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.

Global estimation of CO emissions using three sets of satellite data for burned area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jain, Atul K.

Using three sets of satellite data for burned areas together with the tree cover imagery and a biogeochemical component of the Integrated Science Assessment Model (ISAM) the global emissions of CO and associated uncertainties are estimated for the year 2000. The available fuel load (AFL) is calculated using the ISAM biogeochemical model, which accounts for the aboveground and surface fuel removed by land clearing for croplands and pasturelands, as well as the influence on fuel load of various ecosystem processes (such as stomatal conductance, evapotranspiration, plant photosynthesis and respiration, litter production, and soil organic carbon decomposition) and important feedback mechanisms (such as climate and fertilization feedback mechanism). The ISAM estimated global total AFL in the year 2000 was about 687 Pg AFL. All forest ecosystems account for about 90% of the global total AFL. The estimated global CO emissions based on three global burned area satellite data sets (GLOBSCAR, GBA, and Global Fire Emissions Database version 2 (GFEDv2)) for the year 2000 ranges between 320 and 390 Tg CO. Emissions from open fires are highest in tropical Africa, primarily due to forest cutting and burning. The estimated overall uncertainty in global CO emission is about ±65%, with the highest uncertainty occurring in North Africa and Middle East region (±99%). The results of this study suggest that the uncertainties in the calculated emissions stem primarily from the area burned data.

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).

Seasonal and interannual variations in CO and BC emissions from open biomass burning in Southern Africa during 1998-2005

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ito, Akinori; Ito, Akihiko; Akimoto, Hajime

2007-06-01

We estimate the emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) and black carbon (BC) from open vegetation fires in the 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 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 distributions are derived from a 0.5-degree terrestrial carbon cycle model in conjunction with satellite data. The monthly maps of combustion factors and emission factors are estimated using empirical models that predict the effects of fuel conditions on these factors in grasslands and woodlands. Our annually averaged effective CO and BC emissions per area burned are 27 g CO m-2 and 0.17 g BC m-2 which are consistent with the products of fuel consumption and emission factors typically measured in southern Africa. The CO and BC emissions from open vegetation burning in southern Africa range from 45 Tg CO yr-1 and 0.26 Tg BC yr-1 for 2002 to 75 Tg CO yr-1 and 0.42 Tg BC yr-1 for 1998. The monthly averaged burned areas from VIRS fire counts peak earlier than modeled CO emissions. This characteristic delay between burned areas and emissions is mainly explained by significant changes in combustion factors for woodlands in our model. Consequently, the peaks in CO and BC emissions from our bottom-up approach are identical to those from previous top-down estimates using the Measurement Of the Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT) and the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) Aerosol Index (AI) data.

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.

Improved rice residue burning emissions estimates: Accounting for practice-specific emission factors in air pollution assessments of Vietnam.

PubMed

Lasko, Kristofer; Vadrevu, Krishna

2018-05-01

In Southeast Asia and Vietnam, rice residues are routinely burned after the harvest to prepare fields for the next season. Specific to Vietnam, the two prevalent burning practices include: a). piling the residues after hand harvesting; b). burning the residues without piling, after machine harvesting. In this study, we synthesized field and laboratory studies from the literature on rice residue burning emission factors for PM 2.5 . We found significant differences in the resulting burning-practice specific emission factors, with 16.9 g kg -2 (±6.9) for pile burning and 8.8 g kg -2 (±3.5) for non-pile burning. We calculated burning-practice specific emissions based on rice area data, region-specific fuel-loading factors, combined emission factors, and estimates of burning from the literature. Our results for year 2015 estimate 180 Gg of PM 2.5 result from the pile burning method and 130 Gg result from non-pile burning method, with the most-likely current emission scenario of 150 Gg PM 2.5 emissions for Vietnam. For comparison purposes, we calculated emissions using generalized agricultural emission factors employed in global biomass burning studies. These results estimate 80 Gg PM 2.5 , which is only 44% of the pile burning-based estimates, suggesting underestimation in previous studies. We compare our emissions to an existing all-combustion sources inventory, results show emissions account for 14-18% of Vietnam's total PM 2.5 depending on burning practice. Within the highly-urbanized and cloud-covered Hanoi Capital region (HCR), we use rice area from Sentinel-1A to derive spatially-explicit emissions and indirectly estimate residue burning dates. Results from HYSPLIT back-trajectory analysis stratified by season show autumn has most emission trajectories originating in the North, while spring has most originating in the South, suggesting the latter may have bigger impact on air quality. From these results, we highlight locations where emission mitigation efforts could be focused and suggest measures for pollutant mitigation. Our study demonstrates the need to account for emissions variation due to different burning practices. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biomass burning fuel consumption dynamics in the tropics and subtropics assessed from satellite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andela, Niels; van der Werf, Guido R.; Kaiser, Johannes W.; van Leeuwen, Thijs T.; Wooster, Martin J.; Lehmann, Caroline E. R.

2016-06-01

Landscape fires occur on a large scale in (sub)tropical savannas and grasslands, affecting ecosystem dynamics, regional air quality and concentrations of atmospheric trace gasses. Fuel consumption per unit of area burned is an important but poorly constrained parameter in fire emission modelling. We combined satellite-derived burned area with fire radiative power (FRP) data to derive fuel consumption estimates for land cover types with low tree cover in South America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Australia. We developed a new approach to estimate fuel consumption, based on FRP data from the polar-orbiting Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the geostationary Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) in combination with MODIS burned-area estimates. The fuel consumption estimates based on the geostationary and polar-orbiting instruments showed good agreement in terms of spatial patterns. We used field measurements of fuel consumption to constrain our results, but the large variation in fuel consumption in both space and time complicated this comparison and absolute fuel consumption estimates remained more uncertain. Spatial patterns in fuel consumption could be partly explained by vegetation productivity and fire return periods. In South America, most fires occurred in savannas with relatively long fire return periods, resulting in comparatively high fuel consumption as opposed to the more frequently burning savannas in Sub-Saharan Africa. Strikingly, we found the infrequently burning interior of Australia to have higher fuel consumption than the more productive but frequently burning savannas in northern Australia. Vegetation type also played an important role in explaining the distribution of fuel consumption, by affecting both fuel build-up rates and fire return periods. Hummock grasslands, which were responsible for a large share of Australian biomass burning, showed larger fuel build-up rates than equally productive grasslands in Africa, although this effect might have been partially driven by the presence of grazers in Africa or differences in landscape management. Finally, land management in the form of deforestation and agriculture also considerably affected fuel consumption regionally. We conclude that combining FRP and burned-area estimates, calibrated against field measurements, is a promising approach in deriving quantitative estimates of fuel consumption. Satellite-derived fuel consumption estimates may both challenge our current understanding of spatiotemporal fuel consumption dynamics and serve as reference datasets to improve biogeochemical modelling approaches. Future field studies especially designed to validate satellite-based products, or airborne remote sensing, may further improve confidence in the absolute fuel consumption estimates which are quickly becoming the weakest link in fire emission estimates.

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...

Improving the accuracy of burn-surface estimation.

PubMed

Nichter, L S; Williams, J; Bryant, C A; Edlich, R F

1985-09-01

A user-friendly computer-assisted method of calculating total body surface area burned (TBSAB) has been developed. This method is more accurate, faster, and subject to less error than conventional methods. For comparison, the ability of 30 physicians to estimate TBSAB was tested. Parameters studied included the effect of prior burn care experience, the influence of burn size, the ability to accurately sketch the size of burns on standard burn charts, and the ability to estimate percent TBSAB from the sketches. Despite the ability for physicians of all levels of training to accurately sketch TBSAB, significant burn size over-estimation (p less than 0.01) and large interrater variability of potential consequence was noted. Direct benefits of a computerized system are many. These include the need for minimal user experience and the ability for wound-trend analysis, permanent record storage, calculation of fluid and caloric requirements, hemodynamic parameters, and the ability to compare meaningfully the different treatment protocols.

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.

Probability and volume of potential postwildfire debris flows in the 2012 High Park Burn Area near Fort Collins, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Verdin, Kristine L.; Dupree, Jean A.; Elliott, John G.

2012-01-01

This report presents a preliminary emergency assessment of the debris-flow hazards from drainage basins burned by the 2012 High Park fire near Fort Collins in Larimer County, Colorado. Empirical models derived from statistical evaluation of data collected from recently burned basins throughout the intermountain western United States were used to estimate the probability of debris-flow occurrence and volume of debris flows along the burned area drainage network and to estimate the same for 44 selected drainage basins along State Highway 14 and the perimeter of the burned area. Input data for the models included topographic parameters, soil characteristics, burn severity, and rainfall totals and intensities for a (1) 2-year-recurrence, 1-hour-duration rainfall (25 millimeters); (2) 10-year-recurrence, 1-hour-duration rainfall (43 millimeters); and (3) 25-year-recurrence, 1-hour-duration rainfall (51 millimeters). Estimated debris-flow probabilities along the drainage network and throughout the drainage basins of interest ranged from 1 to 84 percent in response to the 2-year-recurrence, 1-hour-duration rainfall; from 2 to 95 percent in response to the 10-year-recurrence, 1-hour-duration rainfall; and from 3 to 97 in response to the 25-year-recurrence, 1-hour-duration rainfall. Basins and drainage networks with the highest probabilities tended to be those on the eastern edge of the burn area where soils have relatively high clay contents and gradients are steep. Estimated debris-flow volumes range from a low of 1,600 cubic meters to a high of greater than 100,000 cubic meters. Estimated debris-flow volumes increase with basin size and distance along the drainage network, but some smaller drainages were also predicted to produce substantial volumes of material. The predicted probabilities and some of the volumes predicted for the modeled storms indicate a potential for substantial debris-flow impacts on structures, roads, bridges, and culverts located both within and immediately downstream from the burned area. Colorado State Highway 14 is also susceptible to impacts from debris flows.

Timing constraints on remote sensing of wildland fire burned area in the southeastern US

USGS Publications Warehouse

Picotte, J.J.; Robertson, K.

2011-01-01

Remote sensing using Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) satellite imagery is increasingly used for mapping wildland fire burned area and burn severity, owing to its frequency of collection, relatively high resolution, and availability free of charge. However, rapid response of vegetation following fire and frequent cloud cover pose challenges to this approach in the southeastern US. We assessed these timing constraints by using a series of Landsat TM images to determine how rapidly the remotely sensed burn scar signature fades following prescribed burns in wet flatwoods and depression swamp community types in the Apalachicola National Forest, Florida, USA during 2006. We used both the Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) of reflectance bands sensitive to vegetation and exposed soil cover, as well as the change in NBR from before to after fire (dNBR), to estimate burned area. We also determined the average and maximum amount of time following fire required to obtain a cloud-free image for burns in each month of the year, as well as the predicted effect of this time lag on percent accuracy of burn scar estimates. Using both NBR and dNBR, the detectable area decreased linearly 9% per month on average over the first four months following fire. Our findings suggest that the NBR and dNBR methods for monitoring burned area in common southeastern US vegetation community types are limited to an average of 78-90% accuracy among months of the year, with individual burns having values as low as 38%, if restricted to use of Landsat 5 TM imagery. However, the majority of burns can still be mapped at accuracies similar to those in other regions of the US, and access to additional sources of satellite imagery would improve overall accuracy. ?? 2011 by the authors.

Timing constraints on remote sensing of wildland fire burned area in the southeastern US

USGS Publications Warehouse

Picotte, Joshua J.; Robertson, Kevin

2011-01-01

Remote sensing using Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) satellite imagery is increasingly used for mapping wildland fire burned area and burn severity, owing to its frequency of collection, relatively high resolution, and availability free of charge. However, rapid response of vegetation following fire and frequent cloud cover pose challenges to this approach in the southeastern US. We assessed these timing constraints by using a series of Landsat TM images to determine how rapidly the remotely sensed burn scar signature fades following prescribed burns in wet flatwoods and depression swamp community types in the Apalachicola National Forest, Florida, USA during 2006. We used both the Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) of reflectance bands sensitive to vegetation and exposed soil cover, as well as the change in NBR from before to after fire (dNBR), to estimate burned area. We also determined the average and maximum amount of time following fire required to obtain a cloud-free image for burns in each month of the year, as well as the predicted effect of this time lag on percent accuracy of burn scar estimates. Using both NBR and dNBR, the detectable area decreased linearly 9% per month on average over the first four months following fire. Our findings suggest that the NBR and dNBR methods for monitoring burned area in common southeastern US vegetation community types are limited to an average of 78–90% accuracy among months of the year, with individual burns having values as low as 38%, if restricted to use of Landsat 5 TM imagery. However, the majority of burns can still be mapped at accuracies similar to those in other regions of the US, and access to additional sources of satellite imagery would improve overall accuracy.

Trace gas emissions to the atmosphere by biomass burning in the west African savannas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frouin, Robert J.; Iacobellis, Samuel F.; Razafimpanilo, Herisoa; Somerville, Richard C. J.

1994-01-01

Savanna fires and atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) detection and estimating burned area using Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer_(AVHRR) reflectance data are investigated in this two part research project. The first part involves carbon dioxide flux estimates and a three-dimensional transport model to quantify the effect of north African savanna fires on atmospheric CO2 concentration, including CO2 spatial and temporal variability patterns and their significance to global emissions. The second article describes two methods used to determine burned area from AVHRR data. The article discusses the relationship between the percentage of burned area and AVHRR channel 2 reflectance (the linear method) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) (the nonlinear method). A comparative performance analysis of each method is described.

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.

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

Medieval warming initiated exceptionally large wildfire outbreaks in the Rocky Mountains

PubMed Central

Calder, W. John; Parker, Dusty; Stopka, Cody J.; Jiménez-Moreno, Gonzalo; Shuman, Bryan N.

2015-01-01

Many of the largest wildfires in US history burned in recent decades, and climate change explains much of the increase in area burned. The frequency of extreme wildfire weather will increase with continued warming, but many uncertainties still exist about future fire regimes, including how the risk of large fires will persist as vegetation changes. Past fire-climate relationships provide an opportunity to constrain the related uncertainties, and reveal widespread burning across large regions of western North America during past warm intervals. Whether such episodes also burned large portions of individual landscapes has been difficult to determine, however, because uncertainties with the ages of past fires and limited spatial resolution often prohibit specific estimates of past area burned. Accounting for these challenges in a subalpine landscape in Colorado, we estimated century-scale fire synchroneity across 12 lake-sediment charcoal records spanning the past 2,000 y. The percentage of sites burned only deviated from the historic range of variability during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) between 1,200 and 850 y B.P., when temperatures were similar to recent decades. Between 1,130 and 1,030 y B.P., 83% (median estimate) of our sites burned when temperatures increased ∼0.5 °C relative to the preceding centuries. Lake-based fire rotation during the MCA decreased to an estimated 120 y, representing a 260% higher rate of burning than during the period of dendroecological sampling (360 to −60 y B.P.). Increased burning, however, did not persist throughout the MCA. Burning declined abruptly before temperatures cooled, indicating possible fuel limitations to continued burning. PMID:26438834

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.

Determining the Uncertainties in Prescribed Burn Emissions Through Comparison of Satellite Estimates to Ground-based Estimates and Air Quality Model Evaluations in Southeastern US

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Odman, M. T.; Hu, Y.; Russell, A. G.

2016-12-01

Prescribed burning is practiced throughout the US, and most widely in the Southeast, for the purpose of maintaining and improving the ecosystem, and reducing the wildfire risk. However, prescribed burn emissions contribute significantly to the of trace gas and particulate matter loads in the atmosphere. In places where air quality is already stressed by other anthropogenic emissions, prescribed burns can lead to major health and environmental problems. Air quality modeling efforts are under way to assess the impacts of prescribed burn emissions. Operational forecasts of the impacts are also emerging for use in dynamic management of air quality as well as the burns. Unfortunately, large uncertainties exist in the process of estimating prescribed burn emissions and these uncertainties limit the accuracy of the burn impact predictions. Prescribed burn emissions are estimated by using either ground-based information or satellite observations. When there is sufficient local information about the burn area, the types of fuels, their consumption amounts, and the progression of the fire, ground-based estimates are more accurate. In the absence of such information satellites remain as the only reliable source for emission estimation. To determine the level of uncertainty in prescribed burn emissions, we compared estimates derived from a burn permit database and other ground-based information to the estimates by the Biomass Burning Emissions Product derived from a constellation of NOAA and NASA satellites. Using these emissions estimates we conducted simulations with the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model and predicted trace gas and particulate matter concentrations throughout the Southeast for two consecutive burn seasons (2015 and 2016). In this presentation, we will compare model predicted concentrations to measurements at monitoring stations and evaluate if the differences are commensurate with our emission uncertainty estimates. We will also investigate if spatial and temporal patterns in the differences reveal the sources of the uncertainty in the prescribed burn emission estimates.

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).

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.

Improved Rice Residue Burning Emissions Estimates: Accounting for Practice-Specific Emission Factors in Air Pollution Assessments of Vietnam

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lasko, Kristofer; Vadrevu, Krishna

2018-01-01

In Southeast Asia and Vietnam, rice residues are routinely burned after the harvest to prepare fields for the next season. Specific to Vietnam, the two prevalent burning practices include: a). piling the residues after hand harvesting; b). burning the residues without piling, after machine harvesting. In this study, we synthesized field and laboratory studies from the literature on rice residue burning emission factors for Particulate Matter less than 2.5 microns (PM2.5). We found significant differences in the resulting burning-practice specific emission factors, with 16.9 grams per square kilogram (plus or minus 6.9) for pile burning and 8.8 grams per square kilogram (plus or minus 3.5) for non-pile burning. We calculated burning practice specific emissions based on rice area data, region-specific fuel-loading factors, combined emission factors, and estimates of burning from the literature. Our results for year 2015 estimate 180 gigagrams of PM2.5 result from the pile burning method and 130 gigagrams result from non-pile burning method, with the most-likely current emission scenario of 150 gigagrams PM2.5 emissions for Vietnam. For comparison purposes, we calculated emissions using generalized agricultural emission factors employed in global biomass burning studies. These results estimate 80 gigagrams PM2.5, which is only 44 percent of the pile burning-based estimates, suggesting underestimation in previous studies. We compare our emissions to an existing all-combustion sources inventory, results show emissions account for 14-18 percent of Vietnam's total PM2.5 depending on burning practice. Within the highly-urbanized and cloud-covered Hanoi Capital region (HCR), we use rice area from Sentinel-1A to derive spatially-explicit emissions and indirectly estimate residue burning dates. Results from HYSPLIT (Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory) back-trajectory analysis stratified by season show autumn has most emission trajectories originating in the North, while spring has most originating in the South, suggesting the latter may have bigger impact on air quality. From these results, we highlight locations where emission mitigation efforts could be focused and suggest measures for pollutant mitigation. Our study demonstrates the need to account for emissions variation due to different burning practices.

The determination of total burn surface area: How much difference?

PubMed

Giretzlehner, M; Dirnberger, J; Owen, R; Haller, H L; Lumenta, D B; Kamolz, L-P

2013-09-01

Burn depth and burn size are crucial determinants for assessing patients suffering from burns. Therefore, a correct evaluation of these factors is optimal for adapting the appropriate treatment in modern burn care. Burn surface assessment is subject to considerable differences among clinicians. This work investigated the accuracy among experts based on conventional surface estimation methods (e.g. "Rule of Palm", "Rule of Nines" or "Lund-Browder Chart"). The estimation results were compared to a computer-based evaluation method. Survey data was collected during one national and one international burn conference. The poll confirmed deviations of burn depth/size estimates of up to 62% in relation to the mean value of all participants. In comparison to the computer-based method, overestimation of up to 161% was found. We suggest introducing improved methods for burn depth/size assessment in clinical routine in order to efficiently allocate and distribute the available resources for practicing burn care. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Trace gas emissions to the atmosphere by biomass burning in the west African savannas. Final report, 1 October 1991-31 March 1994

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

Frouin, R.J.; Iacobellis, S.F.; Razafimpanilo, H.

1994-08-01

Savanna fires and atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) detection and estimating burned area using Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) reflectance data are investigated in this two part research project. The first part involves carbon dioxide flux estimates and a three-dimensional transport model to quantify the effect of North African savanna fires on atmospheric CO2 concentration, including CO2 spatial and temporal variability patterns and their significance to global emissions. The second article describes two methods used to determine burned area from AVHRR data. The article discusses the relationship between the percentage of burned area and AVHRR channel 2 reflectance (the linearmore » method) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) (the nonlinear method). A comparative performance analysis of each method is described.« less

Probability and volume of potential postwildfire debris flows in the 2012 Waldo Canyon Burn Area near Colorado Springs, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Verdin, Kristine L.; Dupree, Jean A.; Elliott, John G.

2012-01-01

This report presents a preliminary emergency assessment of the debris-flow hazards from drainage basins burned by the 2012 Waldo Canyon fire near Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado. Empirical models derived from statistical evaluation of data collected from recently burned basins throughout the intermountain western United States were used to estimate the probability of debris-flow occurrence and potential volume of debris flows along the drainage network of the burned area and to estimate the same for 22 selected drainage basins along U.S. Highway 24 and the perimeter of the burned area. Input data for the models included topographic parameters, soil characteristics, burn severity, and rainfall totals and intensities for a (1) 2-year-recurrence, 1-hour-duration rainfall, referred to as a 2-year storm (29 millimeters); (2) 10-year-recurrence, 1-hour-duration rainfall, referred to as a 10-year storm (42 millimeters); and (3) 25-year-recurrence, 1-hour-duration rainfall, referred to as a 25-year storm (48 millimeters). Estimated debris-flow probabilities at the pour points of the the drainage basins of interest ranged from less than 1 to 54 percent in response to the 2-year storm; from less than 1 to 74 percent in response to the 10-year storm; and from less than 1 to 82 percent in response to the 25-year storm. Basins and drainage networks with the highest probabilities tended to be those on the southern and southeastern edge of the burn area where soils have relatively high clay contents and gradients are steep. Nine of the 22 drainage basins of interest have greater than a 40-percent probability of producing a debris flow in response to the 10-year storm. Estimated debris-flow volumes for all rainfalls modeled range from a low of 1,500 cubic meters to a high of greater than 100,000 cubic meters. Estimated debris-flow volumes increase with basin size and distance along the drainage network, but some smaller drainages were also predicted to produce substantial volumes of material. The predicted probabilities and some of the volumes predicted for the modeled storms indicate a potential for substantial debris-flow impacts on structures, reservoirs, roads, bridges, and culverts located both within and immediately downstream from the burned area. U.S. Highway 24, on the southern edge of the burn area, is also susceptible to impacts from debris flows.

Development of the crop residue and rangeland burning in the 2014 National Emissions Inventory using information from multiple sources.

PubMed

Pouliot, George; Rao, Venkatesh; McCarty, Jessica L; Soja, Amber

2017-05-01

Biomass burning has been identified as an important contributor to the degradation of air quality because of its impact on ozone and particulate matter. One component of the biomass burning inventory, crop residue burning, has been poorly characterized in the National Emissions Inventory (NEI). In the 2011 NEI, wildland fires, prescribed fires, and crop residue burning collectively were the largest source of PM 2.5 . This paper summarizes our 2014 NEI method to estimate crop residue burning emissions and grass/pasture burning emissions using remote sensing data and field information and literature-based, crop-specific emission factors. We focus on both the postharvest and pre-harvest burning that takes place with bluegrass, corn, cotton, rice, soybeans, sugarcane and wheat. Estimates for 2014 indicate that over the continental United States (CONUS), crop residue burning excluding all areas identified as Pasture/Grass, Grassland Herbaceous, and Pasture/Hay occurred over approximately 1.5 million acres of land and produced 19,600 short tons of PM 2.5 . For areas identified as Pasture/Grass, Grassland Herbaceous, and Pasture/Hay, biomass burning emissions occurred over approximately 1.6 million acres of land and produced 30,000 short tons of PM 2.5 . This estimate compares with the 2011 NEI and 2008 NEI as follows: 2008: 49,650 short tons and 2011: 141,180 short tons. Note that in the previous two NEIs rangeland burning was not well defined and so the comparison is not exact. The remote sensing data also provided verification of our existing diurnal profile for crop residue burning emissions used in chemical transport modeling. In addition, the entire database used to estimate this sector of emissions is available on EPA's Clearinghouse for Inventories and Emission Factors (CHIEF, http://www3.epa.gov/ttn/chief/index.html ). Estimates of crop residue burning and rangeland burning emissions can be improved by using satellite detections. Local information is helpful in distinguishing crop residue and rangeland burning from all other types of fires.

Development of the crop residue and rangeland burning in the ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Biomass burning has been identified as an important contributor to the degradation of air quality because of its impact on ozone and particulate matter. One component of the biomass burning inventory, crop residue burning, has been poorly characterized in the National Emissions Inventory (NEI). In the 2011 NEI, wildland fires, prescribed fires, and crop residue burning collectively were the largest source of PM2.5. This paper summarizes our 2014 NEI method to estimate crop residue burning emissions and grass/pasture burning emissions using remote sensing data and field information and literature-based, crop-specific emission factors. We focus on both the postharvest and pre-harvest burning that takes place with bluegrass, corn, cotton, rice, soybeans, sugarcane and wheat. Estimates for 2014 indicate that over the continental United States (CONUS), crop residue burning excluding all areas identified as Pasture/Grass, Grassland Herbaceous, and Pasture/Hay occurred over approximately 1.5 million acres of land and produced 19,600 short tons of PM2.5. For areas identified as Pasture/Grass, Grassland Herbaceous, and Pasture/Hay, biomass burning emissions occurred over approximately 1.6 million acres of land and produced 30,000 short tons of PM2.5. This estimate compares with the 2011 NEI and 2008 NEI as follows: 2008: 49,650 short tons and 2011: 141,180 short tons. Note that in the previous two NEIs rangeland burning was not well defined and so the comparison is not e

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.

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.

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...

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.

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

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.

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.

Biomass Combustions and Burning Emissions Inferred from GOES Fire Radiative Power

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, X.; Kondragunta, S.; Schmidt, C.

2007-12-01

Biomass burning significantly affects air quality and climate changes. Current estimates of burning emissions are rather imprecise and vary markedly with different methodologies. This paper investigates biomass burning consumption and emissions using GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites) WF_ABBA (Wildfire Automated Biomass Burning Algorithm) fire product. In doing this, we establish a set of representatives in diurnal patterns of half-hourly GOES Fire Radiative Power (FRP) for various ecosystems. The representative patterns are used to fill the missed and poor observations of half hourly FRP in GOES fire data for individual fire pixels. The simulated FRP is directly applied to the calculation of the biomass combusted during fire activities. The FRP-based biomass combustion is evaluated using the estimates using a traditional model which integrates burned area, fuel loading, and combustion factor. In the traditional model calculation, we derive burned areas from GOES WF_ABBA fire size. Fuel loading includes three different types (1) MODIS Vegetation Property-based Fuel System (MVPFS), (2) National Dangerous Rating Systems (NFDRS), and (3) the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS). By comparing the biomass combustions across the Contiguous United States (CONUS) from 2003-2005, we conclude that FRP is an effective tool to estimate the biomass burning emissions. Finally, we examine the temporal and spatial patterns in biomass combustions and emissions (PM2.5, CO, NH3) across the CONUS.

Postwildfire debris-flow hazard assessment of the area burned by the 2012 Little Bear Fire, south-central New Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tillery, Anne C.; Matherne, Anne Marie

2013-01-01

A preliminary hazard assessment was developed of the debris-flow potential from 56 drainage basins burned by the Little Bear Fire in south-central New Mexico in June 2012. The Little Bear Fire burned approximately 179 square kilometers (km2) (44,330 acres), including about 143 km2 (35,300 acres) of National Forest System lands of the Lincoln National Forest. Within the Lincoln National Forest, about 72 km2 (17,664 acres) of the White Mountain Wilderness were burned. The burn area also included about 34 km2 (8,500 acres) of private lands. Burn severity was high or moderate on 53 percent of the burn area. The area burned is at risk of substantial postwildfire erosion, such as that caused by debris flows and flash floods. A postwildfire debris-flow hazard assessment of the area burned by the Little Bear Fire was performed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Lincoln National Forest. A set of two empirical hazard-assessment models developed by using data from recently burned drainage basins throughout the intermountain Western United States was used to estimate the probability of debris-flow occurrence and volume of debris flows along the burn area drainage network and for selected drainage basins within the burn area. The models incorporate measures of areal burn extent and severity, topography, soils, and storm rainfall intensity to estimate the probability and volume of debris flows following the fire. Relative hazard rankings of postwildfire debris flows were produced by summing the estimated probability and volume ranking to illustrate those areas with the highest potential occurrence of debris flows with the largest volumes. The probability that a drainage basin could produce debris flows and the volume of a possible debris flow at the basin outlet were estimated for three design storms: (1) a 2-year-recurrence, 30-minute-duration rainfall of 27 millimeters (mm) (a 50 percent chance of occurrence in any given year); (2) a 10-year-recurrence, 30-minute-duration rainfall of 42 mm (a 10 percent chance of occurrence in any given year); and (3) a 25-year-recurrence, 30-minute-duration rainfall of 51 mm (a 4 percent chance of occurrence in any given year). Thirty-nine percent of the 56 drainage basins modeled have a high (greater than 80 percent) probability of debris flows in response to the 2-year design storm; 80 percent of the modeled drainage basins have a high probability of debris flows in response to the 25-year design storm. For debris-flow volume, 7 percent of the modeled drainage basins have an estimated debris-flow volume greater than 100,000 cubic meters (m3) in response to the 2-year design storm; 9 percent of the drainage basins are included in the greater than 100,000 m3 category for both the 10-year and the 25-year design storms. Drainage basins in the greater than 100,000 m3 volume category also received the highest combined hazard ranking. The maps presented herein may be used to prioritize areas where emergency erosion mitigation or other protective measures may be needed prior to rainstorms within these drainage basins, their outlets, or areas downstream from these drainage basins within the 2- to 3-year period of vulnerability. This work is preliminary and is subject to revision. The assessment herein is provided on the condition that neither the U.S. Geological Survey nor the U.S. Government may be held liable for any damages resulting from the authorized or unauthorized use of the assessment.

Emissions of volatile organic compounds from maize residue open burning in the northern region of Thailand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sirithian, Duanpen; Thepanondh, Sarawut; Sattler, Melanie L.; Laowagul, Wanna

2018-03-01

Emission factors for speciated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from maize residue burning were determined in this study based on chamber experiments. Thirty-six VOC species were identified by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometer (GC/MS). They were classified into six groups, including alkanes, alkenes, oxygenated VOCs, halogenated VOCs, aromatics and other. The emission factor for total VOCs was estimated as about 148 mg kg-1 dry mass burned. About 68.4% of the compounds were aromatics. Field samplings of maize residues were conducted to acquire the information of fuel characteristics including fuel loading, fraction of maize residues that were actually burned as well as proximate and elemental analysis of maize residues. The emission factors were then applied to estimate speciated VOC emissions from maize residue open burning at the provincial level in the upper-northern region of Thailand for the year 2014. Total burned area of maize covered an area of about 500,000 ha which was about 4.7% of the total area of upper-northern region of the country. It was found that total VOC emissions released during the burning season (January-April) was about 79.4 tons. Ethylbenzene, m,p-xylene, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, acetaldehyde and o-xylene were the major contributors, accounting for more than 65% of total speciated VOC emissions.

