burning configurations. It is believed that the configuration achieved is random, however once the burning configuration is established, it is believed to persist.

Comparison Between Civilian Burns and Combat burns From Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-06-01

to the average burn size reported from the ABA Burn Registry in 1995 (14% TBSA).20 We also found that the time to death in those who died, time on...after a prolonged stay in theater (up to 30 days, COL (retired) Basil A. Pruitt, personal commu- nication). They found a mortality rate of 7.9% in...from the green books that you know about. When we have that, we may be able to make that same comparison from the Vietnam era. DR. BASIL A. PRUITT, JR

Antiseptics for burns.

PubMed

Norman, Gill; Christie, Janice; Liu, Zhenmi; Westby, Maggie J; Jefferies, Jayne M; Hudson, Thomas; Edwards, Jacky; Mohapatra, Devi Prasad; Hassan, Ibrahim A; Dumville, Jo C

2017-07-12

Burn wounds cause high levels of morbidity and mortality worldwide. People with burns are particularly vulnerable to infections; over 75% of all burn deaths (after initial resuscitation) result from infection. Antiseptics are topical agents that act to prevent growth of micro-organisms. A wide range are used with the intention of preventing infection and promoting healing of burn wounds. To assess the effects and safety of antiseptics for the treatment of burns in any care setting. In September 2016 we searched the Cochrane Wounds Specialised Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid MEDLINE (In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations), Ovid Embase, and EBSCO CINAHL. We also searched three clinical trials registries and references of included studies and relevant systematic reviews. There were no restrictions based on language, date of publication or study setting. We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that enrolled people with any burn wound and assessed the use of a topical treatment with antiseptic properties. Two review authors independently performed study selection, risk of bias assessment and data extraction. We included 56 RCTs with 5807 randomised participants. Almost all trials had poorly reported methodology, meaning that it is unclear whether they were at high risk of bias. In many cases the primary review outcomes, wound healing and infection, were not reported, or were reported incompletely.Most trials enrolled people with recent burns, described as second-degree and less than 40% of total body surface area; most participants were adults. Antiseptic agents assessed were: silver-based, honey, Aloe Vera, iodine-based, chlorhexidine or polyhexanide (biguanides), sodium hypochlorite, merbromin, ethacridine lactate, cerium nitrate and Arnebia euchroma. Most studies compared antiseptic with a topical antibiotic, primarily silver sulfadiazine (SSD); others compared antiseptic with a non-antibacterial treatment or another antiseptic. Most evidence was assessed as low or very low certainty, often because of imprecision resulting from few participants, low event rates, or both, often in single studies. Antiseptics versus topical antibioticsCompared with the topical antibiotic, SSD, there is low certainty evidence that, on average, there is no clear difference in the hazard of healing (chance of healing over time), between silver-based antiseptics and SSD (HR 1.25, 95% CI 0.94 to 1.67; I 2 = 0%; 3 studies; 259 participants); silver-based antiseptics may, on average, increase the number of healing events over 21 or 28 days' follow-up (RR 1.17 95% CI 1.00 to 1.37; I 2 = 45%; 5 studies; 408 participants) and may, on average, reduce mean time to healing (difference in means -3.33 days; 95% CI -4.96 to -1.70; I 2 = 87%; 10 studies; 979 participants).There is moderate certainty evidence that, on average, burns treated with honey are probably more likely to heal over time compared with topical antibiotics (HR 2.45, 95% CI 1.71 to 3.52; I 2 = 66%; 5 studies; 140 participants).There is low certainty evidence from single trials that sodium hypochlorite may, on average, slightly reduce mean time to healing compared with SSD (difference in means -2.10 days, 95% CI -3.87 to -0.33, 10 participants (20 burns)) as may merbromin compared with zinc sulfadiazine (difference in means -3.48 days, 95% CI -6.85 to -0.11, 50 relevant participants). Other comparisons with low or very low certainty evidence did not find clear differences between groups.Most comparisons did not report data on infection. Based on the available data we cannot be certain if antiseptic treatments increase or reduce the risk of infection compared with topical antibiotics (very low certainty evidence). Antiseptics versus alternative antisepticsThere may be some reduction in mean time to healing for wounds treated with povidone iodine compared with chlorhexidine (MD -2.21 days, 95% CI 0.34 to 4.08). Other evidence showed no clear differences and is of low or very low certainty. Antiseptics versus non-antibacterial comparatorsWe found high certainty evidence that treating burns with honey, on average, reduced mean times to healing in comparison with non-antibacterial treatments (difference in means -5.3 days, 95% CI -6.30 to -4.34; I 2 = 71%; 4 studies; 1156 participants) but this comparison included some unconventional treatments such as amniotic membrane and potato peel. There is moderate certainty evidence that honey probably also increases the likelihood of wounds healing over time compared to unconventional anti-bacterial treatments (HR 2.86, 95% C 1.60 to 5.11; I 2 = 50%; 2 studies; 154 participants).There is moderate certainty evidence that, on average, burns treated with nanocrystalline silver dressings probably have a slightly shorter mean time to healing than those treated with Vaseline gauze (difference in means -3.49 days, 95% CI -4.46 to -2.52; I 2 = 0%; 2 studies, 204 participants), but low certainty evidence that there may be little or no difference in numbers of healing events at 14 days between burns treated with silver xenograft or paraffin gauze (RR 1.13, 95% CI 0.59 to 2.16 1 study; 32 participants). Other comparisons represented low or very low certainty evidence.It is uncertain whether infection rates in burns treated with either silver-based antiseptics or honey differ compared with non-antimicrobial treatments (very low certainty evidence). There is probably no difference in infection rates between an iodine-based treatment compared with moist exposed burn ointment (moderate certainty evidence). It is also uncertain whether infection rates differ for SSD plus cerium nitrate, compared with SSD alone (low certainty evidence).Mortality was low where reported. Most comparisons provided low certainty evidence that there may be little or no difference between many treatments. There may be fewer deaths in groups treated with cerium nitrate plus SSD compared with SSD alone (RR 0.22, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.99; I 2 = 0%, 2 studies, 214 participants) (low certainty evidence). It was often uncertain whether antiseptics were associated with any difference in healing, infections, or other outcomes. Where there is moderate or high certainty evidence, decision makers need to consider the applicability of the evidence from the comparison to their patients. Reporting was poor, to the extent that we are not confident that most trials are free from risk of bias.

Burn severity mapping in Australia 2009

USGS Publications Warehouse

McKinley, Randy; Clark, J.; Lecker, Jennifer

2012-01-01

In 2009, the Victoria Department of Sustainability and Environment estimated approximately 430,000 hectares of Victoria Australia were burned by numerous bushfires. Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) teams from the United States were deployed to Victoria to assist local fire managers. The U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science Center (USGS/EROS) and U.S. Forest Service Remote Sensing Applications Center (USFS/RSAC) aided the support effort by providing satellite-derived "soil burn severity " maps for over 280,000 burned hectares. In the United States, BAER teams are assembled to make rapid assessments of burned lands to identify potential hazards to public health and property. An early step in the assessment process is the creation of a soil burn severity map used to identify hazard areas and prioritize treatment locations. These maps are developed primarily using Landsat satellite imagery and the differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR) algorithm.

A ranking system for prescribed burn prioritization in Table Mountain National Park, South Africa.

PubMed

Cowell, Carly Ruth; Cheney, Chad

2017-04-01

To aid prescribed burn decision making in Table Mountain National Park, in South Africa a priority ranking system was tested. Historically a wildfire suppression strategy was adopted due to wildfires threatening urban areas close to the park, with few prescribed burns conducted. A large percentage of vegetation across the park exceeded the ecological threshold of 15 years. We held a multidisciplinary workshop, to prioritize areas for prescribed burning. Fire Management Blocks were mapped and assessed using the following seven categories: (1) ecological, (2) management, (3) tourism, (4) infrastructure, (5) invasive alien vegetation, (6) wildland-urban interface and (7) heritage. A priority ranking system was used to score each block. The oldest or most threatened vegetation types were not necessarily the top priority blocks. Selected blocks were burnt and burning fewer large blocks proved more effective economically, ecologically and practically due to the limited burning days permitted. The prioritization process was efficient as it could be updated annually following prescribed burns and wildfire incidents. Integration of prescribed burn planning and wildfire suppression strategies resulted in a reduction in operational costs. We recommend protected areas make use of a priority ranking system developed with expert knowledge and stakeholder engagement to determine objective prescribed burn plans. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Signals from Fat After Injury: Plasma Adipokines and Ghrelin Concentrations in the Severely Burned

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-26

of insulin resis- tance was calculated with a modified version of homeostasis mod- el assessment of insulin resistance ( HOMA - IR ) formula by using...average glucose and average circulating insulin levels of subjects. In this study, HOMA - IR was used to assess severity of insulin resis- tance rather than...were 217% higher than controls (Table 2). Thus, based on the HOMA - IR , burned subjects were more insulin resistant than controls (Table 2). As all of the

Religious burning as a potential major source of atmospheric fine aerosols in summertime Lhasa on the Tibetan Plateau

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, Yu Yan; Liu, Shang; Bai, Zhixuan; Bian, Jianchun; Li, Dan; Fan, Kaiyu; McKeen, Stuart A.; Watts, Laurel A.; Ciciora, Steven J.; Gao, Ru-Shan

2018-05-01

We carried out field measurements of aerosols in Lhasa, a major city in the Tibetan Plateau that has been experiencing fast urbanization and industrialization. Aerosol number size distribution was continuously measured using an optical particle size spectrometer near the center of Lhasa city during the Asian summer monsoon season in 2016. The mass concentration of fine particles was modulated by boundary layer dynamics, with an average of 11 μg m-3 and the high values exceeding 50 μg m-3 during religious holidays. Daytime high concentration coincided with the religious burning of biomass and incense in the temples during morning hours, which produced heavy smoke. Factor analysis revealed a factor that likely represented religious burning. The factor contributed 34% of the campaign-average fine particle mass and the contribution reached up to 80% during religious holidays. The mass size distribution of aerosols produced from religious burnings peaked at ∼500 nm, indicating that these particles could efficiently decrease visibility and promote health risk. Because of its significance, our results suggest that further studies of religious burning, a currently under-studied source, are needed in the Tibetan Plateau and in other regions of the world where religious burnings are frequently practiced.

Developing a burn injury severity score (BISS): adding age and total body surface area burned to the injury severity score (ISS) improves mortality concordance.

PubMed

Cassidy, J Tristan; Phillips, Michael; Fatovich, Daniel; Duke, Janine; Edgar, Dale; Wood, Fiona

2014-08-01

There is limited research validating the injury severity score (ISS) in burns. We examined the concordance of ISS with burn mortality. We hypothesized that combining age and total body surface area (TBSA) burned to the ISS gives a more accurate mortality risk estimate. Data from the Royal Perth Hospital Trauma Registry and the Royal Perth Hospital Burns Minimum Data Set were linked. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) measured concordance of ISS with mortality. Using logistic regression models with death as the dependent variable we developed a burn-specific injury severity score (BISS). There were 1344 burns with 24 (1.8%) deaths, median TBSA 5% (IQR 2-10), and median age 36 years (IQR 23-50). The results show ISS is a good predictor of death for burns when ISS≤15 (OR 1.29, p=0.02), but not for ISS>15 (ISS 16-24: OR 1.09, p=0.81; ISS 25-49: OR 0.81, p=0.19). Comparing the AUCs adjusted for age, gender and cause, ISS of 84% (95% CI 82-85%) and BISS of 95% (95% CI 92-98%), demonstrated superior performance of BISS as a mortality predictor for burns. ISS is a poor predictor of death in severe burns. The BISS combines ISS with age and TBSA and performs significantly better than the ISS. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Implementation and outcomes of an evidence-based precepting program for burn nurses.

PubMed

Robbins, Johnnie R; Valdez-Delgado, Krystal K; Caldwell, Nicole W; Yoder, Linda H; Hayes, Elizabeth J; Barba, Michaèl G; Greeley, Hope L; Mitchell, Colleen; Mann-Salinas, Elizabeth A

2017-11-01

There is significant nationwide interest in transitioning new and new-to-specialty nurses into practice, especially in burn care. Lack of a structured transition program in our Burn Center was recognized as a contributing factor for nursing dissatisfaction and increased turnover compared to other hospital units. Employee evaluations exposed a need for more didactic instruction, hands-on learning, and preceptor support. The goal of this project was to implement an evidence-based transition to practice program specific to the burn specialty. The Iowa Model of Evidence-based Practice served as the model for this project. A working group was formed consisting of nurse scientists, clinical nurse leaders, clinical nurse specialists, lead preceptors, staff nurse preceptors and wound care coordinators. A systematic review of the literature was conducted focusing on nurse transition; preceptor development and transitioning nurse training programs with competency assessment, ongoing multifaceted evaluation and retention strategies were created. The evidence-based Vermont Nurses in Partnership (VNIP) Clinical Transition Framework was selected and subsequent education was provided to all Burn Center leaders and staff. Benchmarks for basic knowledge assessment (BKAT) and burn wound care were established among current staff by work site and education level to help evaluate transitioning nurses. Policies were modified to count each preceptor/transitioning nurse dyad as half an employee on the schedule. Multiple high-fidelity simulation scenarios were created to expand hands-on opportunities. From September 2012-December 2013, 110 (57% acute care nursing) Burn Center staff attended the VNIP Clinical Coaching Course, to include 34 interdisciplinary staff (rehabilitation, education, respiratory therapy, and outpatient clinic staff) and 100% of identified preceptors (n=33). A total of 30 new nurses participated in the transition program: 26 (87%) completed, 3 (10%) did not complete, and 1 (3%) received exception (no patient care). Transitioning nurses achieved passing BKAT scores (n=22; 76%) and WC scores (n=24; 93%); individual remediation was provided for those failing to achieve unit benchmarks and transition training was modified to improve areas of weakness. Transitioning nurses' weekly competency progression average initial ratings on a 10 point scale (10 most competent) were 5±2; final ratings averaged 9±1 (n=25) (p<0.0001). An evidence-based team practice approach toward preceptorship created a standardized, comprehensive and flexible precepting program to assist and support transition to specialty burn practice for experienced nurses. Use of objective metrics enabled ongoing assessment and made training adaptable, individualized, and cost effective. Application of this standardized approach across our organization may improve consistency for all transitions in practice specialty. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Observations of Aerosol Optical Properties over 15 AERONET Sites in Southeast Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chan, J. D.; Lagrosas, N.; Uy, S. N.; Holben, B. N.; Dorado, S.; Tobias, V., Jr.; Anh, N. X.; Po-Hsiung, L.; Janjai, S.; Salinas Cortijo, S. V.; Liew, S. C.; Lim, H. S.; Lestari, P.

2014-12-01

Mean column-integrated optical properties from ground sun photometers of the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) are studied to provide an overview of the characteristics of aerosols over the region as part of the 7 Southeast Asian Studies (7-SEAS) mission. The 15 AERONET sites with the most available level 2 data products are selected from Thailand (Chiang Mai, Mukdahan, Songkhla and Silpakorn University), Malaysia (University Sains Malaysia), Laos (Vientiane), Vietnam (Bac Giang, Bac Lieu and Nha Trang), Taiwan (National Cheng Kung University and Central Weather Bureau Taipei), Singapore, Indonesia (Bandung) and the Philippines (Manila Observatory and Notre Dame of Marbel University). For all 15 sites, high angstrom exponent values (α>1) have been observed. Chiang Mai and USM have the highest mean Angstrom exponent indicating the dominance of fine particles that can be ascribed to biomass burning and urbanization. Sites with the lowest Angstrom exponent values include Bac Lieu (α=1.047) and Manila Observatory (α=1.021). From the average lognormal size distribution curves, Songkhla and NDMU show the smallest annual variation in the fine mode region, indicating the observed fine aerosols are local to the sites. The rest of the sites show high variation which could be due to large scale forcings (e.g., monsoons and biomass burnings) that affect aerosol properties in these sites. Both high and low single scattering albedo at 440 nm (ω0440) values are found in sites located in major urban areas. Silpakorn University, Manila Observatory and Vientiane have all mean ω0440 < 0.90. Singapore and CWB Taipei have ω0440 > 0.94. The discrepancy in ω0 suggests different types of major emission sources present in urban areas. The absorptivity of urban aerosols can vary depending on the strength of traffic emissions, types of fuel combusted and automobile engines used, and the effect of biomass burning aerosols during the dry season. High aerosol optical depth values (τa550 > 0.4) are mainly found over inland sites north of Songkhla and south of China on mainland Asia. Major pollution types in the region include biomass burning smoke and urban aerosols. The highest average τa550 is measured in Bac Giang, which has been studied to be greatly affected by aerosol sources from Eastern China during the later parts of the year.

Soil geochemistry controls fire severity: A soil approach to improved understanding of forest fire consequences in southwest Montana.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Callahan, R.; Hartshorn, T.

2014-12-01

Fire severity can be defined using satellite imagery to ratio mid (~2.2 um) to near (~0.8 um) infrared reflectance values. We examined how lithology and topography affected burn severity, and how post-fire soils data could be used to ground-truth burn severity at two sites in southwestern Montana. A burned area reflectance classification (BARC), lithology, and terrain attributes were used to predict burn severity for the Millie Fire, which was triggered two years ago by lightning and burned ~4,000 ha. Burn severity showed a strong dependence on lithology: the ratio of areas with high burn severity vs. low or moderate burn severities was 2.9 for gneiss (vs. 0.3 for volcanics). The high-severity burn area for the gneiss was larger than the volcanics, despite the latter lithology covering ~270% greater area (~2,600 ha). Aspect and elevation also influenced burn severity with lower severity at higher elevations (2,600-3,000 m) and higher severity at lower elevations (1,800-2,400 m). Southern and western aspects burned more severely than northern and eastern aspects. To clarify whether post-fire soil geochemical changes might predict ground-based estimates of fire severity, a lab experiment was carried out . We expected residual enrichment of trace metal concentrations, as soil organic matter (SOM) was combusted, which we quantified as loss on ignition (LOI). To test this approach, burned and unburned soils were sampled from the ~6000 ha Beartrap 2 fire, which also burned two years. We simulated differing fire severities on unburned soil using a muffle furnace factorially (duration [5, 15, 30, 45, or 60 minutes] x temperature [50, 100, 200, 300, 400, or 500ºC]). Consistent with expectations, unburned samples had a lower mean (±1SD) concentrations for 23 of 30 elements than field-burned samples. For example, barium concentrations ([Ba]) in unburned samples were (708±37μg/g), 16% lower than field-burned [Ba] (841±7 μg/g). Simulated burning yielded smaller [Ba] (732±9 μg/g). Of the 30 trace metals examined, barium explained the greatest fraction of variance in post-burn LOI (R2 =0.79); gallium explained slightly less variance (R2=0.67). Our results document the promise of post-burn soil geochemistry to indicate soil burn severity, which could complement vegetation-based and remotely sensed indices.

Fire hazard after prescribed burning in a gorse shrubland: implications for fuel management.

PubMed

Marino, Eva; Guijarro, Mercedes; Hernando, Carmen; Madrigal, Javier; Díez, Carmen

2011-03-01

Prescribed burning is commonly used to prevent accumulation of biomass in fire-prone shrubland in NW Spain. However, there is a lack of knowledge about the efficacy of the technique in reducing fire hazard in these ecosystems. Fire hazard in burned shrubland areas will depend on the initial capacity of woody vegetation to recover and on the fine ground fuels existing after fire. To explore the effect that time since burning has on fire hazard, experimental tests were performed with two fuel complexes (fine ground fuels and regenerated shrubs) resulting from previous prescribed burnings conducted in a gorse shrubland (Ulex europaeus L.) one, three and five years earlier. A point-ignition source was used in burning experiments to assess ignition and initial propagation success separately for each fuel complex. The effect of wind speed was also studied for shrub fuels, and several flammability parameters were measured. Results showed that both ignition and initial propagation success of fine ground fuels mainly depended on fuel depth and were independent of time since burning, although flammability parameters indicated higher fire hazard three years after burning. In contrast, time since burning increased ignition and initial propagation success of regenerated shrub fuels, as well as the flammability parameters assessed, but wind speed had no significant effect. The combination of results of fire hazard for fine ground fuels and regenerated shrubs according to the variation in relative coverage of each fuel type after prescribed burning enabled an assessment of integrated fire hazard in treated areas. The present results suggest that prescribed burning is a very effective technique to reduce fire hazard in the study area, but that fire hazard will be significantly increased by the third year after burning. These results are valuable for fire prevention and fuel management planning in gorse shrubland areas. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Northern California Fires

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-10-31

The October fires in Northern California were some of the most destructive in the state's history. The burned area on the right side of the image is the ATLAS fire, that burned east of Napa; the fire consumed 51,000 acres and destroyed almost 500 structures. The burned area on the left is part of the Nuns fire that burned between Sonoma and Napa; it consumed 110,000 acres, and destroyed almost 7,000 structures. The images were acquired September 7, 2016 and October 28, 2017, cover an area of 34.5 by 39 kilometers, and are located near 38.3 degrees north, 122.3 degrees east. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22019

Summertime tropospheric ozone distributions over central and eastern Canada

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, B. E.; Gregory, G. L.; Barrick, J. D.; Collins, J. E., Jr.; Sachse, G. W.; Shipham, M. C.; Hudgins, C. H.