High-Resolution Spatially Gridded Biomass Burning Emissions Inventory In Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vadrevu, K. P.; Lau, W. K.; da Silva, A.; Justice, C. O.

2012-12-01

Biomass burning is long recognized an important source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (CO2, CO, CH4, H2, CH3Cl, NO, HCN, CH3CN, COS, etc) and aerosols. In the Asian region, the current estimates of greenhouse gas emissions and aerosols from biomass burning are severely constrained by the lack of reliable statistics on fire distribution and frequency, and the lack of accurate estimates of area burned, fuel load, etc. As a part of NASA funded interdisciplinary research project entitled "Effects of biomass burning on water cycle and climate in the monsoon Asia", we initially developed a high resolution spatially gridded emissions inventory from the biomass burning for Indo-Ganges region and then extended the inventory to the entire Asia. Active fires from MODIS as well as high resolution LANDSAT data have been used to fine-tune the MODIS burnt area products for estimating the emissions. Locally based emission factors were used to refine the gaseous emissions. The resulting emissions data has been gridded at 5-minute intervals. We also compared our emission estimates with the other emission products such as Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS), Quick fire emissions database (QFED) and Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED). Our results revealed significant vegetation fires from Myanmar, India, Indonesia, China, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. These seven countries accounted for 92.4% of all vegetation fires in the Asian region. Satellite-based vegetation fire analysis showed the highest fire occurrence in the closed to open shrub land category, (19%) followed by closed to open, broadleaved evergreen-semi deciduous forest (16%), rain fed croplands (17%), post flooded or irrigated croplands (12%), mosaic cropland vegetation (11%), mosaic vegetation/cropland (10%). Emission contribution from agricultural fires was significant, however, showed discrepancies due to low confidence in burnt areas and lack of crop specific emission factors. Further, our results suggest that FRP products underestimate emissions from agriculture fires compared to burnt area products. Details on uncertainties in emission estimates from biomass burning in Asia will also be presented.

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.

Producing remote sensing-based emission estimates of prescribed burning in the contiguous United States for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2011 National Emissions Inventory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCarty, J. L.; Pouliot, G. A.; Soja, A. J.; Miller, M. E.; Rao, T.

2013-12-01

Prescribed fires in agricultural landscapes generally produce smaller burned areas than wildland fires but are important contributors to emissions impacting air quality and human health. Currently, there are a variety of available satellite-based estimates of crop residue burning, including the NOAA/NESDIS Hazard Mapping System (HMS) the Satellite Mapping Automated Reanalysis Tool for Fire Incident Reconciliation (SMARTFIRE 2), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Official Burned Area Product (MCD45A1)), the MODIS Direct Broadcast Burned Area Product (MCD64A1) the MODIS Active Fire Product (MCD14ML), and a regionally-tuned 8-day cropland differenced Normalized Burn Ratio product for the contiguous U.S. The purpose of this NASA-funded research was to refine the regionally-tuned product utilizing higher spatial resolution crop type data from the USDA NASS Cropland Data Layer and burned area training data from field work and high resolution commercial satellite data to improve the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Emissions Inventory (NEI). The final product delivered to the EPA included a detailed database of 25 different atmospheric emissions at the county level, emission distributions by crop type and seasonality, and GIS data. The resulting emission databases were shared with the U.S. EPA and regional offices, the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWGC) Smoke Committee, and all 48 states in the contiguous U.S., with detailed error estimations for Wyoming and Indiana and detailed analyses of results for Florida, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Oregon. This work also provided opportunities in discovering the different needs of federal and state partners, including the various geospatial abilities and platforms across the many users and how to incorporate expert air quality, policy, and land management knowledge into quantitative earth observation-based estimations of prescribed fire emissions. Finally, this work created direct communication paths between federal and state partners to the scientists creating the remote sensing-based products, further improving the geospatial products and understanding of air quality impacts of prescribed burning at the state, regional, and national scales.

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

Post-fire debris-flow hazard assessment of the area burned by the 2013 Beaver Creek Fire near Hailey, central Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Skinner, Kenneth D.

2013-01-01

A preliminary hazard assessment was developed for debris-flow hazards in the 465 square-kilometer (115,000 acres) area burned by the 2013 Beaver Creek fire near Hailey in central Idaho. The burn area covers all or part of six watersheds and selected basins draining to the Big Wood River and is at risk of substantial post-fire erosion, such as that caused by debris flows. Empirical models derived from statistical evaluation of data collected from recently burned basins throughout the Intermountain Region in Western United States were used to estimate the probability of debris-flow occurrence, potential volume of debris flows, and the combined debris-flow hazard ranking along the drainage network within the burn area and to estimate the same for analyzed drainage basins within the burn area. Input data for the empirical models included topographic parameters, soil characteristics, burn severity, and rainfall totals and intensities for a (1) 2-year-recurrence, 1-hour-duration rainfall, referred to as a 2-year storm (13 mm); (2) 10-year-recurrence, 1-hour-duration rainfall, referred to as a 10-year storm (19 mm); and (3) 25-year-recurrence, 1-hour-duration rainfall, referred to as a 25-year storm (22 mm). Estimated debris-flow probabilities for drainage basins upstream of 130 selected basin outlets ranged from less than 1 to 78 percent with the probabilities increasing with each increase in storm magnitude. Probabilities were high in three of the six watersheds. For the 25-year storm, probabilities were greater than 60 percent for 11 basin outlets and ranged from 50 to 60 percent for an additional 12 basin outlets. Probability estimates for stream segments within the drainage network can vary within a basin. For the 25-year storm, probabilities for stream segments within 33 basins were higher than the basin outlet, emphasizing the importance of evaluating the drainage network as well as basin outlets. Estimated debris-flow volumes for the three modeled storms range from a minimal debris flow volume of 10 cubic meters [m3]) to greater than 100,000 m3. Estimated debris-flow volumes increased with basin size and distance downstream. For the 25-year storm, estimated debris-flow volumes were greater than 100,000 m3 for 4 basins and between 50,000 and 100,000 m3 for 10 basins. The debris-flow hazard rankings did not result in the highest hazard ranking of 5, indicating that none of the basins had a high probability of debris-flow occurrence and a high debris-flow volume estimate. The hazard ranking was 4 for one basin using the 10-year-recurrence storm model and for three basins using the 25-year-recurrence storm model. The maps presented herein may be used to prioritize areas where post-wildfire remediation efforts should take place within the 2- to 3-year period of increased erosional vulnerability.

Future climate change drives increases in forest fires and summertime OC concentrations in the Western U.S.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spracklen, D. V.; Logan, J. A.; Mickley, L. J.; Park, R. J.; Flannigan, M. D.; Westerling, A. L.

2006-12-01

Increased forest fire activity in the Western United States appears to be driven by increasing spring and summer temperatures. Here we make a first estimate of how climate-driven changes in fire activity will influence summertime organic carbon (OC) concentrations in the Western US. We use output from a general circulation model (GCM) combined with area burned regressions to predict how area burned will change between present day and 2050. Calculated area burned is used to create future emission estimates for the Western U.S. and we use a global chemical transport model (CTM) to predict future changes in OC concentrations. Stepwise linear regression is used to determine the best relationships between observed area burned for 1980- 2004 and variables chosen from temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, rainfall and drought indices from the Candaian Fire Weather Index Model. Best predictors are ecosytem dependent but typically include mean summer temperature and mean drought code. In forest ecosystems of the Western U.S. our regressions explain 50-60% of the variance in annual area burned. Between 2000 and 2050 increases in temperature and reductions in precipitation, as predicted by the GISS GCM, cause mean area burned in the western U.S. to increase by 30-55%. We use the GEOS-Chem CTM to show that these increased emissions result in an increase in summertime western U.S. OC concentrations by 55% over current concentrations. Our results show that the predicted increase in future wild fires will have important consequences for western US air quality and visibility.

Biomass burning emissions of reactive gases estimated from satellite data analysis and ecosystem modeling for the Brazilian Amazon region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potter, Christopher; Brooks-Genovese, Vanessa; Klooster, Steven; Torregrosa, Alicia

2002-10-01

To produce a new daily record of trace gas emissions from biomass burning events for the Brazilian Legal Amazon, we have combined satellite advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) data on fire counts together for the first time with vegetation greenness imagery as inputs to an ecosystem biomass model at 8 km spatial resolution. This analysis goes beyond previous estimates for reactive gas emissions from Amazon fires, owing to a more detailed geographic distribution estimate of vegetation biomass, coupled with daily fire activity for the region (original 1 km resolution), and inclusion of fire effects in extensive areas of the Legal Amazon (defined as the Brazilian states of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Maranhao, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, and Tocantins) covered by open woodland, secondary forests, savanna, and pasture vegetation. Results from our emissions model indicate that annual emissions from Amazon deforestation and biomass burning in the early 1990s total to 102 Tg yr-1 carbon monoxide (CO) and 3.5 Tg yr-1 nitrogen oxides (NOx). Peak daily burning emissions, which occurred in early September 1992, were estimated at slightly more than 3 Tg d-1for CO and 0.1 Tg d-1for NOx flux to the atmosphere. Other burning source fluxes of gases with relatively high emission factors are reported, including methane (CH4), nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHC), and sulfur dioxide (SO2), in addition to total particulate matter (TPM). We estimate the Brazilian Amazon region to be a source of between one fifth and one third for each of these global emission fluxes to the atmosphere. The regional distribution of burning emissions appears to be highest in the Brazilian states of Maranhao and Tocantins, mainly from burning outside of moist forest areas, and in Pará and Mato Grosso, where we identify important contributions from primary forest cutting and burning. These new daily emission estimates of reactive gases from biomass burning fluxes are designed to be used as detailed spatial and temporal inputs to computer models and data analysis of tropospheric chemistry over the tropical region.

Hand burns surface area: A rule of thumb.

PubMed

Dargan, Dallan; Mandal, Anirban; Shokrollahi, Kayvan

2018-08-01

Rapid estimation of acute hand burns is important for communication, standardisation of assessment, rehabilitation and research. Use of an individual's own thumbprint area as a fraction of their total hand surface area was evaluated to assess potential utility in hand burn evaluation. Ten health professionals used an ink-covered dominant thumb pulp to cover the surfaces of their own non-dominant hand using the contralateral thumb. Thumbprints were assessed on the web spaces, sides of digits and dorsum and palm beyond the distal wrist crease. Hand surface area was estimated using the Banerjee and Sen method, and thumbprint ellipse area calculated to assess correlation. Mean estimated total hand surface area was 390.0cm 2 ±SD 51.5 (328.3-469.0), mean thumbprint ellipse area was 5.5cm 2 ±SD 1.3 (3.7-8.4), and mean estimated print number was 73.5±SD 11.0 (range 53.1-87.8, 95% CI 6.8). The mean observed number of thumbprints on one hand was 80.1±SD 5.9 (range 70.0-88.0, 95% CI 3.7), χ 2 =0.009. The combined mean of digital prints was 42, comprising a mean of two prints each on volar, dorsal, radial and ulnar digit surfaces, except volar middle and ring (3 prints each). Palmar prints were 15 (11-19), dorsal 15 (11-19), ulnar palm border 3, first web space 2, and second, third and fourth web spaces one each. Using the surface of the palm alone, excluding digits, as 0.5% of total body surface area, the area of one thumbprint was approximated as 1/30th of 1%. We have demonstrated how thumbprint area serves as a simple method for evaluating hand burn surface area. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

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.

Postwildfire debris-flow hazard assessment of the area burned by the 2013 West Fork Fire Complex, southwestern Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Verdin, Kristine L.; Dupree, Jean A.; Stevens, Michael R.

2013-01-01

This report presents a preliminary emergency assessment of the debris-flow hazards from drainage basins burned by the 2013 West Fork Fire Complex near South Fork in southwestern Colorado. Empirical models derived from statistical evaluation of data collected from recently burned basins throughout the intermountain western United States were used to estimate the probability of debris-flow occurrence, potential volume of debris flows, and the combined debris-flow hazard ranking along the drainage network within and just downstream from the burned area, and to estimate the same for 54 drainage basins of interest within the perimeter of the burned area. Input data for the debris-flow models included topographic variables, soil characteristics, burn severity, and rainfall totals and intensities for a (1) 2-year-recurrence, 1-hour-duration rainfall, referred to as a 2-year storm; (2) 10-year-recurrence, 1-hour-duration rainfall, referred to as a 10-year storm; and (3) 25-year-recurrence, 1-hour-duration rainfall, referred to as a 25-year storm. Estimated debris-flow probabilities at the pour points of the 54 drainage basins of interest ranged from less than 1 to 65 percent in response to the 2-year storm; from 1 to 77 percent in response to the 10-year storm; and from 1 to 83 percent in response to the 25-year storm. Twelve of the 54 drainage basins of interest have a 30-percent probability or greater of producing a debris flow in response to the 25-year storm. Estimated debris-flow volumes for all rainfalls modeled range from a low of 2,400 cubic meters to a high of greater than 100,000 cubic meters. Estimated debris-flow volumes increase with basin size and distance along the drainage network, but some smaller drainages also were predicted to produce substantial debris flows. One of the 54 drainage basins of interest had the highest combined hazard ranking, while 9 other basins had the second highest combined hazard ranking. Of these 10 basins with the 2 highest combined hazard rankings, 7 basins had predicted debris-flow volumes exceeding 100,000 cubic meters, while 3 had predicted probabilities of debris flows exceeding 60 percent. The 10 basins with high combined hazard ranking include 3 tributaries in the headwaters of Trout Creek, four tributaries to the West Fork San Juan River, Hope Creek draining toward a county road on the eastern edge of the burn, Lake Fork draining to U.S. Highway 160, and Leopard Creek on the northern edge of the burn. The probabilities and volumes for the modeled storms indicate a potential for debris-flow impacts on structures, reservoirs, roads, bridges, and culverts located within and immediately downstream from the burned area. U.S. Highway 160, on the eastern edge of the burn area, also is susceptible to impacts from debris flows.

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.

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.

Postwildfire debris flows hazard assessment for the area burned by the 2011 Track Fire, northeastern New Mexico and southeastern Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

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

2011-01-01

In June 2011, the Track Fire burned 113 square kilometers in Colfax County, northeastern New Mexico, and Las Animas County, southeastern Colorado, including the upper watersheds of Chicorica and Raton Creeks. 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 basins burned by the Track Fire. A pair of empirical hazard-assessment models developed using data from recently burned basins throughout the intermountain western United States were 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 post-fire debris flows following the fire. In response to a design storm of 38 millimeters of rain in 30 minutes (10-year recurrence-interval), the probability of debris flow estimated for basins burned by the Track fire ranged between 2 and 97 percent, with probabilities greater than 80 percent identified for the majority of the tributary basins to Raton Creek in Railroad Canyon; six basins that flow into Lake Maloya, including the Segerstrom Creek and Swachheim Creek basins; two tributary basins to Sugarite Canyon, and an unnamed basin on the eastern flank of the burned area. Estimated debris-flow volumes ranged from 30 cubic meters to greater than 100,000 cubic meters. The largest volumes (greater than 100,000 cubic meters) were estimated for Segerstrom Creek and Swachheim Creek basins, which drain into Lake Maloya. The Combined Relative Debris-Flow Hazard Ranking identifies the Segerstrom Creek and Swachheim Creek basins as having the highest probability of producing the largest debris flows. This finding indicates the greatest post-fire debris-flow impacts may be expected to Lake Maloya. In addition, Interstate Highway 25, Raton Creek and the rail line in Railroad Canyon, County road A-27, and State Highway 526 in Sugarite Canyon may also be affected where they cross drainages downstream from recently burned basins. Although this assessment indicates that a rather large debris flow (approximately 42,000 cubic meters) may be generated from the basin above the City of Raton (basin 9) in response to the design storm, the probability of such an event is relatively low (approximately 10 percent). Additional assessment is necessary to determine if the estimated volume of material is sufficient to travel into the City of Raton. In addition, even small debris flows may affect structures at or downstream from basin outlets and 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 Track Fire.

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.

Influence of wildfires on atmospheric composition and carbon uptake of forest ecosystems in Central Siberia: the establishing of a long-term post-fire monitoring system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panov, Alexey; Chi, Xuguang; Winderlich, Jan; Prokushkin, Anatoly; Bryukhanov, Alexander; Korets, Mikhail; Ponomarev, Evgenii; Timokhina, Anastasya; Andreae, Meinrat O.; Heimann, Martin

2014-05-01

Calculations of direct emissions of greenhouse gases from boreal wildfires remain uncertain due to problems with emission factors, available carbon, and imprecise estimates of burned areas. Even more varied and sparse are accurate in situ calculations of temporal changes in boreal forest carbon dynamics following fire. Linking simultaneous instrumental atmospheric observations, GIS-based estimates of burned areas, and ecosystem carbon uptake calculations is vital to fill this knowledge gap. Since 2006 the Zotino Tall Tower Observatory (ZOTTO; www.zottoproject.org) a research platform for large-scale climatic observations is operational in Central Siberia (60°48'N, 89°21'E). The data of ongoing greenhouse gases measurements at the tower are used in atmospheric inversions studies to infer the distribution of carbon sinks and sources over central Northern Eurasia. We present our contribution to reducing uncertainties in estimates of fire influence on atmospheric composition and post-fire ecosystem carbon uptake deduced from the large-scale fires that happened in 2012 in the tall tower footprint area. The burned areas were estimated from Landsat ETM 5,8 satellite images, while fires were detected from Terra/Aqua MODIS satellite data. The magnitude of ecological change caused by fires ("burn severity") was measured and mapped with a Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) index and further calibrated by a complementary field based Composite Burn Index (CBI). Measures of fire radiative power (FRP) index provided information on fire heat release intensity and on the amount and completeness of biomass combustion. Based on the analyzed GIS data, the system of study plots was established in the 5 dominating ecosystem types for a long-term post-fire monitoring. On the plots the comprehensive estimation of ecosystem parameters and carbon pools and their mapping was organized with a laser-based field instrumentation system. The work was supported financially by ISTC Project # 2757p, project of RFBR # 13-05-98053, and grant of president of RF for young scientists MK-1691.2014.5.

Biomass burning losses of carbon estimated from ecosystem modeling and satellite data analysis for the Brazilian Amazon region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potter, Christopher; Brooks Genovese, Vanessa; Klooster, Steven; Bobo, Matthew; Torregrosa, Alicia

To produce a new daily record of gross carbon emissions from biomass burning events and post-burning decomposition fluxes in the states of the Brazilian Legal Amazon (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica (IBGE), 1991. Anuario Estatistico do Brasil, Vol. 51. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil pp. 1-1024). We have used vegetation greenness estimates from satellite images as inputs to a terrestrial ecosystem production model. This carbon allocation model generates new estimates of regional aboveground vegetation biomass at 8-km resolution. The modeled biomass product is then combined for the first time with fire pixel counts from the advanced very high-resolution radiometer (AVHRR) to overlay regional burning activities in the Amazon. Results from our analysis indicate that carbon emission estimates from annual region-wide sources of deforestation and biomass burning in the early 1990s are apparently three to five times higher than reported in previous studies for the Brazilian Legal Amazon (Houghton et al., 2000. Nature 403, 301-304; Fearnside, 1997. Climatic Change 35, 321-360), i.e., studies which implied that the Legal Amazon region tends toward a net-zero annual source of terrestrial carbon. In contrast, our analysis implies that the total source fluxes over the entire Legal Amazon region range from 0.2 to 1.2 Pg C yr -1, depending strongly on annual rainfall patterns. The reasons for our higher burning emission estimates are (1) use of combustion fractions typically measured during Amazon forest burning events for computing carbon losses, (2) more detailed geographic distribution of vegetation biomass and daily fire activity for the region, and (3) inclusion of fire effects in extensive areas of the Legal Amazon covered by open woodland, secondary forests, savanna, and pasture vegetation. The total area of rainforest estimated annually to be deforested did not differ substantially among the previous analyses cited and our own.

The 2014 National Emission Inventory for Rangeland Fires ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Biomass burning has been identified as an important contributor to the degradation of air quality because of its impact on ozone and particulate matter. One component of the biomass burning inventory, crop residue burning, has been poorly characterized in the National Emissions Inventory. In the 2011 NEI, Wildland fires, prescribed fires, and crop residue burning collectively were the largest source of PM2.5 This paper summarizes our 2014 NEI method to estimate crop residue burning emissions and grass/pasture burning emissions using remote sensing data and field information and literature-based, crop-specific emission factors. We will focus on both the post-harvest and pre-harvest burning that takes place with bluegrass, corn, cotton, rice, soybeans, sugarcane and wheat. Estimates for 2014 indicate that over the continental United States (CONUS), crop residue burning including all areas identified as Pasture/Grass, Grassland Herbaceous, and Pasture/Hay produced 64,994 short tons of PM2.5. This estimate compares with the 2011 NEI and 2008 NEI as follows: 2008: 49,653 short tons and 2011: 141,184 short tons. Note that in the previous two NEI’s rangeland burning was not well-defined and so the comparison is not exact. In addition, the entire database used to estimate this sector of emissions is available on EPA’s Clearinghouse for Inventories and Emission Factors (CHIEF http://www3.epa.gov/ttn/chief/index.html The National Emissions Inventory is developed on

Estimates of global biomass burning emissions for reactive greenhouse gases (CO, NMHCs, and NOx) and CO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jain, Atul K.; Tao, Zhining; Yang, Xiaojuan; Gillespie, Conor

2006-03-01

Open fire biomass burning and domestic biofuel burning (e.g., cooking, heating, and charcoal making) algorithms have been incorporated into a terrestrial ecosystem model to estimate CO2 and key reactive GHGs (CO, NOx, and NMHCs) emissions for the year 2000. The emissions are calculated over the globe at a 0.5° × 0.5° spatial resolution using tree density imagery, and two separate sets of data each for global area burned and land clearing for croplands, along with biofuel consumption rate data. The estimated global and annual total dry matter (DM) burned due to open fire biomass burning ranges between 5221 and 7346 Tg DM/yr, whereas the resultant emissions ranges are 6564-9093 Tg CO2/yr, 438-568 Tg CO/yr, 11-16 Tg NOx/yr (as NO), and 29-40 Tg NMHCs/yr. The results indicate that land use changes for cropland is one of the major sources of biomass burning, which amounts to 25-27% (CO2), 25 -28% (CO), 20-23% (NO), and 28-30% (NMHCs) of the total open fire biomass burning emissions of these gases. Estimated DM burned associated with domestic biofuel burning is 3,114 Tg DM/yr, and resultant emissions are 4825 Tg CO2/yr, 243 Tg CO/yr, 3 Tg NOx/yr, and 23 Tg NMHCs/yr. Total emissions from biomass burning are highest in tropical regions (Asia, America, and Africa), where we identify important contributions from primary forest cutting for croplands and domestic biofuel burning.

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.

Simulating high spatial resolution high severity burned area in Sierra Nevada forests for California Spotted Owl habitat climate change risk assessment and management.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keyser, A.; Westerling, A. L.; Jones, G.; Peery, M. Z.

2017-12-01

Sierra Nevada forests have experienced an increase in very large fires with significant areas of high burn severity, such as the Rim (2013) and King (2014) fires, that have impacted habitat of endangered species such as the California spotted owl. In order to support land manager forest management planning and risk assessment activities, we used historical wildfire histories from the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity project and gridded hydroclimate and land surface characteristics data to develope statistical models to simulate the frequency, location and extent of high severity burned area in Sierra Nevada forest wildfires as functions of climate and land surface characteristics. We define high severity here as BA90 area: the area comprising patches with ninety percent or more basal area killed within a larger fire. We developed a system of statistical models to characterize the probability of large fire occurrence, the probability of significant BA90 area present given a large fire, and the total extent of BA90 area in a fire on a 1/16 degree lat/lon grid over the Sierra Nevada. Repeated draws from binomial and generalized pareto distributions using these probabilities generated a library of simulated histories of high severity fire for a range of near (50 yr) future climate and fuels management scenarios. Fuels management scenarios were provided by USFS Region 5. Simulated BA90 area was then downscaled to 30 m resolution using a statistical model we developed using Random Forest techniques to estimate the probability of adjacent 30m pixels burning with ninety percent basal kill as a function of fire size and vegetation and topographic features. The result is a library of simulated high resolution maps of BA90 burned areas for a range of climate and fuels management scenarios with which we estimated conditional probabilities of owl nesting sites being impacted by high severity wildfire.

Thermocouple Probe Orientation Affects Prescribed Fire Behavior Estimation.

PubMed

Coates, T Adam; Chow, Alex T; Hagan, Donald L; Waldrop, Thomas A; Wang, G Geoff; Bridges, William C; Rogers, Mary-Frances; Dozier, James H

2018-01-01

Understanding the relationship between fire intensity and fuel mass is essential information for scientists and forest managers seeking to manage forests using prescribed fires. Peak burning temperature, duration of heating, and area under the temperature profile are fire behavior metrics obtained from thermocouple-datalogger assemblies used to characterize prescribed burns. Despite their recurrent usage in prescribed burn studies, there is no simple protocol established to guide the orientation of thermocouple installation. Our results from dormant and growing season burns in coastal longleaf pine ( Mill.) forests in South Carolina suggest that thermocouples located horizontally at the litter-soil interface record significantly higher estimates of peak burning temperature, duration of heating, and area under the temperature profile than thermocouples extending 28 cm vertically above the litter-soil interface ( < 0.01). Surprisingly, vertical and horizontal estimates of these measures did not show strong correlation with one another ( ≤ 0.14). The horizontal duration of heating values were greater in growing season burns than in dormant season burns ( < 0.01), but the vertical values did not indicate this difference ( = 0.52). Field measures of fuel mass and depth before and after fire showed promise as significant predictive variables ( ≤ 0.05) for the fire behavior metrics. However, all correlation coefficients were less than or equal to = 0.41. Given these findings, we encourage scientists, researchers, and managers to carefully consider thermocouple orientation when investigating fire behavior metrics, as orientation may affect estimates of fire intensity and the distinction of fire treatment effects, particularly in forests with litter-dominated surface fuels. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

Projecting wildfire area burned in the south-eastern United States, 2011-60

Treesearch

Jeffrey P. Prestemon; Uma Shankar; Aijun Xiu; K. Talgo; D. Yang; Ernest Dixon; Donald McKenzie; Karen L. Abt

2016-01-01

Future changes in society and climate are expected to affect wildfire activity in the south-eastern United States. The objective of this research was to understand how changes in both climate and society may affect wildfire in the coming decades.We estimated a three-stage statistical model of wildfire area burned by ecoregion province for lightning and human causes (...

Estimation of crown cover in interior ponderosa pine stands: Effects of thinning and prescribed fire

Treesearch

Nicholas Vaughn; Martin W. Ritchie

2005-01-01

We evaluated the relationship between crown cover measured with a vertical sight tube and stand basal area per acre in treated (thinned, burned, and thinned and burned) and untreated interior ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa P. & C. Lawson) stands in northeastern California. Crown cover was significantly related to basal area at the plot level and...

Small area estimation in forests affected by wildfire in the Interior West

Treesearch

G. G. Moisen; J. A. Blackard; M. Finco

2004-01-01

Recent emphasis has been placed on estimating amount and characteristics of forests affected by wildfire in the Interior West. Data collected by FIA is intended for estimation over large geographic areas and is too sparse to construct sufficiently precise estimates within burn perimeters. This paper illustrates how recently built MODISbased maps of forest/nonforest and...

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.

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

The estimation of territiry predeposition to wildfires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panchenko, Ekaterina; Dukarev, Anatoly

2010-05-01

Wildfires have significant environmental effects. The indirect damages because of fires are an emission of various combustion products such as aerosols, greenhouse gases and carcinogen. Analysis of smoke emission show that from 1 ha burning area emitted aerosols from 0.2 to 1 ton. The aim of our research is to estimate biomass burning emission: Biomass Burning Emission=BA x FL x CE x EF, where BA is Burned Area (ha); FL is forest litter cover (cm); CE is Combustion Efficiency (0-1), depends on a class of fire danger; EF is Emission Factor (kg emitted / kg dry-mass burnt). Consequently for estimation of biomass burning emission it is necessary to analyze of territory predisposition to wildfires and give characteristic of combustion material types for detection fire hazard, for prognosis fire origin and extension. Prognosis of occurrence of wildfires and definition of emissions is possible by means of data of depth forest litter, types of vegetation and type of landscapes including concrete weather conditions (seasons, length of arid period, current temperature, wind speed and its direction). The investigated object is the territory Tomskii district near to the city of Tomsk (56° 31 N-85°08 E) - with the population more than 500 thousand people. The conducted analysis of investigated territory and the calculation will be basic prognostic model for researching wildfires.

Barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) behaviour after recent fire events; integrating caribou telemetry data with Landsat fire detection techniques.

PubMed

Rickbeil, Gregory J M; Hermosilla, Txomin; Coops, Nicholas C; White, Joanne C; Wulder, Michael A

2017-03-01

Fire regimes are changing throughout the North American boreal forest in complex ways. Fire is also a major factor governing access to high-quality forage such as terricholous lichens for barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus). Additionally, fire alters forest structure which can affect barren-ground caribou's ability to navigate in a landscape. Here, we characterize how the size and severity of fires are changing across five barren-ground caribou herd ranges in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada. Additionally, we demonstrate how time since fire, fire severity, and season result in complex changes in caribou behavioural metrics estimated using telemetry data. Fire disturbances were identified using novel gap-free Landsat surface reflectance composites from 1985 to 2011 across all herd ranges. Burn severity was estimated using the differenced normalized burn ratio. Annual area burned and burn severity were assessed through time for each herd and related to two behavioural metrics: velocity and relative turning angle. Neither annual area burned nor burn severity displayed any temporal trend within the study period. However, certain herds, such as the Ahiak/Beverly, have more exposure to fire than other herds (i.e. Cape Bathurst had a maximum forested area burned of less than 4 km 2 ). Time since fire and burn severity both significantly affected velocity and relative turning angles. During fall, winter, and spring, fire virtually eliminated foraging-focused behaviour for all 26 years of analysis while more severe fires resulted in a marked increase in movement-focused behaviour compared to unburnt patches. Between seasons, caribou used burned areas as early as 1-year postfire, demonstrating complex, nonlinear reactions to time since fire, fire severity, and season. In all cases, increases in movement-focused behaviour were detected postfire. We conclude that changes in caribou behaviour immediately postfire are primarily driven by changes in forest structure rather than changes in terricholous lichen availability. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Assessment of Burned Area and Atmospheric Gases from Multi- temporal MODIS Images (2000- 2017) in Nainital District, Uttarakhand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aggarwal, R.; K V, S. B.; Dhakate, P. M.