1994-01-01

Ozone measurements were obtained between the surface and the 6-km altitude on aircraft flights over central and eastern Canada during the summer 1990 NASA Global Tropospheric Experiment Arctic Boundary Layer Expedition (GTE/ABLE 3B). Tropospheric O3 budgets for these regions were observed to be highly variable and significantly impacted by long-range transport and regional scale air mass modification processes. For example, integrated O3 abundance below 5-km altitude averaged 40% and 30% greater in air masses influenced by anthropogenic sources and biomass burning, respectively, than in background (polar) air. Conversely, aged air transported from subtropical areas of the Pacific at times reduced O3 abundance in this height interval by up to 20%. Though intrusion of anthropogenic air was infrequent during the experiment period, the influence of biomass-burning emissions was particularly notable as two thirds of the flights sampled air influenced by plumes from fires burning in Alaska and western Canada. The impinging pollution, both natural and anthropogenic, not only elevated O3 levels directly but also was a source of reactive nitrogen (and nonmethane hydrocarbons) which generally increases the tropospheric lifetime of O3 via moderation of photochemical destruction rates.

Taxonomic and Functional Resilience of Grasshoppers (Orthoptera, Caelifera) to Fire in South Brazilian Grasslands.

PubMed

Ferrando, C P R; Podgaiski, L R; Costa, M K M; Mendonça, M D S

2016-08-01

Fire is a frequent disturbance in grassland ecosystems enabling variability in habitat characteristics and creating important environmental filters for community assembly. Changes in vegetation have a large influence on herbivore insect assemblages. Here, we explored the responses of grasshoppers to disturbance by fire in grasslands of southern Brazil through a small-scale experiment based in paired control and burned plots. The resilience of grasshoppers was assessed by monitoring changes to their abundance, taxonomic, and functional parameters along time. Burned patches have been already recolonized by grasshoppers 1 month after fire and did not differ in terms of abundance and richness from control areas in any evaluated time within 1 year. Simpson diversity decreased 1 month after fire due to the increased dominance of Dichroplus misionensis (Carbonell) and Orphulella punctata (De Geer). In this period, grasshoppers presented in average a smaller body and a larger relative head size; these are typically nymph characteristics, which are possibly indicating a preference of juveniles for the young high-quality vegetation, or a diminished vulnerability to predation in open areas. Further, at 6 months after fire grasshoppers with smaller relative hind femur and thus lower dispersal ability seemed to be benefitted in burned patches. Finally, 1 year after fire grasshoppers became more similar to each other in relation to their set of traits. This study demonstrates how taxonomic and functional aspects of grasshopper assemblages can be complementary tools to understand their responses to environmental change.

Modified Point Mass Trajectory Simulation for Base-Burn Projectiles

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-03-01

Konrad Adenauer Ufer 2-6 1 DGAM 54 Koblenz ATTN: Mr. J.L. Perez Minguez GERMANY Poligono de Experiencias Paseo de Extremedura WTD 91 D. BW-031 28024...directly related to the average projectile base pressure, Pb, as follows: 1 Pb Cob YM2_ (1) 2 db2 where: db = base diameter of projectile in calibers M...and p v Ab is the free-stream mass flow through an area equal to the base of the projectile, Ab. Danberg (1990) has shown that ABP is linearly related

Plasma NGAL predicts early acute kidney injury no earlier than s-creatinine or cystatin C in severely burned patients.

PubMed

Rakkolainen, Ilmari; Vuola, Jyrki

2016-03-01

Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is a novel biomarker used in acute kidney injury (AKI) diagnostics. Studies on burn patients have highlighted it as a promising biomarker for early detection of AKI. This study was designed to discover whether plasma NGAL is as a biomarker superior to serum creatinine and cystatin C in detecting AKI in severely burned patients. Nineteen subjects were enrolled from March 2013 to September 2014 in the Helsinki Burn Centre. Serum creatinine, cystatin C, and plasma NGAL were collected from the patients at admission and every 12h during the first 48h and thereafter daily until seven days following admission. AKI was defined by acute kidney injury network criteria. Nine (47%) developed AKI during their intensive care unit stay and two (11%) underwent renal replacement therapy. All biomarkers were significantly higher in the AKI group but serum creatinine- and cystatin C values reacted more rapidly to changes in kidney function than did plasma NGAL. Plasma NGAL tended to rise on average 72h±29h (95% CI) later in patients with early AKI than did serum creatinine. Area-under-the-curve values calculated for each biomarker were 0.92 for serum creatinine, 0.87 for cystatin C, and 0.62 for plasma NGAL predicting AKI by the receiver-operating-characteristic method. This study demonstrated serum creatinine and cystatin C as faster and more reliable biomarkers than plasma NGAL in detecting early AKI within one week of injury in patients with severe burns. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Landscape aridity, fire severity and rainfall intensity as controls on debris flow frequency after the 2009 Black Saturday Wildfires in Victoria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nyman, Petter; Sherwin, Christopher; Sheridan, Gary; Lane, Patrick

2015-04-01

This study uses aerial imagery and field surveys to develop a statistical model for determining debris flow susceptibility in a landscape with variable terrain, soil and vegetation properties. A measure of landscape scale debris flow response was obtained by recording all debris flow affected drainage lines in the first year after fire in a ~258 000 ha forested area that was burned by the 2009 Black Saturday Wildfire in Victoria. A total of 12 500 points along the drainage network were sampled from catchments ranging in size from 0.0001 km2to 75 km2. Local slope and the attributes of the drainage areas (including the spatially averaged peak intensity) were extracted for each sample point. A logistic regression was used to model how debris flow susceptibility varies with the normalised burn ratio (dNBR, from Landsat imagery), rainfall intensity (from rainfall radar), slope (from DEM) and aridity (from long-term radiation, temperature and rainfall data).The model of debris flow susceptibility produced a good fit with the observed debris flow response of drainage networks within the burned area and was reliable in distinguishing between drainage lines which produced debris flows and those which didn't. The performance of the models was tested through multiple iterations of fitting and testing using unseen data. The local channel slope captured the effect of scale on debris flow susceptibility with debris flow probability approaching zero as the channel slope decreased with increasing drainage area. Aridity emerged as an important predictor of debris flow susceptibility, with increased likelihood of debris flows in drier parts of the landscape, thus reinforcing previous research in the region showing that post-fire surface runoff from wet Eucalypt forests is insufficient for initiating debris flows. Fire severity, measured as dNBR, was also a very important predictor. The inclusion of local channel slope as a predictor of debris flow susceptibility proved to be an effective approach for implicitly incorporating scale and relief as parameters. When combined with models of debris flow magnitude the results from this study can be used obtain continuous probability-magnitude relations of sediment flux from debris flows for drainage networks across entire burned areas.

[Emission inventory of greenhouse gases from agricultural residues combustion: a case study of Jiangsu Province].

PubMed

Liu, Li-hua; Jiang, Jing-yan; Zong, Liang-gang

2011-05-01

Burning of agricultural crop residues was a major source greenhouse gases. In this study, the proportion of crop straws (rice, wheat, maize, oil rape, cotton and soja) in Jiangsu used as household fuel and direct open burning in different periods (1990-1995, 1996-2000, 2001-2005 and 2006-2008) was estimated through questionnaire. The emission factors of CO2, CO, CH4 and NO20 from the above six types of crop straws were calculated by the simulated burning experiment. Thus the emission inventory of greenhouse gases from crop straws burning was established according to above the burning percentages and emission factors, ratios of dry residues to production and crop productions of different periods in Jiangsu province. Results indicated that emission factors of CO2, CO, CH4 and N2O depended on crop straw type. The emission factors of CO2 and CH4 were higher for oil rape straw than the other straws, while the maize and the rice straw had the higher N2O and CO emission factor. Emission inventory of greenhouse gases from agricultural residues burning in Jiangsu province showed, the annual average global warming potential (GWP) of six tested crop straws were estimated to be 9.18 (rice straw), 4.35 (wheat straw), 2.55 (maize straw), 1.63 (oil rape straw), 0.55 (cotton straw) and 0. 39 (soja straw) Tg CO2 equivalent, respectively. Among the four study periods, the annual average GWP had no obvious difference between the 1990-1995 and 2006-2008 periods, while the maximal annual average GWP (23.83 Tg CO2 equivalent) happened in the 1996-2000 period, and the minimum (20.30 Tg CO2 equivalent) in 1996-2000 period.

In Situ Bioremediation of Chlorinated Solvent Source Areas with Enhanced Mass Transfer

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-09-01

immerse in cold water. Do not apply ointment , grease or Vaseline. Cover burns with thick, dry sterile dressings. Keep burned feet or legs elevated...about six to eight barrels per month of waste TCE and POL may have been disposed. These materials were also used to aid in burning other wastes...These consist of man-made fill in the trench areas and include debris and burned material. These materials typically extend to less than 12 ft bgs

Cognition in patients with burn injury in the inpatient rehabilitation population.

PubMed

Purohit, Maulik; Goldstein, Richard; Nadler, Deborah; Mathews, Katie; Slocum, Chloe; Gerrard, Paul; DiVita, Margaret A; Ryan, Colleen M; Zafonte, Ross; Kowalske, Karen; Schneider, Jeffrey C

2014-07-01

To analyze potential cognitive impairment in patients with burn injury in the inpatient rehabilitation population. Rehabilitation patients with burn injury were compared with the following impairment groups: spinal cord injury, amputation, polytrauma and multiple fractures, and hip replacement. Differences between the groups were calculated for each cognitive subscale item and total cognitive FIM. Patients with burn injury were compared with the other groups using a bivariate linear regression model. A multivariable linear regression model was used to determine whether differences in cognition existed after adjusting for covariates (eg, sociodemographic factors, facility factors, medical complications) based on previous studies. Inpatient rehabilitation facilities. Data from Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation from 2002 to 2011 for adults with burn injury (N=5347) were compared with other rehabilitation populations (N=668,816). Not applicable. Comparison of total cognitive FIM scores and subscales (memory, verbal comprehension, verbal expression, social interaction, problem solving) for patients with burn injury versus other rehabilitation populations. Adults with burn injuries had an average total cognitive FIM score ± SD of 26.8±7.0 compared with an average FIM score ± SD of 28.7±6.0 for the other groups combined (P<.001). The subscale with the greatest difference between those with burn injury and the other groups was memory (5.1±1.7 compared with 5.6±1.5, P<.001). These differences persisted after adjustment for covariates. Adults with burn injury have worse cognitive FIM scores than other rehabilitation populations. Future research is needed to determine the impact of this comorbidity on patient outcomes and potential interventions for these deficits. Copyright © 2014 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An overview of regional and local characteristics of aerosols in South Africa using satellite, ground, and modeling data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hersey, S. P.; Garland, R. M.; Crosbie, E.; Shingler, T.; Sorooshian, A.; Piketh, S.; Burger, R.

2014-09-01

We present a comprehensive overview of particulate air quality across the five major metropolitan areas of South Africa (Cape Town, Bloemfontein, Johannesburg and Tshwane (Gauteng Province), the Industrial Highveld Air Quality Priority Area (HVAPA), and Durban), based on a decadal (1 January 2000 to 31 December 2009) aerosol climatology from multiple satellite platforms and a detailed analysis of ground-based data from 19 sites throughout Gauteng. Data include Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD550, 555) from Aqua (550 nm), Terra (550 nm), and MISR (555 nm) platforms, Ängström Exponent (α550/865, 470/660) from Aqua (550/865 nm) and Terra (470/660 nm), Ultraviolet Aerosol Index (UVAI) from TOMS, and model results from the Goddard Ozone Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport (GOCART) model. Results in Cape Town are distinct, owing to a typically clean, marine airmass origin and infrequent continental influence. At continentally-influenced sites, AOD550, AOD555, α550/865, α470/660 and UVAI reach maxima (0.12-0.20, 1.0-1.8, and 1.0-1.2, respectively) during late winter and early spring (August-October), coinciding with a period of enhanced dust generation and the maximum frequency of close-proximity and subtropical fires identified by MODIS Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS). The adjacent metropolitan and industrial Gauteng and HVAPA areas have been identified as a megacity based on NO2 concentrations, but AOD is a factor of 3-6 lower than other megacities worldwide. GOCART results suggest that the contributions of organics and black carbon to AOD are significantly enhanced during biomass burning season (ASO), but that sulfate is the most significant contributor to AOD (~70-80%) through the rest of the year. Dust appears to be underestimated by GOCART emissions inventories at continentally-influenced metropolitan areas of South Africa. Ground monitoring sites were classified according to site type: (1) township and informal settlement sites with domestic burning influence, (2) urban and suburban residential sites with no domestic burning in the immediate vicinity, (3) industrial sites, and (4) one traffic site situated at a major freeway interchange. PM10 concentrations in township areas are 56% higher than in developed residential areas and 78% higher than in industrial areas as an annual average, with PM10 in townships 63 and 136% higher than developed residential and industrial areas, respectively, in winter (June, July, August). Monthly PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations reach annual maxima during winter at all sites except in industrial areas. At industrial sites, maxima in PM10 and PM2.5 tend to occur during summer (December-February), when photochemical generation of secondary aerosol is expected and when deep and unstable boundary layers allow high stack emissions (emitted above the boundary layer during winter) to reach the ground in close proximity to point sources. Diurnal profiles of PM10 and PM2.5 display maxima during morning (06:00-09:00 LT) and evening (17:00-22:00 LT) at nearly every site - especially during winter - and underscore the importance of domestic burning as a major source of primary particles. Multi-year averages indicate that evening maxima at some township sites average in excess of 400 μg m-3. These results from the urban/industrial Gauteng area quantitatively confirm previous studies suggesting that the lowest-income populations of South Africa experience the poorest air quality, and demonstrate that domestic burning results in frequent exposure to high concentrations of particulate pollution in the region comprising the cities of Johannesburg and Tshwane. While remotely-sensed data are frequently used as a proxy for ground air quality, we report poor correlations between PM concentrations and satellite parameters and suggest that this practice is not appropriate in metropolitan South Africa. Disagreement between satellite and ground data may be attributed to a number of factors: (1) vertical inhomogeneity and stratified pollution layers aloft during much of the year, (2) extremely shallow winter boundary layers, (3) discrepancy between satellite passover times and elevated diurnal PM concentrations, and (4) poor spatial resolution of satellites compared with highly localized PM sources. While remotely-sensed data provide a good picture of regional, seasonal properties of column aerosol, a complete understanding of South Africa's air quality at the ground will necessitate more extensive monitoring at the ground and intensive, multi-platform campaigns to understand the relationship between ground and satellite data.

Nitrogen and sulfur emissions from the burning of forest products near large urban areas

Treesearch

Dean A. Hegg; Lawrence F. Radke; Peter V. Hobbs; Charles A. Brock; Phillip J. Riggan

1987-01-01

Airborne measuremens of trace gases and particles in the smoke from a prescribed burn of forest products in the Los Angeles basin show significantly higher emissions of NOx, SO2, and particulate NO3 than do measurements in smokes from the burning of biomass in rural areas. It is postulated that the...

A Method of Mapping Burned Area Using Chinese FengYun-3 MERSI Satellite Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shan, T.

2017-12-01

Wildfire is a naturally reoccurring global phenomenon which has environmental and ecological consequences such as effects on the global carbon budget, changes to the global carbon cycle and disruption to ecosystem succession. The information of burned area is significant for post disaster assessment, ecosystems protection and restoration. The Medium Resolution Spectral Imager (MERSI) onboard FENGYUN-3C (FY-3C) has shown good ability for fire detection and monitoring but lacks recognition among researchers. In this study, an automated burned area mapping algorithm was proposed based on FY-3C MERSI data. The algorithm is generally divided into two phases: 1) selection of training pixels based on 1000-m resolution MERSI data, which offers more spectral information through the use of more vegetation indices; and 2) classification: first the region growing method is applied to 1000-m MERSI data to calculate the core burned area and then the same classification method is applied to the 250-m MERSI data set by using the core burned area as a seed to obtain results at a finer spatial resolution. An evaluation of the performance of the algorithm was carried out at two study sites in America and Canada. The accuracy assessment and validation were made by comparing our results with reference results derived from Landsat OLI data. The result has a high kappa coefficient and the lower commission error, indicating that this algorithm can improve the burned area mapping accuracy at the two study sites. It may then be possible to use MERSI and other data to fill the gaps in the imaging of burned areas in the future.

Modelling fire frequency and area burned across phytoclimatic regions in Spain using reanalysis data and the Canadian Fire Weather Index System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bedia, J.; Herrera, S.; Gutiérrez, J. M.

2013-09-01

We develop fire occurrence and burned area models in peninsular Spain, an area of high variability in climate and fuel types, for the period 1990-2008. We based the analysis on a phytoclimatic classification aiming to the stratification of the territory into homogeneous units in terms of climatic and fuel type characteristics, allowing to test model performance under different climatic and fuel conditions. We used generalized linear models (GLM) and multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) as modelling algorithms and temperature, relative humidity, precipitation and wind speed, taken from the ERA-Interim reanalysis, as well as the components of the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index (FWI) System as predictors. We also computed the standardized precipitation-evapotranspiration index (SPEI) as an additional predictor for the models of burned area. We found two contrasting fire regimes in terms of area burned and number of fires: one characterized by a bimodal annual pattern, characterizing the Nemoral and Oro-boreal phytoclimatic types, and another one exhibiting an unimodal annual cycle, with the fire season concentrated in the summer months in the Mediterranean and Arid regions. The fire occurrence models attained good skill in most of the phytoclimatic zones considered, yielding in some zones notably high correlation coefficients between the observed and modelled inter-annual fire frequencies. Total area burned also exhibited a high dependence on the meteorological drivers, although their ability to reproduce the observed annual burned area time series was poor in most cases. We identified temperature and some FWI system components as the most important explanatory variables, and also SPEI in some of the burned area models, highlighting the adequacy of the FWI system for fire modelling applications and leaving the door opened to the development a more complex modelling framework based on these predictors. Furthermore, we demonstrate the potential usefulness of ERA-Interim reanalysis data for the reconstruction of historical fire-climate relationships at the scale of analysis. Fire frequency predictions may provide a preferable basis for past fire history reconstruction, long-term monitoring and the assessment of future climate impacts on fire regimes across regions, posing several advantages over burned area as response variable.

Characterization of submicron aerosols at a rural site in Pearl River Delta of China using an Aerodyne High-Resolution Aerosol Mass Spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, X.-F.; He, L.-Y.; Hu, M.; Canagaratna, M. R.; Kroll, J. H.; Ng, N. L.; Zhang, Y.-H.; Lin, Y.; Xue, L.; Sun, T.-L.; Liu, X.-G.; Shao, M.; Jayne, J. T.; Worsnop, D. R.

2010-11-01

The Pearl River Delta (PRD) region in South China is one of the most economically developed regions in China, but it is also noted for its severe air pollution due to industrial/metropolitan emissions. In order to continuously improve the understanding and quantification of air pollution in this region, an intensive campaign was executed in PRD during October-November 2008. Here, we report and analyze Aerodyne High-Resolution Aerosol Mass Spectrometer measurements at Kaiping, a rural site downwind of the highly-polluted central PRD area, to characterize the general features of submicron particulate pollution in the regional air. The mean measured PM1 mass concentration was 33.1 ± 18.1 μg m-3 during the campaign and composed of organic matter (33.8%), sulfate (33.7%), ammonium (14.0%), nitrate (10.7%), black carbon (6.7%), and chloride (1.1%), which is characterized by high fractions of inorganic ions due to huge emissions of SO2 and NOx in PRD. The average size distributions of the species (except BC) were all dominated by an accumulation mode peaking at ~450 nm in vacuum aerodynamic diameter. Calculations based on high-resolution organic mass spectra indicate that C, H, O, and N on average contributed 56.6, 7.0, 35.1, and 1.3% to the total organic mass, respectively, corresponding to an organic matter mass to organic carbon mass ratio (OM/OC) of 1.77 ± 0.08. Based on the high-resolution organic mass spectral dataset observed, Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) analysis differentiated the organic aerosol into three components, i.e., biomass burning (BBOA) and two oxygenated (LV-OOA and SV-OOA) organic aerosols, which on average accounted for 24.5, 39.6 and 35.8% of the total organic mass, respectively. The BBOA showed strong features of biomass burning emissions and has been mainly attributed to field rice straw burning after harvest. The LV-OOA and SV-OOA were found to correspond to more aged (and thus less-volatile) and fresher (and semi-volatile) secondary organic aerosol, respectively. Analysis of meteorological influence supported that regional transport from the central PRD area was the major origin of the PM1 components observed at the Kaiping site.

The healing effect of electrolytic-reduction ion water on burn wounds.

PubMed

Okajima, Masahiro; Shimokawa, Ken-ichi; Ishii, Fumiyoshi

2010-02-01

We prepared a lotion using electrolytic-reduction ion water (ERI), and evaluated the healing effects of this lotion (ERI lotion) on burn wounds. Third degree burn wounds were induced in the mouse dorsal skin, and ERI lotion or physiological salt (PS) lotion was applied to the wounds from immediately after injury [ERI (+) group and ERI (-) group as a control group, respectively]. The burn wound area was measured, and its serial changes were evaluated. In addition, histological examination of the burn wound site (on day 3) was performed. Comparison of the ERI (+) and (-) groups showed a significant reduction in the burn wound area in the former. Histological examination confirmed many interstitial spaces, blood vessels, and lymphatic vessels in the subcutaneous tissue in the ERI (-) compared with the ERI (+) group. These results suggest the promotion of burn wound healing by ERI lotion.

Size-dependent validation of MODIS MCD64A1 burned area over six vegetation types in boreal Eurasia: Large underestimation in croplands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, C.; Kobayashi, H.; Kanaya, Y.; Saito, M.

2017-12-01

Pollutants emitted from wildfires in boreal Eurasia can be transported to the Arctic, and their subsequent deposition could accelerate global warming. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) MCD64A1 burned area product is used widely for global mapping of burned areas in conjunction with products such as the Global Fire Emission Database version 4, which can estimate pollutant emissions. However, uncertainties due to the "moderate resolution" (500 m) characteristic of the MODIS sensor could be introduced. Here, we present a size-dependent validation of MCD64A1 with reference to higher resolution (better than 30 m) satellite products (Landsat 7 ETM+, RapidEye, WorldView-2, and GeoEye-1) for six ecotypes over 12 regions of boreal Eurasia. We considered the 2012 boreal Eurasia burning season when severe wildfires occurred and when Arctic sea ice extent was historically low. Among the six ecotypes, we found MCD64A1 burned areas comprised only 13% of the reference products in croplands because of inadequate detection of small fires (<100 ha). Our results indicate that over all ecotypes, the actual burned area in boreal Eurasia (15,256 km2) could have been 16% greater than suggested by MCD64A1 (13,187 km2). We suggest applying correction factors of 0.5-8.2 when using emission rates based on MCD64A1 burned areas in chemistry and climate models of the studied regions. This implies the effects of wildfire emissions in boreal Eurasia on Arctic warming could be greater than currently estimated.

Creation of Consistent Burn Wounds: A Rat Model

PubMed Central

Cai, Elijah Zhengyang; Ang, Chuan Han; Raju, Ashvin; Tan, Kong Bing; Hing, Eileen Chor Hoong; Loo, Yihua; Wong, Yong Chiat; Lee, Hanjing; Lim, Jane; Moochhala, Shabbir M; Hauser, Charlotte AE

2014-01-01

Background Burn infliction techniques are poorly described in rat models. An accurate study can only be achieved with wounds that are uniform in size and depth. We describe a simple reproducible method for creating consistent burn wounds in rats. Methods Ten male Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized and dorsum shaved. A 100 g cylindrical stainless-steel rod (1 cm diameter) was heated to 100℃ in boiling water. Temperature was monitored using a thermocouple. We performed two consecutive toe-pinch tests on different limbs to assess the depth of sedation. Burn infliction was limited to the loin. The skin was pulled upwards, away from the underlying viscera, creating a flat surface. The rod rested on its own weight for 5, 10, and 20 seconds at three different sites on each rat. Wounds were evaluated for size, morphology and depth. Results Average wound size was 0.9957 cm2 (standard deviation [SD] 0.1845) (n=30). Wounds created with duration of 5 seconds were pale, with an indistinct margin of erythema. Wounds of 10 and 20 seconds were well-defined, uniformly brown with a rim of erythema. Average depths of tissue damage were 1.30 mm (SD 0.424), 2.35 mm (SD 0.071), and 2.60 mm (SD 0.283) for duration of 5, 10, 20 seconds respectively. Burn duration of 5 seconds resulted in full-thickness damage. Burn duration of 10 seconds and 20 seconds resulted in full-thickness damage, involving subjacent skeletal muscle. Conclusions This is a simple reproducible method for creating burn wounds consistent in size and depth in a rat burn model. PMID:25075351

Economics of pediatric burns.

PubMed

Bass, Michael J; Phillips, Linda G

2008-07-01

Sustaining a burn injury sets in motion a cycle of pain, disfigurement, and a search for survival. In pediatric burns, the injury extends to the parents where fear, ignorance, and helplessness forever change their lives. Pediatric burn injuries are caused by fire, hot liquids, clothing irons, hair curlers, caustic substances like drain cleaner, the grounding of an electrical source, and exposure to radiation. Efficiency in the delivery of pediatric burn care is critical. Maximizing resource utilization means continual self-evaluation and economic analysis of therapeutic modalities. Griffiths et al found that most childhood burns are due to scalds, which can be treated for $1061 per percent burn. Paddock et al reduced the cost of treating superficial pediatric burns and reduced the length of stay in hospital using silver-impregnated gauze over traditional methods. Barrett et al found improved cosmesis of skin grafts using cultured epithelial autografts but at a substantially increased cost. Corpron et al showed that pediatric burn units that treat burns >10% total body surface area and operative treatment of pediatric burns regardless of size generate positive revenue. There is a paucity of evidentiary pediatric burn economic data. More research is needed to address areas of pediatric burn care inefficiency. Improving knowledge of cost in all health care endeavors will create competition and drive down expenditures.

A review of campfire burns in children: The QLD experience.

PubMed

Okon, O; Zhu, L; Kimble, R M; Stockton, K A

2018-03-27

Campfire burns in children are a significant health issue. It is imperative that the extent of the problem is examined and strategies discussed to inform future prevention campaigns. A retrospective review of data from the Queensland Paediatric Burns Registry for all children presenting with campfire burns between January 2013 and December 2014 (inclusive). Information collected included patient demographics, detail regarding mechanism of injury, first aid, Total Body Surface Area (TBSA), burn depth, and treatment. Seventy-five children with campfire burns were seen in our paediatric burns centre during this 2-year period. The median age of patients was 3 years (range 10 days-14 years). The hands and feet were the areas most commonly affected. Eleven percent of patients suffered flame burns, whilst 89% suffered contact burns from the hot coals or ashes. Of the latter group, approximately half experienced burns from campfires that had been extinguished for at least one night. Thirteen percent of patients underwent split thickness skin grafting. The incidence of burns was increased during school holiday months. We have previously demonstrated the effectiveness of targeted campaigns in reducing the incidence of campfire burns. A significant portion of patients sustained burns from incorrectly extinguished campfires. These injuries are likely to be preventable with ongoing public awareness campaigns. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Fire history of the Peron Peninsula, Shark Bay, Western Australia based on remote sensing, dendrochronology, and anecdotal evidence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beller, Benjamin J.

Remote sensing data, dendrochronology, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), and anecdotal information were used to describe the fire regime of the 180,000 ha Peron Peninsula of Western Australia. Fire scars present in 1944 aerial photos were still visible in 2009, both in imagery and on the ground. Tree-ring dates from specimens sampled within these burned areas indicated the occurrence of at least three separate fires before 1944. The oldest fire occurred ca. 1911 and burned at least 5,880 ha. Subsequent fires ca. 1922 and 1936 burned across 8,240 ha and 9,400 ha respectively. The fire dates determined from tree-ring counts were consistent with precipitation data which showed conditions particularly favorable for fire before or during the estimated year of each fire. Plant communities most often burned before 1944 were the Acacia ramulosa var. linophylla Scrub and the Acacia - Lamarchea hakefolia Thicket with, respectively, 73% and 75% of these plant community types at the study area found to have been burned at some time. Remote sensing imagery from 1944-2009 identified only 300 additional hectares burned, a 25 ha fire in 1991 in the combined Acacia ramulosa var. linophylla Scrub and A.ligulata and A. rostellifora Thicket, ten prescribed burns in 1995 totaling 274 ha in various habitats, and two late 1990's scars from prescribed burns designed to create fire buffers, one 4.6 km and the other 7.4 km long. Combined data for all years assessed showed 59,000 ha (66%) of the total study area to have been burned or reburned since ca. 1911, most prior to 1944, with a total of nearly 24,000 ha (27%) of the study area unburned for more than 110 years. Birridas, which cannot burn, accounted for the remaining 6,000 ha (7%) of the study area. These results show fire occurred more frequently 100 years ago (fires every 10-15 years) than at present (> 65 years between fires) suggesting that more frequent prescribed burning than occurs at present on the Peron Peninsula would be most consistent with the pre-European fire regimes of the region and the ecosystems they maintained.

Recent changes in the fire regime across the North American boreal region-Spatial and temporal patterns of burning across Canada and Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kasischke, Eric S.; Turetsky, Merritt R.

2006-05-01

We used historic records from 1959-99 to explore fire regime characteristics at ecozone scales across the entire North American boreal region (NABR). Shifts in the NABR fire regime between the 1960s/70s and the 1980s/90s were characterized by a doubling of annual burned area and more than a doubling of the frequency of larger fire years because of more large fire events (>1,000 km2). The proportion of total burned area from human-ignited fires decreased over this same time period, while the proportion of burning during the early and late- growing-seasons increased. Trends in increased burned area were consistent across the NABR ecozones, though the western ecozones experienced greater increases in larger fire years compared to the eastern ecozones. Seasonal patterns of burning differed among ecozones. Along with the climate warming, changes in the fire regime characteristics may be an important driver of future ecosystem processes in the NABR.

Sensitivity of burned area in Europe to climate change, atmospheric CO2 levels, and demography: A comparison of two fire-vegetation models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Minchao; Knorr, Wolfgang; Thonicke, Kirsten; Schurgers, Guy; Camia, Andrea; Arneth, Almut

2015-11-01

Global environmental changes and human activity influence wildland fires worldwide, but the relative importance of the individual factors varies regionally and their interplay can be difficult to disentangle. Here we evaluate projected future changes in burned area at the European and sub-European scale, and we investigate uncertainties in the relative importance of the determining factors. We simulated future burned area with LPJ-GUESS-SIMFIRE, a patch-dynamic global vegetation model with a semiempirical fire model, and LPJmL-SPITFIRE, a dynamic global vegetation model with a process-based fire model. Applying a range of future projections that combine different scenarios for climate changes, enhanced CO2 concentrations, and population growth, we investigated the individual and combined effects of these drivers on the total area and regions affected by fire in the 21st century. The two models differed notably with respect to the dominating drivers and underlying processes. Fire-vegetation interactions and socioeconomic effects emerged as important uncertainties for future burned area in some European regions. Burned area of eastern Europe increased in both models, pointing at an emerging new fire-prone region that should gain further attention for future fire management.

A Goniometry Paradigm Shift to Measure Burn Scar Contracture in Burn Patients

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-10-01

test more extensively a recently designed Revised Goniometry (RG) method and compare it to Standard Goniometry (SG)used to measure burn scar...joint angle measurements willbe found between SG techniques compared to RG techniques which incorporate CKM and CFU principles. Specific Aim 1: To... compare the average reduction in joint range of motion measured with the standard GM measurements to a newly conceived set of revised GM measurements in

East Peak Fire Burn Scar, Colorado [annotated

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

On June 22, 2013, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured this false-color image of the East Peak fire burning in southern Colorado near Trinidad. Burned areas appear dark red, while actively burning areas look orange. Dark green areas are forests; light green areas are grasslands. Lightning ignited the blaze on June 19, 2013. By June 25, it had burned nearly 13,500 acres (5,500 hectares). NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Caption by Adam Voiland. Instrument: Landsat 8 - OLI More images from this event: 1.usa.gov/14DesQC Credit: NASA Earth Observatory NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

East Peak Fire Burn Scar, Colorado [high res

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

On June 22, 2013, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured this false-color image of the East Peak fire burning in southern Colorado near Trinidad. Burned areas appear dark red, while actively burning areas look orange. Dark green areas are forests; light green areas are grasslands. Lightning ignited the blaze on June 19, 2013. By June 25, it had burned nearly 13,500 acres (5,500 hectares). NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Caption by Adam Voiland. Instrument: Landsat 8 - OLI More images from this event: 1.usa.gov/14DesQC Credit: NASA Earth Observatory NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Corrective action plan for corrective action Unit 342: Area 23 Mercury Fire Training Pit, Nevada Test Site, Nevada

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nacht, S.

1999-08-01

The Mercury Fire Training Pit is a former fire training area located in Area 23 of the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The Mercury Fire Training Pit was used from approximately 1965 to the early 1990s to train fire-fighting personnel at the NTS, and encompasses an area approximately 107 meters (m) (350 feet [ft]) by 137 m (450 ft). The Mercury Fire Training Pit formerly included a bermed burn pit with four small burn tanks, four large above ground storage tanks an overturned bus, a telephone pole storage area, and areas for burning sheds, pallets, and cables. Closure activities will includemore » excavation of the impacted soil in the aboveground storage tank and burn pit areas to a depth of 1.5 m (5 ft), and excavation of the impacted surface soil downgradient of the former ASTs and burnpit areas to a depth of 0.3 m (1 ft). Excavated soil will be disposed in the Area 6 Hydrocarbon Landfill at the NTS.« less

Where are lengths of stay longer and total charges higher for pediatric burn patients?

PubMed

Myers, John; Lehna, Carlee

2014-01-01

Treatment of pediatric burn patients is costly and may require long length of stay in the hospital (LOS). Establishing where these LOS and charges are highest is warranted. The current study investigated whether pediatric burn patients had higher total charges and longer LOS when seen at teaching hospitals, when compared with nonteaching hospitals. The study reviewed inpatient admissions for pediatric burn patients in 2003, 2006, and 2009 by using the Kids' Inpatient Database, which is part of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes 940-947 were used to define burn injury, LOS, total charges, and type of hospital. The authors tested for differences between the LOS and total charges between children seen at three types of hospitals (pediatric, nonpediatric/teaching, nonpediatric/nonteaching) while adjusting for traditional risk factors (eg age, total burn surface area) by using generalized linear mixed-effects modeling. A total of N=28,777 children had burn injuries (n=16,115, 56.0% seen at pediatric hospitals; n=9353, 32.5% seen at nonpediatric/teaching hospitals; and n=3309, 11.5% seen at nonpediatric/nonteaching hospitals). Pediatric burn patients seen at pediatric hospitals, unadjusted, have significantly longer LOS (5.54 days vs 4.25 days and 4.00 days, P<.001) and more total charges in 2009 dollars ($31,319 vs $24,413 and $21,499, P<.001). In addition, patients seen at pediatric hospitals had significantly more total burn surface area (P<.001), more comorbidities (P=.021), and were younger (P<.001). After adjusting for total burn surface area, number of comorbidities, and age, no differences existed between teaching and nonteaching hospitals for LOS (P=.481) or total charges (P=.758). Although pediatric burn patients may have increased LOS and total charges when seen at teaching hospitals, when taking an unadjusted perspective, this may be an artifact that teaching hospitals see pediatric burn patients who are younger, have more comorbidities, and have more total burn surface area. As such, after adjustment, type of hospital may have no influence on LOS and total charges.

Uncontrolled burning of solid waste by households in Mexico is a significant contributor to climate change in the country.

PubMed

Reyna-Bensusan, Natalia; Wilson, David C; Smith, Stephen R

2018-05-01

Uncontrolled burning of municipal solid waste (MSW) is an important source of air pollution and is wide spread in many developing countries, but only limited data quantify the extent of domestic open burning of household waste. Here, we present some of the first field data to be reported on the uncontrolled domestic burning of waste. A representative community of Mexico (Huejutla de Reyes Municipality) was investigated and household surveys, interviews with waste operators and a waste characterisation analysis were completed to assess the extent of, and factors controlling, the open burning of waste. Waste collection provision to rural communities was very limited and, consequently 92% of households in rural areas reported that they disposed of waste by uncontrolled burning in backyards or unofficial dumps. Overall, 24% of the total MSW generated in the Municipality was disposed by uncontrolled burning. Urban and periurban areas received twice-weekly collections and the rate of uncontrolled burning was considerably smaller compared to rural households, corresponding to approximately 2% of total waste generation. Carbon equivalency calculations showed that burning waste in backyards represented approximately 6% of the total and 8.5% of fuel related CO 2 Eq emissions by the municipality. Moreover, the equivalent carbon dioxide (CO 2 Eq) from black carbon (BC) emitted by uncontrolled burning in backyards was over fifteen times larger compared to methane (CH 4 ) potentially released from equivalent amounts of combustible biodegradable waste disposal at the official dumpsite. An assessment of local respiratory health data showed the incidence of disease was higher in rural than in urban areas, when the opposite trend is typically observed in the international literature; given the high rate of burning activity found in rural areas we suggest that open burning of waste could be a major reason for the apparent poorer respiratory health status of the rural population and requires further investigation. The results emphasise the importance of including BC from uncontrolled burning of waste in international emission inventories of greenhouse gases and in the assessment of the health status of local communities in developing countries where this practice is prevalent. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Contrasting fire responses to climate and management: insights from two Australian ecosystems.

PubMed

King, Karen J; Cary, Geoffrey J; Bradstock, Ross A; Marsden-Smedley, Jonathan B

2013-04-01

This study explores effects of climate change and fuel management on unplanned fire activity in ecosystems representing contrasting extremes of the moisture availability spectrum (mesic and arid). Simulation modelling examined unplanned fire activity (fire incidence and area burned, and the area burned by large fires) for alternate climate scenarios and prescribed burning levels in: (i) a cool, moist temperate forest and wet moorland ecosystem in south-west Tasmania (mesic); and (ii) a spinifex and mulga ecosystem in central Australia (arid). Contemporary fire activity in these case study systems is limited, respectively, by fuel availability and fuel amount. For future climates, unplanned fire incidence and area burned increased in the mesic landscape, but decreased in the arid landscape in accordance with predictions based on these limiting factors. Area burned by large fires (greater than the 95th percentile of historical, unplanned fire size) increased with future climates in the mesic landscape. Simulated prescribed burning was more effective in reducing unplanned fire activity in the mesic landscape. However, the inhibitory effects of prescribed burning are predicted to be outweighed by climate change in the mesic landscape, whereas in the arid landscape prescribed burning reinforced a predicted decline in fire under climate change. The potentially contrasting direction of future changes to fire will have fundamentally different consequences for biodiversity in these contrasting ecosystems, and these will need to be accommodated through contrasting, innovative management solutions. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Comparison of traditional burn wound mapping with a computerized program.

PubMed

Williams, James F; King, Booker T; Aden, James K; Serio-Melvin, Maria; Chung, Kevin K; Fenrich, Craig A; Salinas, José; Renz, Evan M; Wolf, Steven E; Blackbourne, Lorne H; Cancio, Leopoldo C

2013-01-01

Accurate burn estimation affects the use of burn resuscitation formulas and treatment strategies, and thus can affect patient outcomes. The objective of this process-improvement project was to compare the accuracy of a computer-based burn mapping program, WoundFlow (WF), with the widely used hand-mapped Lund-Browder (LB) diagram. Manikins with various burn representations (from 1% to more than 60% TBSA) were used for comparison of the WF system and LB diagrams. Burns were depicted on the manikins using red vinyl adhesive. Healthcare providers responsible for mapping of burn patients were asked to perform burn mapping of the manikins. Providers were randomized to either an LB or a WF group. Differences in the total map area between groups were analyzed. Also, direct measurements of the burn representations were taken and compared with LB and WF results. The results of 100 samples, compared using Bland-Altman analysis, showed no difference between the two methods. WF was as accurate as LB mapping for all burn surface areas. WF may be additionally beneficial in that it can track daily progress until complete wound closure, and can automatically calculate burn size, thus decreasing the chances of mathematical errors.