2017-12-01

Recent times have observed a significant rate of deforestation and forest degradation. One of the major causes of forest degradation is forest fires. Forest fires though have shaped the current forest ecosystem but also have continued to degrade the system by causing loss of flora and fauna. In addition to that, forest fire leads to emission of carbon and other trace gases which contributes to global warming. The hill states in India, particularly Uttarakhand witnesses annual forest fires; which are primarily anthropogenic caused, occurring from March to June. Nainital one of the thirteen districts in Uttarakhand, has been selected as the study site. The region has diverse endemic species of vegetation, ranging from Alpine in North to moist deciduous in South. The increasing forest fire incidents in the region and limited studies on the subject, calls for landscape assessment of the complex Human Environment System (HES). It is in this context, that a greater need for monitoring forest fire incidents has been felt. Remote Sensing and GIS which are robust tool, provides continuous information of an area at various spatial and temporal resolutions. The goal of this study is to map burned area, burned severity and estimate atmospheric gas emissions in forested areas of Nainital by utilizing cloud free MODIS images from 2000- 2017. Multiple spectral indices were generated from pre and post burn dataset of MODIS to conclude the most sensitive band combination. Inter- comparison of results obtained from different spectral indices and the global MODIS MCD45A1 was carried out using linear regression analysis. Additionally, burned area estimation from satellite was compared to figures reported by forest department. There were considerable differences amongst the two which could be primarily due to differences in spatial resolution, and timings of forest fire occurrence and image acquisition. Further, estimation of various atmospheric gases was carried out based on the IPCC guidelines. Such an analysis is critically important for designing of relevant forest fire mitigation strategies. The study signifies that long term MODIS data and the rationing method is an effective technique to map and monitor the burned area, burned severity and atmospheric gas emission in the forested regions of Himalayan.

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.

Value of a dual-polarized gap-filling radar in support of southern California post-fire debris-flow warnings

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jorgensen, David P.; Hanshaw, Maiana N.; Schmidt, Kevin M.; Laber, Jayme L; Staley, Dennis M.; Kean, Jason W.; Restrepo, Pedro J.

2011-01-01

A portable truck-mounted C-band Doppler weather radar was deployed to observe rainfall over the Station Fire burn area near Los Angeles, California, during the winter of 2009/10 to assist with debris-flow warning decisions. The deployments were a component of a joint NOAA–U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research effort to improve definition of the rainfall conditions that trigger debris flows from steep topography within recent wildfire burn areas. A procedure was implemented to blend various dual-polarized estimators of precipitation (for radar observations taken below the freezing level) using threshold values for differential reflectivity and specific differential phase shift that improves the accuracy of the rainfall estimates over a specific burn area sited with terrestrial tipping-bucket rain gauges. The portable radar outperformed local Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) National Weather Service network radars in detecting rainfall capable of initiating post-fire runoff-generated debris flows. The network radars underestimated hourly precipitation totals by about 50%. Consistent with intensity–duration threshold curves determined from past debris-flow events in burned areas in Southern California, the portable radar-derived rainfall rates exceeded the empirical thresholds over a wider range of storm durations with a higher spatial resolution than local National Weather Service operational radars. Moreover, the truck-mounted C-band radar dual-polarimetric-derived estimates of rainfall intensity provided a better guide to the expected severity of debris-flow events, based on criteria derived from previous events using rain gauge data, than traditional radar-derived rainfall approaches using reflectivity–rainfall relationships for either the portable or operational network WSR-88D radars. Part of the reason for the improvement was due to siting the radar closer to the burn zone than the WSR-88Ds, but use of the dual-polarimetric variables improved the rainfall estimation by ~12% over the use of traditional Z–R relationships.

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.

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.

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.

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

Should early amputation impact initial fluid therapy algorithms in burns resuscitation? A retrospective analysis using 3D modelling.

PubMed

Staruch, Robert M T; Beverly, A; Lewis, D; Wilson, Y; Martin, N

2017-02-01

While the epidemiology of amputations in patients with burns has been investigated previously, the effect of an amputation on burn size and its impact on fluid management have not been considered in the literature. Fluid resuscitation volumes are based on the percentage of the total body surface area (%TBSA) burned calculated during the primary survey. There is currently no consensus as to whether the fluid volumes should be recalculated after an amputation to compensate for the new body surface area. The aim of this study was to model the impact of an amputation on burn size and predicted fluid requirement. A retrospective search was performed of the database at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Regional Burns Centre to identify all patients who had required an early amputation as a result of their burn injury. The search identified 10 patients over a 3-year period. Burn injuries were then mapped using 3D modelling software. BurnCase3D is a computer program that allows accurate plotting of burn injuries on a digital mannequin adjusted for height and weight. Theoretical fluid requirements were then calculated using the Parkland formula for the first 24 h, and Herndon formula for the second 24 h, taking into consideration the effects of the amputation on residual burn size. This study demonstrated that amputation can have an unpredictable effect on burn size that results in a significant deviation from predicted fluid resuscitation volumes. This discrepancy in fluid estimation may cause iatrogenic complications due to over-resuscitation in burn-injured casualties. Combining a more accurate estimation of postamputation burn size with goal-directed fluid therapy during the resuscitation phase should enable burn care teams to optimise patient outcomes. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

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.

Prediction of Maximal Aerobic Capacity in Severely Burned Children

PubMed Central

Porro, Laura; Rivero, Haidy G.; Gonzalez, Dante; Tan, Alai; Herndon, David N.; Suman, Oscar E.

2011-01-01

Introduction Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 peak) is an indicator of cardiorespiratory fitness, but requires expensive equipment and a relatively high technical skill level. Purpose The aim of this study is to provide a formula for estimating VO2 peak in burned children, using information obtained without expensive equipment. Methods Children, with ≥40% total surface area burned (TBSA), underwent a modified Bruce treadmill test to asses VO2 peak at 6 months after injury. We recorded gender, age, %TBSA, %3rd degree burn, height, weight, treadmill time, maximal speed, maximal grade, and peak heart rate, and applied McHenry’s select algorithm to extract important independent variables and Robust multiple regression to establish prediction equations. Results 42 children; 7 to 17 years old were tested. Robust multiple regression model provided the equation: VO2=10.33 – 0.62 *Age (years) + 1.88 * Treadmill Time (min) + 2.3 (gender; Females = 0, Males = 1). The correlation between measured and estimated VO2 peak was R=0.80. We then validated the equation with a group of 33 burned children, which yielded a correlation between measured and estimated VO2 peak of R=0.79. Conclusions Using only a treadmill and easily gathered information, VO2 peak can be estimated in children with burns. PMID:21316155

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.

Estimated probability of postwildfire debris flows in the 2012 Whitewater-Baldy Fire burn area, southwestern New Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tillery, Anne C.; Matherne, Anne Marie; Verdin, Kristine L.

2012-01-01

In May and June 2012, the Whitewater-Baldy Fire burned approximately 1,200 square kilometers (300,000 acres) of the Gila National Forest, in southwestern 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 128 basins burned by the Whitewater-Baldy Fire. A pair of empirical hazard-assessment models developed by 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 along the burned area drainage network and for selected drainage basins within the burned area. The models incorporate measures of areal burned extent and severity, topography, soils, and storm rainfall intensity to estimate the probability and volume of debris flows following the fire. In response to the 2-year-recurrence, 30-minute-duration rainfall, modeling indicated that four basins have high probabilities of debris-flow occurrence (greater than or equal to 80 percent). For the 10-year-recurrence, 30-minute-duration rainfall, an additional 14 basins are included, and for the 25-year-recurrence, 30-minute-duration rainfall, an additional eight basins, 20 percent of the total, have high probabilities of debris-flow occurrence. In addition, probability analysis along the stream segments can identify specific reaches of greatest concern for debris flows within a basin. Basins with a high probability of debris-flow occurrence were concentrated in the west and central parts of the burned area, including tributaries to Whitewater Creek, Mineral Creek, and Willow Creek. Estimated debris-flow volumes ranged from about 3,000-4,000 cubic meters (m3) to greater than 500,000 m3 for all design storms modeled. Drainage basins with estimated volumes greater than 500,000 m3 included tributaries to Whitewater Creek, Willow Creek, Iron Creek, and West Fork Mogollon Creek. Drainage basins with estimated debris-flow volumes greater than 100,000 m3 for the 25-year-recurrence event, 24 percent of the basins modeled, also include tributaries to Deep Creek, Mineral Creek, Gilita Creek, West Fork Gila River, Mogollon Creek, and Turkey Creek, among others. Basins with the highest combined probability and volume relative hazard rankings for the 25-year-recurrence rainfall include tributaries to Whitewater Creek, Mineral Creek, Willow Creek, West Fork Gila River, West Fork Mogollon Creek, and Turkey Creek. Debris flows from Whitewater, Mineral, and Willow Creeks could affect the southwestern New Mexico communities of Glenwood, Alma, and Willow Creek. The maps presented herein may be used to prioritize areas where emergency erosion mitigation or other protective measures may be necessary within a 2- to 3-year period of vulnerability following the Whitewater-Baldy Fire. This work is preliminary and is subject to revision. It is being provided because of the need for timely "best science" information. The assessment herein is provided on the condition that neither the U.S. Geological Survey nor the U.S. Government may be held liable for any damages resulting from the authorized or unauthorized use of the assessment.

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.

Black-backed woodpecker habitat suitability mapping using conifer snag basal area estimated from airborne laser scanning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Casas Planes, Á.; Garcia, M.; Siegel, R.; Koltunov, A.; Ramirez, C.; Ustin, S.

2015-12-01

Occupancy and habitat suitability models for snag-dependent wildlife species are commonly defined as a function of snag basal area. Although critical for predicting or assessing habitat suitability, spatially distributed estimates of snag basal area are not generally available across landscapes at spatial scales relevant for conservation planning. This study evaluates the use of airborne laser scanning (ALS) to 1) identify individual conifer snags and map their basal area across a recently burned forest, and 2) map habitat suitability for a wildlife species known to be dependent on snag basal area, specifically the black-backed woodpecker (Picoides arcticus). This study focuses on the Rim Fire, a megafire that took place in 2013 in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, creating large patches of medium- and high-severity burned forest. We use forest inventory plots, single-tree ALS-derived metrics and Gaussian processes classification and regression to identify conifer snags and estimate their stem diameter and basal area. Then, we use the results to map habitat suitability for the black-backed woodpecker using thresholds for conifer basal area from a previously published habitat suitability model. Local maxima detection and watershed segmentation algorithms resulted in 75% detection of trees with stem diameter larger than 30 cm. Snags are identified with an overall accuracy of 91.8 % and conifer snags are identified with an overall accuracy of 84.8 %. Finally, Gaussian process regression reliably estimated stem diameter (R2 = 0.8) using height and crown area. This work provides a fast and efficient methodology to characterize the extent of a burned forest at the tree level and a critical tool for early wildlife assessment in post-fire forest management and biodiversity conservation.

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.

Analyzing wildfire exposure on Sardinia, Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salis, Michele; Ager, Alan A.; Arca, Bachisio; Finney, Mark A.; Alcasena, Fermin; Bacciu, Valentina; Duce, Pierpaolo; Munoz Lozano, Olga; Spano, Donatella

2014-05-01

We used simulation modeling based on the minimum travel time algorithm (MTT) to analyze wildfire exposure of key ecological, social and economic features on Sardinia, Italy. Sardinia is the second largest island of the Mediterranean Basin, and in the last fifty years experienced large and dramatic wildfires, which caused losses and threatened urban interfaces, forests and natural areas, and agricultural productions. Historical fires and environmental data for the period 1995-2009 were used as input to estimate fine scale burn probability, conditional flame length, and potential fire size in the study area. With this purpose, we simulated 100,000 wildfire events within the study area, randomly drawing from the observed frequency distribution of burn periods and wind directions for each fire. Estimates of burn probability, excluding non-burnable fuels, ranged from 0 to 1.92x10-3, with a mean value of 6.48x10-5. Overall, the outputs provided a quantitative assessment of wildfire exposure at the landscape scale and captured landscape properties of wildfire exposure. We then examined how the exposure profiles varied among and within selected features and assets located on the island. Spatial variation in modeled outputs resulted in a strong effect of fuel models, coupled with slope and weather. In particular, the combined effect of Mediterranean maquis, woodland areas and complex topography on flame length was relevant, mainly in north-east Sardinia, whereas areas with herbaceous fuels and flat areas were in general characterized by lower fire intensity but higher burn probability. The simulation modeling proposed in this work provides a quantitative approach to inform wildfire risk management activities, and represents one of the first applications of burn probability modeling to capture fire risk and exposure profiles in the Mediterranean basin.

Empirical models to predict the volumes of debris flows generated by recently burned basins in the western U.S.

USGS Publications Warehouse

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

2008-01-01

Recently burned basins frequently produce debris flows in response to moderate-to-severe rainfall. Post-fire hazard assessments of debris flows are most useful when they predict the volume of material that may flow out of a burned basin. This study develops a set of empirically-based models that predict potential volumes of wildfire-related debris flows in different regions and geologic settings. The models were developed using data from 53 recently burned basins in Colorado, Utah and California. The volumes of debris flows in these basins were determined by either measuring the volume of material eroded from the channels, or by estimating the amount of material removed from debris retention basins. For each basin, independent variables thought to affect the volume of the debris flow were determined. These variables include measures of basin morphology, basin areas burned at different severities, soil material properties, rock type, and rainfall amounts and intensities for storms triggering debris flows. Using these data, multiple regression analyses were used to create separate predictive models for volumes of debris flows generated by burned basins in six separate regions or settings, including the western U.S., southern California, the Rocky Mountain region, and basins underlain by sedimentary, metamorphic and granitic rocks. An evaluation of these models indicated that the best model (the Western U.S. model) explains 83% of the variability in the volumes of the debris flows, and includes variables that describe the basin area with slopes greater than or equal to 30%, the basin area burned at moderate and high severity, and total storm rainfall. This model was independently validated by comparing volumes of debris flows reported in the literature, to volumes estimated using the model. Eighty-seven percent of the reported volumes were within two residual standard errors of the volumes predicted using the model. This model is an improvement over previous models in that it includes a measure of burn severity and an estimate of modeling errors. The application of this model, in conjunction with models for the probability of debris flows, will enable more complete and rapid assessments of debris flow hazards following wildfire.

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.

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.

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.

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.

First Estimates of the Radiative Forcing of Aerosols Generated from Biomass Burning using Satellite Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chistopher, Sundar A.; Kliche, Donna V.; Chou, Joyce; Welch, Ronald M.

1996-01-01

Collocated measurements from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) scanner are used to examine the radiative forcing of atmospheric aerosols generated from biomass burning for 13 images in South America. Using the AVHRR, Local Area Coverage (LAC) data, a new technique based on a combination of spectral and textural measures is developed for detecting these aerosols. Then, the instantaneous shortwave, longwave, and net radiative forcing values are computed from the ERBE instantaneous scanner data. Results for the selected samples from 13 images show that the mean instantaneous net radiative forcing for areas with heavy aerosol loading is about -36 W/sq m and that for the optically thin aerosols are about -16 W/sq m. These results, although preliminary, provide the first estimates of radiative forcing of atmospheric aerosols from biomass burning using satellite data.

Fire effects on the Point Reyes Mountain Beaver at Point Reyes National Seashore, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fellers, Gary M.; Pratt, David; Griffin, Jennifer L.

2004-01-01

In October 1995, a wildlands fire burned 5,000 ha on the Point Reyes peninsula, California, USA. In most of the nonforested areas, the fire effectively cleared the ground of litter and vegetation and revealed thousands of Point Reyes mountain beaver (Aplodontia rufa phaea) burrow openings. In the first 6 months after the fire, we surveyed burned coastal scrub and riparian habitat to (1) count the number of burrow openings that existed at the time of the fire, and (2) evaluate whether signs of post-fire mountain beaver activity were evident. We estimated that only 0.4–1.7% of mountain beavers within the burn area survived the fire and immediate post-fire period. We monitored mountain beaver activity for 5 years at 8 sites where mountain beavers survived, and found little or no recovery. We estimate that the mountain beaver population will take 15–20 years post-fire to recover.

Wildfires threaten mercury stocks in northern soils

USGS Publications Warehouse

Turetsky, M.R.; Harden, J.W.; Friedli, H.R.; Flannigan, M.; Payne, N.; Crock, J.; Radke, L.

2006-01-01

With climate change rapidly affecting northern forests and wetlands, mercury reserves once protected in cold, wet soils are being exposed to burning, likely triggering large releases of mercury to the atmosphere. We quantify organic soil mercury stocks and burn areas across western, boreal Canada for use in fire emission models that explore controls of burn area, consumption severity, and fuel loading on atmospheric mercury emissions. Though renowned as hotspots for the accumulation of mercury and its transformation to the toxic methylmercury, boreal wetlands might soon transition to hotspots for atmospheric mercury emissions. Estimates of circumboreal mercury emissions from this study are 15-fold greater than estimates that do not account for mercury stored in peat soils. Ongoing and projected increases in boreal wildfire activity due to climate change will increase atmospheric mercury emissions, contributing to the anthropogenic alteration of the global mercury cycle and exacerbating mercury toxicities for northern food chains. Copyright 2006 by the American Geophysical Union.

First Estimates of the Radiative Forcing of Aerosols Generated from Biomass Burning Using Satellite Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Christopher, Sundar A.; Kliche, Donna A.; Chou, Joyce; Welch, Ronald M.

1996-01-01

Collocated measurements from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) scanner are used to examine the radiative forcing of atmospheric aerosols generated from biomass burning for 13 images in South America. Using the AVHRR, Local Area Coverage (LAC) data, a new technique based on a combination of spectral and textural measures is developed for detecting these aerosols. Then, the instantaneous shortwave, longwave, and net radiative forcing values are computed from the ERBE instantaneous scanner data. Results for the selected samples from 13 images show that the mean instantaneous net radiative forcing for areas with heavy aerosol loading is about -36 W/sq m and that for the optically thin aerosols are about -16 W/sq m. These results, although preliminary, provide the first estimates of radiative forcing of atmospheric aerosols from biomass burning using satellite data.

Estimation of Biomass Burning Emissions by Fusing Fire Radiative Power Observed from Polar-orbiting and Geostationary Satellites across the Continental United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, F.; Zhang, X.; Kondragunta, S.

2016-12-01

Trace gases and aerosols released from biomass burning significantly disturb the energy balance of the Earth and also degrade regional air quality. However, biomass burning emissions (BBE) have been poorly estimated using the traditional bottom-up approach because of the substantial uncertainties in the burned area and fuel loads. Recently, Fire Radiative Power (FRP) derived from satellite fire observations enables the estimation of BBE at multiple spatial scales in near real time. Nonetheless, it is very challenging to accurately produce reliable FRP diurnal cycles from either polar-orbiting satellites or geostationary satellites for the calculation of the temporally integrated FRP, Fire Radiative Energy (FRE). Here we reconstruct FRP diurnal cycles by fusing FRP observed from polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites and estimate BBE from 2011 to 2015 across the Continental United States. Specifically, FRP from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) is preprocessed and calibrated using the collocated and concurred observations from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) over Landsat TM burn scars. The climatologically diurnal FRP curves are then calculated from the calibrated GOES FRP for the 25 Bailey's ecoregions. By fitting MODIS FRP and the calibrated GOES FRP to the climatological curves, FRP diurnal cycles are further reconstructed for individual days at a 0.25-degree grid. Both FRE estimated from FRP diurnal cycles and ecoregion specified FRE combustion rates are used to estimate hourly BBE. The estimated BBE is finally evaluated using QFED and GFED4.0 inventories and emissions modeled using Landsat TM 30m burn severities and 30m fuel loading from Fuel Characteristic Classification System. The results show that BBE estimates are greatly improved by using the reconstructed FRP diurnal cycles from high temporal (GOES) and high spatial resolution (MODIS) FRP observations.

Experimental Constraints on Iron Mobilization into Biomass Burning Aerosols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sherry, A. M.; Romaniello, S. J.; Herckes, P.; Anbar, A. D.

2017-12-01

Atmospheric deposition of iron (Fe) can limit marine primary productivity and, therefore, carbon dioxide uptake. Recent modeling studies suggest that biomass burning aerosols may contribute a significant amount of soluble Fe to the surface ocean. To address this hypothesis, we collected foliage samples from species representative of several biomes impacted by severe fire events. Existing studies of burn-induced trace element mobilization have often collected both entrained soil particles along with material from burning biomass, making it difficult to determine the actual source of aerosolized trace metals. In order to better constrain the importance of biomass vs. entrained soil as a source of trace metals in burn aerosols, we conducted burn experiments using soil-free foliage representative of a variety of fire-impacted ecosystems. The resulting burn aerosols were collected in two stages (PM > 2.5 μm and PM < 2.5 μm) on cellulose filters using a high-volume air sampler equipped an all-Teflon impactor. Unburned foliage and burn aerosols were analyzed for Fe and other trace metals using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Our results show that 0.06-0.86 % of Fe in plant biomass is likely mobilized as atmospheric aerosols during biomass burning events, depending on the type of foliage. We used these results and estimates of annual global wildfire area to estimate the impact of biomass burning aerosols on total atmospheric Fe flux to the ocean. We estimate that biomass-derived Fe likely contributes 3% of the total soluble Fe flux from aerosols. Prior studies, which implicitly included both biomass and soil-derived Fe, concluded that biomass burning contributed as much as 7% of the total marine soluble Fe flux from aerosols. Together, these studies suggest that biomass and fire-entrained soil probably contribute equally to the total fire-derived Fe aerosol flux. Further study of solubility differences between plant- and soil-derived Fe is needed to improve estimates of the soluble Fe contribution from biomass burning to the marine soluble Fe flux.

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.

Characterizing sources of emissions from wildland fires

Treesearch

Roger D. Ottmar; Ana Isabel Miranda; David V. Sandberg

2009-01-01

Smoke emissions from wildland fire can be harmful to human health and welfare, impair visibility, and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. The generation of emissions and heat release need to be characterized to estimate the potential impacts of wildland fire smoke. This requires explicit knowledge of the source, including size of the area burned, burn period,...

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.

Estimated probabilities, volumes, and inundation areas depths of potential postwildfire debris flows from Carbonate, Slate, Raspberry, and Milton Creeks, near Marble, Gunnison County, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stevens, Michael R.; Flynn, Jennifer L.; Stephens, Verlin C.; Verdin, Kristine L.

2011-01-01

During 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Gunnison County, initiated a study to estimate the potential for postwildfire debris flows to occur in the drainage basins occupied by Carbonate, Slate, Raspberry, and Milton Creeks near Marble, Colorado. Currently (2010), these drainage basins are unburned but could be burned by a future wildfire. Empirical models derived from statistical evaluation of data collected from recently burned basins throughout the intermountain western United States were used to estimate the probability of postwildfire debris-flow occurrence and debris-flow volumes for drainage basins occupied by Carbonate, Slate, Raspberry, and Milton Creeks near Marble. Data for the postwildfire debris-flow models included drainage basin area; area burned and burn severity; percentage of burned area; soil properties; rainfall total and intensity for the 5- and 25-year-recurrence, 1-hour-duration-rainfall; and topographic and soil property characteristics of the drainage basins occupied by the four creeks. A quasi-two-dimensional floodplain computer model (FLO-2D) was used to estimate the spatial distribution and the maximum instantaneous depth of the postwildfire debris-flow material during debris flow on the existing debris-flow fans that issue from the outlets of the four major drainage basins. The postwildfire debris-flow probabilities at the outlet of each drainage basin range from 1 to 19 percent for the 5-year-recurrence, 1-hour-duration rainfall, and from 3 to 35 percent for 25-year-recurrence, 1-hour-duration rainfall. The largest probabilities for postwildfire debris flow are estimated for Raspberry Creek (19 and 35 percent), whereas estimated debris-flow probabilities for the three other creeks range from 1 to 6 percent. The estimated postwildfire debris-flow volumes at the outlet of each creek range from 7,500 to 101,000 cubic meters for the 5-year-recurrence, 1-hour-duration rainfall, and from 9,400 to 126,000 cubic meters for the 25-year-recurrence, 1-hour-duration rainfall. The largest postwildfire debris-flow volumes were estimated for Carbonate Creek and Milton Creek drainage basins, for both the 5- and 25-year-recurrence, 1-hour-duration rainfalls. Results from FLO-2D modeling of the 5-year and 25-year recurrence, 1-hour rainfalls indicate that the debris flows from the four drainage basins would reach or nearly reach the Crystal River. The model estimates maximum instantaneous depths of debris-flow material during postwildfire debris flows that exceeded 5 meters in some areas, but the differences in model results between the 5-year and 25-year recurrence, 1-hour rainfalls are small. Existing stream channels or topographic flow paths likely control the distribution of debris-flow material, and the difference in estimated debris-flow volume (about 25 percent more volume for the 25-year-recurrence, 1-hour-duration rainfall compared to the 5-year-recurrence, 1-hour-duration rainfall) does not seem to substantially affect the estimated spatial distribution of debris-flow material. Historically, the Marble area has experienced periodic debris flows in the absence of wildfire. This report estimates the probability and volume of debris flow and maximum instantaneous inundation area depths after hypothetical wildfire and rainfall. This postwildfire debris-flow report does not address the current (2010) prewildfire debris-flow hazards that exist near Marble.

Impact of biomass burning on urban air quality estimated by organic tracers: Guangzhou and Beijing as cases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Qiaoqiao; Shao, Min; Liu, Ying; William, Kuster; Paul, Goldan; Li, Xiaohua; Liu, Yuan; Lu, Sihua

The impacts of biomass burning have not been adequately studied in China. In this work, chemical compositions of volatile organic compounds and particulate organic matters were measured in August 2005 in Beijing and in October 2004 in Guangzhou city. The performance of several possible tracers for biomass burning is compared by using acetonitrile as a reference compound. The correlations between the possible tracers and acetonitrile show that the use of K + as a tracer could result in bias because of the existence of other K + sources in urban areas, while chloromethane is not reliable due to its wide use as industrial chemical. The impact of biomass burning on air quality is estimated using acetonitrile and levoglucosan as tracers. The results show that the impact of biomass burning is ubiquitous in both suburban and urban Guangzhou, and the frequencies of air pollution episodes significantly influenced by biomass burning were 100% for Xinken and 58% for downtown Guangzhou city. Fortunately, the air quality in only 2 out of 22 days was partly impacted by biomass burning in August in Beijing, the month that 2008 Olympic games will take place. The quantitative contribution of biomass burning to ambient PM2.5 concentrations in Guangzhou city was also estimated by the ratio of levoglocusan to PM2.5 in both the ambient air and biomass burning plumes. The results show that biomass burning contributes 3.0-16.8% and 4.0-19.0% of PM2.5 concentrations in Xinken and Guangzhou downtown, respectively.

Assessing Satellite-Based Fire Data for use in the National Emissions Inventory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Soja, Amber J.; Al-Saadi, Jassim; Giglio, Louis; Randall, Dave; Kittaka, Chieko; Pouliot, George; Kordzi, Joseph J.; Raffuse, Sean; Pace, Thompson G.; Pierce, Thomas E.;

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.

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.

Telehealth for paediatric burn patients in rural areas: a retrospective audit of activity and cost savings.

PubMed

McWilliams, Tania; Hendricks, Joyce; Twigg, Di; Wood, Fiona; Giles, Margaret

2016-11-01

Since 2005, the Western Australian paediatric burn unit has provided a state-wide clinical consultancy and support service for the assessment and management of acute and rehabilitative burn patients via its telehealth service. Since then, the use of this telehealth service has steadily increased as it has become imbedded in the model of care for paediatric burn patients. Primarily, the service involves acute and long term patient reviews conducted by the metropolitan-located burn unit in contact with health practitioners, advising patients and their families who reside outside the metropolitan area thereby avoiding unnecessary transfers and inpatient bed days. A further benefit of the paediatric burn service using telehealth is more efficient use of tertiary level burn unit beds, with only those patients meeting clinical criteria for admission being transferred. To conduct a retrospective audit of avoided transfers and bed days in 2005/06-2012/13 as a result of the use of the paediatric Burns Telehealth Service and estimate their cost savings in 2012/13. A retrospective chart audit identified activity, avoided unnecessary acute and scar review patient transfers, inpatient bed days and their associated avoided costs to the tertiary burn unit and patient travel funding. Over the period 2005/06-2012/13 the audit identified 4,905 avoided inpatient bed days, 364 avoided acute patient transfers and 1,763 avoided follow up review transfers for a total of 1,312 paediatric burn patients as a result of this telehealth service. This paper presents the derivation of these outcomes and an estimation of their cost savings in 2012/13 of AUD 1.89million. This study demonstrates avoided patient transfers, inpatient bed days and associated costs as the result of an integrated burns telehealth service. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Comparison of Estimated Energy Requirements in Severely Burned Patients With Measurements by Using Indirect Calorimetry

PubMed Central

Tancheva, D.; Arabadziev, J.; Gergov, G.; Lachev, N.; Todorova, S.; Hristova, A.

2005-01-01

Summary Severe burn injuries give rise to an extreme state of physiological stress. No other trauma results in such an accelerated rate of tissue catabolism, loss of lean body mass, and depletion of energy and protein reserves. A heightened attention to energy needs is essential, and the significance of adequate nutritional support in the complex management of patients with major burns is very important. The purpose of this study is to compare the results obtained by three of the most popular methods of estimating energy requirements in severely burned adult patients with the measurements of resting energy (REE) expenditure by indirect calorimetry (IC). A prospective study was carried out of 20 patients (male/female ratio, 17/3; mean age, 37.83 ± 10.86 yr), without accompanying morbidities, with burn injuries covering a mean body surface area of 34.27 ± 11.55% and a mean abbreviated burn severity index of 7.44 ± 1.58. During the first 30 days after trauma, the energy requirements were estimated using the Curreri, Long, and Toronto formulas. Twice weekly measurements of REE by IC were obtained. It was found that the Curreri and Long formulas overestimated the energy requirements in severely burned patients, as found by other investigators. However, no significant difference was found between the daily energy requirements calculated by the Toronto formula and the measured REE values by IC. It is concluded that the Toronto formula can be used as an alternative method for estimating the energy requirements of patients with major burns in cases where IC is not available or not applicable. PMID:21990973

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.

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.