Impacts of coal burning on ambient PM2.5 pollution in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Qiao; Cai, Siyi; Wang, Shuxiao; Zhao, Bin; Martin, Randall V.; Brauer, Michael; Cohen, Aaron; Jiang, Jingkun; Zhou, Wei; Hao, Jiming; Frostad, Joseph; Forouzanfar, Mohammad H.; Burnett, Richard T.

2017-04-01

High concentration of fine particles (PM2.5), the primary concern about air quality in China, is believed to closely relate to China's large consumption of coal. In order to quantitatively identify the contributions of coal combustion in different sectors to ambient PM2. 5, we developed an emission inventory for the year 2013 using up-to-date information on energy consumption and emission controls, and we conducted standard and sensitivity simulations using the chemical transport model GEOS-Chem. According to the simulation, coal combustion contributes 22 µg m-3 (40 %) to the total PM2. 5 concentration at national level (averaged in 74 major cities) and up to 37 µg m-3 (50 %) in the Sichuan Basin. Among major coal-burning sectors, industrial coal burning is the dominant contributor, with a national average contribution of 10 µg m-3 (17 %), followed by coal combustion in power plants and the domestic sector. The national average contribution due to coal combustion is estimated to be 18 µg m-3 (46 %) in summer and 28 µg m-3 (35 %) in winter. While the contribution of domestic coal burning shows an obvious reduction from winter to summer, contributions of coal combustion in power plants and the industrial sector remain at relatively constant levels throughout the year.

Exhaust system-related burns affecting children: a UK perspective and literature review

PubMed Central

Vermaak, P.V.; Deall, C.E.; McArdle, C.; Burge, T.

2016-01-01

Summary Burns caused by exhaust systems in children may be associated with considerable morbidity. Current epidemiological data varies, but no data are available for the UK population. We aim to identify the pattern of exhaust-related burns affecting children who presented to a regional centre for paediatric burn care in the UK. Patients who sustained burns related to exhaust mechanisms between May 2005 and August 2012 were identified via the departmental database. Data collected included patient demographics, burn injury information, management and outcomes. Thirty-nine patients sustained 43 burns from contact with exhaust mechanisms, and the majority were less than 5 years of age. 77% of the patients were male. Burns affected critical areas such as the hands and feet in 26% of cases. Most burns involved a total body surface area of ≤1% and were partial thickness in depth. Thirty-three percent of patients required operative intervention. Time to heal was less than 3 weeks in 69% of cases and 3 patients healed with hypertrophic scarring. The majority of burns were small in size and partial thickness in depth. Most were treated conservatively and healed with low complication rates. More than 1 in 5 injuries involved critical burn areas, highlighting the potential for considerable morbidity. The age profile in our study contrasted with other results worldwide. Our study highlights the need for vigilant supervision of children around motorcycles. We recommend the wearing of protective long trousers when riding motorcycles and the fitting of external shields to motorcycle exhaust pipes. PMID:28149228

Relationship between Slivering Point and Gas Generation Rules of 19-Perforation TEGDN Propellants with Different Length/Outside Diameter Ratios and Perforation Diameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Zhenggang; Xu, Fuming

2018-04-01

In order to investigate the relationship between the slivering point and burning progressivity, a set of 19-perforation propellants containing triethylene glycol dinitrate (TEGDN) with different lengths/outside diameter ratios and perforation diameters was prepared and tested in a closed vessel. The mass fraction of burnt propellant was derived from the recorded pressure-time history of 19-perforation TEGDN propellants in the closed vessel according to the gas state equation and the form function of tested propellants. Based on the form function calculation and the mass fraction of burnt propellant, instantaneous burning surface area and the burning rate were obtained. The influence of length/outside diameter ratios and perforation diameters on the progressive combustion performance is studied through the dynamic vivacity method. With an increase in the length/outsider diameter, the slivering point occurs earlier and the slivering process lasts longer. Further, the burning progressivity of surface area can be improved. For propellants with same length/outside diameter ratio, with a decreasing of perforation diameter, the slivering point lags behind and the burning progressivity becomes greater. The slivering point corresponds to the instantaneous burning area, which is related to the form function and total burning process as well. However, the total burning progressivity of propellant is a very comprehensive result of propellant under multiple actions, including the mass fraction of burnt propellant, grain size and burning rate at different pressure regions. The correlation between them can boost a better understanding on the interaction between grain size, slivering burning process and burning progressivity.

Detecting post-fire burn severity and vegetation recovery using multitemporal remote sensing spectral indices and field-collected composite burn index data in a ponderosa pine forest

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chen, Xuexia; Vogelmann, James E.; Rollins, Matt; Ohlen, Donald; Key, Carl H.; Yang, Limin; Huang, Chengquan; Shi, Hua

2011-01-01

It is challenging to detect burn severity and vegetation recovery because of the relatively long time period required to capture the ecosystem characteristics. Multitemporal remote sensing data can providemultitemporal observations before, during and after a wildfire, and can improve the change detection accuracy. The goal of this study is to examine the correlations between multitemporal spectral indices and field-observed burn severity, and to provide a practical method to estimate burn severity and vegetation recovery. The study site is the Jasper Fire area in the Black Hills National Forest, South Dakota, that burned during August and September 2000. Six multitemporal Landsat images acquired from 2000 (pre-fire), 2001 (post-fire), 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2007 were used to assess burn severity. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), enhanced vegetation index (EVI), normalized burn ratio (NBR), integrated forest index (IFI) and the differences of these indices between the pre-fire and post-fire years were computed and analysed with 66 field-based composite burn index (CBI) plots collected in 2002. Results showed that differences of NDVI and differences of EVI between the pre-fire year and the first two years post-fire were highly correlated with the CBI scores. The correlations were low beyond the second year post-fire. Differences of NBR had good correlation with CBI scores in all study years. Differences of IFI had low correlation with CBI in the first year post-fire and had good correlation in later years. A CBI map of the burnt area was produced using regression tree models and the multitemporal images. The dynamics of four spectral indices from 2000 to 2007 indicated that both NBR and IFI are valuable for monitoring long-term vegetation recovery. The high burn severity areas had a much slower recovery than the moderate and low burn areas.

Evaluating the effectiveness of burned area emergency response (BAER) efforts after the 2003 wildfires, southern California

Treesearch

Peter M. Wohlgemuth; Ken R. Hubbert; Jan L. Beyers; David R. Weise

2007-01-01

Wildfires burned approximately 300,000 hectares (750,000 acres) across southern California in the fall of 2003. Over 10 million dollars were spent on Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) treatments following these fires. To support the BAER efforts, we designed a comprehensive strategy with standardized protocols to evaluate the effectiveness of various erosion...

78 FR 23952 - Notice of Temporary Closure on Public Lands in Elmore County, ID

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-23

...-grouse habitat. The closure will help to slow the spread of noxious weeds; allow planted shrub, forb, and... in the burned area to provide multiple age classes of shrubs in the burned area. Accessible areas of...

Potential postwildfire debris-flow hazards—A prewildfire evaluation for the Jemez Mountains, north-central New Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tillery, Anne C.; Haas, Jessica R.

2016-08-11

Wildfire can substantially increase the probability of debris flows, a potentially hazardous and destructive form of mass wasting, in landscapes that have otherwise been stable throughout recent history. Although the exact location, extent, and severity of wildfire or subsequent rainfall intensity and duration cannot be known, probabilities of fire and debris‑flow occurrence for given locations can be estimated with geospatial analysis and modeling. The purpose of this report is to provide information on which watersheds might constitute the most serious potential debris-flow hazards in the event of a large-scale wildfire and subsequent rainfall in the Jemez Mountains. Potential probabilities and estimated volumes of postwildfire debris flows in both the unburned and previously burned areas of the Jemez Mountains and surrounding areas were estimated using empirical debris-flow models developed by the U.S. Geological Survey in combination with fire behavior and burn probability models developed by the U.S. Forest Service.Of the 4,998 subbasins modeled for this study, computed debris-flow probabilities in 671 subbasins were greater than 80 percent in response to the 100-year recurrence interval, 30-minute duration rainfall event. These subbasins ranged in size from 0.01 to 6.57 square kilometers (km2), with an average area of 0.29 km2, and were mostly steep, upstream tributaries to larger channels in the area. Modeled debris-flow volumes in 465 subbasins were greater than 10,000 cubic meters (m3), and 14 of those subbasins had modeled debris‑flow volumes greater than 100,000 m3.The rankings of integrated relative debris-flow hazard indexes for each subbasin were generated by multiplying the individual subbasin values for debris-flow volume, debris‑flow probability, and average burn probability. The subbasins with integrated hazard index values in the top 2 percent typically are large, upland tributaries to canyons and channels primarily in the Upper Rio Grande and Rio Grande-Santa Fe watershed areas. No subbasins in this group have basin areas less than 1.0 km2. Many of these areas already had significant mass‑wasting episodes following the Las Conchas Fire in 2011. Other subbasins with integrated hazard index values in the top 2 percent are scattered throughout the Jemez River watershed area, including some subbasins in the interior of the Valles Caldera. Only a few subbasins in the top integrated hazard index group are in the Rio Chama watershed area.This prewildfire assessment approach is valuable to resource managers because the analysis of the debris-flow threat is made before a wildfire occurs, which facilitates prewildfire management, planning, and mitigation. In north‑central New Mexico, widespread watershed restoration efforts are being done to safeguard vital watersheds against the threat of catastrophic wildfire. This study was designed to help select ideal locations for the restoration efforts that could have the best return on investment.

Aircraft Data of the Rodeo/Chediski Fire

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

New images of Arizona's Rodeo-Chediski wildfire, which according to news reports is the largest in the state's history, have been acquired by NASA's MODIS Airborne Simulator flying aboard the space agency's ER-2 aircraft. The images show the extent of the burn area-now more than 450,000 acres-and pinpoint areas of active burning as of the morning of July 1. The images below include both true-color images and false-color images designed to highlight the burned areas. They were acquired during a transit of the ER-2 aircraft from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif. to Key West Naval Air Facility, Fla. in preparation for an upcoming field experiment. The newly acquired wildfire images will be used to validate rapid response wildfire maps produced by NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument aboard the Terra spacecraft. They will also be provided to the U.S. Forest Service for potential use in post-fire damage assessments. The false-color image (top) shows the southern portion of the fire, and reveals that not all the terrain within the fire's perimeter burned to the same degree. Burned areas are red and remaining vegetation is green. In the center of the image, the bright orange pixels are actively burning fire, and the smoke drifting southward from the blaze appears blue. Burned area at the top of the true-color image (bottom) appears charcoal, and a smoke plume drifting southwest from the center of the image reveals the location of actively burning fire. See more images at MODIS Airborne Simulator Images of the Rodeo/Chediski Fire, Arizona and the Earth Observatory's Natural Hazards section. Images courtesy of MODIS Airborne Simulator ER-2 team, NASA GSFC and NASA Dryden Flight Research Center

Perceptions of prescribed burning in a local forest community in Victoria, Australia.

PubMed

Bell, Tina; Oliveras, Immaculada

2006-11-01

The general perceptions of prescribed burning were elicited from forest users for an area that has been subject to this form of land management for at least 20 years. The largest group consisted of local residents living in and around the Wombat State Forest with two smaller groups of students from a nearby university campus and local professional land managers. A questionnaire was given to each participant in order to explore how the forest was used, to determine the level of knowledge of burning in the targeted forest and Victoria and the perception of the appearance, effectiveness of protection, and accessibility to the forest after prescribed burning. Generally all groups had similar responses with community members having stronger views on the effectiveness and practicalities of prescribed burning, whereas students were more neutral in their opinions. All participants claimed knowledge of prescribed burning activities within Victoria, but fewer had experience of planned fires in the Wombat State Forest. All groups agreed that areas that had not been recently burned had a better appearance than those that had, but this result may have included a range of value judgments. Land managers had a greater understanding of the ecological importance of season and timing of burning; however, some students and community members were equally knowledgeable. Prescribed burning did not impede access to the forest, nor did smoke from prescribed burns pose any great problem. The majority of the participants felt that the amount of prescribed burning done in the forest was adequate for engendering a feeling of protection to life and property, yet many were still suspicious of this management practice. These initial findings indicate several areas in which further research would be useful including the efficacy of education programs for community members and improved communication of burn plans by land managers.

75 FR 26198 - Foreign-Trade Zone 152 - Burns Harbor, Indiana, Application for Reorganization under Alternative...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-11

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Foreign-Trade Zones Board [Docket 32-2010] Foreign-Trade Zone 152 - Burns... six sites in the Burns Harbor/Gary, Indiana area: Site 1: (533,288 sq. ft.) located at 201 Mississippi... of Indiana/Burns International Harbor, Burns Harbor (Porter County); Site 3: (330 acres) within the...

MODIS-informed greenness responsesto daytime land surface temperaturefluctuations and wildfire disturbancesin the Alaskan Yukon River Basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tan, Zhengxi; Liu, Shu-Guang; Jenkerson, Calli B.; Oeding, Jennifer; Wylie, Bruce K.; Rover, Jennifer R.; Young, Claudia J.

2012-01-01

Pronounced climate warming and increased wildfire disturbances are known to modify forest composition and control the evolution of the boreal ecosystem over the Yukon River Basin (YRB) in interior Alaska. In this study, we evaluate the post-fire green-up rate using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) derived from 250 m 7 day eMODIS (an alternative and application-ready type of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data) acquired between 2000 and 2009. Our analyses indicate measureable effects on NDVI values from vegetation type, burn severity, post-fire time, and climatic variables. The NDVI observations from both fire scars and unburned areas across the Alaskan YRB showed a tendency of an earlier start to the growing season (GS); the annual variations in NDVI were significantly correlated to daytime land surface temperature (LST) fluctuations; and the rate of post-fire green-up depended mainly on burn severity and the time of post-fire succession. The higher average NDVI values for the study period in the fire scars than in the unburned areas between 1950 and 2000 suggest that wildfires enhance post-fire greenness due to an increase in post-fire evergreen and deciduous species components

Wildfires in Siberian Mountain Forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kharuk, V.; Ponomarev, E. I.; Antamoshkina, O.

2017-12-01

The annual burned area in Russia was estimated as 0.55 to 20 Mha with >70% occurred in Siberia. We analyzed Siberian wildfires distribution with respect to elevation, slope steepness and exposure. In addition, wildfires temporal dynamic and latitudinal range were analyzed. We used daily thermal anomalies derived from NOAA/AVHRR and Terra/MODIS satellites (1990-2016). Fire return intervals were (FRI) calculated based on the dendrochronology analysis of samples taken from trees with burn marks. Spatial distribution of wildfires dependent on topo features: relative burned area increase with elevation increase (ca. 1100 m), switching to following decrease. The wildfires frequency exponentially decreased within lowlands - highlands transition. Burned area is increasing with slope steepness increase (up to 5-10°). Fire return intervals (FRI) on the southfacing slopes are about 30% longer than on the north facing. Wildfire re-occurrence is decreasing exponentially: 90% of burns were caused by single fires, 8.5% by double fires, 1% burned three times, and on about 0.05% territory wildfires occurred four times (observed period: 75 yr.). Wildfires area and number, as well as FRI, also dependent on latitude: relative burned area increasing exponentially in norward direction, whereas relative fire number is exponentially decreasing. FRI increases in the northward direction: from 80 years at 62°N to 200 years at the Arctic Circle, and to 300 years at the northern limit of closed forests ( 71+°N). Fire frequency, fire danger period and FRI are strongly correlated with incoming solar radiation (r = 0.81 - 0.95). In 21-s century, a positive trend of wildfires number and area observed in mountain areas in all Siberia. Thus, burned area and number of fires in Siberia are significantly increased since 1990th (R2 =0.47, R2 =0.69, respectively), and that increase correlated with air temperatures and climate aridity increases. However, wildfires are essential for supporting fire-resistant species (e.g., Larix sibirica, L, dahurica and Pinus silvestris) reforestation and completion with non-fire-resistant species. This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, the Government of the Krasnoyarsk krai, the Krasnoyarsk Fund for Support of Scientific and Technological Activities (N 17-41-240475)

The status of statewide burn prevention legislation.

PubMed

Hammond, J

1993-01-01

Successful programs in injury prevention can focus on changing an individual's attitude and behavior or on creating and amending the environment to reduce the likelihood of injury. To investigate the latter approach as it pertains to burn prevention, the American Burn Association Burn Prevention Committee catalogued statewide legislation (as opposted to county or municipal ordinances) in major areas of burn and fire prevention. Burn reporting was generally viewed by state fire marshals as a means to apprehend arsonists or investigate child abuse, as opposed to collect demographic data for injury prevention. Smoke detectors are mandated in new residential construction by the majority of states; however, one in six still leave this to local initiatives. Sprinkler systems have generally not been addressed by state legislation. The committee concludes that pursuing statewide legislative agendas as an area of burn and injury prevention is open to further initiatives.

Can we make an early 'do not resuscitate' decision in severe burn patients?

PubMed

Yüce, Yücel; Acar, Hakan Ahmet; Erkal, Kutlu Hakan; Tuncay, Erhan

2017-03-01

The present study was conducted to examine topic of issuing early do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order at first diagnosis of patients with severe burn injuries in light of current law in Turkey and the medical literature. DNR requires withholding cardiopulmonary resuscitation in event of respiratory or cardiac arrest and allowing natural death to occur. It is frequently enacted for terminal cancer patients and elderly patients with irreversible neurological disorders. Between January 2009 and December 2014, 29 patients (3.44%) with very severe burns were admitted to burn unit. Average total burn surface area (TBSA) was 94.24% (range: 85-100%), and in 10 patients, TBSA was 100%. Additional inhalation burns were present in 26 of the patients (89.65%). All of the patients died, despite every medical intervention. Mean survival was 4.75 days (range: 1-24 days). Total of 17 patients died within 72 hours. Lethal dose 50 (% TBSA at which certain group has 50% chance of survival) rate of our burn center is 62%. Baux indices were used for prognostic evaluation of the patients; mean total Baux score of the patients was 154.13 (range: 117-183). It is well known that numerous problems may be encountered during triage of severely burned patients in Turkey. These patients are referred to burn centers and are frequently transferred via air ambulance between cities, and even countries. They are intubated and mechanical ventilation is initiated at burn center. Many interventions are performed to treat these patients, such as escharotomy, fasciotomy, tangential or fascial excision, central venous catheterization and tracheostomy, or hemodialysis. Yet despite such interventions, these patients die, typically within 48 to 96 hours. Integrity of the body is often lost as result of aggressive intervention with no real benefit, and there are also economic costs to hospital related to use of materials, bed occupancy, and distribution of workforce. For these reasons, as well as patient comfort, early do-not-resuscitate or do-not-intubate protocol for these patients is suggested. Resources could then be directed to other patients with high expectancy of life and patients with burns that are beyond treatment can experience more comfortable end of life. At present in Turkey, it is not possible to give DNR order for patient with severe burns that are incompatible with survival due to legal interdiction. This subject should be discussed at high-level meetings with participation of doctors, legal experts, economists, and theologians.

A review of burns patients admitted to the Burns Unit of Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

PubMed

Chan, K Y; Hairol, O; Imtiaz, H; Zailani, M; Kumar, S; Somasundaram, S; Nasir-Zahari, M

2002-12-01

This is a retrospective review of 110 patients admitted to the Burns Units between October 1999 and November 2001. The aim was to determine the burns pattern of patients admitted to hospital UKM. There was an increasing trend for patients admitted. Female to male ratio was 1:2. Children consisted 34% of the total admission. Children had significant higher number of scald burns as compare to adult (p < 0.01). Domestic burns were consist of 75% overall admission. Mean percentage of TBSA (total body surface area) burns was 19%. Thirty percent of patients sustained more than 20% of TBSA. Sixty percent of patients had scald burns. Ninety percents of patients with second degree burns that were treated with biologic membrane dressing or split skin graft. Mean duration of hospital stay was 10 days. Over 70% of patients were discharged within 15 days. Overall mortality rate was 6.3%. The patients who died had significantly larger area of burns of more than 20% TBSA (p < 0.05) and a higher incidence of inhalation injury (p < 0.02). Hence, this study suggests a need for better preventive measures by the authority to prevent burns related accident and the expansion of the service provided by the Burns Unit.