Burn severity estimation using GeoEye imagery, object-based image analysis (OBIA), and Composite Burn Index (CBI) measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dragozi, E.; Gitas, Ioannis Z.; Stavrakoudis, Dimitris G.; Minakou, C.

2015-06-01

Forest fires greatly influence the stability and functions of the forest ecosystems. The ever increasing need for accurate and detailed information regarding post-fire effects (burn severity) has led to several studies on the matter. In this study the combined use of Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite data (GeoEye), Objectbased image analysis (OBIA) and Composite Burn Index (CBI) measurements in estimating burn severity, at two different time points (2011 and 2012) is assessed. The accuracy of the produced maps was assessed and changes in burn severity between the two dates were detected using the post classification comparison approach. It was found that the produced burn severity map for 2011 was approximately 10% more accurate than that of 2012. This was mainly attributed to the increased heterogeneity of the study area in the second year, which led to an increased number of mixed class objects and consequently made it more difficult to spectrally discriminate between the severity classes. Following the post-classification analysis, the severity class changes were mainly attributed to the trees' ability to survive severe fire damage and sprout new leaves. Moreover, the results of the study suggest that when classifying CBI-based burn severity using VHR imagery it would be preferable to use images captured soon after the fire.

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.

Satellite Estimates of the Direct Radiative Forcing of Biomass Burning Aerosols Over South America and Africa

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Christopher, Sundar A.; Wang, Min; Kliche, Donna V.; Berendes, Todd; Welch, Ronald M.; Yang, S.K.

1997-01-01

Atmospheric aerosol particles, both natural and anthropogenic are important to the earth's radiative balance. Therefore it is important to provide adequate validation information on the spatial, temporal and radiative properties of aerosols. This will enable us to predict realistic global estimates of aerosol radiative effects more confidently. The current study utilizes 66 AVHRR LAC (Local Area Coverage) and coincident Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) images to characterize the fires, smoke and radiative forcings of biomass burning aerosols over four major ecosystems of South America.

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.

Inferring Absorbing Organic Carbon Content from AERONET Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arola, A.; Schuster, G.; Myhre, G.; Kazadzis, S.; Dey, S.; Tripathi, S. N.

2011-01-01

Black carbon, light-absorbing organic carbon (often called brown carbon) and mineral dust are the major light-absorbing aerosols. Currently the sources and formation of brown carbon aerosol in particular are not well understood. In this study we estimated globally the amount of light absorbing organic carbon and black carbon from AERONET measurements. We find that the columnar absorbing organic carbon (brown carbon) levels in biomass burning regions of South-America and Africa are relatively high (about 15-20 magnesium per square meters during biomass burning season), while the concentrations are significantly lower in urban areas in US and Europe. However, we estimated significant absorbing organic carbon amounts from the data of megacities of newly industrialized countries, particularly in India and China, showing also clear seasonality with peak values up to 30-35 magnesium per square meters during the coldest season, likely caused by the coal and biofuel burning used for heating. We also compared our retrievals with the modeled organic carbon by global Oslo CTM for several sites. Model values are higher in biomass burning regions than AERONET-based retrievals, while opposite is true in urban areas in India and China.

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.

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.

Healthcare resource utilization and epidemiology of pediatric burn-associated hospitalizations, United States, 2000.

PubMed

Shields, Brenda J; Comstock, R Dawn; Fernandez, Soledad A; Xiang, Huiyun; Smith, Gary A

2007-01-01

The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiology and financial burden of burn-associated hospitalizations for children younger than 18 years in the United States. Retrospective data analysis of pediatric burn-associated hospitalizations was done using the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Kids' Inpatient Database for 2000. An estimated 10,000 children younger than 18 years were hospitalized for burn-associated injuries in the United States in 2000. These children spent an estimated 66,200 days in the hospital with associated hospital charges equal to USD 211,772,700. Total charges and length of stay for pediatric burn-associated hospitalizations in the United States during 2000 were associated with degree of burn, percentage of total body surface area burned, child's age, region of the United States, hospital location, and hospital type. Children 2 years old or younger were more likely to be nonwhite, be hospitalized for burns, and burn their hands/wrists, compared with children 3 to 17 years of age. Male children in both age groups were more likely to be hospitalized for burns than female children. Children 2 years old or younger were more likely to be burned by hot liquids/vapors and contact with hot substances/objects, while children 3 to 17 years were more likely to be burned by fire/flames. This study is the first national study on healthcare resource utilization for pediatric burn-associated hospitalizations to utilize the KID database. Burns are a major source of pediatric morbidity and are associated with significant national healthcare resource utilization annually. Future burn prevention efforts should emphasize implementing passive injury prevention strategies, especially for young children who are nonwhite and live in low-income communities.

Smartphone applications in burns.

PubMed

Wurzer, Paul; Parvizi, Daryousch; Lumenta, David B; Giretzlehner, Michael; Branski, Ludwik K; Finnerty, Celeste C; Herndon, David N; Tuca, Alexandru; Rappl, Thomas; Smolle, Christian; Kamolz, Lars P

2015-08-01

Since the introduction of applications (apps) for smartphones, the popularity of medical apps has been rising. The aim of this review was to demonstrate the current availability of apps related to burns on Google's Android and Apple's iOS store as well as to include a review of their developers, features, and costs. A systematic online review of Google Play Store and Apple's App Store was performed by using the following search terms: "burn," "burns," "thermal," and the German word "Verbrennung." All apps that were programmed for use as medical apps for burns were included. The review was performed from 25 February until 1 March 2014. A closer look at the free and paid calculation apps including a standardized patient was performed. Four types of apps were identified: calculators, information apps, book/journal apps, and games. In Google Play Store, 31 apps were related to burns, of which 20 were calculation apps (eight for estimating the total body surface area (TBSA) and nine for total fluid requirement (TFR)). In Apple's App Store, under the category of medicine, 39 apps were related to burns, of which 21 were calculation apps (19 for estimating the TBSA and 17 for calculating the TFR). In 19 out of 32 available calculation apps, our study showed a correlation of the calculated TFR compared to our standardized patient. The review demonstrated that many apps for medical burns are available in both common app stores. Even free available calculation apps may provide a more objective and reproducible procedure compared to manual/subjective estimations, although there is still a lack of data security especially in personal data entered in calculation apps. Further clinical studies including smartphone apps for burns should be performed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

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.

Estimating regional evapotranspiration from remotely sensed data by surface energy balance models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asrar, Ghassem; Kanemasu, Edward; Myneni, R. B.; Lapitan, R. L.; Harris, T. R.; Killeen, J. M.; Cooper, D. I.; Hwang, C.

1987-01-01

Spatial and temporal variations of surface radiative temperatures of the burned and unburned areas of the Konza tallgrass prairie were studied. The role of management practices, topographic conditions and the uncertainties associated with in situ or airborne surface temperature measurements were assessed. Evaluation of diurnal and seasonal spectral characteristics of the burned and unburned areas of the prairie was also made. This was accomplished based on the analysis of measured spectral reflectance of the grass canopies under field conditions, and modelling their spectral behavior using a one dimensional radiative transfer model.

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.

New perspectives on quantitative characterization of biomass burning (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ichoku, C. M.

2010-12-01

Biomass burning (BB) occurs seasonally in different vegetated landscapes across the world, consuming large amounts of biomass, generating intense heat energy, and emitting corresponding amounts of smoke plumes that comprise aerosols and trace gases, which include carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), non-methane hydrocarbons, and numerous other trace compounds, many of which have adverse effects on human health, air quality, and environmental processes. Accurate estimates of these emissions are required as model inputs to evaluate and forecast smoke plume transport and impacts on air quality, human health, clouds, weather, radiation, and climate. The goal of this presentation is to highlight results of research activities that are aimed at advancing the quantitative characterization of various aspects of biomass burning (energetics, intensity, burn areas, burn severity, emissions, and fire weather) from aircraft and satellite measurements that can help advance our understanding of biomass burning and its overall effects. We will show recent results of analysis of fire radiative power (FRP), burned areas, fuel consumption, smoke emission rates, and plume heights from satellite measurements, as well as related aircraft calibration/validation activities. We will also briefly examine potential future plans and strategies for effective monitoring of biomass burning characteristics and emissions from aircraft and satellite.

Epidemiology of burns undergoing hospitalization to the National Burns Unit in the Sultanate of Oman: a 25-year review.

PubMed

Al-Shaqsi, Sultan; Al-Kashmiri, Ammar; Al-Bulushi, Taimoor

2013-12-01

The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiology of burns admitted to the National Burns Unit (NBU) in the Sultanate of Oman between 1987 and 2011. This is a retrospective review of burn patients admitted to Oman's National Burns Unit (NBU) between 1987 and 2011. The data extracted from the national burn registry. The study describes the admission rate by gender and age groups, occupation, causes of burns, time-to-admission, length of stay and in-hospital mortality of burns between 1987 and 2011. During a 25-year from 1987 to 2011, there were 3531 burn patients admitted to the National Burns Unit in Oman. The average admission rate to NBU is 7.02 per 100,000 persons per year. On average, males were more likely to be admitted to the NBU than females during the study period (P value < 0.04). Patients aged 1-10 years old constituted 46.6% of caseload during the study period. Flames and scalds caused 88.4% of burns. About half of all patients admitted to the NBU have burns to more than 11% of total body surface area (TBSA). The average stay in hospital was estimated to be 15.3 days per patient. The average in-hospital mortality rate was estimated to be 8.2% per year (range 1.9-22%). Burns are significant public health issue in the Sultanate of Oman. Children are disproportionately over-represented in this study. Prevention programmes are urgently needed to address this "silent and costly epidemic." Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Assessment of the relation between prealbumin serum level and healing of skin-grafted burn wounds.

PubMed

Moghazy, A M; Adly, O A; Abbas, A H; Moati, T A; Ali, O S; Mohamed, B A

2010-06-01

Nutritional status is an important factor in graft healing. Prealbumin (transthyretin) is a better nutritional marker than the widely used albumin serum level. Prealbumin serum levels were estimated in an endeavour to correlate them to graft healing and to serve as a predictor of graft healing in burn wounds. Fifty burned patients undergoing graft in the Suez Canal University Hospital Burn Unit were subjected to this cross-sectional study. Prealbumin levels were assessed on preoperative day and on the fourth postoperative day. Graft healing was considered complete when the take was 90% or more of the grafted area. The most significantly correlated factor to graft healing was serum prealbumin. Serum albumin levels were not in significant correlation with graft healing or prealbumin levels. In addition, serum prealbumin levels were significantly higher in the younger age group and significantly lower in patients with chronic diseases. Serum prealbumin level is a sensitive tool in predicting graft take in burned patients when all local conditions are favourable and optimised. Nevertheless, it seems less sensitive in the prediction of graft healing in small raw areas less than 5% of total body surface area (TBSA). (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Characterizing Brazilian fire and estimating areas burned by using the Airborne Infrared Disaster Assessment System

Treesearch

James A. Brass; Liane S. Guild; Philip J. Riggan; Vincent G. Ambrosia; Robert N. Lockwood; A. Pereira Joao

1996-01-01

Biomass burning is a common force in much of the developing tropical world and has wide-ranging environmental impacts. Fire is an important component in tropical deforestation and is often used to clear broad expanses of land for shifting agriculture, dispose of crop residue, and "clean" pastures for cattle grazing. It is part of a complex social phenomenon...

Near-real-time global biomass burning emissions product from geostationary satellite constellation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xiaoyang; Kondragunta, Shobha; Ram, Jessica; Schmidt, Christopher; Huang, Ho-Chun

2012-07-01

Near-real-time estimates of biomass burning emissions are crucial for air quality monitoring and forecasting. We present here the first near-real-time global biomass burning emission product from geostationary satellites (GBBEP-Geo) produced from satellite-derived fire radiative power (FRP) for individual fire pixels. Specifically, the FRP is retrieved using WF_ABBA V65 (wildfire automated biomass burning algorithm) from a network of multiple geostationary satellites. The network consists of two Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) which are operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Meteosat second-generation satellites (Meteosat-09) operated by the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, and the Multifunctional Transport Satellite (MTSAT) operated by the Japan Meteorological Agency. These satellites observe wildfires at an interval of 15-30 min. Because of the impacts from sensor saturation, cloud cover, and background surface, the FRP values are generally not continuously observed. The missing observations are simulated by combining the available instantaneous FRP observations within a day and a set of representative climatological diurnal patterns of FRP for various ecosystems. Finally, the simulated diurnal variation in FRP is applied to quantify biomass combustion and emissions in individual fire pixels with a latency of 1 day. By analyzing global patterns in hourly biomass burning emissions in 2010, we find that peak fire season varied greatly and that annual wildfires burned 1.33 × 1012 kg dry mass, released 1.27 × 1010 kg of PM2.5 (particulate mass for particles with diameter <2.5 μm) and 1.18 × 1011kg of CO globally (excluding most parts of boreal Asia, the Middle East, and India because of no coverage from geostationary satellites). The biomass burning emissions were mostly released from forest and savanna fires in Africa, South America, and North America. Evaluation of emission result reveals that the GBBEP-Geo estimates are comparable with other FRP-derived estimates in Africa, while the results are generally smaller than most of the other global products that were derived from burned area and fuel loading. However, the daily emissions estimated from GOES FRP over the United States are generally consistent with those modeled from GOES burned area and MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) fuel loading, which produces an overall bias of 5.7% and a correlation slope of 0.97 ± 0.2. It is expected that near-real-time hourly emissions from GBBEP-Geo could provide a crucial component for atmospheric and chemical transport modelers to forecast air quality and weather conditions.

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)

Louisiana Air Quality - Using ASTER, Landsat 5, and MODIS to Assess the Impact of Sugar Cane and Marsh Burning Practices on Local Air Quality

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clark, Robert; Reahard, Ross; Robin, Chad; Zeringue, Jared

2010-01-01

Biomass burning is an event that occurs globally and encompasses both human-initiated and naturally-occurring fires. It is estimated that 3 billion metric tons of biomass are burned every year worldwide (Curtis 2002). Societies have used these burning techniques for cooking and heating, clearing land for agricultural use, and removing excess biomass from grazing and croplands (Levine 1991). Our study focuses on the state of Louisiana and its commonly occurring methods of sugarcane and marsh biomass burning (LSU Ag.Center 2000; Nyman and Chabreck 1995). Over the centuries, the sugarcane industry in this state has steadily grown to surpass all other agriculture commodities. To promote efficiency within this large industry, burning excess biomass takes place throughout the harvesting period (LSU Ag.Center 2000). In addition to sugarcane, Louisiana contains 30% of the total coastal marsh of the United States (LSU Ag.Center 2000). The periodic burning of such marshes is an ecologically important management tool that is practiced throughout the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts (Nyman and Chabreck 1995). In most biomass burning instances, the leading by-product is particulate matter that is less than 10 microns in diameter (PM10). Through past research, this fine material has been shown to have negative health effects on surrounding populations (Boopathy2001). While burning guidelines have been set into place by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) to reduce health effects, the guidelines are voluntary (LDAF 2000). To help quantify emission estimates, we will focus on Iberia Parish for sugarcane burning and Cameron Parish for marsh burning. Through analysis of ASTER, Landsat 5 TM, and MODIS data, our goal is to determine the amount and location of land area burned for the years 2008 and 2009 due to these practices. With emissions algorithms from Seiler and Crutzen, 1980, total acreage burned can be used to estimate emissions. This information will help to document the impact of these smoke plumes on local populations for the improvement of biomass burning policies in Louisiana.

Approaches to Deal with Irradiated Graphite in Russia - Proposal for New IAEA CRP on Graphite Waste Management - 12364

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

Kascheev, Vladimir; Poluektov, Pavel; Ustinov, Oleg

The problems of spent reactor graphite are being shown, the options of its disposal is considered. Burning method is selected as the most efficient and waste-free. It is made a comparison of amounts of {sup 14}C that entering the environment in a natural way during the operation of nuclear power plants (NPPs) and as a result of the proposed burning of spent reactor graphite. It is shown the possibility of burning graphite with the arrival of {sup 14}C into the atmosphere within the maximum allowable emissions. This paper analyzes the different ways of spent reactor graphite treatment. It is shownmore » the possibility of its reprocessing by burning method in the air flow. It is estimated the effect of this technology to the overall radiation environment and compared its contribution to the general background radiation due to cosmic radiation and NPPs emission. It is estimated the maximum permissible speeds of burning reactor graphite (for example, RBMK graphite) for areas with different conditions of agricultural activities. (authors)« less

Variable carbon losses from recurrent fires in drained tropical peatlands.

PubMed

Konecny, Kristina; Ballhorn, Uwe; Navratil, Peter; Jubanski, Juilson; Page, Susan E; Tansey, Kevin; Hooijer, Aljosja; Vernimmen, Ronald; Siegert, Florian

2016-04-01

Tropical peatland fires play a significant role in the context of global warming through emissions of substantial amounts of greenhouse gases. However, the state of knowledge on carbon loss from these fires is still poorly developed with few studies reporting the associated mass of peat consumed. Furthermore, spatial and temporal variations in burn depth have not been previously quantified. This study presents the first spatially explicit investigation of fire-driven tropical peat loss and its variability. An extensive airborne Light Detection and Ranging data set was used to develop a prefire peat surface modelling methodology, enabling the spatially differentiated quantification of burned area depth over the entire burned area. We observe a strong interdependence between burned area depth, fire frequency and distance to drainage canals. For the first time, we show that relative burned area depth decreases over the first four fire events and is constant thereafter. Based on our results, we revise existing peat and carbon loss estimates for recurrent fires in drained tropical peatlands. We suggest values for the dry mass of peat fuel consumed that are 206 t ha(-1) for initial fires, reducing to 115 t ha(-1) for second, 69 t ha(-1) for third and 23 t ha(-1) for successive fires, which are 58-7% of the current IPCC Tier 1 default value for all fires. In our study area, this results in carbon losses of 114, 64, 38 and 13 t C ha(-1) for first to fourth fires, respectively. Furthermore, we show that with increasing proximity to drainage canals both burned area depth and the probability of recurrent fires increase and present equations explaining burned area depth as a function of distance to drainage canal. This improved knowledge enables a more accurate approach to emissions accounting and will support IPCC Tier 2 reporting of fire emissions. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Assessment of post forest fire reclamation in Algarve, Portugal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andrade, Rita; Panagopoulos, Thomas; Guerrero, Carlos; Martins, Fernando; Zdruli, Pandi; Ladisa, Gaetano

2014-05-01

Fire is a common phenomenon in Mediterranean landscapes and it plays a crucial role in its transformations, making the determination of its impact on the ecosystem essential for land management. During summer of 2012, a wildfire took place in Algarve, Portugal, on an area mainly covered by sclerophyllous vegetation (39.44%, 10080ha), broad-leaved forest (20.80%, 5300ha), agriculture land with significant areas of natural vegetation (17.40%, 4400ha) and transitional woodlands-shrubs (16.17%, 4100ha). The objective of the study was to determine fire severity in order to plan post-fire treatments and to aid vegetation recovery and land reclamation. Satellite imagery was used to estimate burn severity by detecting physical and ecological changes in the landscape caused by fire. Differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (DNBR) was used to measure burn severity with pre and post fire data of four Landsat images acquired in October 2011, February and August 2012 and April 2013. The initial and extended differenced normalized burn ratio (DiNBR and DeNBR) were calculated. The calculated burned area of 24291 ha was 552ha lower than the map data determined with field reports. The 19.5% of that area was burned with high severity, 45% with moderate severity and 28.3% with low severity. Comparing fire severity and regrowth with land use, it is shown in DiNBR that the most severely burned areas were predominantly sclerophyllous vegetation (37.6%) and broad-leaved forests (31.1%). From the DeNRB it was found that the reestablishment of vegetation was slower in mixed forests and higher in sclerophyllous vegetation and in land with significant areas of natural vegetation. Faster recovery was calculated for the land uses of sclerophyllous vegetation (46.7%) and significant regrowth in areas of natural vegetation and lands occupied by agriculture (25.4%). Next steps of the study are field validation and crossing with erosion risk maps before to take land reclamation decisions.

Accuracy of burn size estimation in patients transferred to adult Burn Units in Sydney, Australia: an audit of 698 patients.

PubMed

Harish, Varun; Raymond, Andrew P; Issler, Andrea C; Lajevardi, Sepehr S; Chang, Ling-Yun; Maitz, Peter K M; Kennedy, Peter

2015-02-01

The purpose of this study was to compare burn size estimation between referring centres and Burn Units in adult patients transferred to Burn Units in Sydney, Australia. A review of all adults transferred to Burn Units in Sydney, Australia between January 2009 and August 2013 was performed. The TBSA estimated by the referring institution was compared with the TBSA measured at the Burns Unit. There were 698 adults transferred to a Burns Unit. Equivalent TBSA estimation between the referring hospital and Burns Unit occurred in 30% of patients. Overestimation occurred at a ratio exceeding 3:1 with respect to underestimation, with the difference between the referring institutions and Burns Unit estimation being statistically significant (P<0.001). Significant overestimation occurs in the early transfer of burn-injured patients as well as in patients transferred more than 48h after the burn (P<0.005). Underestimation occurs with less frequency but rises with increasing time after the burn (P<0.005) and with increasing TBSA. Throughout the temporal spectrum of transferred patients, severe burns (≥20% TBSA) were found to have more satisfactory burn size estimations compared with less severe injuries (<20% TBSA; P<0.005). There are significant inaccuracies in burn size assessment by referring centres. The systemic tendency for overestimation occurs throughout the entire TBSA spectrum, and persists with increasing time after the burn. Underestimation occurs less frequently but rises with increasing time after the burn and with increasing TBSA. Severe burns (≥20% TBSA) are more accurately estimated by the referring hospital. The inaccuracies in burn size assessment have the potential to result in suboptimal treatment and inappropriate referral to specialised Burn Units. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

A human-driven decline in global burned area.

PubMed

Andela, N; Morton, D C; Giglio, L; Chen, Y; van der Werf, G R; Kasibhatla, P S; DeFries, R S; Collatz, G J; Hantson, S; Kloster, S; Bachelet, D; Forrest, M; Lasslop, G; Li, F; Mangeon, S; Melton, J R; Yue, C; Randerson, J T

2017-06-30

Fire is an essential Earth system process that alters ecosystem and atmospheric composition. Here we assessed long-term fire trends using multiple satellite data sets. We found that global burned area declined by 24.3 ± 8.8% over the past 18 years. The estimated decrease in burned area remained robust after adjusting for precipitation variability and was largest in savannas. Agricultural expansion and intensification were primary drivers of declining fire activity. Fewer and smaller fires reduced aerosol concentrations, modified vegetation structure, and increased the magnitude of the terrestrial carbon sink. Fire models were unable to reproduce the pattern and magnitude of observed declines, suggesting that they may overestimate fire emissions in future projections. Using economic and demographic variables, we developed a conceptual model for predicting fire in human-dominated landscapes. Copyright © 2017 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

County-level analysis of the impact of temperature and population increases on California wildfire data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Baltar, M.; Keeley, Jon E.; Schoenberg, F.P.

2013-01-01

The extent to which the apparent increase in wildfire incidence and burn area in California from 1990 to 2006 is affected by population and temperature increases is examined. Using generalized linear models with random effects, we focus on the estimated impacts of increases in mean daily temperatures and populations in different counties on wildfire in those counties, after essentially controlling for the overall differences between counties in their overall mean temperatures and populations. We find that temperature increase appears to have a significant positive impact on both total burn area and number of observed wildfires. Population growth appears to have a much less pronounced impact on total burn area than do annual temperature increases, and population growth appears to be negatively correlated with the total number of observed wildfires. These effects are especially pronounced in the winter season and in Southern California counties.

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.

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.

Responses of pond-breeding amphibians to wildfire: Short-term patterns in occupancy and colonization

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hossack, B.R.; Corn, P.S.

2007-01-01

Wildland fires are expected to become more frequent and severe in many ecosystems, potentially posing a threat to many sensitive species. We evaluated the effects of a large, stand-replacement wildfire on three species of pond-breeding amphibians by estimating changes in occupancy of breeding sites during the three years before and after the fire burned 42 of 83 previously surveyed wetlands. Annual occupancy and colonization for each species was estimated using recently developed models that incorporate detection probabilities to provide unbiased parameter estimates. We did not find negative effects of the fire on the occupancy or colonization rates of the long-toed salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum). Instead, its occupancy was higher across the study area after the fire, possibly in response to a large snowpack that may have facilitated colonization of unoccupied wetlands. Naïve data (uncorrected for detection probability) for the Columbia spotted frog (Rana luteiventris) initially led to the conclusion of increased occupancy and colonization in wetlands that burned. After accounting for temporal and spatial variation in detection probabilities, however, it was evident that these parameters were relatively stable in both areas before and after the fire. We found a similar discrepancy between naïve and estimated occupancy of A. macrodactylum that resulted from different detection probabilities in burned and control wetlands. The boreal toad (Bufo boreas) was not found breeding in the area prior to the fire but colonized several wetlands the year after they burned. Occupancy by B. boreas then declined during years 2 and 3 following the fire. Our study suggests that the amphibian populations we studied are resistant to wildfire and that B. boreas may experience short-term benefits from wildfire. Our data also illustrate how naïve presence–non-detection data can provide misleading results.

An evaluation of the uncertainties in biomass burning emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yano, A.; Garcia Menendez, F.; Hu, Y.; Odman, M.

2012-12-01

The contribution of biomass burning emissions to the atmospheric loads of gases and aerosols can lead to major air quality problems and have significant climate impacts. Whether from wildfires, natural or human-induced, or controlled burns, biomass burning emissions are an important source of air pollutants regionally in certain parts of the world as well as globally. There are two common ways of estimating biomass burning emissions: by using either ground-based information or satellite observations. When there is sufficient local information about the burn area, the types of fuels and their consumption amounts, and the progression of the fire, ground-based estimation is preferred. For controlled burns a.k.a. prescribed burns and wildfires in places where land management is practiced to a certain extent there is typically sufficient ground-based information for emissions estimation. However, for remote regions where no ground-based information is available on the size, intensity, or the spread of the fire, estimates based on satellite observations are preferred. For example, burn location, size and timing information can be obtained from satellite retrievals of thermal anomalies and fuel loading information can be obtained from satellite products of vegetation cover. In both cases, reasonable emission estimates for a variety of pollutants can be obtained by using emission factors (mass of pollutant released per unit mass of fuel consumed) derived from field or laboratory studies. Here, emissions from a controlled burn and a wildfire are estimated using both ground-based information and satellite observations. The controlled burn was conducted on 17 November 2009 near Santa Barbara, California over 80 ha of land covered with chaparral. An aircraft tracked the smoke plume and measured CO2, light scattering, as well as meteorological parameters during the burn (Akagi et al., 2011). The wildfire is from the summer of 2008 when tens of thousands hectares of wild land burned in Northern California causing unprecedented damage. NASA Aircraft commissioned for the ARCTAS campaign at the time flew over the fires and collected data detailing composition of gases and aerosols in the fire plumes (Singh et al., 2012). We model the fires using a newly developed system consisting of a plume rise and dispersion model specifically designed for wild-land fire plumes (Daysmoke; Achtemeier et al., 2011) coupled with a regional-scale chemistry-transport model (CMAQ). Wind fields generated by a weather prediction model (WRF) are adjusted locally to match the aircraft measurements of wind speed and direction. The fires are simulated using both ground-based and satellite-based estimates of emissions. Predicted concentrations of gases and aerosols are compared to corresponding aircraft measurements. Satellite retrievals of aerosol optical depth are also used in evaluating model predictions. The new modeling system along with the wind adjustments reduces several of the uncertainties inherent to regional-scale modeling of plume transport. This allows for a more reliable analysis of the uncertainties related to emissions. Uncertainties in the magnitudes and timings of emissions, and in plume injection heights with respect to boundary layer heights are investigated. Uncertainties associated with ground-based and satellite-based emissions estimation methods are compared to each other.

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.

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

Weise, David; Johnson, Timothy J.; Reardon, James

Prescribed burning is an accepted practice to manage biomass in the United States and throughout the world. It is a particularly important practice in pine forests throughout the world, many of which have evolved in the presence of fire [1]. A recent survey [2] of prescribed fire use reported that 2.62 x 106 ha of forest land in the southeastern U.S. (defined by the National Association of State Foresters) burned in 2011 for silvicultural purposes such as hazardous fuel reduction, wildlife habitat improvement, and forest regeneration. Earlier surveys reported 0.9 to 1.7 x 106 ha of prescribed burning in themore » southern U.S. [3–5] using different survey techniques. While it is not possible to determine confidence intervals on these estimates, it is clear that the use of prescribed burning has increased since the first published estimate of 1 x 106 ha we were able to locate or the recent survey captured more information. Smoke is an important consequence of prescribed burning that must be managed, [6] and a great deal of research has been performed since the 1970s trying to characterize the composition, production, and transport of smoke from such fires. A recent review of the state of science behind estimation of the contribution of wildland fire to greenhouse gases and black carbon in the U.S. identified several areas of research that must be performed [7]. In particular, two areas of knowledge that still need improvement are fuel characterization and smoke emissions, and the correlation(s) between the two. While many fuel types in the southeastern U.S. have been described for fire behavior and fire danger prediction, characterization of fuel bed components important for smoke production is more limited. Emissions characterization, both chemical and particulate, is needed to determine potential impacts of prescribed burning on nutrient cycling, planetary albedo, human health, and highway visibility [e.g. 8–10].« less

Returning fire to the mountains: can we successfully restore the ecological role of pre-Euroamerican fire regimes to the Sierra Nevada?

Treesearch

Anthony C. Caprio; David M. Graber

2000-01-01

This paper examines the resultant conditions of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park’s burn program relative to knowledge about past fire regimes in this ecosystem. Estimates of past fire-return intervals provide management direction and were used to develop approximations of area burned prior to Euroamerican settlement. This information was used to develop simple...

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.

Interactions among wildland fires in a long-established Sierra Nevada natural fire area

USGS Publications Warehouse

Collins, B.M.; Miller, J.D.; Thode, A.E.; Kelly, M.; van Wagtendonk, J.W.; Stephens, S.L.

2009-01-01

We investigate interactions between successive naturally occurring fires, and assess to what extent the environments in which fires burn influence these interactions. Using mapped fire perimeters and satellite-based estimates of post-fire effects (referred to hereafter as fire severity) for 19 fires burning relatively freely over a 31-year period, we demonstrate that fire as a landscape process can exhibit self-limiting characteristics in an upper elevation Sierra Nevada mixed conifer forest. We use the term 'self-limiting' to refer to recurring fire as a process over time (that is, fire regime) consuming fuel and ultimately constraining the spatial extent and lessening fire-induced effects of subsequent fires. When the amount of time between successive adjacent fires is under 9 years, and when fire weather is not extreme (burning index <34.9), the probability of the latter fire burning into the previous fire area is extremely low. Analysis of fire severity data by 10-year periods revealed a fair degree of stability in the proportion of area burned among fire severity classes (unchanged, low, moderate, high). This is in contrast to a recent study demonstrating increasing high-severity burning throughout the Sierra Nevada from 1984 to 2006, which suggests freely burning fires over time in upper elevation Sierra Nevada mixed conifer forests can regulate fire-induced effects across the landscape. This information can help managers better anticipate short- and long-term effects of allowing naturally ignited fires to burn, and ultimately, improve their ability to implement Wildland Fire Use programs in similar forest types. ?? 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

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.