Accuracy of real time radiography burning rate measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olaniyi, Bisola

The design of a solid propellant rocket motor requires the determination of a propellant's burning-rate and its dependency upon environmental parameters. The requirement that the burning-rate be physically measured, establishes the need for methods and equipment to obtain such data. A literature review reveals that no measurement has provided the desired burning rate accuracy. In the current study, flash x-ray modeling and digitized film-density data were employed to predict motor-port area to length ratio. The pre-fired port-areas and base burning rate were within 2.5% and 1.2% of their known values, respectively. To verify the accuracy of the method, a continuous x-ray and a solid propellant rocket motor model (Plexiglas cylinder) were used. The solid propellant motor model was translated laterally through a real-time radiography system at different speeds simulating different burning rates. X-ray images were captured and the burning-rate was then determined. The measured burning rate was within 1.65% of the known values.

Analysis and mapping of post-fire hydrologic hazards for the 2002 Hayman, Coal Seam, and Missionary Ridge wildfires, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Elliott, J.G.; Smith, M.E.; Friedel, M.J.; Stevens, M.R.; Bossong, C.R.; Litke, D.W.; Parker, R.S.; Costello, C.; Wagner, J.; Char, S.J.; Bauer, M.A.; Wilds, S.R.

2005-01-01

Wildfires caused extreme changes in the hydrologic, hydraulic, and geomorphologic characteristics of many Colorado drainage basins in the summer of 2002. Detailed assessments were made of the short-term effects of three wildfires on burned and adjacent unburned parts of drainage basins. These were the Hayman, Coal Seam, and Missionary Ridge wildfires. Longer term runoff characteristics that reflect post-fire drainage basin recovery expected to develop over a period of several years also were analyzed for two affected stream reaches: the South Platte River between Deckers and Trumbull, and Mitchell Creek in Glenwood Springs. The 10-, 50-, 100-, and 500-year flood-plain boundaries and water-surface profiles were computed in a detailed hydraulic study of the Deckers-to-Trumbull reach. The Hayman wildfire burned approximately 138,000 acres (216 square miles) in granitic terrain near Denver, and the predominant potential hazard in this area is flooding by sediment-laden water along the large tributaries to and the main stem of the South Platte River. The Coal Seam wildfire burned approximately 12,200 acres (19.1 square miles) near Glenwood Springs, and the Missionary Ridge wildfire burned approximately 70,500 acres (110 square miles) near Durango, both in areas underlain by marine shales where the predominant potential hazard is debris-flow inundation of low-lying areas. Hydrographs and peak discharges for pre-burn and post-burn scenarios were computed for each drainage basin and tributary subbasin by using rainfall-runoff models because streamflow data for most tributary subbasins were not available. An objective rainfall-runoff model calibration method based on nonlinear regression and referred to as the ?objective calibration method? was developed and applied to rainfall-runoff models for three burned areas. The HEC-1 rainfall-runoff model was used to simulate the pre-burn rainfall-runoff processes in response to the 100-year storm, and HEC-HMS was used for runoff hydrograph generation. Post-burn rainfall-runoff parameters were determined by adjusting the runoff-curve numbers on the basis of a weighting procedure derived from the U.S. Soil Conservation Service (now the National Resources Conservation Service) equation for precipitation excess and the effect of burn severity. This weighting procedure was determined to be more appropriate than simple area weighting because of the potentially marked effect of even small burned areas on the runoff hydrograph in individual drainage basins. Computed water-peak discharges from HEC-HMS models were increased volumetrically to account for increased sediment concentrations that are expected as a result of accelerated erosion after burning. Peak discharge estimates for potential floods in the South Platte River were increased by a factor that assumed a volumetric sediment concentration (Cv) of 20 percent. Flood hydrographs for the South Platte River and Mitchell Creek were routed down main-stem channels using watershed-routing algorithms included in the HEC-HMS rainfall-runoff model. In areas subject to debris flows in the Coal Seam and Missionary Ridge burned areas, debris-flow discharges were simulated by 100-year rainfall events, and the inflow hydrographs at tributary mouths were simulated by using the objective calibration method. Sediment concentrations (Cv) used in debris-flow simulations were varied through the event, and were initial Cv 20 percent, mean Cv approximately 31 percent, maximum Cv 48 percent, Cv 43 percent at the time of the water hydrograph peak, and Cv 20 percent for the duration of the event. The FLO-2D flood- and debris-flow routing model was used to delineate the area of unconfined debris-flow inundation on selected alluvial fan and valley floor areas. A method was developed to objectively determine the post-fire recovery period for the Hayman and Coal Seam burned areas using runoff-curve numbers (RCN) for all drainage basins for a 50-year period. A

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Iwahana, Go; Uchida, Masao; Liu, Lin

Thermokarst is the process of ground subsidence caused by either the thawing of ice-rich permafrost or the melting of massive ground ice. The consequences of permafrost degradation associated with thermokarst for surface ecology, landscape evolution, and hydrological processes have been of great scientific interest and social concern. Part of a tundra patch affected by wildfire in northern Alaska (27.5 km 2) was investigated here, using remote sensing and in situ surveys to quantify and understand permafrost thaw dynamics after surface disturbances. A two-pass differential InSAR technique using L-band ALOS-PALSAR has been shown capable of capturing thermokarst subsidence triggered by amore » tundra fire at a spatial resolution of tens of meters, with supporting evidence from field data and optical satellite images. We have introduced a calibration procedure, comparing burned and unburned areas for InSAR subsidence signals, to remove the noise due to seasonal surface movement. In the first year after the fire, an average subsidence rate of 6.2 cm/year (vertical) was measured. Subsidence in the burned area continued over the following two years, with decreased rates. The mean rate of subsidence observed in our interferograms (from 24 July 2008 to 14 September 2010) was 3.3 cm/year, a value comparable to that estimated from field surveys at two plots on average (2.2 cm/year) for the six years after the fire. These results suggest that this InSAR-measured ground subsidence is caused by the development of thermokarst, a thawing process supported by surface change observations from high-resolution optical images and in situ ground level surveys.« less

Influence of fire frequency on carbon consumption in Alaskan blackspruce forests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoy, E.; Kasischke, E. S.

2014-12-01

Increasing temperatures and drier conditions within the boreal forests of Alaska have resulted in increases in burned area and fire frequency, which alter carbon storage and emissions. In particular, analyses of satellite remote sensing data showed that >20% of the area impacted by fires in interior Alaska occurred in areas that had previously burned since 1950 (e.g., short to intermediate interval fires). Field studies showed that in immature black spruce forests ~ 35 to 55 years old organic layers experienced deep burning regardless of topographic position or seasonality of burning, factors that control depth of burning in mature black spruce forests. Here, refinements were made to a carbon consumption model to account for variations in fuel loads and fraction of carbon consumed associated with fire frequency based on quantifying burned area in recently burned sites using satellite imagery. An immature black spruce (Picea mariana) fuel type (including stands of ~0-50 years) was developed which contains new ground-layer carbon consumption values in order to more accurately account for differences between various age classes of black spruce forest. Both versions of the model were used to assess carbon consumption during 100 fire events (over 4.4 x 10^6 ha of burned area) from two recent ultra-large fire years (2004 and 2005). Using the improved model to better attribute fuel type and consumption resulted in higher ground-layer carbon consumption (4.9% in 2004 and 6.8% in 2005) than previously estimated. These adjustments in ground-layer burning resulted in total carbon consumption within 2004 and 2005 of 63.5 and 42.0 Tg of carbon, respectively. Results from this research could be incorporated into larger scale modeling efforts to better assess changes in the climate-fire-vegetation dynamics in interior Alaskan boreal forests, and to understand the impacts of these changes on carbon consumption and emissions.

Solid rocket motor fire tests: Phases 1 and 2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Yale; Hunter, Lawrence W.; Han, David K.; Thomas, Michael E.; Cain, Russell P.; Lennon, Andrew M.

2002-01-01

JHU/APL conducted a series of open-air burns of small blocks (3 to 10 kg) of solid rocket motor (SRM) propellant at the Thiokol Elkton MD facility to elucidate the thermal environment under burning propellant. The propellant was TP-H-3340A for the STAR 48 motor, with a weight ratio of 71/18/11 for the ammonium perchlorate, aluminum, and HTPB binder. Combustion inhibitor applied on the blocks allowed burning on the bottom and/or sides only. Burns were conducted on sand and concrete to simulate near-launch pad surfaces, and on graphite to simulate a low-recession surface. Unique test fixturing allowed propellant self-levitation while constraining lateral motion. Optics instrumentation consisted of a longwave infrared imaging pyrometer, a midwave spectroradiometer, and a UV/visible spectroradiometer. In-situ instrumentation consisted of rod calorimeters, Gardon gauges, elevated thermocouples, flush thermocouples, a two-color pyrometer, and Knudsen cells. Witness materials consisted of yttria, ceria, alumina, tungsten, iridium, and platinum/rhodium. Objectives of the tests were to determine propellant burn characteristics such as burn rate and self-levitation, to determine heat fluxes and temperatures, and to carry out materials analyses. A summary of qualitative results: alumina coated almost all surfaces, the concrete spalled, sand moisture content matters, the propellant self-levitated, the test fixtures worked as designed, and bottom-burning propellant does not self-extinguish. A summary of quantitative results: burn rate averaged 1.15 mm/s, thermocouples peaked at 2070 C, pyrometer readings matched MWIR data at about 2400 C, the volume-averaged plume temperatures were 2300-2400 C with peaks of 2400-2600 C, and the heat fluxes peaked at 125 W/cm2. These results are higher than other researchers' measurements of top-burning propellant in chimneys, and will be used, along with Phase 3 test results, to analyze hardware response to these environments, including General Purpose Heat Sources (GPHS) and Radioisotope Heater Units (RHU). Follow-on Phase 3 tests burning propellant blocks up to 90 kg will be briefly described. .

A randomized trial comparing ReCell system of epidermal cells delivery versus classic skin grafts for the treatment of deep partial thickness burns.

PubMed

Gravante, G; Di Fede, M C; Araco, A; Grimaldi, M; De Angelis, B; Arpino, A; Cervelli, V; Montone, A

2007-12-01

Our purpose was to directly compare results obtained with the ReCell system and the classic skin grafting for epidermal replacement in deep partial thickness burns. We recruited all patients with deep partial thickness burns admitted at the Burn Centre of S. Eugenio Hospital in Rome over 2 years. Enrollment was conducted with a controlled strategy--sampling chart--that allowed homogeneous groups (ReCell and skin grafting) for age, gender, type of burns and total burn surface area (TBSA). We evaluated as primary endpoints of the study the (i) time for complete epithelization (both treated area and biopsy site) and (ii) aesthetic and functional quality of the epithelization (color, joint contractures). Secondary endpoints were the assessment of infections, inflammations or any adverse effects of the ReCell procedure, particular medications assumed, postoperative pain. Eighty-two patients were analyzed in two homogeneous groups. All of them received adequate epidermal replacement, but skin grafting was faster than ReCell (p<0.05). On the contrary, ReCell biopsy areas and postoperative pain were smaller than classic grafting (p<0.05). The aesthetic and functional outcomes were similar between procedures. ReCell is a feasible, simple and safe technique. It gives similar results to skin grafting but, harvesting minor areas, can open possible future applications in the management of large-burns patients.

Spatial and temporal assessment of cumulative disturbance impacts due to military training, burning, haying, and their interactions on land condition of Fort Riley.

PubMed

Wang, Guangxing; Murphy, Dana; Oller, Adam; Howard, Heidi R; Anderson, Alan B; Rijal, Santosh; Myers, Natalie R; Woodford, Philip

2014-07-01

The effects of military training activities on the land condition of Army installations vary spatially and temporally. Training activities observably degrade land condition while also increasing biodiversity and stabilizing ecosystems. Moreover, other anthropogenic activities regularly occur on military lands such as prescribed burns and agricultural haying-adding to the dynamics of land condition. Thus, spatially and temporally assessing the impacts of military training, prescribed burning, agricultural haying, and their interactions is critical to the management of military lands. In this study, the spatial distributions and patterns of military training-induced disturbance frequency were derived using plot observation and point observation-based method, at Fort Riley, Kansas from 1989 to 2001. Moreover, spatial and variance analysis of cumulative impacts due to military training, burning, haying, and their interactions on the land condition of Fort Riley were conducted. The results showed that: (1) low disturbance intensity dominated the majority of the study area with exception of concentrated training within centralized areas; (2) high and low values of disturbance frequency were spatially clustered and had spatial patterns that differed significantly from a random distribution; and (3) interactions between prescribed burning and agricultural haying were not significant in terms of either soil erosion or disturbance intensity although their means and variances differed significantly between the burned and non-burned areas and between the hayed and non-hayed areas.

Meteorological Controls on Biomass Burning During Santa Ana Events in Southern California

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Veraverbeke, Sander; Capps, Scott; Hook, Simon J.; Randerson, James T.; Jin, Yufang; Hall, Alex

2013-01-01

Fires occurring during Santa Ana (SA) events in southern California are driven by extreme fire weather characterized by high temperatures, low humidities, and high wind speeds. We studied the controls on burned area and carbon emissions during two intensive SA burning periods in 2003 and 2007. We therefore used remote sensing data in parallel with fire weather simulations of the Weather and Regional Forecast model. Total carbon emissions were approximately 1800 gigagrams in 2003 and 900 gigagrams in 2007, based on a daily burned area and a fire emission model that accounted for spatial variability in fuel loads and combustion completeness. On a regional scale, relatively strong positive correlations were found between the daily Fosberg fire weather index and burned area/emissions (probability is less than 0.01). Our analysis provides a quantitative assessment of relationships between fire activity and weather during severe SA fires in southern California.

Seasonal and spatial variation of organic tracers for biomass burning in PM1 aerosols from highly insolated urban areas.

PubMed

van Drooge, B L; Fontal, M; Bravo, N; Fernández, P; Fernández, M A; Muñoz-Arnanz, J; Jiménez, B; Grimalt, J O

2014-10-01

PM1 aerosol characterization on organic tracers for biomass burning (levoglucosan and its isomers and dehydroabietic acid) was conducted within the AERTRANS project. PM1 filters (N = 90) were sampled from 2010 to 2012 in busy streets in the urban centre of Madrid and Barcelona (Spain) at ground-level and at roof sites. In both urban areas, biomass burning was not expected to be an important local emission source, but regional emissions from wildfires, residential heating or biomass removal may influence the air quality in the cities. Although both areas are under influence of high solar radiation, Madrid is situated in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, while Barcelona is located at the Mediterranean Coast and under influence of marine atmospheres. Two extraction methods were applied, i.e. Soxhlet and ASE, which showed equivalent results after GC-MS analyses. The ambient air concentrations of the organic tracers for biomass burning increased by an order of magnitude at both sites during winter compared to summer. An exception was observed during a PM event in summer 2012, when the atmosphere in Barcelona was directly affected by regional wildfire smoke and levels were four times higher as those observed in winter. Overall, there was little variation between the street and roof sites in both cities, suggesting that regional biomass burning sources influence the urban areas after atmospheric transport. Despite the different atmospheric characteristics in terms of air relative humidity, Madrid and Barcelona exhibit very similar composition and concentrations of biomass burning organic tracers. Nevertheless, levoglucosan and its isomers seem to be more suitable for source apportionment purposes than dehydroabietic acid. In both urban areas, biomass burning contributions to PM were generally low (2 %) in summer, except on the day when wildfire smoke arrive to the urban area. In the colder periods the contribution increase to around 30 %, indicating that regional biomass burning has a substantial influence on the urban air quality.

Simulated Rainfall experiments on burned areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rulli, Maria Cristina

2010-05-01

Simulated Rainfall experiments were carried out in a Mediterranean area located in Italy, immediately after a forest fire occurrence, to evaluate the effects of forest fire on soil hydraulic properties, runoff and erosion. The selected study area was frequently affected by fire in the last years. Two adjacent 30 mq plots were set up with common physiographic features, and the same fire history, except for the last fire, which burned only one of them. Since both plots were previously subject to the passage of fire 6 years before the last one, one compares the hydrologic response and erosion of an area recently burned (B00) with that of an area burnt 6 years before (B06). Several rainfall simulations were carried out considering different pre-event soil moisture conditions where each rainfall simulation consisted of a single 60 minute application of rainfall with constant intensity of about 76 mm/h. The results show runoff ratio, evaluated for different pre-event soil moisture conditions, ranging from 0 to 2% for B06 plot, and from 21 to 41% for B00. Runoff ratio for the recently burned plot was 60 times higher than for the plot burned six years before, under wet conditions, and 20 times higher, under very wet conditions. A large increase in sediment production also was measured in B00 plot, as compared with that in B06 plot. Suspended sediment yield from B00 plot was more than two orders of magnitude higher than that from B06 plot in all the simulated events. The high runoff and soil losses measured immediately after burning indicate that effective post-fire rehabilitation programs must be carried out to reduce flood risk and soil erosion in recently burned areas. However, the results for the plot burned six year prior show that recovery of the hydrological properties of the soil occurs after the transient post fire modification.

Religious Burning as a Major Source of Atmospheric Fine Aerosols in Lhasa city in the Tibetan Plateau

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, S.; Cui, Y.; Zhixuan, B.; Bian, J.; McKeen, S. A.; Watts, L. A.; Ciciora, S. J.; Gao, R. S.

2017-12-01

Measurements of aerosols in the Tibetan Plateau are scant due to the high altitude and harsh climate. To bridge this gap, we carried out the first field measurements of aerosol size distributions in Lhasa, a major city in the Tibetan Plateau that has been experiencing fast urbanization and reduced air quality. Aerosol number size distribution was continuously measured using an optical particle size spectrometer near the center of Lhasa city during the Asian summer monsoon season in 2016. The mass concentration of fine particles was modulated by boundary layer dynamics, with an average of 11 µg m-3 and the high values exceeding 50 µg m-3 during religious holidays. Daytime high concentration coincided with the religious burning of biomass and incense in the temples during morning hours, which produced heavy smoke. Factor analysis revealed a factor that is likely induced by religious burning. The factor contributed 34% of the campaign-average fine particle mass and the contribution reached up to 80% during religious holidays. The mass size distribution of aerosols produced from religious burnings peaked at 500 nm, indicating that these particles could efficiently decrease visibility and promote health risk. Because of its significance, our results suggest that more attention should be paid to religious burning, a currently under-studied source, in the Tibetan Plateau and in other regions of the world where religious burnings are frequently practiced.

Aquacel(®) Ag dressing versus Acticoat™ dressing in partial thickness burns: a prospective, randomized, controlled study in 100 patients. Part 1: burn wound healing.

PubMed

Verbelen, Jozef; Hoeksema, Henk; Heyneman, Alexander; Pirayesh, Ali; Monstrey, Stan

2014-05-01

Studies comparing contemporary silver dressings in burns are scarce. In a prospective, randomized, controlled study, counting 50 patients/research group, we compared two frequently used silver dressings, Acticoat™ and Aquacel(®) Ag, in the management of partial thickness burns with a predicted healing time between 7 and 21 days as assessed by laser Doppler imaging between 48 and 72h after burn. Variables investigated were related to baseline research group characteristics, wound healing, bacteriology, economics, nurse, and patient experience. Both research groups were comparably composed taking into account gender, age and burn characteristics. Similar results were obtained as to healing time and bacterial control with both silver dressings. A statistically significant difference in favor of the Aquacel(®) Ag dressing was found for average ease of use (p<0.001), average ease of application (p=0.001), patient pain (p<0.001), patient comfort with the dressing (p=0.017), silver staining (p<0.001), and cost effectiveness (p<0.001). Both silver dressings resulted in comparable healing times and bacterial control but the Aquacel(®) Ag dressing significantly increased comfort for patients as well as nurses and was significantly more cost-effective than the Acticoat™ dressing for the given indication. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Forest ecology and management

Treesearch

William D. Boyer; James H. Miller

1994-01-01

Over a period of 16 years, unburned longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) pole stands grew an average of 27% more volume than similar stands regularly burned. Treatments included biennial burns in winter, spring, and summer plus an unburned check, each of which was combined with three supplemental treatments, namely, initial herbicide injection of...

Reburn severity in managed and unmanaged vegetation in a large wildfire

PubMed Central

Thompson, Jonathan R.; Spies, Thomas A.; Ganio, Lisa M.