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.

Size-dependent validation of MODIS MCD64A1 burned area over six vegetation types in boreal Eurasia: Large underestimation in croplands.

PubMed

Zhu, Chunmao; Kobayashi, Hideki; Kanaya, Yugo; Saito, Masahiko

2017-07-05

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 the basis of fire emission products. 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 km 2 ) could have been ~16% greater than suggested by MCD64A1 (13,187 km 2 ) when applying the correction factors proposed in this study. This implies the effects of wildfire emissions in boreal Eurasia on Arctic warming could be greater than currently estimated.

Greenhouse gas emissions from vegetation fires in Southern Africa.

PubMed

Scholes, R J

1995-01-01

Methane (CH4), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic carbon, and aerosols emitted as a result of the deliberate or accidental burning of natural vegetation constitute a large component of the greenhouse gas emissions of many African countries, but the data needed for calculating these emissions by the IPCC methodology is sparse and subject to estimation errors. An improved procedure for estimating emissions from fires in southern Africa has been developed. The proposed procedure involves reclassifying existing vegetation maps into one of eleven broad, functional vegetation classes. Fuel loads are calculated within each 0.5 × 0.5° cell based on empirical relationships to climate data for each class. The fractional area of each class that burns is estimated by using daily low-resolution satellite fire detection, which is calibrated against a subsample of pre- and post-fire high-resolution satellite images. The emission factors that relate the quantity of gas released to the mass of fuel burned are based on recent field campaigns in Africa and are related to combustion efficiency, which is in turn related to the fuel mix. The emissions are summed over the 1989 fire season for Africa south of the equator. The estimated emissions from vegetation burning in the subcontinent are 0.5 Tg CH4, 14.9 Tg CO, 1.05 Tg NOx, and 1.08 Tg of particles smaller than 2.5µm. The 324 Tg CO2 emitted is expected to be reabsorbed in subsequent years. These estimates are smaller than previous estimates.

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

Avian community responses to post-fire forest structure: Implications for fire management in mixed conifer forests

USGS Publications Warehouse

White, Angela M.; Manley, Patricia N.; Tarbill, Gina; Richardson, T.L.; Russell, Robin E.; Safford, Hugh D.; Dobrowski, Solomon Z.

2015-01-01

Fire is a natural process and the dominant disturbance shaping plant and animal communities in many coniferous forests of the western US. Given that fire size and severity are predicted to increase in the future, it has become increasingly important to understand how wildlife responds to fire and post-fire management. The Angora Fire burned 1243 hectares of mixed conifer forest in South Lake Tahoe, California. We conducted avian point counts for the first 3 years following the fire in burned and unburned areas to investigate which habitat characteristics are most important for re-establishing or maintaining the native avian community in post-fire landscapes. We used a multi-species occurrence model to estimate how avian species are influenced by the density of live and dead trees and shrub cover. While accounting for variations in the detectability of species, our approach estimated the occurrence probabilities of all species detected including those that were rare or observed infrequently. Although all species encountered in this study were detected in burned areas, species-specific modeling results predicted that some species were strongly associated with specific post-fire conditions, such as a high density of dead trees, open-canopy conditions or high levels of shrub cover that occur at particular burn severities or at a particular time following fire. These results indicate that prescribed fire or managed wildfire which burns at low to moderate severity without at least some high-severity effects is both unlikely to result in the species assemblages that are unique to post-fire areas or to provide habitat for burn specialists. Additionally, the probability of occurrence for many species was associated with high levels of standing dead trees indicating that intensive post-fire harvest of these structures could negatively impact habitat of a considerable proportion of the avian community.

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.

Hierarchical decomposition of burn body diagram based on cutaneous functional units and its utility.

PubMed

Richard, Reg; Jones, John A; Parshley, Philip

2015-01-01

A burn body diagram (BBD) is a common feature used in the delivery of burn care for estimating the TBSA burn as well as calculating fluid resuscitation and nutritional requirements, wound healing, and rehabilitation intervention. However, little change has occurred for over seven decades in the configuration of the BBD. The purpose of this project was to develop a computerized model using hierarchical decomposition (HD) to more precisely determine the percentage burn within a BBD based on cutaneous functional units (CFUs). HD is a process by which a system is degraded into smaller parts that are more precise in their use. CFUs were previously identified fields of the skin involved in the range of motion. A standard Lund/Browder (LB) BBD template was used as the starting point to apply the CFU segments. LB body divisions were parceled down into smaller body area divisions through a HD process based on the CFU concept. A numerical pattern schema was used to label the various segments in a cephalo/caudal, anterior/posterior, medial/lateral manner. Hand/fingers were divided based on anatomical landmarks and known cutaneokinematic function. The face was considered using aesthetic units. Computer code was written to apply the numeric hierarchical schema to CFUs and applied within the context of the surface area graphic evaluation BBD program. Each segmented CFU was coded to express 100% of itself. The CFU/HD method refined the standard LB diagram from 13 body segments and 33 subdivisions into 182 isolated CFUs. Associated CFUs were reconstituted into 219 various surface area combinations totaling 401 possible surface segments. The CFU/HD schema of the body surface mapping is applicable to measuring and calculating percent wound healing in a more precise manner. It eliminates subjective assessment of the percentage wound healing and the need for additional devices such as planimetry. The development of CFU/HD body mapping schema has rendered a technologically advanced system to depict body burns. The process has led to a more precise estimation of the segmented body areas while preserving the overall TBSA information. Clinical application to date has demonstrated its worthwhile utility.

Environmental geophysics and sequential aerial photo study at Sunfish and Marsden Lakes, Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant

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

Padar, C.A.; McGinnis, L.D.; Thompson, M.D.

1995-08-01

Geophysical studies at Site H of Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant have delineated specific areas of dumping and waste disposal. Anomalous areas noted in the geophysical data sets have been correlated with features visible in a chronological sequence of aerial photos. The photos aid in dating the anthropogenic changes and in interpreting the geophysical anomalies observed at Site H and across Sunfish Lake. Specifically, two burn cages and what has been interpreted as their surrounding debris have been delineated. The areal extent of another waste site has been defined in the southwest corner of Area H-1. Depth estimates to themore » top of the Area H-1 anomalies show that the anomalies lie below lake level, indicative of dumping directly into Sunfish Lake. Except for these areas along the northwestern shore, there is no evidence of waste disposal along the shoreline or within the present-day lake margins. Magnetic, electromagnetic, and ground-penetrating-radar data have pinpointed the locations of mounds, observable in aerial photos, around the first burn cage. The second burn cage and its surrounding area have also been clearly defined from aerial photos, with support from further geophysical data. Additional analysis of the data has yielded volumetric estimates of the amount of material that would need removal in the event of excavation of the anomalous areas. Magnetic and electromagnetic profiles were also run across Marsden Lake. On the basis of these data, it has been concluded that no large-scale dumping has occurred in or around Marsden Lake.« less

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Trace gas and particle emissions from domestic and industrial biofuel use and garbage burning in central Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christian, T. J.; Yokelson, R. J.; Cárdenas, B.; Molina, L. T.; Engling, G.; Hsu, S.-C.

2010-01-01

In central Mexico during the spring of 2007 we measured the initial emissions of 12 gases and the aerosol speciation for elemental and organic carbon (EC, OC), anhydrosugars, Cl-, NO3-, and 20 metals from 10 cooking fires, four garbage fires, three brick making kilns, three charcoal making kilns, and two crop residue fires. Global biofuel use has been estimated at over 2600 Tg/y. With several simple case studies we show that cooking fires can be a major, or the major, source of several gases and fine particles in developing countries. Insulated cook stoves with chimneys were earlier shown to reduce indoor air pollution and the fuel use per cooking task. We confirm that they also reduce the emissions of VOC pollutants per mass of fuel burned by about half. We did not detect HCN emissions from cooking fires in Mexico or Africa. Thus, if regional source attribution is based on HCN emissions typical for other types of biomass burning (BB), then biofuel use and total BB will be underestimated in much of the developing world. This is also significant because cooking fires are not detected from space. We estimate that ~2000 Tg/y of garbage are generated globally and about half may be burned, making this a commonly overlooked major global source of emissions. We estimate a fine particle emission factor (EFPM2.5) for garbage burning of ~10.5±8.8 g/kg, which is in reasonable agreement with very limited previous work. We observe large HCl emission factors in the range 2-10 g/kg. Consideration of the Cl content of the global waste stream suggests that garbage burning may generate as much as 6-9 Tg/yr of HCl, which would make it a major source of this compound. HCl generated by garbage burning in dry environments may have a relatively greater atmospheric impact than HCl generated in humid areas. Garbage burning PM2.5 was found to contain levoglucosan and K in concentrations similar to those for biomass burning, so it could be a source of interference in some areas when using these tracers to estimate BB. Galactosan was the anhydrosugar most closely correlated with BB in this study. Fine particle antimony (Sb) shows initial promise as a garbage burning tracer and suggests that this source could contribute a significant amount of the PM2.5 in the Mexico City metropolitan area. The fuel consumption and emissions due to industrial biofuel use are difficult to characterize regionally. This is partly because of the diverse range of fuels used and the very small profit margins of typical micro-enterprises. Brick making kilns produced low total EFPM2.5 (~1.6 g/kg), but very high EC/OC ratios (6.72). Previous literature on brick kilns is scarce but does document some severe local impacts. Coupling data from Mexico, Brazil, and Zambia, we find that charcoal making kilns can exhibit an 8-fold increase in VOC/CO over their approximately one-week lifetime. Acetic acid emission factors for charcoal kilns were much higher in Mexico than elsewhere. Our dirt charcoal kiln EFPM2.5 emission factor was ~1.1 g/kg, which is lower than previous recommendations intended for all types of kilns. We speculate that some PM2.5 is scavenged in the walls of dirt kilns.

Trace gas and particle emissions from domestic and industrial biofuel use and garbage burning in central Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christian, T. J.; Yokelson, R. J.; Cárdenas, B.; Molina, L. T.; Engling, G.; Hsu, S.-C.

2009-04-01

In central Mexico during the spring of 2007 we measured the initial emissions of 12 gases and the aerosol speciation for elemental and organic carbon (EC, OC), anhydrosugars, Cl-, NO3-, and 20 metals from 10 cooking fires, four garbage fires, three brick making kilns, three charcoal making kilns, and two crop residue fires. Biofuel use has been estimated at over 2600 Tg/y. With several simple case studies we show that cooking fires can be a major, or the major, source of several gases and fine particles in developing countries. Insulated cook stoves with chimneys were earlier shown to reduce indoor air pollution and the fuel use per cooking task. We confirm that they also reduce the emissions of VOC pollutants per mass of fuel burned by about half. We did not detect HCN emissions from cooking fires in Mexico or Africa. Thus, if regional source attribution is based on HCN emissions typical for other types of biomass burning (BB), then biofuel use and total BB will be underestimated in much of the developing world. This is also significant because cooking fires are not detected from space. We estimate that 2000 Tg/y of garbage are generated and about half may be burned, making this a commonly overlooked major global source of emissions. We estimate a fine particle emission factor (EFPM2.5 for garbage burning of ~10±5 g/kg, which is in reasonable agreement with very limited previous work. We observe large HCl emission factors in the range 2-10 g/kg. Consideration of the Cl content of the global waste stream suggests that garbage burning may generate as much as 6-9 Tg/yr of HCl, which would make it a major source of this compound. HCl generated by garbage burning in dry environments may have a relatively greater atmospheric impact than HCl generated in humid areas. Garbage burning PM2.5 was found to contain levoglucosan and K in concentrations similar to those for biomass burning, so it could be a source of interference in some areas when using these tracers to estimate BB. Galactosan was the anhydrosugar most closely correlated with BB in this study. Fine particle antimony (Sb) shows initial promise as a garbage burning tracer and suggests that this source could contribute a significant amount of the PM2.5 in the Mexico City metropolitan area. The fuel consumption and emissions due to industrial biofuel use are difficult to characterize regionally. This is partly because of the diverse range of fuels used and the thin margins of typical micro-enterprises. Brick making kilns produced low total EFPM2.5 (~1.6 g/kg), but very high EC/OC ratios (6.72). Previous literature on brick kilns is scarce but does document some severe local impacts. Coupling data from Mexico, Brazil, and Zambia, we find that charcoal making kilns can exhibit an 8-fold increase in VOC/CO over their approximately one-week lifetime. Acetic acid emission factors for charcoal kilns were much higher in Mexico than elsewhere, probably due to the use of tannin-rich oak fuel. Our dirt charcoal kiln EFPM2.5 emission factor was ~1.1 g/kg, which is lower than previous recommendations intended for all types of kilns. We speculate that some PM2.5 is scavenged in the walls of dirt kilns.

A review of the burns caseload of a physician-based helicopter emergency medical service.

PubMed

Hall, Karina; Burns, Brian

2017-08-01

The aim of this study was to describe patient demographics, injuries, physiology and interventions performed by retrieval physicians in the care of burns patients in both a pre-hospital and interhospital setting. A retrospective review of patient records from a large Australian Helicopter Emergency Medical Service was conducted. Demographics, injury, burn type, physiology and intervention data were extracted into a database for statistical analysis. Basic descriptive statistics were calculated, and patient physiology measures were compared at arrival and destination. A total of 490 burns cases were identified from a 5 year period (January 2010-August 2015). The majority (78.6%) were interhospital transfers conducted by road (49.4%) or helicopter (36.9%). Patients were predominantly men (75.7%) with a median age of 37 years (interquartile range [IQR] 23-50). Median estimated total body surface area burned was 15% (IQR 8.5-20) and 18% (IQR 10-30) in pre-hospital and interhospital groups, respectively; however, retrieval physicians tended to overestimate total body surface area burned in comparison to destination burns units. Flash burn or explosion were the predominant aetiology of burn (49.4%), although the majority (95.3%) of patients had no associated traumatic injuries. Sixty patients were intubated by the Service. Escharotomies were performed on eight occasions resulting in improvement in circulation or ventilation. Overall mortality was 3.7% at 24 h. The Service cares for 80-100 burns patients annually, a proportion of whom require complex interventions such as intubation and escharotomy, which was performed by retrieval physicians appropriately. Associated traumatic injuries were infrequent in patients who sustained burns from flashes or explosions. © 2017 Australasian College for Emergency Medicine and Australasian Society for Emergency Medicine.

Albumin administration for fluid resuscitation in burn patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Eljaiek, Roberto; Heylbroeck, Christophe; Dubois, Marc-Jacques

2017-02-01

The objective was to systematically review the literature summarizing the effect on mortality of albumin compared to non-albumin solutions during the fluid resuscitation phase of burn injured patients. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRAL and the content of two leading journals in burn care, Burns and Journal of Burn Care and Research. Two reviewers independently selected randomized controlled trials comparing albumin vs. non-albumin solutions for the acute resuscitation of patients with >20% body surface area involvement. Reviewers abstracted data independently and assessed methodological quality of the included trials using predefined criteria. A random effects model was used to assess mortality. We identified 164 trials of which, 4 trials involving 140 patients met our inclusion criteria. Overall, the methodological quality of the included trials was fair. We did not find a significant benefit of albumin solutions as resuscitation fluid on mortality in burn patients (relative risk (RR) 1.6; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.63-4.08). Total volume of fluid infusion during the phase of resuscitation was lower in patients receiving albumin containing solution -1.00ml/kg/%TBSA (total body surface area) (95% CI, -1.42 to -0.58). The pooled estimate demonstrated a neutral effect on mortality in burn patients resuscitated acutely with albumin solutions. Due to limited evidence and uncertainty, an adequately powered, high quality trial could be required to assess the impact of albumin solutions on mortality in burn patients. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Modeling the disturbance of vegetation by fire in the boreal forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crevoisier, C.; Shevliakova, E.; Gloor, M.; Wirth, C.

2006-12-01

Boreal regions are important for the global carbon cycle because it is the largest forested area on earth and there are large belowground carbon pools (~1000 PgC). It is also a region where largest warming trends on the globe over the last decades have been observed and changes of the land ecosystems have already started. A major factor that determines the structure and carbon dynamics of the boreal forest is fire. As fire frequency depends strongly on climate, increased fire occurrence and related losses to the atmosphere are likely, and have already been reported. In order to predict with more confidence the occurrence and effect of fire on forest ecosystems in the boreal region, we have developed a fire model that takes advantage of the large on-ground, remote sensing and climate data from Canada, Alaska and Siberia. This prognostic model estimates the monthly burned area in a grid cell of 2 by 2.5 degrees, from four climate (air temperature, air relative humidity, precipitation and soil water content) and one human-related (road density) variables. Parameters are estimated using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo method applied to a dataset of observed burned area for Canada. The model is able to reproduce the seasonality of fire, the interannual variability, as well as the location of fire events, not only for Canada (on which data the model is based), but also for Siberia and Alaska, for which the results compare well with remote sensing observation, and are in the range of various current estimations of burned area. The fire model is being implemented in LM3V, the new vegetation model of GFDL earth system model, in order to make prediction of future fire behavior in boreal regions, and the related disturbance of the vegetation and carbon emissions.

Estimating the Number of Low-Income Americans Exposed to Household Air Pollution from Burning Solid Fuels

PubMed Central

Rogalsky, Derek K.; Mendola, Pauline; Metts, Tricia A.

2014-01-01

Background: Exposure to household air pollution (HAP) from inefficient biomass and coal stoves kills nearly 4 million people every year worldwide. HAP is an environmental risk associated with poverty that affects an estimated 3 billion people mostly in low- and middle-income countries. Objectives: Our goal was to estimate the number of low-income Americans exposed to potentially health-damaging concentrations of HAP. Methods: We mapped county-level data for the percentage of households using wood, coal, and/or coke as their primary heating fuel along with percent of the population below the federal poverty level. Using U.S. Census data and the likelihood of fugitive emissions as reported in the literature, we estimated the number of low-income Americans potentially exposed to HAP. Results: Solid fuel is the primary heating source for > 2.5 million U.S. households, or 6.5 million people. The mapping exercise showed several rural areas, primarily in the northern and western regions, that have high levels of solid-fuel use and poverty. We then identified 117 counties with high co-incident poverty and solid-fuel use as high-priority counties for research into potential health risks from HAP. We estimate that between 500,000 and 600,000 low-income people in the United States are likely exposed to HAP from burning solid fuels within their homes. Conclusion: HAP occurs within the United States and should be further investigated for adverse health risks, especially among those living in areas with rural poverty. Citation: Rogalsky DK, Mendola P, Metts TA, Martin WJ II. 2014. Estimating the number of low-income Americans exposed to household air pollution from burning solid fuels. Environ Health Perspect 122:806–810; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1306709 PMID:24833615

Effects of fire on spotted owl site occupancy in a late-successional forest

USGS Publications Warehouse

Roberts, Susan L.; van Wagtendonk, Jan W.; Miles, A. Keith; Kelt, Douglas A.

2011-01-01

The spotted owl (Strix occidentalis) is a late-successional forest dependent species that is sensitive to forest management practices throughout its range. An increase in the frequency and spatial extent of standreplacing fires in western North America has prompted concern for the persistence of spotted owls and other sensitive late-successional forest associated species. However, there is sparse information on the effects of fire on spotted owls to guide conservation policies. In 2004-2005, we surveyed for California spotted owls during the breeding season at 32 random sites (16 burned, 16 unburned) throughout late-successional montane forest in Yosemite National Park, California. Our burned areas burned at all severities, but predominately involved low to moderate fire severity. Based on an information theoretic approach, spotted owl detection and occupancy rates were similar between burned and unburned sites. Nest and roost site occupancy was best explained by a model that combined total tree basal area (positive effect) with cover by coarse woody debris (negative effect). The density estimates of California spotted owl pairs were similar in burned and unburned forests, and the overall mean density estimate for Yosemite was higher than previously reported for montane forests. Our results indicate that low to moderate severity fires, historically common within montane forests of the Sierra Nevada, California, maintain habitat characteristics essential for spotted owl site occupancy. These results suggest that managed fires that emulate the historic fire regime of these forests may maintain spotted owl habitat and protect this species from the effects of future catastrophic fires.

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...

A human-driven decline in global burned area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andela, N.

2017-12-01

Fire regimes are changing rapidly across the globe, driven by human land management and climate. We assessed long-term trends in fire activity using multiple satellite data sets and developed a new global data set on individual fire dynamics to understand the implications of changing fire regimes. Despite warming climate, burned area declined across most of the tropics, contributing to a global decline in burned area of 24.3 ± 8.8% over the past 18 years. The estimated decrease in burned area was largest in savannas and grasslands, where agricultural expansion and intensification were primary drivers of declining fire activity. In tropical forests, frequent fires for deforestation and agricultural management yield a sharp rise in fire activity with the expansion of settled land uses, but the use of fire decreases with increasing investment in agricultural areas in both savanna and forested landscapes. Disparate patterns of recent socieconomic development resulted in contrasting fire trends between southern Africa (increase) and South America (decrease). A strong inverse relationship between burned area and economic development in savannas and grasslands suggests that despite potential increasing fire risk from climate change, ongoing socioeconomic development will likely sustain observed declines in fire in these ecosystems during coming decades. Fewer and smaller fires reduced aerosol concentrations, modified vegetation structure, and increased the magnitude of the terrestrial carbon sink. The spatiotemporal distribution of fire size, duration, speed and direction of spread provided new insights in continental scale differences in fire regimes driven by human and climatic factors. Understanding these dynamics over larger scales is critical to achieve a balance between conservation of fire-dependent ecosystems and increasing agricultural production to support growing populations that will require careful management of fire activity in human-dominated landscapes.

Desert fires fueled by native annual forbs: effects of fire on communities of plants and birds in the lower Sonoran Desert of Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Esque, Todd C.; Webb, Robert H.; Wallace, Cynthia S.A.; van Riper, Charles; McCreedy, Chris; Smythe, Lindsay A.

2013-01-01

In 2005, fire ignited by humans swept from Yuma Proving Grounds into Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona, burning ca. 9,255 ha of Wilderness Area. Fuels were predominantly the native forb Plantago ovata. Large fires at low elevations were rare in the 19th and 20th centuries, and fires fueled by native vegetation are undocumented in the southwestern deserts. We estimated the area damaged by fire using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, which are more accurate and reduce subjectivity of aerial surveys of perimeters of fires. Assemblages of upland and xeroriparian plants lost 91 and 81% of live cover, respectively, in fires. The trees Olneya tesota and Cercidium had high amounts of top-kill. King Valley was an important xeroriparian corridor for birds. Species richness of birds decreased significantly following the fire. Numbers of breeding birds were lower in burned areas of King Valley 3 years post-fire, compared to numbers in nearby but unburned Alamo Wash. Although birds function within a large geographic scale, the extent of this burn still influenced the relative abundance of local species of breeding birds. This suggests that breeding birds respond to conditions of localized burns and slow recovery of vegetation contributes to continued lower numbers of birds in the burned sites in King Valley.

Desert fires fueled by native annual forbs: Effects of fire on communities of plants and birds in the Lower Sonoran Desert of Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Esque, Todd C.; Webb, Robert H.; Wallace, Cynthia S.A.; van Riper, Charles; McCreedy, Chris; Smythe, Lindsay A.

2013-01-01

In 2005, fire ignited by humans swept from Yuma Proving Grounds into Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona, burning ca. 9,255 ha of Wilderness Area. Fuels were predominantly the native forb Plantago ovata. Large fires at low elevations were rare in the 19th and 20th centuries, and fires fueled by native vegetation are undocumented in the southwestern deserts. We estimated the area damaged by fire using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, which are more accurate and reduce subjectivity of aerial surveys of perimeters of fires. Assemblages of upland and xeroriparian plants lost 91 and 81% of live cover, respectively, in fires. The trees Olneya tesota and Cercidium had high amounts of top-kill. King Valley was an important xeroriparian corridor for birds. Species richness of birds decreased significantly following the fire. Numbers of breeding birds were lower in burned areas of King Valley 3 years post-fire, compared to numbers in nearby but unburned Alamo Wash. Although birds function within a large geographic scale, the extent of this burn still influenced the relative abundance of local species of breeding birds. This suggests that breeding birds respond to conditions of localized burns and slow recovery of vegetation contributes to continued lower numbers of birds in the burned sites in King Valley.

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.

Soluble Suppression of Tumorigenicity-2 Predicts Hospital Mortality in Burn Patients: An Observational Prospective Cohort Pilot Study.

PubMed

Ruiz-Castilla, Mireia; Bosacoma, Pau; Dos Santos, Bruce; Baena, Jacinto; Guilabert, Patricia; Marin-Corral, Judith; Masclans, Joan R; Roca, Oriol; Barret, Juan P

2018-04-10

The IL33/ST2 pathway has been implicated in the pathogenesis of different inflammatory diseases. Our aim was to analyze whether plasma levels of biomarkers involved in the IL33/ST2 axis might help to predict mortality in burn patients. Single-center prospective observational cohort pilot study performed at the Burns Unit of the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Department of the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital (Barcelona). All patients aged ≥18 years old with second or third-degree burns requiring admission to the Burns Unit were considered for inclusion. Blood samples were taken to measure levels of interleukins (IL)6, IL8, IL33, and soluble suppression of tumorigenicity-2 (sST2) within 24 h of admission to the Burns Unit and at day 3. Results are expressed as medians and interquartile ranges or as frequencies and percentages. Sixty-nine patients (58 [84.1%] male, mean age 52 [35-63] years, total body surface area burned 21% [13%-30%], Abbreviated Burn Severity Index 6 [4-8]) were included. Thirteen (18.8%) finally died in the Burns Unit. Plasma levels of sST2 measured at day 3 after admission demonstrated the best prediction accuracy for survival (area under the ROC curve 0.85 [0.71-0.99]; P < 0.001). The best cutoff point for the AUROC index was estimated to be 2,561. In the Cox proportional hazards model, after adjusting for potential confounding, a plasma sST2 level ≥2,561 measured at day 3 was significantly associated with mortality (HR 6.94 [1.73-27.74]; P = 0.006). Plasma sST2 at day 3 predicts hospital mortality in burn patients.

Clinical and demographic features of burn injuries in karachi: a six-year experience at the burns centre, civil hospital, Karachi

PubMed Central

Ali, S.A.; Hamiz-ul-Fawwad, S.; Al-Ibran, E.; Ahmed, G.; Saleem, A.; Mustafa, D.; Hussain, M.

2016-01-01

Summary Burn injuries are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, with 195,000 deaths annually. This study was conducted to identify the demographics of burn victims and the effect of different variables on the outcome of their injuries. 4016 patients admitted to the Burns Centre, Civil Hospital Karachi from January 2006 to December 2011 were retrospectively analyzed. Demographics, burn injury details and their outcome were recorded in a pre-designed questionnaire. Injuries were categorized as: fire, chemical, scald or electrical. To estimate total body surface area (TBSA) burned in adults, the rule of nines was used. For children and infants, the Lund-Browder chart was employed. SPSS v16.0 software was used for analysis. Frequencies and percentages of all variables, and the measure of central tendencies and dispersion for continuous variables were calculated. Cross tabs were used to assess mortality. Mean age was 28.13 years. More than half of the cases (n=2337, 58.2%) were aged between 16-30 years. Labourers, housewives and students were the most commonly affected groups. Burn injuries by flame/fire and electricity were most common. Most cases were accidental, followed by suicide attempts and homicides. Mean percentage of TBSA affected was 35.49%. Mean duration of hospital stay was 16.45 days. 50.6% of the expired cases were females. The mean age of expired patients was 30.07 while for patients who survived it was 27.01 years. The outcome of burn injuries is related to various demographic factors. Female gender, increasing age, burn injuries following suicide attempts and greater surface area involvement predict poor outcome. PMID:27857643

Alternative pathways to landscape transformation: Invasive grasses, burn severity and fire frequency in arid ecosystems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klinger, Robert C.; Brooks, Matthew L.

2017-01-01

Arid ecosystems are often vulnerable to transformation to invasive-dominated states following fire, but data on persistence of these states are sparse. The grass/fire cycle is a feedback process between invasive annual grasses and fire frequency that often leads to the formation of alternative vegetation states dominated by the invasive grasses. However, other components of fire regimes, such as burn severity, also have the potential to produce long-term vegetation transformations. Our goal was to evaluate the influence of both fire frequency and burn severity on the transformation of woody-dominated communities to communities dominated by invasive grasses in major elevation zones of the Mojave Desert of western North America.We used a chronosequence design to collect data on herbaceous and woody cover at 229 unburned reference plots and 578 plots that burned between 1972 and 2010. We stratified the plots by elevation zone (low, mid, high), fire frequency (1–3 times) and years post-fire (YPF; 1–5, 6–10, 11–20 and 21–40 YPF). Burn severity for each plot was estimated by the difference normalized burn ratio.We identified two broad post-fire successional pathways. One was an outcome of fire frequency, resulting in a strong potential transformation via the grass/fire cycle. The second pathway was driven by burn severity, the critical aspect being that long-term transformation of a community could occur from just one fire in areas that burned at high or sometimes moderate severity. Dominance by invasive grasses was most likely to occur in low-and high-elevation communities; cover of native herbaceous species was often greater than that of invasive grasses in the mid-elevation zone.Synthesis. Invasive grasses can dominate a site that burned only one time in many decades at high severity, or a site that burned at low severity but multiple times in the same time period. However, high burn severity may predispose areas to more frequent fire because they have relatively high cover of invasive annual grass, suggesting burn severity and fire frequency have both independent and synergistic effects. Resilience in vegetation structure following fire in many arid communities may be limited to a narrow window of low burn severity in areas that have not burned in many decades.

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.

Sun burn incidence and knowledge of greek elementary and high school children about sun protection.