2007-01-01

Debate over the influence of postwildfire management on future fire severity is occurring in the absence of empirical studies. We used satellite data, government agency records, and aerial photography to examine a forest landscape in southwest Oregon that burned in 1987 and then was subject, in part, to salvage-logging and conifer planting before it reburned during the 2002 Biscuit Fire. Areas that burned severely in 1987 tended to reburn at high severity in 2002, after controlling for the influence of several topographical and biophysical covariates. Areas unaffected by the initial fire tended to burn at the lowest severities in 2002. Areas that were salvage-logged and planted after the initial fire burned more severely than comparable unmanaged areas, suggesting that fuel conditions in conifer plantations can increase fire severity despite removal of large woody fuels. PMID:17563370

What Fraction of Global Fire Activity Can Be Forecast Using Sea Surface Temperatures?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Y.; Randerson, J. T.; Morton, D. C.; Andela, N.; Giglio, L.

2015-12-01

Variations in sea surface temperatures (SSTs) can influence climate dynamics in local and remote land areas, and thus influence fire-climate interactions that govern burned area. SST information has been recently used in statistical models to create seasonal outlooks of fire season severity in South America and as the initial condition for dynamical model predictions of fire activity in Indonesia. However, the degree to which large-scale ocean-atmosphere interactions can influence burned area in other continental regions has not been systematically explored. Here we quantified the amount of global burned area that can be predicted using SSTs in 14 different oceans regions as statistical predictors. We first examined lagged correlations between GFED4s burned area and the 14 ocean climate indices (OCIs) individually. The maximum correlations from different OCIs were used to construct a global map of fire predictability. About half of the global burned area can be forecast by this approach 3 months before the peak burning month (with a Pearson's r of 0.5 or higher), with the highest levels of predictability in Central America and Equatorial Asia. Several hotspots of predictability were identified using k-means cluster analysis. Within these regions, we tested the improvements of the forecast by using two OCIs from different oceans. Our forecast models were based on near-real-time SST data and may therefore support the development of new seasonal outlooks for fire activity that can aid the sustainable management of these fire-prone ecosystems.

Characterizing dichotomous fire regimes of southern California: climate, vegetation and topography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolden, C.; Abatzoglou, J. T.

2013-12-01

Southern California Mediterranean ecosystems have long been a subject of wildfire research, in part because of the extensive Wildland Urban Interface in the region. This mix of homes and vegetation at the edge of wildlands has resulted in several of the costliest wildfire events in US history due to the number of homes burned, and its extent is projected to increase significantly over the next 50 years. As such, there has been considerable investment is identifying fire regime characteristics and potential mitigation measures in the region. However, all previous wildfire research in the region has initiated from the assumption that the dominant fire regime is associated with autumn katabatic winds, known locally as Santa Ana winds or Sundowners. To-date, there has been no effort to determine whether this is an accurate assumption, or whether the fire regime is more complex. Here, we utilize a dataset of large wildfires (>40ha) from 1948-2010 and a chronology of Santa Ana (SA) wind occurrence to disaggregate two distinct fire regimes in southwestern California: wildfires associated with SA wind occurrence events, and those not associated with Santa Ana conditions (NSA) that are fuel- and topography-driven instead. By decomposing burned area into SA and NSA fires, significant differences in seasonal, biogeographic and topographic characteristics were found, as well as distinct and significantly stronger climate-fire relationships than previously reported. NSA area burned was associated with summer fires, peaking in July, and significantly higher elevation, greater forested area, steeper slopes, and broadly across all aspects. SA area burned was associated with autumn fires, peaking in October, and significantly lower elevation, greater shrubland area, lower slopes, and more southeastern aspects. Annual burned area in NSA fires was associated with low spring precipitation, high vapor pressure deficit and low fuel moistures during the summer months that increase the seasonal window for fuel flammability. Furthermore, annual burned area in forested lands was correlated to concurrent long-term drought, whereas annual burned area in shrublands was correlated with pluvial conditions during the prior growing season. By contrast, annual area burned in SA fires did not show any robust relationship to climate anomalies in preceding months. Rather, large annual area burned in SA fires was associated with a delay in the onset of cool season precipitation that enables persistent low fuel moisture into a time of the year when SA events become more frequent. A significant increase in NSA annual burned area, the number of large fires in early summer (May-Jul) and the timing of fuel-driven wildfires was observed over the 60-year record, potentially due to increased early summer vegetation stress in recent decades. Such changes are consistent with projected climate change for southern California suggesting that NSA wildfires may play a more dominant role in landscape disturbances and hazards. These findings suggest that previous research aggregating SA and NSA wildfires may produce considerably different results if these two distinct fire regimes are uncoupled and addressed individually.

Wildland fire emissions, carbon, and climate: wildland fire detection and burned area in the United States

Treesearch

Wei Min Hao; Narasimhan K. Larkin

2014-01-01

Biomass burning is a major source of greenhouse gases, aerosols, black carbon, and atmospheric pollutants that affects regional and global climate and air quality. The spatial and temporal extent of fires and the size of burned areas are critical parameters in the estimation of fire emissions. Tremendous efforts have been made in the past 12 years to characterize the...

Funding fuels management in the national park service: costs and benefits

Treesearch

Stephen J. Botti

1995-01-01

Despite a quarter of a century of prescribed burning by the National Park Service (NPS) in California, there is reason to believe that the fuels situation is getting worse rather than better. The area burned in the past 10 years has declined by 42 percent compared to the previous 10 years. The total area burned per year from wildfire and prescribed fire is...

Relative importance of fuel management, ignition management and weather for area burned: Evidence from five landscape-fire-succession models

Treesearch

Geoffrey J. Cary; Mike D. Flannigan; Robert E. Keane; Ross A. Bradstock; Ian D. Davies; James M. Lenihan; Chao Li; Kimberley A. Logan; Russell A. Parsons

2009-01-01

The behaviour of five landscape fire models (CAFE, FIRESCAPE, LAMOS(HS), LANDSUM and SEMLAND) was compared in a standardised modelling experiment. The importance of fuel management approach, fuel management effort, ignition management effort and weather in determining variation in area burned and number of edge pixels burned (a measure of potential impact on assets...

Measurement of Solid Rocket Propellant Burning Rate Using X-ray Imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Denny, Matthew D.

The burning rate of solid propellants can be difficult to measure for unusual burning surface geometries, but X-ray imaging can be used to measure burning rate. The objectives of this work were to measure the baseline burning rate of an electrically-controlled solid propellant (ESP) formulation with real-time X-ray radiography and to determine the uncertainty of the measurements. Two edge detection algorithms were written to track the burning surface in X-ray videos. The edge detection algorithms were informed by intensity profiles of simulated 2-D X-ray images. With a 95% confidence level, the burning rates measured by the Projected-Slope Intersection algorithm in the two combustion experiments conducted were 0.0839 in/s +/-2.86% at an average pressure of 407 psi +/-3.6% and 0.0882 in/s +/-3.04% at 410 psi +/-3.9%. The uncertainty percentages were based on the statistics of a Monte Carlo analysis on burning rate.

Sensitivity of Landsat image-derived burn severity indices to immediate post-fire effects

Treesearch

A. T. Hudak; S. Lewis; P. Robichaud; P. Morgan; M. Bobbitt; L. Lentile; A. Smith; Z. Holden; J. Clark; R. McKinley

2006-01-01

The USFS Remote Sensing Applications Center (RSAC) and the USGS Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) produce Burned Area Reflectance Classification (BARC) maps as a rapid, preliminary indication of burn severity on large wildfire events. Currently the preferred burn severity index is the delta Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR), which requires NBR values...

Combat-related facial burns: analysis of strategic pitfalls.

PubMed

Johnson, Benjamin W; Madson, Andrew Q; Bong-Thakur, Sarah; Tucker, David; Hale, Robert G; Chan, Rodney K

2015-01-01

Burns constitute approximately 10% of all combat-related injuries to the head and neck region. We postulated that the combat environment presents unique challenges not commonly encountered among civilian injuries. The purpose of the present study was to determine the features commonly seen among combat facial burns that will result in therapeutic challenges and might contribute to undesired outcomes. The present study was a retrospective study performed using a query of the Burn Registry at the US Army Institute of Surgical Research Burn Center for all active duty facial burn admissions from October 2001 to February 2011. The demographic data, total body surface area of the burn, facial region body surface area involvement, and dates of injury, first operation, and first facial operation were tabulated and compared. A subset analysis of severe facial burns, defined by a greater than 7% facial region body surface area, was performed with a thorough medical record review to determine the presence of associated injuries. Of all the military burn injuries, 67.1% (n = 558) involved the face. Of these, 81.3% (n = 454) were combat related. The combat facial burns had a mean total body surface area of 21.4% and a mean facial region body surface area of 3.2%. The interval from the date of the injury to the first operative encounter was 6.6 ± 0.8 days and was 19.8 ± 2.0 days to the first facial operation. A subset analysis of the severe facial burns revealed that the first facial operation and the definitive coverage operation was performed at 13.45 ± 2.6 days and 31.9 ± 4.1 days after the injury, respectively. The mortality rate for this subset of patients was 32% (n = 10), with a high rate of associated inhalational injuries (61%, n = 19), limb amputations (29%, n = 9), and facial allograft usage (48%, n = 15) and a mean facial autograft thickness of 10.5/1,000th in. Combat-related facial burns present multiple challenges, which can contribute to suboptimal long-term outcomes. These challenges include prolonged transport to the burn center, delayed initial intervention and definitive coverage, and a lack of available high-quality color-matched donor skin. These gaps all highlight the need for novel anti-inflammatory and skin replacement strategies to more adequately address these unique combat-related obstacles. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. All rights reserved.

Epidemiology of burn injuries in Nepal: a systemic review.

PubMed

Tripathee, Sanjib; Basnet, Surendra Jung

2017-01-01

Burn is a global public health problem associated with significant morbidity and mortality, mostly in low- and middle-income countries. Southeast-Asian countries share a big burden of burn injuries, and Nepal is not an exception. We performed a systemic review to examine the epidemiological characteristics of burn injures in Nepal. Relevant epidemiological studies were identified through systemic search in PubMed, EMBASE, and Google Scholar. Reference lists from relevant review articles were also searched. Studies were included if they meet our selection criteria. Eight studies were included in our systemic review. Most of the burn victims belong to the working age group between 15-60 years old. Flame burns were found to be the most common cause of burn injury followed by scald burns, whereas scald burns were the most common cause of burn injury among the pediatric population. Most patients sustained less severe burn injuries, with home being the most common place of burn injury. The average hospital stay among the burn victims ranged from 13 to 60 days. Mortality among the burn victims ranged from 4.5 to 23.5%, with highest mortality among the flame burn patients. Developed nations have significantly reduced the burn incidence through effective intervention program. Although, burn injuries are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Nepal, effective intervention programs are lacking due to the limited epidemiological data related to burn injuries. Further large scale research is imperative to investigate the problem and assess the effectiveness of an intervention program.

Effects of seeding ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) on vegetation recovery following fire in a ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forest

USGS Publications Warehouse

Barclay, Angela D.; Betancourt, Julio L.; Allen, Craig D.

2004-01-01

Forty-nine vegetation transects were measured in 1997 and 1998 to determine the impact of grass seeding after the 1996 Dome Fire, which burned almost 6900 ha of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Lawson) forest in the Jemez Mountains of north-central New Mexico. High- and moderate-burned areas in Santa Fe National Forest were seeded with a mixture that included the exotic ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.). Adjacent burned areas of Bandelier National Monument were not seeded, and were used as a control in the post-seeding study. On the seeded plots, foliar cover of ryegrass declined from 1997 to 1998 due to self-inhibition and/or reduced precipitation from 1997 to 1998. Foliar cover and diversity of native forbs were greater in 1997 than 1998, probably due to a wet growing season in 1997. Cover, species richness, and diversity of native forbs were highest in non-seeded areas of moderate- and high-burn intensities. Regeneration and survivorship of conifer seedlings decreased as ryegrass cover increased, particularly in areas of high-burn intensity. Exotic plant cover, mostly horseweed [Conyza canadensis (L.) Cronq.], increased from 1997 to 1998 in non-seeded areas of moderate- and high-burn intensity. Both the initial success of seeding and the eventual impacts on native vegetation were strongly modulated by climate variability.

Carbon and Water Vapor Fluxes of Different Ecosystems in Oklahoma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wagle, P.; Gowda, P. H.; Northup, B. K.

2016-12-01

Information on exchange of energy, carbon dioxide (CO2), and water vapor (H2O) for major terrestrial ecosystems is vital to quantify carbon and water balances on a large-scale. It is also necessary to develop, test, and improve crop models and satellite-based production efficiency and evapotranspiration (ET) models, and to better understand the potential of terrestrial ecosystems to mitigate rising atmospheric CO2 concentration and climate change. A network (GRL-FLUXNET) of nine eddy flux towers has been established over a diverse range of terrestrial ecosystems, including native and improved perennial grasslands [unburned and grazed tallgrass prairie, burned and grazed tallgrass prairie, and burned Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon L.)], grazed and non-grazed winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), till and no-till winter wheat and canola (Brassica napus L.), alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), and soybean (Glycine max L.), at the USDA-ARS, Grazinglands Research Laboratory, El Reno, OK. In this presentation, we quantify and compare net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) and ET between recently burned and grazed tallgrass prairie and burned and non-grazed Bermuda grass pastures, alfalfa, and soybean. Preliminary results show monthly ensembles average NEE reached seasonal peak values of -29, -35, -25, and -20 µmol m-2 s-1 in burned tallgrass prairie pasture, burned Bermuda grass pasture, alfalfa, and soybean, respectively. Similarly, monthly ensembles average ET reached seasonal peak values of 0.22, 0.27, 0.25, 0.28 mm 30-min-1 in burned tallgrass prairie pasture, burned Bermuda grass pasture, alfalfa, and soybean, respectively. Seasonal patterns and daily magnitudes of NEE and ET and their responses to the similar climatic conditions will be further investigated.

Using Logistic Regression to Predict the Probability of Debris Flows in Areas Burned by Wildfires, Southern California, 2003-2006

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rupert, Michael G.; Cannon, Susan H.; Gartner, Joseph E.; Michael, John A.; Helsel, Dennis R.

2008-01-01

Logistic regression was used to develop statistical models that can be used to predict the probability of debris flows in areas recently burned by wildfires by using data from 14 wildfires that burned in southern California during 2003-2006. Twenty-eight independent variables describing the basin morphology, burn severity, rainfall, and soil properties of 306 drainage basins located within those burned areas were evaluated. The models were developed as follows: (1) Basins that did and did not produce debris flows soon after the 2003 to 2006 fires were delineated from data in the National Elevation Dataset using a geographic information system; (2) Data describing the basin morphology, burn severity, rainfall, and soil properties were compiled for each basin. These data were then input to a statistics software package for analysis using logistic regression; and (3) Relations between the occurrence or absence of debris flows and the basin morphology, burn severity, rainfall, and soil properties were evaluated, and five multivariate logistic regression models were constructed. All possible combinations of independent variables were evaluated to determine which combinations produced the most effective models, and the multivariate models that best predicted the occurrence of debris flows were identified. Percentage of high burn severity and 3-hour peak rainfall intensity were significant variables in all models. Soil organic matter content and soil clay content were significant variables in all models except Model 5. Soil slope was a significant variable in all models except Model 4. The most suitable model can be selected from these five models on the basis of the availability of independent variables in the particular area of interest and field checking of probability maps. The multivariate logistic regression models can be entered into a geographic information system, and maps showing the probability of debris flows can be constructed in recently burned areas of southern California. This study demonstrates that logistic regression is a valuable tool for developing models that predict the probability of debris flows occurring in recently burned landscapes.

Climate, lightning ignitions, and fire severity in Yosemite National Park, California, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lutz, J.A.; van Wagtendonk, J.W.; Thode, A.E.; Miller, J.D.; Franklin, J.F.

2009-01-01

Continental-scale studies of western North America have attributed recent increases in annual area burned and fire size to a warming climate, but these studies have focussed on large fires and have left the issues of fire severity and ignition frequency unaddressed. Lightning ignitions, any of which could burn a large area given appropriate conditions for fire spread, could be the first indication of more frequent fire. We examined the relationship between snowpack and the ignition and size of fires that occurred in Yosemite National Park, California (area 3027 km2), between 1984 and 2005. During this period, 1870 fires burned 77 718 ha. Decreased spring snowpack exponentially increased the number of lightning-ignited fires. Snowpack mediated lightning-ignited fires by decreasing the proportion of lightning strikes that caused lightning-ignited fires and through fewer lightning strikes in years with deep snowpack. We also quantified fire severity for the 103 fires >40 ha with satellite fire-severity indices using 23 years of Landsat Thematic Mapper data. The proportion of the landscape that burned at higher severities and the complexity of higher-severity burn patches increased with the log10 of annual area burned. Using one snowpack forecast, we project that the number of lightning-ignited fires will increase 19.1% by 2020 to 2049 and the annual area burned at high severity will increase 21.9%. Climate-induced decreases in snowpack and the concomitant increase in fire severity suggest that existing assumptions may be understated-fires may become more frequent and more severe. ?? IAWF 2009.

Hemodynamic responses to dexmedetomidine in critically injured intubated pediatric burned patients: a preliminary study.

PubMed

Shank, Erik S; Sheridan, Robert L; Ryan, Colleen M; Keaney, Timothy J; Martyn, J A Jeevendra

2013-01-01

Because of ineffectiveness and tolerance to benzodiazepines and opioids developing with time, drugs acting via other receptor systems (eg, α-2 agonists) have been advocated in burn patients to improve sedation and analgesia. This study in severely burned pediatric subjects examined the hemodynamic consequences of dexmedetomidine (Dex) administration. Eight intubated patients with ≥20 to 79% TBSA burns were studied between 7 and 35 days after injury. After baseline measurements of mean arterial blood pressure and heart rhythm were taken, each patient received a 1.0 µg/kg bolus of Dex followed by an ascending dose infusion protocol (0.7-2.5 µg/kg/hr), with each dose administered for 15 minutes. There was significant hypotension (27±7.5%, average drop in mean arterial pressure [MAP] ± SD), and a decrease in heart rate (HR; 19% ± 7, average drop in HR ± SD). The average HR decreased from 146 beats per minute to 120. No bradycardia (HR < 60) or heart blocks were observed. In three patients, the MAP decreased to <50mm Hg with the bolus dose of Dex. Of the remaining five patients, three patients completed the study receiving the highest infusion dose of Dex (2.5 µg/kg/hr), whereas in 2 patients the infusion part of the study was begun, but the study was stopped due to persistent hypotension (MAP < 50mm Hg). These observations indicate that a bolus dose of Dex (1.0 µg/kg for 10 minutes) and high infusion rates may require fluid resuscitation or vasopressor support to maintain normotension in critically injured pediatric burn patients.

Growth factors in porcine full and partial thickness burn repair. Differing targets and effects of keratinocyte growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor-BB, epidermal growth factor, and neu differentiation factor.

PubMed Central

Danilenko, D. M.; Ring, B. D.; Tarpley, J. E.; Morris, B.; Van, G. Y.; Morawiecki, A.; Callahan, W.; Goldenberg, M.; Hershenson, S.; Pierce, G. F.

1995-01-01

The topical application of recombinant growth factors such as epidermal growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor-BB homodimer (rPDGF-BB), keratinocyte growth factor (rKGF), and neu differentiation factor has resulted in significant acceleration of healing in several animal models of wound repair. In this study, we established highly reproducible and quantifiable full and deep partial thickness porcine burn models in which burns were escharectomized 4 or 5 days postburn and covered with an occlusive dressing to replicate the standard treatment in human burn patients. We then applied these growth factors to assess their efficacy on several parameters of wound repair: extracellular matrix and granulation tissue production, percent reepithelialization, and new epithelial area. In full thickness burns, only rPDGF-BB and the combination of rPDGF-BB and rKGF induced significant changes in burn repair. rPDGF-BB induced marked extracellular matrix and granulation tissue production (P = 0.013) such that the burn defect was filled within several days of escharectomy, but had no effect on new epithelial area or reepithelialization. The combination of rPDGF-BB and rKGF in full thickness burns resulted in a highly significant increase in extracellular matrix and granulation tissue area (P = 0.0009) and a significant increase in new epithelial area (P = 0.007), but had no effect on reepithelialization. In deep partial thickness burns, rKGF induced the most consistent changes. Daily application of rKGF induced a highly significant increase in new epithelial area (P < 0.0001) but induced only a modest increase in reepithelialization (83.7% rKGF-treated versus 70.2% control; P = 0.016) 12 days postburn. rKGF also doubled the number of fully reepithelialized burns (P = 0.02) at 13 days postburn, at least partially because of marked stimulation of both epidermal and follicular proliferation as assessed by proliferating cell nuclear antigen expression. In situ hybridization for KGFR in porcine burns revealed strong expression of KGFR on hair follicles and basal epidermis, confirming direct rKGF action on follicular as well as epidermal keratinocytes. Although the epithelial proliferation induced by rKGF resulted in marked neoepidermal psoriasiform hyperplasia with exaggerated rete ridges and neoepidermal and follicular maturation as assessed by expression of cytokeratin 10, a marker of keratinocyte terminal differentiation was not delayed and appeared to be accelerated in some rKGF-treated burns. Recombinant epidermal growth factor induced a trend toward increased new epithelial area in deep partial thickness burns, but had no effect on reepithelialization. The recombinant neu differentiation factor-alpha 2 isoform had no significant biological effects in either full or deep partial thickness burns.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) Images Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 4 Figure 7 Figure 8 PMID:7485390

A system for 3D representation of burns and calculation of burnt skin area.

PubMed

Prieto, María Felicidad; Acha, Begoña; Gómez-Cía, Tomás; Fondón, Irene; Serrano, Carmen

2011-11-01

In this paper a computer-based system for burnt surface area estimation (BAI), is presented. First, a 3D model of a patient, adapted to age, weight, gender and constitution is created. On this 3D model, physicians represent both burns as well as burn depth allowing the burnt surface area to be automatically calculated by the system. Each patient models as well as photographs and burn area estimation can be stored. Therefore, these data can be included in the patient's clinical records for further review. Validation of this system was performed. In a first experiment, artificial known sized paper patches were attached to different parts of the body in 37 volunteers. A panel of 5 experts diagnosed the extent of the patches using the Rule of Nines. Besides, our system estimated the area of the "artificial burn". In order to validate the null hypothesis, Student's t-test was applied to collected data. In addition, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated and a value of 0.9918 was obtained, demonstrating that the reliability of the program in calculating the area is of 99%. In a second experiment, the burnt skin areas of 80 patients were calculated using BAI system and the Rule of Nines. A comparison between these two measuring methods was performed via t-Student test and ICC. The hypothesis of null difference between both measures is only true for deep dermal burns and the ICC is significantly different, indicating that the area estimation calculated by applying classical techniques can result in a wrong diagnose of the burnt surface. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Minor burn - first aid - slideshow

MedlinePlus

... page: //medlineplus.gov/ency/presentations/100213.htm Minor burn - first aid - series—Procedure, part 1 To use ... out of 2 Overview To treat a minor burn, run cool water over the area of the ...

Composition and source apportionment of PM1 at urban site Kanpur in India using PMF coupled with CBPF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rai, Pragati; Chakraborty, Abhishek; Mandariya, Anil Kumar; Gupta, Tarun

2016-09-01

This study addresses the three major questions: (1) what are the emission sources of PM1 which are affecting the study area; (2) where do these emission sources come from; and (3) is there any temporal variation in the emission sources. To address these issues, two advanced statistical methods are described in this paper. Identification of emission sources was performed by EPA PMF (v 5.0) and to understand the temporal variability, sampling was done for three winter seasons 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2011-12 within Kanpur city. To identify the possible source directions, Conditional Bivariate Probability function (CBPF) was used. The average PM1 concentration was higher in 2008-09 followed by 2011-12 and 2009-10 winter seasons. 2008-09 winter showed sources such as secondary sources mixed with power plant emission (42.8%), industrial emission (32.3%), coal combustion, brick kilns and vehicular emission (13.2%) and residual oil combustion and road dust (11.7%). The major contributors during winter season 2009-10 were secondary sources (33.1%), biomass burning (23.3%), heavy oil combustion (13%), vehicular emission mixed with crustal dust (11.3%), leather tanning industries (10.3%), industrial emission (4%), coal combustion and brick kilns (3.4%) and solid waste burning and incineration (1.5%) compared to secondary sources mixed with biomass burning (42.3%), industrial emission and crustal dust (35.1%) and vehicular emission and brick kilns (22.6%) during 2011-12 winter season. PMF model revealed that secondary sources were the main contributors for all the three winter seasons followed by biomass burning and power plant emission. The results of CBPF analysis agreed well with the locations of known local point sources., e.g. in the case of industrial emissions, the maximum probability was in the direction between NES direction where almost all the major industries are located in and around Kanpur while in the opposite direction the probability of biomass burning was high due to a rural area in NWS direction.

On the use of the (V,W) Burn-Sensitive Vegetation Index System to monitor the spatiotemporal distribution of burned areas in Portugal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DaCamara, Carlos; Libonati, Renata; Calado, Teresa; Ermida, Sofia; Nunes, Sílvia

2017-04-01

The use of remotely sensed information for burned area detection is well established and there is a general consensus about its usefulness from global down to regional levels. In this particular, the combined use of near and middle infrared (NIR and MIR) channels has shown to be particularly suitable to discriminate burned areas in a variety of ecosystems. The so-called (V,W) system [1,2] is a burn-sensitive vegetation index system defined in a transformed NIR-MIR space that has proven to be capable of discriminating burned pixels in the Brazilian biomes. A procedure based on the (V,W) system is here presented that allows discriminating burned areas and dating burning events. The procedure is tested over Portugal using NIR and MIR data from the Terra/Aqua MODIS Level 1B 1 km V5 product (MOD021/MYD021) together with active fire data from the MODIS V5 product Thermal Anomalies/Fire 5-Min L2 Swath 1km (MOD14/ MYD14). First monthly minimum composites of W are computed for July and August 2015. Burned pixels are then identified as the ones that are located close to hot spots (detected during August) and that present low values of composited minimum of W in August (characteristic of a burning event) together with a sharp decrease of composited minimum of W from July to August (that is expected to occur after a burning event). Burned pixels are then successively identified by a seeded region-growing algorithm. The day of burning of each pixel classified as burned is finally identified as the one that maximizes an index of temporal separability computed along the respective time series of available values of W in August. Results obtained are validated using as reference burned scars and dates as identified by the Rapid Damage Assessment (RDA) module developed by the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS); the EFFIS mapping process consists of an unsupervised procedure that uses MODIS bands at 250 m resolution combined with information from the CORINE Land Cover, followed by a seeded region-growing algorithm [3]. Almost half (49%) of the burned pixels are correctly identified, less than one fifth (18%) are false alarms and the total burned area is overestimated by 18%. On the other hand more than three fourths (76%) of estimated days of burning presented deviations from reference data between -1 and 4 days. Performance of the proposed algorithm is to be viewed as highly satisfactory taking into account the coarser resolution of the procedure being validated (1 km) compared to the reference data (250 m). Research was performed in the framework of FAPESP/FCT BrFLAS Project and of LSA SAF. [1] Libonati et al. (2011), Remote Sensing of Environment, 115(6), 1464-1477. [2] DaCamara et al. (2016), IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters 13(12), 1822-1826. [3] Salvador Civil & San-Miguel-Ayanz (2002), International Journal of Remote Sensing, 23(6), 1197-1205.

30 CFR 57.6903 - Burning explosive material.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Burning explosive material. 57.6903 Section 57... General Requirements-Surface and Underground § 57.6903 Burning explosive material. If explosive material is suspected of burning at the blast site, persons shall be evacuated from the endangered area and...

30 CFR 57.6903 - Burning explosive material.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Burning explosive material. 57.6903 Section 57... General Requirements-Surface and Underground § 57.6903 Burning explosive material. If explosive material is suspected of burning at the blast site, persons shall be evacuated from the endangered area and...

30 CFR 57.6903 - Burning explosive material.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Burning explosive material. 57.6903 Section 57... General Requirements-Surface and Underground § 57.6903 Burning explosive material. If explosive material is suspected of burning at the blast site, persons shall be evacuated from the endangered area and...

30 CFR 57.6903 - Burning explosive material.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Burning explosive material. 57.6903 Section 57... General Requirements-Surface and Underground § 57.6903 Burning explosive material. If explosive material is suspected of burning at the blast site, persons shall be evacuated from the endangered area and...

30 CFR 57.6903 - Burning explosive material.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Burning explosive material. 57.6903 Section 57... General Requirements-Surface and Underground § 57.6903 Burning explosive material. If explosive material is suspected of burning at the blast site, persons shall be evacuated from the endangered area and...

Wildfires and storms: Increased vulnerability of water quality in the southwestern U.S. in the face of climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murphy, S. F.; Writer, J. H.; McCleskey, R. B.; Martin, D. A.

2014-12-01

Communities in the southwestern U.S. rely on forested watersheds to provide high-quality water, but these watersheds are prone to major disturbance by wildfire. The loss of vegetation and litter can decrease water storage and infiltration and decrease nutrient uptake, leading to enhanced surface runoff, erosion, and nutrient export compared to undisturbed watersheds. Post-wildfire impacts on water quality vary widely across geographic regions, and are largely driven by post-fire storm timing and intensity. In the southwestern U.S., the North American Monsoon can produce high-intensity rain from July through September. A better understanding of the post-fire water-quality response of watersheds to monsoonal storms in this region is therefore critical. The Fourmile Canyon Fire burned 2600 ha near Boulder, Colorado in September 2010, including 23% of the Fourmile Creek watershed. This watershed had been recovering from historical mining activity, and dispersed waste rock and mine tailings were only partially revegetated before the wildfire. We collected water quality, hydrological, and meteorological data with high temporal and spatial density upstream and downstream of the burned area for 4 years post-fire. For 9 months post-fire, the area received snow or low-intensity rain, and the difference in stream water chemistry between burned and unburned watersheds was minimal. However, in the summer of 2011, and in the following two summers, relatively common monsoonal storms caused dramatic, but short-lived, increases in discharge, sediment, nitrate, dissolved organic carbon, and metals downstream of the burned area. Such pulses can degrade aquatic ecosystems, impair water treatability, and decrease reservoir capacity. Climate change is projected to increase wildfire frequency and size and lead to an earlier and longer wildfire season. Simultaneously, storm frequency and intensity are predicted to increase, and the monsoon season may occur later in the year, potentially decreasing the average length of time between wildfire and subsequent high-intensity rain events. This suggests that substantial water-quality impacts may be more common in the future, resulting in a new paradigm for water treatment in the southwestern U.S.

Assessing the hydrologic response to wildfires in mountainous regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Havel, Aaron; Tasdighi, Ali; Arabi, Mazdak

2018-04-01

This study aims to understand the hydrologic responses to wildfires in mountainous regions at various spatial scales. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to evaluate the hydrologic responses of the upper Cache la Poudre Watershed in Colorado to the 2012 High Park and Hewlett wildfire events. A baseline SWAT model was established to simulate the hydrology of the study area between the years 2000 and 2014. A procedure involving land use and curve number updating was implemented to assess the effects of wildfires. Application of the proposed procedure provides the ability to simulate the hydrologic response to wildfires seamlessly through mimicking the dynamic of the changes due to wildfires. The wildfire effects on curve numbers were determined comparing the probability distribution of curve numbers after calibrating the model for pre- and post-wildfire conditions. Daily calibration and testing of the model produced very good results. No-wildfire and wildfire scenarios were created and compared to quantify changes in average annual total runoff volume, water budgets, and full streamflow statistics at different spatial scales. At the watershed scale, wildfire conditions showed little impact on the hydrologic responses. However, a runoff increase up to 75 % was observed between the scenarios in sub-watersheds with high burn intensity. Generally, higher surface runoff and decreased subsurface flow were observed under post-wildfire conditions. Flow duration curves developed for burned sub-watersheds using full streamflow statistics showed that less frequent streamflows become greater in magnitude. A linear regression model was developed to assess the relationship between percent burned area and runoff increase in Cache la Poudre Watershed. A strong (R2 > 0.8) and significant (p < 0.001) positive correlation was determined between runoff increase and percentage of burned area upstream. This study showed that the effects of wildfires on hydrology of a watershed are scale-dependent. Also, using full streamflow statistics through application of flow duration curves revealed that the wildfires had a higher effect on peak flows, which may increase the risk of flash floods in post-wildfire conditions.

Spatial and temporal source apportionment of PM2.5 in Georgia, 2002 to 2013

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhai, Xinxin; Mulholland, James A.; Russell, Armistead G.; Holmes, Heather A.

2017-07-01

The Chemical Mass Balance (CMB) receptor model was applied to estimate PM2.5 source impacts over Georgia from 2002 to 2013 using ambient PM2.5 species concentration data from 13 sites. Measurements of 19 PM2.5 species were used as inputs along with measurement-based source profiles to estimate the impacts of nine sources, including both primary components (from heavy duty diesel vehicle, light duty gasoline vehicle, biomass burning, coal combustion, and suspended dust sources) and secondary pollutants (ammonium sulfate, ammonium bisulfate, ammonium nitrate, and secondary organic carbon). From 2002 to 2013, PM2.5 total mass decreased from 13.8 μg/m3 to 9.2 μg/m3 averaged across all sites, a 33% decrease. Largest decreases were observed for secondary sulfate and nitrate species (58% and 44%, respectively). The amount of neutralization by ammonium did not change substantially over the time period in spite of substantial decreases in sulfate and nitrate concentrations. Total mobile source impacts decreased more at urban sites (39%) than rural sites (23%), whereas biomass burning decreased more at rural sites (34%) than urban sites (27%). The estimated central-site source impacts are found to spatially represent large areas for secondary pollutants, smaller areas for biomass burning and dust, and very local areas for mobile sources and coal combustion. Trends from the National Emissions Inventory were compared with the annual trends of mobile source impacts, coal combustion impacts, and sulfate concentrations, resulting in statistically significant positive trends with Pearson R2 of 0.80, 0.64, and 0.79, respectively. Results presented here suggest that PM2.5 reductions in Georgia and the Southeast have been achieved by control of both stationary and mobile sources, and that PM2.5 is comprised of increasing fractions of biomass burning emissions and suspended dust. The temporal trends of source impacts at each site adds information about source changes beyond the every-three-year emission inventories for evaluation of emission-based model results.

Automobile carburetor- and radiator-related burns.

PubMed

Renz, B M; Sherman, R

1992-01-01

Seventy-nine persons who had sustained automobile engine carburetor- and radiator-related burns were admitted to Grady Memorial Hospital Burn Unit between June 1, 1984 and September 30, 1990. Forty patients with carburetor-priming flame burns had a mean age of 31.5 years, a mean burn size of 13.4% total body surface area, and a mean length of stay of 13.8 days. There were 37 male patients. Four patients had an inhalation injury. Twenty-two surgical procedures were performed on 13 patients. One patient was an innocent bystander, and one patient died. The clothing of 16 patients had ignited, which resulted in larger, deeper burns and in one death. Burns predominantly involved the right sides of the face, head, and torso; the right upper extremity; and the right hand. Thirty-nine patients had scald burns that were associated with uncapping a radiator. These patients had a mean age of 29.6 years, a mean burn size of 8.9% total body surface area, and a mean length of stay of 6.4 days. There were 36 male patients and three innocent bystanders. One autografting procedure was performed, and there were no deaths in this group of patients. The burn-prone person is the young adult male. The circumstances that result in such dangerous behavior are predictable, and resultant burn injuries are preventable.

Inter-Annual Variability of Burned Area in Brazil Based on a Synergistic use of Information Derived from MODIS and Landsat-TM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Libonati, R.; Dacamara, C. C.; Setzer, A. W.; Morelli, F.

2014-12-01

A procedure is presented that allows using information from the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor to improve the quality of monthly burned area estimates over Brazil. The method integrates MODIS derived information from two sources; the NASA MCD64A1 Direct Broadcast Monthly Burned Area Product and INPE's Monthly Burned Area MODIS product (AQM-MODIS). The latter product relies on an algorithm that was specifically designed for ecosystems in Brazil, taking advantage of the ability of MIR reflectances to discriminate burned areas. Information from both MODIS products is incorporated by means of a linear regression model where an optimal estimate of the burned area is obtained as a linear combination of burned area estimates from MCD64A1 and AQM-MODIS. The linear regression model is calibrated using as optimal estimates values of burned area derived from Landsat TM during 2005 and 2006 over Jalapão, a region of Cerrado covering an area of 187 x 187 km2. Obtained values of coefficients for MCD64A1 and AQM-MODIS were 0.51 and 0.35, respectively and the root mean square error was 7.6 km2. Robustness of the model was checked by calibrating the model separately for 2005 and 2006 and cross-validating with 2006 and 2005; coefficients for 2005 (2006) were 0.46 (0.54) for MCD64A1 and 0.35 (0.35) for AQM-MODIS and the corresponding root mean square errors for 2006 (2005) were 7.8 (7.4) km2. The linear model was then applied to Brazil as well as to the six Brazilian main biomes, namely Cerrado, Amazônia, Caatinga, Pantanal, Mata Atlântica and Pampa. As to be expected the interannual variability based on the proposed synergistic use of MCD64A1, AQM-MODIS and Landsat Tm data for the period 2005-2010 presents marked differences with the corresponding amounts derived from MCD64A1 alone. For instance during the considered period, values (in 103 km2) from the proposed approach (from MCD64A1) are 399 (142), 232 (62), 559 (259), 274 (73), 219 (31) and 415 (251). Values obtained with the proposed approach may be viewed as an improved alternative to the currently available products over Brazil.

Control of burn wound sepsis in rats by methylene blue-mediated photodynamic treatment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hasegawa, Hiroyuki; Sato, Shunichi; Kawauchi, Satoko; Saitoh, Daizoh; Shinomiya, Nariyoshi; Ashida, Hiroshi; Terakawa, Mitsuhiro

2012-02-01

Control of wound sepsis is an important challenge in traumatology. However, increase in the drug-resistant bacteria makes this challenge considerably difficult in recent years. In this study, we attempted to control burn wound sepsis in rats by photodynamic treatment, which has been reported to be effective against some drug-resistant bacteria. A 20% TBSA (total body surface area) full-thickness burn was made in rat dorsal skin, and five days after injury, a suspension of P. aeruginosa was applied to the wound surface. At 30 min after infection, a methylene blue (MB) solution was applied to the wound surface; 5 min afterwards, the wound was illuminated with a 665-nm light emitting diode (LED) array for 10 min. This treatment (application of MB and illumination) was repeated 3 times successively. The averaged light intensity on the wound surface was 3.3 mW/cm2, the corresponding total light dose being 5.9 J/cm2. One week after injury, the numbers of bacteria in the blood and liver were counted by colony forming assay. In the liver, the number of bacteria of the treated group was significantly lower than that of the sham control group without photodynamic treatment. In the blood, no bacteria were detected in the treated group, while a certain amount of bacteria was detected in the control group. These results demonstrate the efficacy of MB-mediated PDT with a red LED array to control burn wound sepsis.

Trends and causes of severity, size, and number of fires in northwestern California, USA.

PubMed

Miller, J D; Skinner, C N; Safford, H D; Knapp, E E; Ramirez, C M

2012-01-01

Research in the last several years has indicated that fire size and frequency are on the rise in western U.S. forests. Although fire size and frequency are important, they do not necessarily scale with ecosystem effects of fire, as different ecosystems have different ecological and evolutionary relationships with fire. Our study assessed trends and patterns in fire size and frequency from 1910 to 2008 (all fires > 40 ha), and the percentage of high-severity in fires from 1987 to 2008 (all fires > 400 ha) on the four national forests of northwestern California. During 1910-2008, mean and maximum fire size and total annual area burned increased, but we found no temporal trend in the percentage of high-severity fire during 1987-2008. The time series of severity data was strongly influenced by four years with region-wide lightning events that burned huge areas at primarily low-moderate severity. Regional fire rotation reached a high of 974 years in 1984 and fell to 95 years by 2008. The percentage of high-severity fire in conifer-dominated forests was generally higher in areas dominated by smaller-diameter trees than in areas with larger-diameter trees. For Douglas-fir forests, the percentage of high-severity fire did not differ significantly between areas that re-burned and areas that only burned once (10% vs. 9%) when re-burned within 30 years. Percentage of high-severity fire decreased to 5% when intervals between first and second fires were > 30 years. In contrast, in both mixed-conifer and fir/high-elevation conifer forests, the percentage of high-severity fire was less when re-burned within 30 years compared to first-time burned (12% vs. 16% for mixed conifer; 11% vs. 19% for fir/high-elevation conifer). Additionally, the percentage of high-severity fire did not differ whether the re-burn interval was less than or greater than 30 years. Years with larger fires and greatest area burned were produced by region-wide lightning events, and characterized by less winter and spring precipitation than years dominated by smaller human-ignited fires. Overall percentage of high-severity fire was generally less in years characterized by these region-wide lightning events. Our results suggest that, under certain conditions, wildfires could be more extensively used to achieve ecological and management objectives in northwestern California.