PubMed

Saridi, Maria Ioannis; Toska, Aikaterini George; Rekleiti, Maria Dimitrios; Tsironi, Maria; Geitona, Maria; Souliotis, Kyriakos

2015-01-01

Overexposure to sun radiation and particularly its accumulation during childhood and adolescence is a significant risk factor for skin cancer development. The sun burn is particularly important. To estimate sun burn incidence in young pupils in a coastal area of Greece. Two surveys were conducted in a school population in the same district in Greece, over different periods of time, in young people 9 to 18 years old (n=2 977). Anonymous questionnaires were completed. Levels of significance were two- tailed and statistical significance was set at p=0.05. SPSS 17.0 software was used for statistical analysis. From the individual characteristics of the participants it was shown that the majority of them had dark hair and fair skin, whereas a significant percentage reported the existence of moles on face and their body (83.4% vs 68.1%). The sun burn incidence was high in adolescents and the younger pupils (41.9% vs 55.6%). The younger aged children who were living in an urban area had significantly higher rates of sun burn than those living in semi-urban areas (33.8% vs 24.8%, p=0.020). As far as the knowledge of pupils about the risks of sun radiation it was shown that the elementary school pupils had better knowledge than those at high school. Finally, those with better knowledge had the fewer sun burns (Mean 2.83 SD 0.87, p<0.001). The contribution of knowledge to the decrease of sun burn incidence is important as long as this is continuous. Therefore, the education should concern not only children but also teachers and parents in the context of continuous and systematic programs of health education.

Quantifying soil burn severity for hydrologic modeling to assess post-fire effects on sediment delivery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dobre, Mariana; Brooks, Erin; Lew, Roger; Kolden, Crystal; Quinn, Dylan; Elliot, William; Robichaud, Pete

2017-04-01

Soil erosion is a secondary fire effect with great implications for many ecosystem resources. Depending on the burn severity, topography, and the weather immediately after the fire, soil erosion can impact municipal water supplies, degrade water quality, and reduce reservoirs' storage capacity. Scientists and managers use field and remotely sensed data to quickly assess post-fire burn severity in ecologically-sensitive areas. From these assessments, mitigation activities are implemented to minimize post-fire flood and soil erosion and to facilitate post-fire vegetation recovery. Alternatively, land managers can use fire behavior and spread models (e.g. FlamMap, FARSITE, FOFEM, or CONSUME) to identify sensitive areas a priori, and apply strategies such as fuel reduction treatments to proactively minimize the risk of wildfire spread and increased burn severity. There is a growing interest in linking fire behavior and spread models with hydrology-based soil erosion models to provide site-specific assessment of mitigation treatments on post-fire runoff and erosion. The challenge remains, however, that many burn severity mapping and modeling products quantify vegetation loss rather than measuring soil burn severity. Wildfire burn severity is spatially heterogeneous and depends on the pre-fire vegetation cover, fuel load, topography, and weather. Severities also differ depending on the variable of interest (e.g. soil, vegetation). In the United States, Burned Area Reflectance Classification (BARC) maps, derived from Landsat satellite images, are used as an initial burn severity assessment. BARC maps are classified from either a Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) or differenced Normalized Burned Ratio (dNBR) scene into four classes (Unburned, Low, Moderate, and High severity). The development of soil burn severity maps requires further manual field validation efforts to transform the BARC maps into a product more applicable for post-fire soil rehabilitation activities. Alternative spectral indices and modeled output approaches may prove better predictors of soil burn severity and hydrologic effects, but these have not yet been assessed in a model framework. In this project we compare field-verified soil burn severity maps to satellite-derived and modeled burn severity maps. We quantify the extent to which there are systematic differences in these mapping products. We then use the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) hydrologic soil erosion model to assess sediment delivery from these fires using the predicted and observed soil burn severity maps. Finally, we discuss differences in observed and predicted soil burn severity maps and application to watersheds in the Pacific Northwest to estimate post-fire sediment delivery.

Wildfire impacts on soil-water retention in the Colorado Front Range, United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ebel, Brian A.

2012-01-01

This work examined the plot-scale differences in soil-water retention caused by wildfire in the area of the 2010 Fourmile Canyon Fire in the Colorado Front Range, United States. We measured soil-water retention curves on intact cores and repacked samples, soil particle-size distributions, and organic matter content. Estimates were also made of plant-available water based on the soil-water retention curves. Parameters for use in soil-hydraulic property models were estimated; these parameters can be used in unsaturated flow modeling for comparing burned and unburned watersheds. The primary driver for measured differences in soil-water retention in burned and unburned soils was organic matter content and not soil-particle size distribution. The tendency for unburned south-facing soils to have greater organic matter content than unburned north-facing soils in this field area may explain why unburned south-facing soils had greater soil-water retention than unburned north-facing soils. Our results suggest that high-severity wildfire can “homogenize” soil-water retention across the landscape by erasing soil-water retention differences resulting from organic matter content, which for this site may be affected by slope aspect. This homogenization could have important implications for ecohydrology and plant succession/recovery in burned areas, which could be a factor in dictating the window of vulnerability of the landscape to flash floods and erosion that are a common consequence of wildfire.

Wildfire impacts on soil-water retention in the Colorado Front Range, United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ebel, Brian A.

2012-12-01

This work examined the plot-scale differences in soil-water retention caused by wildfire in the area of the 2010 Fourmile Canyon Fire in the Colorado Front Range, United States. We measured soil-water retention curves on intact cores and repacked samples, soil particle-size distributions, and organic matter content. Estimates were also made of plant-available water based on the soil-water retention curves. Parameters for use in soil-hydraulic property models were estimated; these parameters can be used in unsaturated flow modeling for comparing burned and unburned watersheds. The primary driver for measured differences in soil-water retention in burned and unburned soils was organic matter content and not soil-particle size distribution. The tendency for unburned south-facing soils to have greater organic matter content than unburned north-facing soils in this field area may explain why unburned south-facing soils had greater soil-water retention than unburned north-facing soils. Our results suggest that high-severity wildfire can "homogenize" soil-water retention across the landscape by erasing soil-water retention differences resulting from organic matter content, which for this site may be affected by slope aspect. This homogenization could have important implications for ecohydrology and plant succession/recovery in burned areas, which could be a factor in dictating the window of vulnerability of the landscape to flash floods and erosion that are a common consequence of wildfire.

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.

Monitoring vegetation recovery in fire-affected areas using temporal profiles of spectral signal from time series MODIS and LANDSAT satellite images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Georgopoulou, Danai; Koutsias, Nikos

2015-04-01

Vegetation phenology is an important element of vegetation characteristics that can be useful in vegetation monitoring especially when satellite remote sensing observations are used. In that sense temporal profiles extracted from spectral signal of time series MODIS and LANDSAT satellite images can be used to characterize vegetation phenology and thus to be helpful for monitoring vegetation recovery in fire-affected areas. The aim of this study is to explore the vegetation recovery pattern of the catastrophic wildfires that occurred in Peloponnisos, southern Greece, in 2007. These fires caused the loss of 67 lives and were recognized as the most extreme natural disaster in the country's recent history. Satellite remote sensing data from MODIS and LANDSAT satellites in the period from 2000 to 2014 were acquired and processed to extract the temporal profiles of the spectral signal for selected areas within the fire-affected areas. This dataset and time period analyzed together with the time that these fires occurred gave the opportunity to create temporal profiles seven years before and seven years after the fire. The different scale of the data used gave us the chance to understand how vegetation phenology and therefore the recovery patterns are influenced by the spatial resolution of the satellite data used. Different metrics linked to key phenological events have been created and used to assess vegetation recovery in the fire-affected areas. Our analysis was focused in the main land cover types that were mostly affected by the 2007 wildland fires. Based on CORINE land-cover maps these were agricultural lands highly interspersed with large areas of natural vegetation followed by sclerophyllous vegetation, transitional woodland shrubs, complex cultivation patterns and olive groves. Apart of the use of the original spectral data we estimated and used vegetation indices commonly found in vegetation studies as well as in burned area mapping studies. In this study we explore the strength and the use of these time series satellite data to characterize vegetation phenology as an a aid to monitor vegetation recovery in fire affected-areas. In a recent study we found that the original spectral channels, based on which these indices are estimated, are sensitive to external vegetation parameters such as the spectral reflectance of the background soil. In such cases, the influence of the soil in the reflectance values is different in the various spectral regions depending on its type. The use of such indices is also justified according to a recent study on the sensitivity of spectral reflectance values to different burn and vegetation ratios, who concluded that 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. Additionally, it has been found that semi-burned classes are spectrally more consistent to their different fractions of scorched and non-scorched vegetation, than the original spectral channels based on which these indices are estimated.

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.

A fire model with distinct crop, pasture, and non-agricultural burning: use of new data and a model-fitting algorithm for FINAL.1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rabin, Sam S.; Ward, Daniel S.; Malyshev, Sergey L.; Magi, Brian I.; Shevliakova, Elena; Pacala, Stephen W.

2018-03-01

This study describes and evaluates the Fire Including Natural & Agricultural Lands model (FINAL) which, for the first time, explicitly simulates cropland and pasture management fires separately from non-agricultural fires. The non-agricultural fire module uses empirical relationships to simulate burned area in a quasi-mechanistic framework, similar to past fire modeling efforts, but with a novel optimization method that improves the fidelity of simulated fire patterns to new observational estimates of non-agricultural burning. The agricultural fire components are forced with estimates of cropland and pasture fire seasonality and frequency derived from observational land cover and satellite fire datasets. FINAL accurately simulates the amount, distribution, and seasonal timing of burned cropland and pasture over 2001-2009 (global totals: 0.434×106 and 2.02×106 km2 yr-1 modeled, 0.454×106 and 2.04×106 km2 yr-1 observed), but carbon emissions for cropland and pasture fire are overestimated (global totals: 0.295 and 0.706 PgC yr-1 modeled, 0.194 and 0.538 PgC yr-1 observed). The non-agricultural fire module underestimates global burned area (1.91×106 km2 yr-1 modeled, 2.44×106 km2 yr-1 observed) and carbon emissions (1.14 PgC yr-1 modeled, 1.84 PgC yr-1 observed). The spatial pattern of total burned area and carbon emissions is generally well reproduced across much of sub-Saharan Africa, Brazil, Central Asia, and Australia, whereas the boreal zone sees underestimates. FINAL represents an important step in the development of global fire models, and offers a strategy for fire models to consider human-driven fire regimes on cultivated lands. At the regional scale, simulations would benefit from refinements in the parameterizations and improved optimization datasets. We include an in-depth discussion of the lessons learned from using the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm in an interactive optimization for a dynamic global vegetation model.

The Geoland2 BioPar burned area product

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tansey, K.; Bradley, A.; Smets, B.; van Best, C.; Lacaze, R.

2012-04-01

The European Commission Geoland2 project intends to constitute a major step forward to the implementation of the GMES Land Monitoring Core Service (LMCS). The Bio-geophysical Parameters (BioPar) Core Monitoring Service aims at setting-up pre-operational infrastructures for providing regional, European, and global bio-geophysical variables, both in near real time and off-line mode, for describing the vegetation state, the radiation budget at the surface, and the water cycle. The burned area product is part of the BioPar portfolio. The burned area product further builds on the experience of the Global Burned Area (GBA2000) and L3JRC projects. In the GBA2000 project, several algorithms were developed for different geographical regions of the world, and applied to a 1-year time series (the year 2000) of SPOT-VEGETATION data. In the L3JRC project, a single algorithm was improved and applied to a 7-year global dataset of SPOT-VEGETATION data. Since the conception of the Geoland2 project, work has been undertaken to improve the L3JRC algorithm, mainly based on user comments and feedback. Furthermore, the Geoland2 burned area product specification has been developed to meet the requirements of the Core Information Service, specifically LandCarbon and Natural Resource Monitoring in Africa (Narma). The Geoland2 burned area product has the following improvements over the L3JRC product: • It resolves issues with users extracting statistics and burned area estimates for time periods considered to be outside the main seasons for burning. Specifically, this deals with issues in northern latitude winters. • The number of pre-processing steps has been shortened, reducing processing time. • An improved land-water mask has been used. This resolves a problem around the coastlines of land masses which were frequently being detected as being burned. • A season metric calculation is performed over a 1x1 degree grid. For each grid cell, a date is logged against the start of the fire season, peak of the fire season and then the end of the fire season. Once a fire season has been confirmed as being finished, the region effectively resets itself, which means that the land surface can burn again when the next fire season starts. This automated season reset feature enables multiple fire seasons to be analysed. • Provides easy to interpret seasonality tables every 10 days (the reporting period for the product). It is intended that the product will be validated using CEOS-approved protocols and data sets currently being developed through the European Space Agency Fire-CCI project. In this paper, initial results being produced operationally and will be presented along with examples highlighting the performance of the seasonality metric.

A simulation of probabilistic wildfire risk components for the continental United States

Treesearch

Mark A. Finney; Charles W. McHugh; Isaac C. Grenfell; Karin L. Riley; Karen C. Short

2011-01-01

This simulation research was conducted in order to develop a large-fire risk assessment system for the contiguous land area of the United States. The modeling system was applied to each of 134 Fire Planning Units (FPUs) to estimate burn probabilities and fire size distributions. To obtain stable estimates of these quantities, fire ignition and growth was simulated for...

Small-area estimation of forest attributes within fire boundaries

Treesearch

T. Frescino; G. Moisen; K. Adachi; J. Breidt

2014-01-01

Wildfires are gaining more attention every year as they burn more frequently, more intensely, and across larger landscapes. Generating timely estimates of forest resources within fire perimeters is important for land managers to quickly determine the impact of fi res on U.S. forests. The U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program needs tools to...

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.

Graphical Calculation of Estimated Energy Expenditure in Burn Patients.

PubMed

Egro, Francesco M; Manders, Ernest C; Manders, Ernest K

2018-03-01

Historically, estimated energy expenditure (EEE) has been related to the percent of body surface area burned. Subsequent evaluations of these estimates have indicated that the earlier formulas may overestimate the amount of caloric support necessary for burn-injured patients. Ireton-Jones et al derived 2 equations for determining the EEE required to support burn patients, 1 for ventilator-dependent patients and 1 for spontaneously breathing patients. Evidence has proved their reliability, but they remain challenging to apply in a clinical setting given the difficult and cumbersome mathematics involved. This study aims to introduce a graphical calculation of EEE in burn patients that can be easily used in the clinical setting. The multivariant linear regression analysis from Ireton-Jones et al yielded equations that were rearranged into the form of a simple linear equation of the type y = mx + b. By choosing an energy expenditure and the age of the subject, the weight was calculated. The endpoints were then calculated, and a graph was mapped by means of Adobe FrameMaker. A graphical representation of Ireton-Jones et al's equations was obtained by plotting the weight (kg) on the y axis, the age (years) on the x axis, and a series of parallel lines representing the EEE in burn patients. The EEE has been displayed graphically on a grid to allow rapid determination of the EEE needed for a given patient of a designated weight and age. Two graphs were plotted: 1 for ventilator-dependent patients and 1 for spontaneously breathing patients. Correction factors for sex, the presence of additional trauma, and obesity are indicated on the graphical calculators. We propose a graphical tool to calculate caloric requirements in a fast, easy, and portable manner.

Investigation of the Fire Radiative Energy Biomass Combustion Coefficient: A Comparison of Polar and Geostationary Satellite Retrievals Over the Conterminous United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Fangjun; Zhang, Xiaoyang; Kondragunta, Shobha; Roy, David P.

2018-02-01

Biomass burning substantially contributes to atmospheric aerosol and greenhouse gas emissions that influence climate and air quality. Fire radiative energy (FRE) (units: MJ) has been demonstrated to be linearly related to biomass consumption (units: kg) with potential for improving biomass burning emission estimation. The scalar constant, termed herein as the FRE biomass combustion coefficient (FBCC) (units: kg/MJ), which converts FRE to biomass consumption, has been estimated using field and laboratory experiments, varying from 0.368 to 0.453 kg/MJ. However, quite different FBCC values, especially for satellite-based approaches, have been reported. This study investigated the FBCC with respect to 445 wildfires that occurred from 2011 to 2012 across the Conterminous United States (CONUS) considering both polar-orbiting and geostationary satellite data. The FBCC was derived by comparing satellite FRE estimates with biomass consumption for the CONUS. FRE was estimated using observations from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES); biomass consumption was estimated using Landsat-derived burned areas with fuel loadings from the Fuel Characteristic Classification System and using combustion completeness parameterized by Landsat burn severity and Fuel Characteristic Classification System fuelbed type. The reported results confirm the linearity of the empirical relationship between FRE and biomass consumption for wildfires. The CONUS FBCC was 0.374 kg/MJ for GOES FRE, 0.266 kg/MJ for MODIS FRE, and 0.320 kg/MJ considering both GOES and MODIS FRE. Limited sensitivity analyses, comparing MODIS and GOES FRE with biomass consumption estimated in three different ways, indicated that the FBCC varied from 0.301 to 0.458 kg/MJ.

The Study of Biomass Emissions for Defining Radiative Forcing of Climate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Penner, Joyce; Mishchenko, Michael I. (Technical Monitor)

2003-01-01

Accurate quantification of the amounts of trace gases and particulate matter emitted from vegetation fires and other sources of biomass burning (agricultural waste and biofuels) on a regional and global basis is required by a number of users, including scientists studying a wide range of atmospheric processes, national governments who are required to report greenhouse gas emissions, and those interested in quantifying the sources of air pollution that affect human health at regional scales. Over the past decade, improvements in the ability to detect and map fires using a number of different satellite systems have been achieved, largely through efforts coordinated through working groups organized by the IGBP Data and Information System and Global Observation of Forest Cover (GOFC) projects. In addition, significant advances and improvement in or understanding of the emissions factors for biomass burning in different biomes has resulted through efforts by the Biomass Burning Experiment (BIBEX) organized through the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry project. A number of satellite-based fire data products have been generated, and a number of new products will shortly be available. These new data products will provide the basis for estimating emissions from biomass burning on a global basis. However, a number of issues remain concerning the availability of other data sets needed to generate these estimates. Recognizing these issues, the GOFC-Fire Satellite Validation Workshop (held in Lisbon, Portugal on 9-11 July 2001), recommended that a workshop focusing on Improving Global Estimates of Atmospheric Emissions from Biomass Burning be organized. This workshop was held from 17- 19 July 2002 on the campus of the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland. This workshop served as the annual meeting of the GOFC/GOLD-Fire Program. The overall goals of the meeting were to review the information products generated from satellite imagery and other sources that are currently available for developing emission estimates from biomass burning, evaluate areas where improved or additional products would be beneficial, and recommend products for use by the atmospheric science community.

Probability and volume of potential postwildfire debris flows in the 2010 Fourmile burn area, Boulder County, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ruddy, Barbara C.; Stevens, Michael R.; Verdin, Kristine

2010-01-01

This report presents a preliminary emergency assessment of the debris-flow hazards from drainage basins burned by the Fourmile Creek fire in Boulder County, Colorado, in 2010. Empirical models derived from statistical evaluation of data collected from recently burned basins throughout the intermountain western United States were used to estimate the probability of debris-flow occurrence and volumes of debris flows for selected drainage basins. Data for the models include burn severity, rainfall total and intensity for a 25-year-recurrence, 1-hour-duration rainstorm, and topographic and soil property characteristics. Several of the selected drainage basins in Fourmile Creek and Gold Run were identified as having probabilities of debris-flow occurrence greater than 60 percent, and many more with probabilities greater than 45 percent, in response to the 25-year recurrence, 1-hour rainfall. None of the Fourmile Canyon Creek drainage basins selected had probabilities greater than 45 percent. Throughout the Gold Run area and the Fourmile Creek area upstream from Gold Run, the higher probabilities tend to be in the basins with southerly aspects (southeast, south, and southwest slopes). Many basins along the perimeter of the fire area were identified as having low probability of occurrence of debris flow. Volume of debris flows predicted from drainage basins with probabilities of occurrence greater than 60 percent ranged from 1,200 to 9,400 m3. The predicted moderately high probabilities and some of the larger volumes responses predicted for the modeled storm indicate a potential for substantial debris-flow effects to buildings, roads, bridges, culverts, and reservoirs located both within these drainages and immediately downstream from the burned area. However, even small debris flows that affect structures at the basin outlets could cause considerable damage.

Pattern and process of prescribed fires influence effectiveness at reducing wildfire severity in dry coniferous forests

USGS Publications Warehouse

Arkle, Robert S.; Pilliod, David S.; Welty, Justin L.

2012-01-01

We examined the effects of three early season (spring) prescribed fires on burn severity patterns of summer wildfires that occurred 1–3 years post-treatment in a mixed conifer forest in central Idaho. Wildfire and prescribed fire burn severities were estimated as the difference in normalized burn ratio (dNBR) using Landsat imagery. We used GIS derived vegetation, topography, and treatment variables to generate models predicting the wildfire burn severity of 1286–5500 30-m pixels within and around treated areas. We found that wildfire severity was significantly lower in treated areas than in untreated areas and significantly lower than the potential wildfire severity of the treated areas had treatments not been implemented. At the pixel level, wildfire severity was best predicted by an interaction between prescribed fire severity, topographic moisture, heat load, and pre-fire vegetation volume. Prescribed fire severity and vegetation volume were the most influential predictors. Prescribed fire severity, and its influence on wildfire severity, was highest in relatively warm and dry locations, which were able to burn under spring conditions. In contrast, wildfire severity peaked in cooler, more mesic locations that dried later in the summer and supported greater vegetation volume. We found considerable evidence that prescribed fires have landscape-level influences within treatment boundaries; most notable was an interaction between distance from the prescribed fire perimeter and distance from treated patch edges, which explained up to 66% of the variation in wildfire severity. Early season prescribed fires may not directly target the locations most at risk of high severity wildfire, but proximity of these areas to treated patches and the discontinuity of fuels following treatment may influence wildfire severity and explain how even low severity treatments can be effective management tools in fire-prone landscapes.

Estimating wildfire response costs in Alaska's changing climate

EPA Science Inventory

Climate change is altering wildfire activity across Alaska, with increased area burned projected for the future. Changes in wildfire are expected to affect the need for management and suppression resources, however the potential economic implications of these needs have not been ...

Children with burn injuries-assessment of trauma, neglect, violence and abuse

PubMed Central

Toon, Michael H.; Maybauer, Dirk M.; Arceneaux, Lisa L.; Fraser, John F.; Meyer, Walter; Runge, Antoinette; Maybauer, Marc O.

2011-01-01

Abstract: Burns are an important cause of injury to young children, being the third most frequent cause of injury resulting in death behind motor vehicle accidents and drowning. Burn injuries account for the greatest length of stay of all hospital admissions for injuries and costs associated with care are substantial. The majority of burn injuries in children are scald injuries resulting from hot liquids, occurring most commonly in children aged 0-4 years. Other types of burns include electrical, chemical and intentional injury. Mechanisms of injury are often unique to children and involve exploratory behavior without the requisite comprehension of the dangers in their environment. Assessment of the burnt child includes airway, breathing and circulation stabilization, followed by assessment of the extent of the burn and head to toe examination. The standard rule of 9s for estimating total body surface area (TBSA) of the burn is inaccurate for the pediatric population and modifications include utilizing the Lund and Browder chart, or the child's palm to represent 1% TBSA. Further monitoring may include cardiac assessment, indwelling catheter insertion and evaluation of inhalation injury with or without intubation depending on the context of the injury. Risk factors and features of intentional injury should be known and sought and vital clues can be found in the history, physical examination and common patterns of presentation. Contemporary burn management is underscored by several decades of advancing medical and surgical care however, common to all injuries, it is in the area of prevention that the greatest potential to reduce the burden of these devastating occurrences exists. PMID:21498973

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.

Burn-center quality improvement: are burn outcomes dependent on admitting facilities and is there a volume-outcome "sweet-spot"?

PubMed

Hranjec, Tjasa; Turrentine, Florence E; Stukenborg, George; Young, Jeffrey S; Sawyer, Robert G; Calland, James F

2012-05-01

Risk factors of mortality in burn patients such as inhalation injury, patient age, and percent of total body surface area (%TBSA) burned have been identified in previous publications. However, little is known about the variability of mortality outcomes between burn centers and whether the admitting facilities or facility volumes can be recognized as predictors of mortality. De-identified data from 87,665 acute burn observations obtained from the National Burn Repository between 2003 and 2007 were used to estimate a multivariable logistic regression model that could predict patient mortality with reference to the admitting burn facility/facility volume, adjusted for differences in age, inhalation injury, %TBSA burned, and an additional factor, percent full thickness burn (%FTB). As previously reported, all three covariates (%TBSA burned, inhalation injury, and age) were found to be highly statistically significant risk factors of mortality in burn patients (P value < 0.0001). The additional variable, %FTB, was also found to be a statistically significant determinant, although it did not greatly improve the multivariable model. The treatment/admitting facility was found to be an independent mortality predictor, with certain hospitals having increased odds of death and others showing a protective effect (decreased odds ratio). Hospitals with high burn volumes had the highest risk of mortality. Mortality outcomes of patients with similar risk factors (%TBSA burned, inhalation injury, age, and %FTB) are significantly affected by the treating facility and their admission volumes.

How is the chlorophyll count affected by burned and unburned marsh areas?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kendrick, C.

2017-12-01

Does marsh burnings, either man made or natural, hinder or help Louisiana's vitally important coastal plant life? Does the carbon produced from the fires have a negative effect on the chlorophyll count of these precious living protective barriers? Or does it help contribute to raising the plants chlorophyll count? Along Louisiana's Gulf Coast, marsh burnings are conducted every 2-4 years to destroy some of the Spartina patens. Fires and smoke may have an effect on the chlorophyll count of the plants found in Louisiana's marshes. Peat burns, root burns, and cover burns are the three types of marsh fires. These burns can be either man made or started by natural causes. Peat burns occur when the soil is dry due to a drained marsh. Root burns occur when plant roots are burned without the soil being consumed. Cover burns occur when several centimeters of water covers the soil. Cover burns are often used by Wildlife and Fisheries personnel to promote preferred plant food growth like Scirpus olneyi rather than the dominant Spartina patens. Our project was conducted by testing marsh plants and obtaining chlorophyll count of both a burned (cover burn) and an unburned area. Approximately one year after the burn, in August 2015, we tested the burned area's site. We retested the same site in December 2016. The results from our testing showed that there was a slightly higher chlorophyll count in the burned area. The chlorophyll count average from the two testing days was 33.5 in the burned area and 30.15 in the unburned area. Our hypothesis was that the chlorophyll content of "controlled" burned wetland areas will have a higher amount than the "no" burn area. The experiment results supported this hypothesis by showing an increase of 3.35 average in the burned area.

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

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.

Characterization and evaluation of controls on post-fire streamflow response across western US watersheds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saxe, Samuel; Hogue, Terri S.; Hay, Lauren

2018-02-01

This research investigates the impact of wildfires on watershed flow regimes, specifically focusing on evaluation of fire events within specified hydroclimatic regions in the western United States, and evaluating the impact of climate and geophysical variables on response. Eighty-two watersheds were identified with at least 10 years of continuous pre-fire daily streamflow records and 5 years of continuous post-fire daily flow records. Percent change in annual runoff ratio, low flows, high flows, peak flows, number of zero flow days, baseflow index, and Richards-Baker flashiness index were calculated for each watershed using pre- and post-fire periods. Independent variables were identified for each watershed and fire event, including topographic, vegetation, climate, burn severity, percent area burned, and soils data. Results show that low flows, high flows, and peak flows increase in the first 2 years following a wildfire and decrease over time. Relative response was used to scale response variables with the respective percent area of watershed burned in order to compare regional differences in watershed response. To account for variability in precipitation events, runoff ratio was used to compare runoff directly to PRISM precipitation estimates. To account for regional differences in climate patterns, watersheds were divided into nine regions, or clusters, through k-means clustering using climate data, and regression models were produced for watersheds grouped by total area burned. Watersheds in Cluster 9 (eastern California, western Nevada, Oregon) demonstrate a small negative response to observed flow regimes after fire. Cluster 8 watersheds (coastal California) display the greatest flow responses, typically within the first year following wildfire. Most other watersheds show a positive mean relative response. In addition, simple regression models show low correlation between percent watershed burned and streamflow response, implying that other watershed factors strongly influence response. Spearman correlation identified NDVI, aridity index, percent of a watershed's precipitation that falls as rain, and slope as being positively correlated with post-fire streamflow response. This metric also suggested a negative correlation between response and the soil erodibility factor, watershed area, and percent low burn severity. Regression models identified only moderate burn severity and watershed area as being consistently positively/negatively correlated, respectively, with response. The random forest model identified only slope and percent area burned as significant watershed parameters controlling response. Results will help inform post-fire runoff management decisions by helping to identify expected changes to flow regimes, as well as facilitate parameterization for model application in burned watersheds.

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. 

Ensemble projections of wildfire activity and carbonaceous aerosol concentrations over the western United States in the mid-21st century

PubMed Central

Yue, Xu; Mickley, Loretta J.; Logan, Jennifer A.; Kaplan, Jed O.

2013-01-01

We estimate future wildfire activity over the western United States during the mid-21st century (2046–2065), based on results from 15 climate models following the A1B scenario. We develop fire prediction models by regressing meteorological variables from the current and previous years together with fire indexes onto observed regional area burned. The regressions explain 0.25–0.60 of the variance in observed annual area burned during 1980–2004, depending on the ecoregion. We also parameterize daily area burned with temperature, precipitation, and relative humidity. This approach explains ~0.5 of the variance in observed area burned over forest ecoregions but shows no predictive capability in the semi-arid regions of Nevada and California. By applying the meteorological fields from 15 climate models to our fire prediction models, we quantify the robustness of our wildfire projections at mid-century. We calculate increases of 24–124% in area burned using regressions and 63–169% with the parameterization. Our projections are most robust in the southwestern desert, where all GCMs predict significant (p<0.05) meteorological changes. For forested ecoregions, more GCMs predict significant increases in future area burned with the parameterization than with the regressions, because the latter approach is sensitive to hydrological variables that show large inter-model variability in the climate projections. The parameterization predicts that the fire season lengthens by 23 days in the warmer and drier climate at mid-century. Using a chemical transport model, we find that wildfire emissions will increase summertime surface organic carbon aerosol over the western United States by 46–70% and black carbon by 20–27% at midcentury, relative to the present day. The pollution is most enhanced during extreme episodes: above the 84th percentile of concentrations, OC increases by ~90% and BC by ~50%, while visibility decreases from 130 km to 100 km in 32 Federal Class 1 areas in Rocky Mountains Forest. PMID:24015109

Treatment of burns in the first 24 hours: simple and practical guide by answering 10 questions in a step-by-step form

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Residents in training, medical students and other staff in surgical sector, emergency room (ER) and intensive care unit (ICU) or Burn Unit face a multitude of questions regarding burn care. Treatment of burns is not always straightforward. Furthermore, National and International guidelines differ from one region to another. On one hand, it is important to understand pathophysiology, classification of burns, surgical treatment, and the latest updates in burn science. On the other hand, the clinical situation for treating these cases needs clear guidelines to cover every single aspect during the treatment procedure. Thus, 10 questions have been organised and discussed in a step-by-step form in order to achieve the excellence of education and the optimal treatment of burn injuries in the first 24 hours. These 10 questions will clearly discuss referral criteria to the burn unit, primary and secondary survey, estimation of the total burned surface area (%TBSA) and the degree of burns as well as resuscitation process, routine interventions, laboratory tests, indications of Bronchoscopy and special considerations for Inhalation trauma, immediate consultations and referrals, emergency surgery and admission orders. Understanding and answering the 10 questions will not only cover the management process of Burns during the first 24 hours but also seems to be an interactive clear guide for education purpose. PMID:22583548

The effect of family characteristics on the recovery of burn injuries in children.