Runoff Response at Three Spatial Scale from a Burned Watershed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moody, J. A.; Kinner, D. A.

2007-12-01

The hypothesis that the magnitude and timing of runoff from burned watersheds are functions of the properties of flow paths at multiple scales was investigated at three nested spatial scales within an area burned by the 2005 Harvard Fire near Burbank, California. Water depths were measured using pressure sensors: at the outlet of a subwatershed (10000 m2); in 3-inch Parshall flumes near the outlets of three mini-watersheds (820-1780 m2) within the subwatershed; and by 12 overland-flow detectors in 6 micro-watersheds (~11-15 m2) within one of the mini-watersheds. Rainfall intensities were measured using recording raingages deployed around the perimeter of the mini-watersheds and at the subwatershed outlet. Time-to-concentration, TC, and lag time, TL, were computed for the 15 largest of 30 rainstorms (maximum 30- minute intensities were 3.3-13.0 mm/h) between December 2005 and April 2006. TC , elapsed time from the beginning of the rain until the first increase in water depth, averaged 1.0 hours at the micro-scale, 1.7 hours at the mini-scale, and 1.5 hours at the subwatershed scale. TL is the lag time that produced the maximum cross- correlation coefficient between the time series of rainfall intensities and the series of water depths. TL averaged 0.15 hours at the micro-scale, 0.35 hours at the mini-scale, and 0.39 hours at the subwatershed scale. The coefficient was >0.50 for 43% (N=168) of the measurements at the micro-scale, for 61% (N=54) at the mini- scale, and for 67% (N=6) at the subwatershed scale indicating the runoff response lagged but was often well correlated with the time-varying rainfall intensity.

Effects of burn temperature on ash nutrient forms and availability from cattail (Typha domingensis) and sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense) in the Florida Everglades.

PubMed

Qian, Y; Miao, S L; Gu, B; Li, Y C

2009-01-01

Plant ash derived from fire plays an important role in nutrient balance and cycling in ecosystems. Factors that determine the composition and availability of ash nutrients include fire intensity (burn temperature and duration), plant species, habitat nutrient enrichment, and leaf type (live or dead leaf). We used laboratory simulation methods to evaluate temperature effects on nutrient composition and metals in the residual ash of sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense) and cattail (Typha domingensis), particularly on post-fire phosphorus (P) availability in plant ash. Live and dead leaf samples were collected from Water Conservation Area 2A in the northern Everglades along a soil P gradient, where prescribed fire may be used to accelerate recovery of this unique ecosystem. Significant decreases in total carbon and total nitrogen were detected with increasing fire temperature. Organic matter combustion was nearly complete at temperatures > or = 450 degrees C. HCl-extractable P (average, 50% of total P in the ash) and NH(4)Cl-extractable P (average, 33% of total P in the ash) were the predominant P fractions for laboratory-burned ash. Although a low-intensity fire could induce an elevation of P availability, an intense fire generally resulted in decreased water-soluble P. Significant differences in nutrient compositions were observed between species, habitat nutrient status, and leaf types. More labile inorganic P remained in sawgrass ash than in cattail ash; hence, sawgrass ash has a greater potential to release available P than cattail. Fire intensity affected plant ash nutrient composition, particularly P availability, and the effects varied with plant species and leaf type. Therefore, it is important to consider fire intensity and vegetation community when using a prescribed fire for ecosystem management.

Neglected post burns contracture of hand in children: Analysis of contributory socio-cultural factors and the impact of neglect on outcome.

PubMed

Gupta, Ravi Kumar; Jindal, Nipun; Kamboj, Kulbhushan

2014-12-01

No study has ever evaluated the causes and effect of neglect on the outcome of post burns contractures of hand in children. 66 hands in 61 children (mean age 12.22 years) with a mean neglect of 11.6 years (range 5-17 years) were assessed for the causes of neglect and the outcome of surgery. Average follow up was 6.6 years. The results were assessed in two groups of 5-10 years neglect as group I and >10 years neglect as group II. In a total number of 134 contracted rays in 66 hands, the surgical procedures included local Z/V-Y flap (51 rays), cross finger flap (48 rays), full thickness graft (35 rays). Additional external fixator with a distracter was used in 3 patients treated at a delay of 14, 16 and 17 years. 50 (81.96%) patients belonged to rural and slum areas. The reasons for delayed treatment included poverty - 33 patients, lack of awareness of surgical treatment - 16 patients; and indifference of parents - 12 patients. 44 (72.13%) children were illiterates. With treatment the average DASH score improved from 65.10 to 36.90 (p < .000) and from 68.14 to 45.93 (p < .000) in group I and II respectively. The results were significantly superior in group I (p < .000). The main factors for neglect in treatment of post burns contracture include poverty, lack of awareness and illiteracy. All the patients showed significant improvement in function after the surgery. Contractures with higher neglect had significantly inferior outcome.

Impact and Recovery Pattern of a Spring Fire on a Pacific Coast Marsh - Observations and Implications for Endangered Species

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, L. N.; Willis, K. S.; Ambrose, R. F.; MacDonald, G. M.

2015-12-01

The flammability of California coastal marsh vegetation is highest in winter and spring when dominant high marsh plants such as Sarcocornia pacifica are dormant. With climate change the number of cool-season fires are increasing in the state, and marsh systems are becoming more vulnerable to fire disturbance. Very little information exists in peer-reviewed or grey literature on the presence of fire in Pacific Coast tidal marshes. In 1993, the Green Meadows fire in Ventura County, California burned a small portion of tidally influenced Sarcocornia­-dominated marsh at Point Mugu. After the May 2013 Springs Fire burned a similar portion of the salt marsh vegetation, we conducted a two-year vegetation recovery survey using transects of surface vegetation plots and MODIS derived NDVI remote sensing monitoring. Recovery during the first year was limited. Sixteen months into the recovery period, percent plant coverage reached an average of approximately 60% for all plots in the burned area, as opposed to an average of 100% in control plots, and remained at that level for the duration of the study. NDVI did not approach near pre-fire conditions until 19 months after the fire. While recovery may have been influenced by California's current extreme drought conditions, the recurrence of fire and rate of recovery raise many important questions as to the role of fire in Pacific coast tidal marshes. For example, the lack of Salicornia cover over more than an entire breeding season would be detrimental to protected species such as Rallus obsoletus. Fire adds new vulnerabilities on critical tidal marsh habitat already taxed by the threat of sea-level rise, coastal squeeze and invasive species.

Monitoring the impact of straw burning on particulate pollution using satellite and in-situ observations in the North China Plain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, C.

2015-12-01

The North China Plain is one of the main grain producing areas of China, but is also a severe straw burning zone. Winter wheat and summer corn harvests in this area usually occur from the beginning of Jun and Oct, respectively. After harvest, farmers usually burn out the remaining straw for convenience. However, straw burning can release a large quantity of air pollutants and can consequently result in a significant deterioration in regional air quality. To monitor the impact of straw burning on particulate pollution, daily MODIS thermal anomaly products (MOD14 and MYD14) were used to identify dates and regions of straw burning. Then the corresponding MODIS AOD products (MOD04 and MYD04) and particulate matter (PM) concentration observations from ground stations were integrated using a geostatistical method. By combining the accurate station-based PM observations and satellite data of well spatial coverage, PM concentration distribution maps were generated. Meanwhile, NCEP reanalysis data were used to obtain the corresponding surface wind pattern maps. Preliminary results show that satellite and station-based observations can indicate the impact of straw burning on PM pollution during harvest time. Air qualities during these times are obviously affected by the straw burning and surface wind field. Moreover, the air quality of the southeast study region is susceptible to the straw burning in adjacent areas due to the characteristic of the terrain.

Effects of ignition location models on the burn patterns of simulated wildfires

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bar-Massada, A.; Syphard, A.D.; Hawbaker, T.J.; Stewart, S.I.; Radeloff, V.C.

2011-01-01

Fire simulation studies that use models such as FARSITE often assume that ignition locations are distributed randomly, because spatially explicit information about actual ignition locations are difficult to obtain. However, many studies show that the spatial distribution of ignition locations, whether human-caused or natural, is non-random. Thus, predictions from fire simulations based on random ignitions may be unrealistic. However, the extent to which the assumption of ignition location affects the predictions of fire simulation models has never been systematically explored. Our goal was to assess the difference in fire simulations that are based on random versus non-random ignition location patterns. We conducted four sets of 6000 FARSITE simulations for the Santa Monica Mountains in California to quantify the influence of random and non-random ignition locations and normal and extreme weather conditions on fire size distributions and spatial patterns of burn probability. Under extreme weather conditions, fires were significantly larger for non-random ignitions compared to random ignitions (mean area of 344.5 ha and 230.1 ha, respectively), but burn probability maps were highly correlated (r = 0.83). Under normal weather, random ignitions produced significantly larger fires than non-random ignitions (17.5 ha and 13.3 ha, respectively), and the spatial correlations between burn probability maps were not high (r = 0.54), though the difference in the average burn probability was small. The results of the study suggest that the location of ignitions used in fire simulation models may substantially influence the spatial predictions of fire spread patterns. However, the spatial bias introduced by using a random ignition location model may be minimized if the fire simulations are conducted under extreme weather conditions when fire spread is greatest. ?? 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

Improving satellite-based post-fire evapotranspiration estimates in semi-arid regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poon, P.; Kinoshita, A. M.

2017-12-01

Climate change and anthropogenic factors contribute to the increased frequency, duration, and size of wildfires, which can alter ecosystem and hydrological processes. The loss of vegetation canopy and ground cover reduces interception and alters evapotranspiration (ET) dynamics in riparian areas, which can impact rainfall-runoff partitioning. Previous research evaluated the spatial and temporal trends of ET based on burn severity and observed an annual decrease of 120 mm on average for three years after fire. Building upon these results, this research focuses on the Coyote Fire in San Diego, California (USA), which burned a total of 76 km2 in 2003 to calibrate and improve satellite-based ET estimates in semi-arid regions affected by wildfire. The current work utilizes satellite-based products and techniques such as the Google Earth Engine Application programming interface (API). Various ET models (ie. Operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance Model (SSEBop)) are compared to the latent heat flux from two AmeriFlux eddy covariance towers, Sky Oaks Young (US-SO3), and Old Stand (US-SO2), from 2000 - 2015. The Old Stand tower has a low burn severity and the Young Stand tower has a moderate to high burn severity. Both towers are used to validate spatial ET estimates. Furthermore, variables and indices, such as Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI), and the Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) are utilized to evaluate satellite-based ET through a multivariate statistical analysis at both sites. This point-scale study will able to improve ET estimates in spatially diverse regions. Results from this research will contribute to the development of a post-wildfire ET model for semi-arid regions. Accurate estimates of post-fire ET will provide a better representation of vegetation and hydrologic recovery, which can be used to improve hydrologic models and predictions.

Meek micrografting history, indications, technique, physiology and experience: a review article.

PubMed

Quintero, Eduardo Camacho; Machado, Jesús Francisco Escrivá; Robles, Roger Andres Damian

2018-02-01

Traumatic loss of skin, particularly in major burns, requires skin grafting to repair the tissue. For a large burn, where donor sites are limited, the skin graft may need to be expanded. In addition, rapid wound closure is a large factor in successful recovery and is usually achieved by debridement and skin grafting. Micrografting was introduced by Meek and involved dividing the skin into small pieces, allowing for up to a tenfold skin expansion. We conducted a review of the literature, searched via Medline, Pubmed and Embase (from 1958 to June 2017), searching to identify studies and reports of micrografting. We searched using the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) 'micrograft', 'micrograft technique', 'Meek', 'Meek technique', 'Parker Cicero', 'major burn treatment' and 'mesh skin graft'. We analysed 24 articles in which the description and modifications presented by the micrograft technique were presented, along with evidence that supports or rejects its use. The consensus was for the use of micrografting in burns of >30% total body surface area (TBSA). On poor wound beds, the evaluation of re-epithelialisation had greater success due to low metabolic demands and greater skin coverage compared with control groups (p<0.005). Comparing the 'mesh' with 'Meek' group, the micrograft group had fewer surgeries (10 versus 19.75), shorter average length of hospital stay (51 days versus 120.5 days; p<0.05). Micrografting can be used where there is poor bed vascularity (such as in patients with diabetes), with higher success due to low metabolic demand. This is recommended for major burns, >30% TBSA, with inadequate donor sites and comorbidities, such as diabetes. However, disadvantages include a 'polka dot' appearance on healing and the fact the initial surgeries, creating the micrograft squares, are labour-intensive.

Detection of Circulating Mucorales DNA in Critically Ill Burn Patients: Preliminary Report of a Screening Strategy for Early Diagnosis and Treatment.

PubMed

Legrand, Matthieu; Gits-Muselli, Maud; Boutin, Louis; Garcia-Hermoso, Dea; Maurel, Véronique; Soussi, Sabri; Benyamina, Mourad; Ferry, Axelle; Chaussard, Maïté; Hamane, Samia; Denis, Blandine; Touratier, Sophie; Guigue, Nicolas; Fréalle, Emilie; Jeanne, Mathieu; Shaal, Jean-Vivien; Soler, Charles; Mimoun, Maurice; Chaouat, Marc; Lafaurie, Matthieu; Mebazaa, Alexandre; Bretagne, Stéphane; Alanio, Alexandre

2016-11-15

 Invasive wound mucormycosis (IWM) is associated with an extremely poor outcome among critically ill burn patients. We describe the detection of circulating Mucorales DNA (cmDNA) for the early diagnosis of IWM in those patients and report the potential value of detecting cmDNA for treatment guidance.  Severely ill burn patients admitted to our tertiary referral center between October 2013 and February 2016 were included. Retrospective plasma samples were tested for the presence of cmDNA by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Patients were then prospectively screened twice a week, and liposomal amphotericin-B therapy initiated based on a positive qPCR. The primary endpoint was the time between cmDNA detection and standard diagnosis. Secondary endpoints were the time from cmDNA detection and treatment initiation and mortality.  Seventy-seven patients (418 samples) were included. The average age was 46 (28-60) years, abbreviated burn severity index was 8 (7-10), and simplified acute physiology score was 33 (23-46). The total body surface area was 33% (22%-52%). cmDNA was detected 11 (4.5-15) days before standard diagnosis. The in-hospital mortality was 62% for patients with IWM and 24% for those without (P = .03). The mortality due to IWM was 80% during period A and 33% during period B (P = .46).  This study suggests that the detection of cmDNA allows earlier diagnosis of IWM in severely ill burn patients and earlier initiation of treatment. Further studies are needed to confirm the impact of earlier treatment initiation on patient outcome. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.

Usage of lidocaine-prilocaine cream in the treatment of postburn pain in pediatric patients.

PubMed

Kargi, Eksal; Tekerekoğlu, Bülent

2010-05-01

Facial burns are quite common among children. Many different wound-covers can be used for dressing burn wounds, which is usually painful for the patients. These covers can also be combined with local anesthetic creams. Lidocaine-prilocaine cream 5% (LPC) is commonly used as a topical anesthetic by physicians performing plastic surgery. In the present study, we investigated the effects of topical LPC on pain cessation in pediatric patients with face burn and compared results with a control group in which LPC was not used in the wound dressing. Thirty pediatric patients (average age 11.3, range 8-15) among those who admitted to our emergency service and plastic surgery outpatient clinic between 2003 and 2006 were included in this study. The patient's burned areas ranged between 1 and 5% percent of their total body surface. The need for analgesic medicine was recorded in the first, second and third 8-hour periods postburn in both groups, and pain level was evaluated at these time points using a verbal rating scale. There was a significant difference between the two groups with respect to values of the first and second 8-hour periods, while in the third 8-hour period, no significant difference was observed. We conclude that topical local anesthetics administered for 16 hours postburn significantly reduce the duration of pain after injury, which suggests a potential use in clinical practice in the treatment of children with face burn. While LPC was found to have an ameliorating effect in the first 16 hours, we recommend oral analgesic co-therapy support since it loses its efficacy in the last 8-hour period.

Characterization of carbonaceous materials in PM2.5 and PM10 size fractions in Morogoro, Tanzania, during 2006 wet season campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mkoma, Stelyus L.; Chi, Xuguang; Maenhaut, Willy

2010-05-01

Atmospheric aerosol samples in PM10 and PM2.5 size fractions were collected in parallel at a rural site in Morogoro during wet season in March and April 2006. All samples were analysed for the particulate matter mass, for organic, elemental, and total carbon (OC, EC, and TC), and for water-soluble OC (WSOC). The average PM10 and PM2.5 mass concentrations and associated standard deviations were 14 ± 13 μg/m 3 and 7.3 ± 4 μg/m 3 respectively. On average, TC accounted for 33% of the PM10 mass and 44% of the PM2.5 mass for the campaign. The average OC/PM percentage ratios were 27% and 33% in PM10 and PM2.5 size fractions respectively and a larger fraction of the OC was water-soluble. The observed low EC/TC mean percentage ratios of 10-14% respectively for PM10 and PM2.5 fractions indicate that the carbonaceous aerosol originates mainly from biogenic aerosols and/or biomass burning. A simple source apportionment approach was used to apportion the OC to biofuel and charcoal burning. On average, 93% of the PM10 OC was attributed to biofuel and 7% to charcoal burning in the 2006 wet season campaign. However, it is suggested that a contribution to the OC at Morogoro could also come from other natural biogenic matter, and/or biomass burning aerosols. The results for the sources of OC at Morogoro should therefore be considered with great caution.

Intake of ²³⁸U and ²³²Th through the consumption of foodstuffs by tribal populations practicing slash and burn agriculture in an extremely high rainfall area.

PubMed

Jha, S K; Gothankar, S; Iongwai, P S; Kharbuli, B; War, S A; Puranik, V D

2012-01-01

The concentration of naturally occurring radionuclides ²³²Th, ²³⁸U was determined using Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) in different food groups namely cereals, vegetables, leafy vegetables, roots and tubers cultivated and consumed by tribal population residing around the proposed uranium mine. The study area is a part of rural area K. P. Mawthabah (Domiasiat) in the west Khasi Hills District of Meghalaya, India located in the tropical region of high rainfall that remains steeped in tribal tradition without much outside influence. Agriculture by Jhum (slash and burn) cultivation and animal husbandry are the main occupation of the tribal populations. A total of 89 samples from locally grown food products were analyzed. The concentration of ²³⁸U and ²³²Th in the soil of the study area was found to vary 1.6-15.5 and 2.0-5.0 times respectively to the average mean value observed in India. The estimated daily dietary intake of ²³⁸U and ²³²Th were 2.0 μg d⁻¹ (25 mBq d⁻¹) and 3.4 μg d⁻¹ (14 mBq d⁻¹) is comparable with reported range 0.5-5.0 μg d⁻¹ and 0.15-3.5 μg d⁻¹ respectively for the Asian population. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stormwater contaminant loading following southern California wildfires.

PubMed

Stein, Eric D; Brown, Jeffrey S; Hogue, Terri S; Burke, Megan P; Kinoshita, Alicia

2012-11-01

Contaminant loading associated with stormwater runoff from recently burned areas is poorly understood, despite the fact that it has the potential to affect downstream water quality. The goal of the present study is to assess regional patterns of runoff and contaminant loading from wildfires in urban fringe areas of southern California. Postfire stormwater runoff was sampled from five wildfires that each burned between 115 and 658 km(2) of natural open space between 2003 and 2009. Between two and five storm events were sampled per site over the first one to two years following the fires for basic constituents, metals, nutrients, total suspended solids, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Results were compared to data from 16 unburned natural areas and six developed sites. Mean copper, lead, and zinc flux (kg/km(2)) were between 112- and 736-fold higher from burned catchments and total phosphorus was up to 921-fold higher compared to unburned natural areas. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon flux was four times greater from burned areas than from adjacent urban areas. Ash fallout on nearby unburned watersheds also resulted in a threefold increase in metals and PAHs. Attenuation of elevated concentration and flux values appears to be driven mainly by rainfall magnitude. Contaminant loading from burned landscapes has the potential to be a substantial contribution to the total annual load to downstream areas in the first several years following fires. Copyright © 2012 SETAC.