PubMed

Sheridan, Robert L; Lee, Austin F; Kazis, Lewis E; Liang, Matthew H; Li, Nien-Chen; Hinson, Michelle I; Bauk, Helena; Meyer, Walter J; Stubbs, Teresa K; Palmieri, Tina L; Tompkins, Ronald G

2012-09-01

Interactions between family members and characteristics of family life and function may affect a child's recovery from burn injury. We prospectively examined the relationship between family characteristics and physical and psychosocial recovery from burns. The families of 399 burned children aged 5 years to 18 years admitted to one of four Shriners Hospitals for Children for management of acute burns completed the Family Environment Scale within 7 days of admission and then the American Burn Association/Shriners Hospitals for Children Burn Outcome Questionnaire (BOQ) at baseline, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, 36, and 48 months. Generalized estimating equations with random effects for the time since burn were used to track recovery of the BOQ patient-centered domains associated with baseline family characteristics during the course of the study. The children had a mean age of 11 years and burn size of 32% total body surface area burned. Higher Family Environment Scale scores in cohesion, independence, organization, and active recreational orientation were associated with significantly better rates of recovery in multiple BOQ domains of health-related quality of life. Higher scores in conflict and achievement orientation predicted statistically significant impaired recovery. Higher expressiveness predicted greater difficulty with school reentry. Family characteristics affect the recovery of children after serious burns. Some of these may be amenable to focused anticipatory family interventions to help optimize outcomes. In particular, those characteristics that impair school reentry should be targeted.

Proposal to evaluate the use of ERTS-A imagery in mapping and managing soil and range resources in the Sand Hills Region of Nebraska

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Drew, J. V. (Principal Investigator)

1972-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Visual examination of RB-57F color infrared imagery of range sites within Test Site 313 indicates that early season imagery will show significant differences in appearance of sub-irrigated sites as compared to dry valley sites. Differences appear to be significant also when comparing the previous two sites to sands sites. Comparison of existing soil map soils delineations with vegetative growth patterns shows reasonably good agreement between the two patterns over rather broad areas. Visual examination of ERTS-1 imagery has also shown that rangeland burned by prairie fire within the last six months can be distinguished. Three confirmed fire areas have been shown on the imagery. Since only broad estimates of burned acres are available, more accurate acreage measurements will be attempted. Known acreage of burned areas will be of value to those agencies responsible for deferred grazing payments to land owners. The relative speed with which this acreage information would become available to these agencies through ERTS-1 imagery would be of much benefit.

Identification of unrecognized tundra fire events on the north slope of Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jones, Benjamin M.; Breen, Amy L.; Gaglioti, Benjamin V.; Mann, Daniel H.; Rocha, Adrian V.; Grosse, Guido; Arp, Christopher D.; Kunz, Michael L.; Walker, Donald A.

2013-01-01

Characteristics of the natural fire regime are poorly resolved in the Arctic, even though fire may play an important role cycling carbon stored in tundra vegetation and soils to the atmosphere. In the course of studying vegetation and permafrost-terrain characteristics along a chronosequence of tundra burn sites from AD 1977, 1993, and 2007 on the North Slope of Alaska, we discovered two large, previously unrecognized tundra fires. The Meade River fire burned an estimated 500 km2 and the Ketik River fire burned an estimated 1200 km2. Based on radiocarbon dating of charred twigs, analysis of historic aerial photography, and regional climate proxy data, these fires likely occurred between AD 1880 and 1920. Together, these events double the estimated burn area on the North Slope of Alaska over the last ~100 to 130 years. Assessment of vegetation succession along the century-scale chronosequence of tundra fire disturbances demonstrates for the first time on the North Slope of Alaska that tundra fires can facilitate the invasion of tundra by shrubs. Degradation of ice-rich permafrost was also evident at the fire sites and likely aided in the presumed changes of the tundra vegetation postfire. Other previously unrecognized tundra fire events likely exist in Alaska and other Arctic regions and identification of these sites is important for better understanding disturbance regimes and carbon cycling in Arctic tundra.

Estimation of wildfire size and risk changes due to fuels treatments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cochrane, M.A.; Moran, C.J.; Wimberly, M.C.; Baer, A.D.; Finney, M.A.; Beckendorf, K.L.; Eidenshink, J.; Zhu, Z.

2012-01-01

Human land use practices, altered climates, and shifting forest and fire management policies have increased the frequency of large wildfires several-fold. Mitigation of potential fire behaviour and fire severity have increasingly been attempted through pre-fire alteration of wildland fuels using mechanical treatments and prescribed fires. Despite annual treatment of more than a million hectares of land, quantitative assessments of the effectiveness of existing fuel treatments at reducing the size of actual wildfires or how they might alter the risk of burning across landscapes are currently lacking. Here, we present a method for estimating spatial probabilities of burning as a function of extant fuels treatments for any wildland fire-affected landscape. We examined the landscape effects of more than 72 000 ha of wildland fuel treatments involved in 14 large wildfires that burned 314 000 ha of forests in nine US states between 2002 and 2010. Fuels treatments altered the probability of fire occurrence both positively and negatively across landscapes, effectively redistributing fire risk by changing surface fire spread rates and reducing the likelihood of crowning behaviour. Trade offs are created between formation of large areas with low probabilities of increased burning and smaller, well-defined regions with reduced fire risk.

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.

A computational prediction for the effective drug and stem cell treatment of human airway burns.

PubMed

Park, Seungman

2016-01-01

Burns in the airway from inhaling hot gases lead to one of the most common causes of death in the United States. In order to navigate tissues with large burn areas, the velocity, temperature, and heat flux distributions throughout the human airway system are computed for the inhalation of hot air using the finite-element method. From there, the depth of burned tissue is estimated for a range of exposure times. Additionally, the effectiveness of drug or stem cell delivery to the burned airway tissue is considered for a range of drug or cell sizes. Results showed that the highest temperature and lowest heat flux regions are observed near the pharynx and just upstream of the glottis. It was found that large particles such as stem cells (>20 μm) are effective for treatment of the upper airways, whereas small particles (<10 μm) such as drug nanoparticles are effective in the lower airways.

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

Streets, D. G.; Yarber, K. F.; Woo, J.-H.

Estimates of biomass burning in Asia are developed to facilitate the modeling of Asian and global air quality. A survey of national, regional, and international publications on biomass burning is conducted to yield consensus estimates of 'typical' (i.e., non-year-specific) estimates of open burning (excluding biofuels). We conclude that 730 Tg of biomass are burned in a typical year from both anthropogenic and natural causes. Forest burning comprises 45% of the total, the burning of crop residues in the field comprises 34%, and 20% comes from the burning of grassland and savanna. China contributes 25% of the total, India 18%, Indonesiamore » 13%, and Myanmar 8%. Regionally, forest burning in Southeast Asia dominates. National, annual totals are converted to daily and monthly estimates at 1{sup o} x 1{sup o} spatial resolution using distributions based on AVHRR fire counts for 1999--2000. Several adjustment schemes are applied to correct for the deficiencies of AVHRR data, including the use of moving averages, normalization, TOMS Aerosol Index, and masks for dust, clouds, landcover, and other fire sources. Good agreement between the national estimates of biomass burning and adjusted fire counts is obtained (R{sup 2} = 0.71--0.78). Biomass burning amounts are converted to atmospheric emissions, yielding the following estimates: 0.37 Tg of SO{sub 2}, 2.8 Tg of NO{sub x}, 1100 Tg of CO{sub 2}, 67 Tg of CO, 3.1 Tg of CH{sub 4}, 12 Tg of NMVOC, 0.45 Tg of BC, 3.3 Tg of OC, and 0.92 Tg of NH{sub 3}. Uncertainties in the emission estimates, measured as 95% confidence intervals, range from a low of {+-}65% for CO{sub 2} emissions in Japan to a high of {+-}700% for BC emissions in India.« less

Ammonia emissions from the agriculture sector in Argentina; 2000-2012

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castesana, Paula S.; Dawidowski, Laura E.; Finster, Laura; Gómez, Darío R.; Taboada, Miguel A.

2018-04-01

Agriculture is one of the key economic sectors in Argentina and, in the last decades, the increase in prices and competitiveness of some grains has imposed important changes. In this process, crop cultivation occupied significant extensions of land areas previously dedicated to livestock farming, which in turn have experienced intensification in terms of production through an increasing share of feedlot systems. The agriculture sector is the main NH3 emitter in Argentina, however no inventory developed locally has been thus far available. We estimated the time series 2000-2012 of NH3 emissions, both at national and spatially disaggregated levels. National NH3 emissions in 2012 amounted to 0.31 ± 0.08 Tg, with the use of mineral fertilizers accounting for 43.0%, manure in pasture 32.5%, manure management 23.0% and agricultural waste burning 1.5%. Urea use was the major source of NH3 emissions and its application on wheat and corn crops dominated the trend. Emissions from open biomass burning were estimated but not included in the national totals because of the difficulties in differentiating between agricultural (i.e., prescribed burning of savannas) and non-agricultural emission sources. Compared to this work, NH3 emissions reported by EDGAR were 83% higher than our estimates. The time series of spatially distributed NH3 emission estimates clearly showed the effect of the expansion of cropland, the displacement of planted areas of N-fertilizes crops by competing soybean cultivation and the relocation and intensification of beef cattle production. This new inventory constitutes a tool for policies concerning the impact of agricultural activities on air quality and contributes with more accurate and updated information useful for atmospheric chemical transport modeling. The accuracy and applicability of the inventory may be improved by local studies aimed at refining the spatial disaggregation by focusing in specific areas of fertilizer application, reflecting seasonal and monthly patterns in agricultural practices and climate conditions and addressing likely changes in diets, productivity and excretion rates over time.

Survival function and protein malnutrition in burns patients at a rural hospital in Africa.

PubMed

Kingu, H J; Longo-Mbenza, Benjamin; Dhaffala, A; Mazwai, E L

2011-07-01

The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence of acute malnutrition and to identify predictors of case fatality among burn patients in the poorest South African province, Eastern Cape. This longitudinal follow-up study was conducted among consecutive burn patients admitted to Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital, Mthatha, South Africa, between 2006 and 2008. Patients were monitored and treated daily from admission to discharge. Outcomes were acute protein malnutrition and mortality. Patients' demography, total body surface area (TBSA) of the burn, cause of the burn, weight, height, location of the burn, hemoglobin, serum albumin, wound infection, and antibiotics after culture and sensitivity results were the potential predictors of in-hospital mortality. A Cox's proportional hazards model for the time to death was then used to identify independent predictors of mortality after adjusting for confounding factors. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were generated for each arm of exposure status. In all, 67 patients (35 males, 59 children) were studied. The mean (range) age was 8±12 years (1 month to 59 years). The cumulative incidence of acute malnutrition was 62.0% (n=42): 46.3% (n=31) at admission and 15.7% (n=11) after 7 days of hospitalization. Incidence of mortality was 16.4% (n=11 with in-hospital acute malnutrition). The only significant and independent predictors of mortality were total body surface area (TBSA) burn>40% [hazard ratio (HR) 10.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.7-63; P<0.01] and affected anterior trunk (HR 4.4, 95% CI 1.3-14.7; P=0.018). Urgent prevention strategies of burns and evidence-based practice with early nutritional supplementation are needed to reduce high rates of malnutrition and mortality.

Nanomedicine and advanced technologies for burns: Preventing infection and facilitating wound healing.

PubMed

Mofazzal Jahromi, Mirza Ali; Sahandi Zangabad, Parham; Moosavi Basri, Seyed Masoud; Sahandi Zangabad, Keyvan; Ghamarypour, Ameneh; Aref, Amir R; Karimi, Mahdi; Hamblin, Michael R

2018-01-01

According to the latest report from the World Health Organization, an estimated 265,000 deaths still occur every year as a direct result of burn injuries. A widespread range of these deaths induced by burn wound happens in low- and middle-income countries, where survivors face a lifetime of morbidity. Most of the deaths occur due to infections when a high percentage of the external regions of the body area is affected. Microbial nutrient availability, skin barrier disruption, and vascular supply destruction in burn injuries as well as systemic immunosuppression are important parameters that cause burns to be susceptible to infections. Topical antimicrobials and dressings are generally employed to inhibit burn infections followed by a burn wound therapy, because systemic antibiotics have problems in reaching the infected site, coupled with increasing microbial drug resistance. Nanotechnology has provided a range of molecular designed nanostructures (NS) that can be used in both therapeutic and diagnostic applications in burns. These NSs can be divided into organic and non-organic (such as polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) and silver NPs, respectively), and many have been designed to display multifunctional activity. The present review covers the physiology of skin, burn classification, burn wound pathogenesis, animal models of burn wound infection, and various topical therapeutic approaches designed to combat infection and stimulate healing. These include biological based approaches (e.g. immune-based antimicrobial molecules, therapeutic microorganisms, antimicrobial agents, etc.), antimicrobial photo- and ultrasound-therapy, as well as nanotechnology-based wound healing approaches as a revolutionizing area. Thus, we focus on organic and non-organic NSs designed to deliver growth factors to burned skin, and scaffolds, dressings, etc. for exogenous stem cells to aid skin regeneration. Eventually, recent breakthroughs and technologies with substantial potentials in tissue regeneration and skin wound therapy (that are as the basis of burn wound therapies) are briefly taken into consideration including 3D-printing, cell-imprinted substrates, nano-architectured surfaces, and novel gene-editing tools such as CRISPR-Cas. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Trends in fire risk and burned area in Brazil in the 20th century

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silva, P.; Bastos, A.; DaCamara, C.; Libonati, R.

2016-12-01

Fire has a significant contribution to the global greenhouse gas emissions and vast ecological and climatic impacts. Worldwide, Brazil is one of the areas most affected by fire, which highly influences the state of the vegetation cover, the ecological diversity of the region and has significant consequences to the global CO2 balance [1]. Hence, with the increasing evidence of human induced climate change, it becomes essential to understand the present and future trends of fire risk in Brazil. Although a large number of fires in Brazil are anthropogenic, it has been shown that the burned area is mainly controlled by meteorological conditions [2], therefore being partially determined by fire risk. In this study we use a fire danger index specifically tailored for the Brazilian climate and biome characteristics, the MFDI developed by INPE, to assess the patterns and trends of fire risk in Brazil. The index relies on values of maximum temperature, accumulated precipitation over different periods, minimum relative humidity and vegetation cover to estimate the likelihood of fire occurrence. We test the sensitivity of the index to different climate reanalyses and evaluate the trends in fire risk in Brazil during the past four decades for different biomes. We further assess the link between the calculated fire risk and observed fire occurrence and burned area. Finally, we compare the results with fire risk simulated by a regional climate model (RCA4 forced by EC-Earth from CORDEX) in order to evaluate its suitability for future projections of fire risk and burned area. [1] Bowman, D. M. et al. Fire in the earth system. Science, v. 324, p. 481-484, 24 apr. 2009. [2] Libonati, R. et al. An Algorithm for Burned Area Detection in the Brazilian Cerrado Using 4 μm MODIS Imagery. Remote Sensing, v. 7, p. 15782-15803, 2015.

Satellite Analysis of the Severe 1987 Forest Fires in Northern China and Southeastern Siberia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cahoon, Donald R., Jr.; Stocks, Brian J.; Levine, Joel S.; Cofer, Wesley R., III; Pierson, Joseph M.

1994-01-01

Meteorological conditions, extremely conducive to fire development and spread in the spring of 1987, resulted in forest fires burning over extremely large areas in the boreal forest zone in northeastern China and the southeastern region of Siberia. The great China fire, one of the largest and most destructive forest fires in recent history, occurred during this period in the Heilongjiang Province of China. Satellite imagery is used to examine the development and areal distribution of 1987 forest fires in this region. Overall trace gas emissions to the atmosphere from these fires are determined using a satellite-derived estimate of area burned in combination with fuel consumption figures and carbon emission ratios for boreal forest fires.

Satellite analysis of the severe 1987 forest fires in northern China and southeastern Siberia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cahoon, Donald R, Jr.; Stocks, Brian J.; Levine, Joel S.; Cofer, Wesley R., III; Pierson, Joseph M.

1994-01-01

Meteorological conditions, extremely conducive to fire development and spread in the spring of 1987, resulted in forest fires burning over extremely large areas in the boreal forest zone in northeastern China and the southeastern region of Siberia. The great China fire, one of the largest and most destructive forest fires in recent history, occurred during this period in the Heilongjiang Province of China. Satellite imagery is used to examine the development and areal distribution of 1987 forest fires in this region. Overall trace gas emissions to the atmosphere from these fires are determined using a satellite-derived estimate of area burned in combination with fuel consumption figures and carbon emission ratios for boreal forest fires.

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.

Reliability of biomass burning estimates from savanna fires: Biomass burning in northern Australia during the 1999 Biomass Burning and Lightning Experiment B field campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Russell-Smith, Jeremy; Edwards, Andrew C.; Cook, Garry D.

2003-02-01

This paper estimates the two-daily extent of savanna burning and consumption of fine (grass and litter) fuels from an extensive 230,000 km2 region of northern Australia during August-September 1999 encompassing the Australian continental component of the Biomass Burning and Lightning Experiment B (BIBLE B) campaign [, 2002]. The extent of burning for the study region was derived from fire scar mapping of imagery from the advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) on board the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite. The mapping was calibrated and verified with reference to one Landsat scene and associated aerial transect validation data. Fine fuel loads were estimated using published fuel accumulation relationships for major regional fuel types. It is estimated that more than 43,000 km2 was burnt during the 25 day study period, with about 19 Mt of fine (grass and litter) fuels. This paper examines assumptions and errors associated with these estimates. It is estimated from uncalibrated fire mapping derived from AVHRR imagery that 417,500 km2 of the northern Australian savanna was burnt in 1999, of which 136,405 km2, or 30%, occurred in the Northern Territory study region. Using generalized fuel accumulation equations, such biomass burning consumed an estimated 212.3 Mt of fine fuels, but no data are available for consumption of coarse fuels. This figure exceeds a recent estimate, based on fine fuels only, for the combined Australian savanna and temperate grassland biomass burning over the period 1990-1999 but is lower than past estimates derived from classification approaches. We conclude that (1) fire maps derived from coarse-resolution optical imagery can be applied relatively reliably to estimate the extent of savanna fires, generally with 70-80% confidence using the approach adopted here, over the major burning period in northern Australia and (2) substantial further field assessment and associated modeling of fuel accumulation, especially of coarse fuels, is required.

High-Resolution Mapping of Biomass Burning Emissions in Three Tropical Regions.

PubMed

Shi, Yusheng; Matsunaga, Tsuneo; Yamaguchi, Yasushi

2015-09-15

Biomass burning in tropical regions plays a significant role in atmospheric pollution and climate change. This study quantified a comprehensive monthly biomass burning emissions inventory with 1 km high spatial resolution, which included the burning of vegetation, human waste, and fuelwood for 2010 in three tropical regions. The estimations were based on the available burned area product MCD64A1 and statistical data. The total emissions of all gases and aerosols were 17382 Tg of CO2, 719 Tg of CO, 30 Tg of CH4, 29 Tg of NOx, 114 Tg of NMOC (nonmethane organic compounds), 7 Tg of SO2, 10 Tg of NH3, 79 Tg of PM2.5 (particulate matter), 45 Tg of OC (organic carbon), and 6 Tg of BC (black carbon). Taking CO as an example, vegetation burning accounted for 74% (530 Tg) of the total CO emissions, followed by fuelwood combustion and human waste burning. Africa was the biggest emitter (440 Tg), larger than Central and South America (113 Tg) and South and Southeast Asia (166 Tg). We also noticed that the dominant fire types in vegetation burning of these three regions were woody savanna/shrubland, savanna/grassland, and forest, respectively. Although there were some slight overestimations, our results are supported by comparisons with previously published data.

Comparison of the Lund and Browder table to computed tomography scan three-dimensional surface area measurement for a pediatric cohort.

PubMed

Rumpf, R Wolfgang; Stewart, William C L; Martinez, Stephen K; Gerrard, Chandra Y; Adolphi, Natalie L; Thakkar, Rajan; Coleman, Alan; Rajab, Adrian; Ray, William C; Fabia, Renata

2018-01-01

Treating burns effectively requires accurately assessing the percentage of the total body surface area (%TBSA) affected by burns. Current methods for estimating %TBSA, such as Lund and Browder (L&B) tables, rely on historic body statistics. An increasingly obese population has been blamed for increasing errors in %TBSA estimates. However, this assumption has not been experimentally validated. We hypothesized that errors in %TBSA estimates using L&B were due to differences in the physical proportions of today's children compared with children in the early 1940s when the chart was developed and that these differences would appear as body mass index (BMI)-associated systematic errors in the L&B values versus actual body surface areas. We measured the TBSA of human pediatric cadavers using computed tomography scans. Subjects ranged from 9 mo to 15 y in age. We chose outliers of the BMI distribution (from the 31st percentile at the low through the 99th percentile at the high). We examined surface area proportions corresponding to L&B regions. Measured regional proportions based on computed tomography scans were in reasonable agreement with L&B, even with subjects in the tails of the BMI range. The largest deviation was 3.4%, significantly less than the error seen in real-world %TBSA estimates. While today's population is more obese than those studied by L&B, their body region proportions scale surprisingly well. The primary error in %TBSA estimation is not due to changing physical proportions of today's children and may instead lie in the application of the L&B table. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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.

Epidemiology and screening of intentional burns in children in a Dutch burn centre.

PubMed

Bousema, Sara; Stas, Helene G; van de Merwe, Marjolijn H; Oen, Irma M M H; Baartmans, Martin G A; van Baar, Margriet E

2016-09-01

International estimates of the incidence of non-accidental burns (NAB) in children admitted to burn centres vary from 1% to 25%. Hardly any data about Dutch figures exist. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence, treatment and outcome of burns due to suspected child abuse in paediatric burns. We described the process of care and outcome, including the accuracy of the SPUTOVAMO screening tool and examined child, burn and treatment characteristics related to suspicions of child abuse or neglect. A retrospective study was conducted in children aged 0-17 years with a primary admission after burn injuries to the burn centre Rotterdam in the period 2009-2013. Data on patient, injury and treatment characteristics were collected, using the Dutch Burn Repository R3. In addition, medical records were reviewed. In 498 paediatric admissions, suspected child abuse or neglect was present in 43 children (9%). 442 screening questionnaires (89%) were completed. In 52 out of 442 questionnaires (12%) the completed SPUTOVAMO had one or more positive signs. Significant independent predictors for suspected child abuse were burns in the genital area or buttocks (OR=3.29; CI: 143-7.55) and a low socio-economic status (OR=2.52; 95%CI: 1.30-4.90). The incidence of suspected child abuse indicating generation of additional support in our population is comparable to studies with a similar design in other countries. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Carbon dioxide emissions and energy balance closure before, during, and after biomass burning in mid-South rice fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fong, B.; Adviento-Borbe, A.; Reba, M. L.; Runkle, B.; Suvocarev, K.

2017-12-01

Biomass burning or field burning is a crop management practice that removes rice straw, reduces tillage, controls pests and releases nutrients for the next cropping season. Current field burning emissions are not included in agricultural field annual emissions largely because of the lack of studies, especially on the field scale. Field burning measurements are important for greenhouse gas emission inventories and quantifying the annual carbon footprint of rice. Paired eddy covariance systems were used to measure energy balance, CO2 fluxes, and H2O fluxes in mid-South US rice fields (total area of 25 ha) before, during and after biomass burning for 20 days after harvest. During the biomass burning, air temperatures increased 29°C, while ambient CO2 concentration increased from 402 to 16,567 ppm and H2O concentrations increased from 18.73 to 25.62 ppt. For the burning period, 67-86 kg CO2 ha-1 period-1 was emitted calculated by integrating fluxes over the biomass burning event. However, the estimated emission using aboveground biomass and combustion factors was calculated as 11,733 kg CO2 ha-1 period-1. Part of the difference could be attributed to sensor sensitivity decreasing 80% during burning for two minutes due to smoke. Net ecosystem exchange (NEE) increased by a factor of two, 1.14 before burning to 2.44 μmol m-2 s-1 possibly due to greater reduction of plant material and photosynthesis following burning. This study highlights the contribution of rice straw burning to total CO2 emissions from rice production.

Outcomes of burns in the elderly: revised estimates from the Birmingham Burn Centre.

PubMed

Wearn, Christopher; Hardwicke, Joseph; Kitsios, Andreas; Siddons, Victoria; Nightingale, Peter; Moiemen, Naiem

2015-09-01

Outcomes after burn have continued to improve over the last 70 years in all age groups including the elderly. However, concerns have been raised that survival gains have not been to the same magnitude in elderly patients compared to younger age groups. The aims of this study were to analyze the recent outcomes of elderly burn injured patients admitted to the Birmingham Burn Centre, compare data with a historical cohort and published data from other burn centres worldwide. A retrospective review was conducted of all patients ≥65 years of age, admitted to our centre with cutaneous burns, between 2004 and 2012. Data was compared to a previously published historical cohort (1999-2003). 228 patients were included. The observed mortality for the study group was 14.9%. The median age of the study group was 79 years, the male to female ratio was 1:1 and median Total Body Surface Area (TBSA) burned was 5%. The incidence of inhalation injury was 13%. Median length of stay per TBSA burned for survivors was 2.4 days/% TBSA. Mortality has improved in all burn size groups, but differences were highly statistically significant in the medium burn size group (10-20% TBSA, p≤0.001). Burn outcomes in the elderly have improved over the last decade. This reduction has been impacted by a reduction in overall injury severity but is also likely due to general improvements in burn care, improved infrastructure, implementation of clinical guidelines and increased multi-disciplinary support, including Geriatric physicians. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

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.

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.

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...

Effects of slash-and-burn land management on soil spectral properties estimated with VIS-NIR-SWIR spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosero-Vlasova, Olga Alexandra; Vlassova, Lidia; Rosero Tufiño, Pedro; Pérez-Cabello, Fernando; Montorio Llovería, Raquel

2017-04-01

Slash-and-burn land management is typical for low-income tropical countries, such as Ecuador. It involves conversion of forest into areas used for agriculture. At first trees are cut and the wood debris is burnt. After initial clearing, biomass burning is performed after each production cycle. Usually, cultivation cycles are followed by the fallow period. In the medium and long term, these practices have negative effect on soil fertility and there is the need for clearing more forest for agricultural use. This is one of the reasons for continuing deforestation with the consequent loss of biodiversity. Changes in physico-chemical properties due to periodic burning are accompanied by changes in soil spectral properties and can be determined using VIS-NIR-SWIR spectroscopy, which can be a cost-effective alternative for traditional methods of soil analysis. The purpose of the study is to assess the viability of VIS-NIR-SWIR spectroscopy for characterization of soils from land areas under slash-and-burn management system. Eighteen samples from soil surface layer were collected from two corn fields in the province of Los Rios, Ecuador, in September 2015. One of the areas has experienced six slash-and-burn cycles, while in the other the samples were collected at the end of the first corn cultivation cycle. Spectral measurements of sieved and air-dried samples were performed in the laboratory of the University of Zaragoza using ASD Fieldspec®4 spectroradiometer (350-2500nm spectral range) and ASD Illuminator Lamp as a light source. Statistically significant differences were observed between soil spectra of the samples from two soil groups. Reflectance of repeatedly burnt soils was 20% higher (mean value for the entire spectrum) for 65% of the samples, being especially important in VIS (>45%) and NIR ( 35%), probably due to the lower organic matter (OM) content. OM models built using Partial least Squares Regression demonstrated high predictive capacity (R2>0.8). Thus, the study confirms VIS-NIR-SWIR soil spectroscopy can be used as a tool for monitoring changes in soils in areas of slash-and-burn land management systems.

Evaluating the impact of improvements to the FLAMBE smoke source model on forecasts of aerosol distribution from NAAPS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hyer, E. J.; Reid, J. S.

2006-12-01

As more forecast models aim to include aerosol and chemical species, there is a need for source functions for biomass burning emissions that are accurate, robust, and operable in real-time. NAAPS is a global aerosol forecast model running every six hours and forecasting distributions of biomass burning, industrial sulfate, dust, and sea salt aerosols. This model is run operationally by the U.S. Navy as an aid to planning. The smoke emissions used as input to the model are calculated from the data collected by the FLAMBE system, driven by near-real-time active fire data from GOES WF_ABBA and MODIS Rapid Response. The smoke source function uses land cover data to predict properties of detected fires based on literature data from experimental burns. This scheme is very sensitive to the choice of land cover data sets. In areas of rapid land cover change, the use of static land cover data can produce artifactual changes in emissions unrelated to real changes in fire patterns. In South America, this change may be as large as 40% over five years. We demonstrate the impact of a modified land cover scheme on FLAMBE emissions and NAAPS forecasts, including a fire size algorithm developed using MODIS burned area data. We also describe the effects of corrections to emissions estimates for cloud and satellite coverage. We outline areas where existing data sources are incomplete and improvements are required to achieve accurate modeling of biomass burning emissions in real time.

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.

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.

Emergency Assessment of Postfire Debris-Flow Hazards for the 2009 Station Fire, San Gabriel Mountains, Southern California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cannon, Susan H.; Gartner, Joseph E.; Rupert, Michael G.; Michael, John A.; Staley, Dennis M.; Worstell, Bruce B.

2009-01-01

This report presents an emergency assessment of potential debris-flow hazards from basins burned by the 2009 Station fire in Los Angeles County, southern California. Statistical-empirical models developed for postfire debris flows are used to estimate the probability and volume of debris-flow production from 678 drainage basins within the burned area and to generate maps of areas that may be inundated along the San Gabriel mountain front by the estimated volume of material. Debris-flow probabilities and volumes are estimated as combined functions of different measures of basin burned extent, gradient, and material properties in response to both a 3-hour-duration, 1-year-recurrence thunderstorm and to a 12-hour-duration, 2-year recurrence storm. Debris-flow inundation areas are mapped for scenarios where all sediment-retention basins are empty and where the basins are all completely full. This assessment provides critical information for issuing warnings, locating and designing mitigation measures, and planning evacuation timing and routes within the first two winters following the fire. Tributary basins that drain into Pacoima Canyon, Big Tujunga Canyon, Arroyo Seco, West Fork of the San Gabriel River, and Devils Canyon were identified as having probabilities of debris-flow occurrence greater than 80 percent, the potential to produce debris flows with volumes greater than 100,000 m3, and the highest Combined Relative Debris-Flow Hazard Ranking in response to both storms. The predicted high probability and large magnitude of the response to such short-recurrence storms indicates the potential for significant debris-flow impacts to any buildings, roads, bridges, culverts, and reservoirs located both within these drainages and downstream from the burned area. These areas will require appropriate debris-flow mitigation and warning efforts. Probabilities of debris-flow occurrence greater than 80 percent, debris-flow volumes between 10,000 and 100,000 m3, and high Combined Relative Debris-Flow Hazard Rankings were estimated in response to both short recurrence-interval (1- and 2-year) storms for all but the smallest basins along the San Gabriel mountain front between Big Tujunga Canyon and Arroyo Seco. The combination of high probabilities and large magnitudes determined for these basins indicates significant debris-flow hazards for neighborhoods along the mountain front. When the capacity of sediment-retention basins is exceeded, debris flows may be deposited in neighborhoods and streets and impact infrastructure between the mountain front and Foothill Boulevard. In addition, debris flows may be deposited in neighborhoods immediately below unprotected basins. Hazards to neighborhoods and structures at risk from these events will require appropriate debris-flow mitigation and warning efforts.

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...

An examination of scale of assessment, logging and ENSO-induced fires on butterfly diversity in Borneo.

PubMed

Cleary, Daniel F R

2003-04-01

The impact of disturbance on species diversity may be related to the spatial scales over which it occurs. Here I assess the impact of logging and ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) -induced burning and forest isolation on the species richness (477 species out of more than 28,000 individuals) and community composition of butterflies and butterfly guilds using small (0.9 ha) plots nested within large (450 ha) landscapes. The landscapes were located in three habitat classes: (1) continuous, unburned forest; (2) unburned isolates surrounded by burned forest; and (3) burned forest. Plots with different logging histories were sampled within the two unburned habitat classes, allowing for independent assessment of the two disturbance factors (logging and burning). Disturbance within habitat classes (logging) had a very different impact on butterfly diversity than disturbance among habitat classes (due to ENSO-induced burning and isolation). Logging increased species richness, increased evenness, and lowered dominance. Among guilds based on larval food plants, the species richness of tree and herb specialists was higher in logged areas but their abundance was lower. Both generalist species richness and abundance was higher in logged areas. Among habitat classes, species richness was lower in burned forest and isolates than continuous forest but there was no overall difference in evenness or dominance. Among guilds, generalist species richness was significantly lower in burned forest and isolates than continuous forest. Generalist abundance was also very low in the isolates. There was no difference among disturbance classes in herb specialist species richness but abundance was significantly higher in the isolates and burned forest than in continuous forest. Tree specialist species richness was lower in burned forest than continuous forest but did not differ between continuous forest and isolates. The scale of assessment proved important in estimating the impact of disturbance on species richness. Within disturbance classes, the difference in species richness between primary and logged forest was more pronounced at the smaller spatial scale. Among disturbance classes, the difference in species richness between continuous forest and isolates or burned forest was more pronounced at the larger spatial scale. The lower levels of species richness in ENSO-affected areas and at the larger (landscape) spatial scale indicate that future severe ENSO events may prove one of the most serious threats to extant biodiversity.

Impact Assessment of Biomass Burning on Air Quality in Southeast and East Asia During BASE-ASIA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huang, Kan; Fu, Joshua S.; Hsu, N. Christina; Gao, Yang; Dong, Xinyi; Tsay, Si-Chee; Lam, Yun Fat

2013-01-01

A synergy of numerical simulation, ground-based measurement and satellite observation was applied to evaluate the impact of biomass burning originating from Southeast Asia (SE Asia) within the framework of NASA's 2006 Biomass burning Aerosols in Southeast Asia: Smoke Impact Assessment (BASE-ASIA). Biomass burning emissions in the spring of 2006 peaked in MarcheApril when most intense biomass burning occurred in Myanmar, northern Thailand, Laos, and parts of Vietnam and Cambodia. Model performances were reasonably validated by comparing to both satellite and ground-based observations despite overestimation or underestimation occurring in specific regions due to high uncertainties of biomass burning emission. Chemical tracers of particulate K(+), OC concentrations, and OC/EC ratios showed distinct regional characteristics, suggesting biomass burning and local emission dominated the aerosol chemistry. CMAQ modeled aerosol chemical components were underestimated at most circumstances and the converted AOD values from CMAQ were biased low at about a factor of 2, probably due to the underestimation of biomass emissions. Scenario simulation indicated that the impact of biomass burning to the downwind regions spread over a large area via the Asian spring monsoon, which included Southern China, South China Sea, and Taiwan Strait. Comparison of AERONET aerosol optical properties with simulation at multi-sites clearly demonstrated the biomass burning impact via longrange transport. In the source region, the contribution from biomass burning to AOD was estimated to be over 56%. While in the downwind regions, the contribution was still significant within the range of 26%-62%.

[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.

Weather Observation Systems and Efficiency of Fighting Forest Fires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khabarov, N.; Moltchanova, E.; Obersteiner, M.

2007-12-01

Weather observation is an essential component of modern forest fire management systems. Satellite and in-situ based weather observation systems might help to reduce forest loss, human casualties and destruction of economic capital. In this paper, we develop and apply a methodology to assess the benefits of various weather observation systems on reductions of burned area due to early fire detection. In particular, we consider a model where the air patrolling schedule is determined by a fire hazard index. The index is computed from gridded daily weather data for the area covering parts Spain and Portugal. We conduct a number of simulation experiments. First, the resolution of the original data set is artificially reduced. The reduction of the total forest burned area associated with air patrolling based on a finer weather grid indicates the benefit of using higher spatially resolved weather observations. Second, we consider a stochastic model to simulate forest fires and explore the sensitivity of the model with respect to the quality of input data. The analysis of combination of satellite and ground monitoring reveals potential cost saving due to a "system of systems effect" and substantial reduction in burned area. Finally, we estimate the marginal improvement schedule for loss of life and economic capital as a function of the improved fire observing system.

Recent progress in biomass burning research: a perspective from analyses of satellite data and model studies. (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Logan, J. A.

2010-12-01

Significant progress has been made in using satellite data to provide bottom-up constraints on biomass burning (BB) emissions. However, inverse studies with CO satellite data imply that tropical emissions are underestimated by current inventories, while model simulations of the ARCTAS period imply that the FLAMBE estimates of extratropical emissions are significantly overestimated. Injection heights of emissions from BB have been quantified recently using MISR data, and these data provide some constraints on 1-d plume models. I will discuss recent results in these areas, highlighting future research needs.

Airborne measurements of biomass burning products over Africa

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Helas, Guenter; Lobert, Juergen; Goldammer, Johann; Andreae, Meinrat O.; Lacaux, J. P.; Delmas, R.

1994-01-01

Ozone has been observed in elevated concentrations by satellites over hitherto believed 'background' areas. There is meteorological evidence that these ozone 'plumes' found over the Atlantic ocean originate from biomass fires on the African continent. Therefore we have investigated ozone and assumed precursor compounds over African regions. The measurements revealed large photosmog layers in altitudes between 1.5 and 4 km. Here we will focus on some results of ozone mixing ratios obtained during the DECAFE 91/FOS experiment and estimate the relevance of biomass burning as a source by comparing the strength of this source to stratospheric input.

Spatial distribution of temporal dynamics in anthropogenic fires in miombo savanna woodlands of Tanzania.

PubMed

Tarimo, Beatrice; Dick, Øystein B; Gobakken, Terje; Totland, Ørjan

2015-12-01

Anthropogenic uses of fire play a key role in regulating fire regimes in African savannas. These fires contribute the highest proportion of the globally burned area, substantial biomass burning emissions and threaten maintenance and enhancement of carbon stocks. An understanding of fire regimes at local scales is required for the estimation and prediction of the contribution of these fires to the global carbon cycle and for fire management. We assessed the spatio-temporal distribution of fires in miombo woodlands of Tanzania, utilizing the MODIS active fire product and Landsat satellite images for the past ~40 years. Our results show that up to 50.6% of the woodland area is affected by fire each year. An early and a late dry season peak in wetter and drier miombo, respectively, characterize the annual fire season. Wetter miombo areas have higher fire activity within a shorter annual fire season and have shorter return intervals. The fire regime is characterized by small-sized fires, with a higher ratio of small than large burned areas in the frequency-size distribution (β = 2.16 ± 0.04). Large-sized fires are rare, and occur more frequently in drier than in wetter miombo. Both fire prevalence and burned extents have decreased in the past decade. At a large scale, more than half of the woodland area has less than 2 years of fire return intervals, which prevent the occurrence of large intense fires. The sizes of fires, season of burning and spatial extent of occurrence are generally consistent across time, at the scale of the current analysis. Where traditional use of fire is restricted, a reassessment of fire management strategies may be required, if sustainability of tree cover is a priority. In such cases, there is a need to combine traditional and contemporary fire management practices.

Accuracy of Currently Used Paper Burn Diagram vs a Three-Dimensional Computerized Model.

PubMed

Benjamin, Nicole C; Lee, Jong O; Norbury, William B; Branski, Ludwik K; Wurzer, Paul; Jimenez, Carlos J; Benjamin, Debra A; Herndon, David N

Burn units have historically used paper diagrams to estimate percent burn; however, unintentional errors can occur. The use of a computer program that incorporates wound mapping from photographs onto a three-dimensional (3D) human diagram could decrease subjectivity in preparing burn diagrams and subsequent calculations of TBSA burned. Analyses were done on 19 burned patients who had an estimated TBSA burned of ≥20%. The patients were admitted to Shriners Hospitals for Children or the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, from July 2012 to September 2013 for treatment. Digital photographs were collected before the patient's first surgery. Using BurnCase 3D (RISC Software GmbH, Hagenberg, Austria), a burn mapping software, the user traced partial- and full-thickness burns from photographs. The program then superimposed tracings onto a 3D model and calculated percent burned. The results were compared with the Lund and Browder diagrams completed after the first operation. A two-tailed t-test was used to calculate statistical differences. For partial-thickness burns, burn sizes calculated using Lund and Browder diagrams were significantly larger than those calculated using BurnCase 3D (15% difference, P < .01). The opposite was found for full-thickness burns, with burn sizes being smaller when calculated using Lund and Browder diagrams (11% difference, P < .05). In conclusion, substantial differences exist in percent burn estimations derived from BurnCase 3D and paper diagrams. In our studied cohort, paper diagrams were associated with overestimation of partial-thickness burn size and underestimation of full-thickness burn size. Additional studies comparing BurnCase 3D with other commonly used methods are warranted.

Burn depth determination using high-speed polarization-sensitive Mueller optical coherence tomography with continuous polarization modulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Todorović, Miloš; Ai, Jun; Pereda Cubian, David; Stoica, George; Wang, Lihong

2006-02-01

National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) estimates more than 1.1 million burn injuries per year in the United States, with nearly 15,000 fatalities from wounds and related complications. An imaging modality capable of evaluating burn depths non-invasively is the polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography. We report on the use of a high-speed, fiber-based Mueller-matrix OCT system with continuous source-polarization modulation for burn depth evaluation. The new system is capable of imaging at near video-quality frame rates (8 frames per second) with resolution of 10 μm in biological tissue (index of refraction: 1.4) and sensitivity of 78 dB. The sample arm optics is integrated in a hand-held probe simplifying the in vivo experiments. The applicability of the system for burn depth determination is demonstrated using biological samples of porcine tendon and porcine skin. The results show an improved imaging depth (1 mm in tendon) and a clear localization of the thermally damaged region. The burnt area determined from OCT images compares well with the histology, thus proving the system's potential for burn depth determination.

Predicting resource utilization of elderly burn patients in the baby boomer era.

PubMed

Richards, Winston T; Richards, Winston A; Miggins, Makeesha; Liu, Huazhi; Mozingo, David W; Ang, Darwin N

2013-01-01

Census predictions for Florida suggest a 3-fold increase in the 65 and older population within 20 years. We predict resource utilization for burn patients in this age group. Using the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration admission dataset, we evaluated the effect of age on length of stay, hospital charges, and discharge disposition while adjusting for clinical and demographic factors. Using US Census Bureau data and burn incidence rates from this dataset, we estimated future resource use. Elderly patients were discharged to home less often and were discharged to short-term general hospitals, intermediate-care facilities, and skilled nursing facilities more often than the other age groups (P < .05). They also required home health care and intravenous medications significantly more often (P < .05). Their length of stay was longer, and total hospital charges were greater (P < .05) after adjusting for sex, race, Charleson comorbidity index, payer, total body surface area burned, and burn center treatment. Our data show an age-dependent increase in the use of posthospitalization resources, the length of stay, and the total charges for elderly burn patients. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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

Inclusion of biomass burning in WRF-Chem: Impact of wildfires on weather forecasts

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

Grell, G. A.; Freitas, Saulo; Stuefer, Martin

2011-06-06

A plume rise algorithm for wildfires was included in WRF-Chem, and applied to look at the impact of intense wildfires during the 2004 Alaska wildfire season on weather forecasts using model resolutions of 10km and 2km. Biomass burning emissions were estimated using a biomass burning emissions model. In addition, a 1-D, time-dependent cloud model was used online in WRF-Chem to estimate injection heights as well as the final emission rates. It was shown that with the inclusion of the intense wildfires of the 2004 fire season in the model simulations, the interaction of the aerosols with the atmospheric radiation ledmore » to significant modifications of vertical profiles of temperature and moisture in cloud-free areas. On the other hand, when clouds were present, the high concentrations of fine aerosol (PM2.5) and the resulting large numbers of Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN) had a strong impact on clouds and microphysics, with decreased precipitation coverage and precipitation amounts during the first 12 hours of the integration, but significantly stronger storms during the afternoon hours.« less

Emergency assessments of postfire debris-flow hazards for the 2009 La Brea, Jesusita, Guiberson, Morris, Sheep, Oak Glen, Pendleton, and Cottonwood fires in southern California

USGS Publications Warehouse

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

2010-01-01

This report presents an emergency assessment of potential debris-flow hazards from basins burned by the 2009 La Brea and Jesusita fires in Santa Barbara County, the Guiberson fire in Ventura County, the Morris fire in Los Angeles County, the Sheep, Oak Glen, and Pendleton fires in San Bernardino County, and the Cottonwood fire in Riverside County, southern California. Statistical-empirical models developed to analyze postfire debris flows are used to estimate the probability and volume of debris-flows produced from drainage basins within each of the burned areas. Debris-flow probabilities and volumes are estimated as functions of different measures of basin burned extent, gradient, and material properties in response to both a 3-hour-duration, 2-year-recurrence thunderstorm and to a widespread, 12-hour-duration, 2-year-recurrence winter storm. This assessment provides critical information for issuing warnings, locating and designing mitigation measures, and planning evacuation timing and routes within the first two winters following the fire.

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.

Economic burden of burn injuries in the Netherlands: A 3 months follow-up study.

PubMed

Hop, M Jenda; Wijnen, Ben F M; Nieuwenhuis, Marianne K; Dokter, Jan; Middelkoop, Esther; Polinder, Suzanne; van Baar, Margriet E

2016-01-01

Burn care has rapidly improved in the past decades. However, healthcare innovations can be expensive, demanding careful choices on their implementation. Obtaining knowledge on the extent of the costs of burn injuries is an essential first step for economic evaluations within burn care. The objective of this study was to determine the economic burden of patients with burns admitted to a burn centre and to identify important cost categories until 3 months post-burn. A prospective cohort study was conducted in the burn centre of Maasstad Hospital Rotterdam, the Netherlands, including all patients with acute burn related injuries from August 2011 until July 2012. Total costs were calculated from a societal perspective, until 3 months post injury. Subgroup analyses were performed to examine whether the mean total costs per patient differed by age, aetiology or percentage total body surface area (TBSA) burned. In our population, with a mean burn size of 8%, mean total costs were €26,540 per patient varying from €742 to €235,557. Most important cost categories were burn centre days (62%), surgical interventions (5%) and work absence (20%). Flame burns were significantly more costly than other types of burns, adult patients were significantly more costly than children and adolescents and a higher percentage TBSA burned also corresponded to significantly higher costs. Mean total costs of burn care in the first 3 months post injury were estimated at €26,540 and depended on age, aetiology and TBSA. Mean total costs in our population probably apply to other high-income countries as well, although we should realise that patients with burn injuries are diverse and represent a broad range of total costs. To reduce costs of burn care, future intervention studies should focus on a timely wound healing, reducing length of stay and enabling an early return to work. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Burns in Baghdad from 2003 to 2014: Results of a randomized household cluster survey.

PubMed

Stewart, Barclay T; Lafta, Riyadh; Esa Al Shatari, Sahar A; Cherewick, Megan; Burnham, Gilbert; Hagopian, Amy; Galway, Lindsay P; Kushner, Adam L

2016-02-01

Civilians living amid conflict are at high-risk of burns. However, the epidemiology of burns among this vulnerable group is poorly understood, yet vital for health policy and relief planning. To address this gap, we aimed to determine the death and disability, healthcare needs and household financial consequences of burns in post-invasion Baghdad. A two-stage, cluster randomized, community-based household survey was performed in May 2014 to determine the civilian burden of injury from 2003 to 2014 in Baghdad. In addition to questions about cause of household member death, households were interviewed regarding burn specifics, healthcare required, disability, relationship to conflict and resultant financial hardship. Nine-hundred households, totaling 5148 individuals, were interviewed. There were 55 burns, which were 10% of all injuries reported. There were an estimated 2340 serious burns (39 per 100,000 persons) in Baghdad in 2003. The frequency of serious burns generally increased post-invasion to 8780 burns in 2013 (117 per 100,000 persons). Eight burns (15%) were the direct result of conflict. Individuals aged over 45 years had more than twice the odds of burn than children aged less than 13 years (aOR 2.42; 95%CI 1.08-5.44). Nineteen burns (35%) involved ≥ 20% body surface area. Death (16% of burns), disability (40%), household financial hardship (48%) and food insecurity (50%) were common after burn. Civilian burn in Baghdad is epidemic, increasing in frequency and associated with household financial hardship. Challenges of healthcare provision during prolonged conflict were evidenced by a high mortality rate and likelihood of disability after burn. Ongoing conflict will directly and indirectly generates more burns, which mandates planning for burn prevention and care within local capacity development initiatives, as well as humanitarian assistance. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Burns in Baghdad from 2003–2014: results of a randomized household cluster survey

PubMed Central

Stewart, Barclay T; Lafta, Riyadh; Shatari, Sahar A Esa Al; Cherewick, Megan; Burnham, Gilbert; Hagopian, Amy; Galway, Lindsay P; Kushner, Adam L

2015-01-01

Purpose Civilians living amid conflict are at high-risk of burns. However, the epidemiology of burns among this vulnerable group is poorly understood, yet vital for health policy and relief planning. To address this gap, we aimed to determine the death and disability, healthcare needs and household financial consequences of burns in post-invasion Baghdad. Methods A two-stage, cluster randomized, community-based household survey was performed in May of 2014 to determine the civilian burden of injury from 2003 to 2014 in Baghdad. In addition to questions about cause of household member death, households were interviewed regarding burn specifics, healthcare required, disability, relationship to conflict and resultant financial hardship. Results Nine-hundred households, totaling 5,148 individuals, were interviewed. There were 55 burns, which were 10% of all injuries reported. There were an estimated 2,340 serious burn injures (39 per 100,000 persons) in Baghdad in 2003. The frequency of serious burn injuries generally increased post-invasion to 8,780 burns in 2013 (117 per 100,000 persons). Eight burns (15%) were the direct result of conflict. Individuals aged over 45 years had more than twice the odds of burn injury than children aged less than 13 years (aOR 2.42; 95%CI 1.08 – 5.44). Nineteen burns (35%) involved ≥20% body surface area. Death (16% of burn injuries), disability (40%), household financial hardship (48%) and food insecurity (50%) were common after burn injury. Conclusion Civilian burn injury in Baghdad is epidemic, increasing in frequency and associated with household financial hardship. Challenges of healthcare provision during prolonged conflict were evidenced by a high mortality rate and likelihood of disability after burn injury. Ongoing conflict will directly and indirectly generate more burns, which mandates planning for burn prevention and care within local capacity development initiatives, as well as humanitarian assistance. PMID:26526376

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...

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 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.

Object-based Forest Fire Analysis for Pedrógão Grande Fire Using Landsat 8 OLI and Sentinel-2A Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tonbul, H.; Kavzoglu, T.

2017-12-01

Forest fires are among the most important natural disasters with the damage to the natural habitat and human-life. Mapping damaged forest fires is crucial for assessing ecological effects caused by fire, monitoring land cover changes and modeling atmospheric and climatic effects of fire. In this context, satellite data provides a great advantage to users by providing a rapid process of detecting burning areas and determining the severity of fire damage. Especially, Mediterranean ecosystems countries sets the suitable conditions for the forest fires. In this study, the determination of burnt areas of forest fire in Pedrógão Grande region of Portugal occurred in June 2017 was carried out using Landsat 8 OLI and Sentinel-2A satellite images. The Pedrógão Grande fire was one of the largest fires in Portugal, more than 60 people was killed and thousands of hectares were ravaged. In this study, four pairs of pre-fire and post-fire top of atmosphere (TOA) and atmospherically corrected images were utilized. The red and near infrared (NIR) spectral bands of pre-fire and post-fire images were stacked and multiresolution segmentation algorithm was applied. In the segmentation processes, the image objects were generated with estimated optimum homogeneity criteria. Using eCognition software, rule sets have been created to distinguish unburned areas from burned areas. In constructing the rule sets, NDVI threshold values were determined pre- and post-fire and areas where vegetation loss was detected using the NDVI difference image. The results showed that both satellite images yielded successful results for burned area discrimination with a very high degree of consistency in terms of spatial overlap and total burned area (over 93%). Object based image analysis (OBIA) was found highly effective in delineation of burnt areas.

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.

Impacts of fire management on aboveground tree carbon stocks in Yosemite and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks

USGS Publications Warehouse

Matchett, John R.; Lutz, James A.; Tarnay, Leland W.; Smith, Douglas G.; Becker, Kendall M.L.; Brooks, Matthew L.

2015-01-01

We compared our landscape carbon estimates in YOSE to remotely-sensed carbon estimates from the NASA–CASA project and found that the two methods roughly agree. Our analysis and comparisons suggest, however, that fire severity should be integrated into future carbon mapping efforts. We illustrate this with an example using the 2013 Rim Fire, which we estimate burned an area containing over 5 Tg of aboveground tree carbon, but likely left a large fraction of that carbon on the landscape if one accounts for fire severity.

Pilot project in rural western Madhya Pradesh, India, to assess the feasibility of using LED and solar-powered lanterns to remove kerosene lamps and related hazards from homes.

PubMed

Chamania, S; Chouhan, R; Awasthi, A; Bendell, R; Marsden, N; Gibson, J; Whitaker, I S; Potokar, T S

2015-05-01

Globally, 300,000 deaths are estimated to occur annually and the incidence is far greater as a large majority of burns are small and go unreported. Ninety-five percent of the global burden of burns is found in low- and middle-income countries; however, there is relatively little in the literature regarding effective primary prevention in these areas. Flame is the most common cause of burn in Madhya Pradesh, the central state of India. The most common demographic among the burn unit inpatient of Choithram hospital Indore, is young women from 21 to 40 years of age, whose burns are primarily caused by kerosene lamps. A non electrical source of illumination is essential for every household in rural areas due to the infrequent and poor power supply. At the baseline, 23 kerosene lamp burns were reported by villagers in the past 5 years among the study population of this pilot project. A pilot project to investigate the strategies for reducing the incidence of domestic burns in rural villages around the city of Indore was performed, by replacing kerosene lamps with safer and more sustainable alternatives, including solar-powered and light-emitting diode (LED) lamps. A total of 1042 households were randomly chosen from 18 villages within the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh (population of 28,825) to receive the alternative light source (670 LED and 372 solar lamps). We investigated the efficacy of this strategy of reducing the incidence of burns, measured the social acceptance by villagers, and quantified the cost implications and availability of LED lamps in rural communities with a high incidence of burns. Replacing kerosene lamps with LED and solar alternatives was deemed socially acceptable by 99.34% of the participants and reduced the cost of lighting for impoverished rural villagers by 85% over 1 year. We successfully demonstrated a significant decrease in the use of kerosene lamps (p<0.01). More evidence is required to investigate the efficacy of this strategy in reducing burns. This pilot study highlights the viability of the approach of replacing kerosene lamps as an effective primary prevention strategy for reducing burns in rural areas. However, barriers remain to the wider adoption of these lamps, including accessibility and availability for the populations of rural India. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

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.

Detection, mapping and estimation of rate of spread of grass fires from southern African ERTS-1 imagery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wightman, J. M.

1973-01-01

Sequential band-6 imagery of the Zambesi Basin of southern Africa recorded substantial changes in burn patterns resulting from late dry season grass fires. One example from northern Botswana, indicates that a fire consumed approximately 70 square miles of grassland over a 24-hour period. Another example from western Zambia indicates increased fire activity over a 19-day period. Other examples clearly define the area of widespread grass fires in Angola, Botswana, Rhodesia and Zambia. From the fire patterns visible on the sequential portions of the imagery, and the time intervals involved, the rates of spread of the fires are estimated and compared with estimates derived from experimental burning plots in Zambia and Canada. It is concluded that sequential ERTS-1 imagery, of the quality studied, clearly provides the information needed to detect and map grass fires and to monitor their rates of spread in this region during the late dry season.

Monitoring Soil Erosion on a Burned Site in the Mojave-Great Basin Transition Zone: Final Report for the Jacob Fire Site

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

Miller, Julianne; Etyemezian, Vic; Cablk, Mary E.

A historic return interval of 100 years for large fires in the U.S. southwestern deserts is being replaced by one where fires may reoccur as frequently as every 20 to 30 years. The shortened return interval, which translates to an increase in fires, has implications for management of Soil Corrective Action Units (CAUs) and Corrective Action Sites (CASs) for which the Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office has responsibility. A series of studies was initiated at uncontaminated analog sites to better understand the possible impacts of erosion and transport by wind and water should contaminated soilmore » sites burn. The first of these studies was undertaken at the Jacob Fire site approximately 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) north of Hiko, Nevada. A lightning-caused fire burned approximately 200 hectares during August 6-8, 2008. The site is representative of a transition between Mojave and Great Basin desert ecoregions on the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), where the largest number of Soil CAUs/CASs are located. The area that burned at the Jacob Fire site was primarily a Coleogyne ramosissima (blackbrush) and Ephedra nevadensis (Mormon tea) community, also an abundant shrub assemblage in the similar transition zone on the NNSS. This report summarizes three years of measurements after the fire. Seven measurement campaigns at the Jacob Fire site were completed. Measurements were made on burned ridge (upland) and drainage sites, and on burned and unburned sites beneath and between vegetation. A Portable In-Situ Wind Erosion Lab (PI-SWERL) was used to estimate emissions of suspended particles at different wind speeds. Context for these measurements was provided through a meteorological tower that was installed at the Jacob Fire site to obtain local, relevant environmental parameters. Filter samples, collected from the exhaust of the PI-SWERL during measurements, were analyzed for chemical composition. Runoff and water erosion were quantified through a series of rainfall/runoff simulation tests in which controlled amounts of water were delivered to the soil surface in a specified amount of time. Runoff data were collected from understory and interspace soils on burned ridge and drainage areas. Runoff volume and suspended sediment in the runoff were sampled; the particle size distribution of the sediment was determined by laboratory analysis. Several land surface and soil characteristics associated with runoff were integrated by the calculation of site-specific curve numbers. Several vegetation surveys were conducted to assess post-burn recovery. Data from plots in both burned and unburned areas included species identification, counts, and location. Characterization of fire-affected area included measures at both the landscape scale and at specific sites. Although wind erosion measurements indicate that there are seasonal influences on almost all parameters measured, several trends were observed. PI-SWERL measurements indicated the potential for PM10 windblown dust emissions was higher on areas that were burned compared to areas that were not. Among the burned areas, understory soils in drainage areas were the most emissive, and interspace soils along burned ridges were least emissive. By 34 months after the burn (MAB), at the end of the study, emissions from all burned soil sites were virtually indistinguishable from unburned levels. Like the amount of emissions, the chemical signature of the fire (indicated by the EC-Soil ratio) was elevated immediately after the fire and approached pre-burn levels by 24 MAB. Thus, the potential for wind erosion at the Jacob Fire site, as measured by the amount and type of emissions, increased significantly after the fire and returned to unburned levels by 24 MAB. The effect of fire on the potential for water erosion at the Jacob Fire site was more ambiguous. Runoff and sediment from ridge interspace soils and unburned interspace soils were similar throughout the study period. Seldom, if ever, did runoff and sediment occur in burned drainage area soils. For burned soils where runoff occurred at 1 MAB, the sediment size was finer than on unburned sites, but this effect disappeared by 3 MAB. For the three year study under the conditions tested at the Jacob Fire site, the potential for water erosion appeared relatively unaffected by the fire. Vegetation responses were documented for each year following the fire. By the end of the study, there was a substantial difference in plant densities and richness between drainage and ridge sites. Cheatgrass densities were higher in unburned plots, and cheatgrass was also more dominant in the community composition in unburned plots. Cheatgrass had increased in the burned area but so did other native species. Three years after the fire, the burned landscape continued to revegetate but had yet to approximate the condition of an unburned landscape. The results from the vegetation surveys support the wind erosion results, where the primary source of windborne particles originate from the understory, where lower plant diversity and densities were found. The soil appears to be more resilient and have a much shorter recovery time than the vegetation in this particular community.« less

Electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) battery-related burns presenting to US emergency departments, 2016.

PubMed

Corey, Catherine G; Chang, Joanne T; Rostron, Brian L

2018-03-05

Currently, an estimated 7.9 million US adults use electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). Although published reports have identified fires and explosions related to use of ENDS since 2009, these reports do not provide national estimates of burn injuries associated with ENDS batteries in the US. We analyzed nationally representative data provided in the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) to estimate the number of US emergency department (ED) visits for burn injuries associated with ENDS batteries. We reviewed the case narrative field to gain additional insights into the circumstances of the burn injury. In 2016, 26 ENDS battery-related burn cases were captured by NEISS, which translates to a national estimate of 1007 (95%CI: 357-1657) injuries presenting in US EDs. Most of the burns were thermal burns (80.4%) and occurred to the upper leg/lower trunk (77.3%). Examination of the case narrative field indicated that at least 20 of the burn injuries occurred while ENDS batteries were in the user's pocket. Our study provides valuable information for understanding the current burden of ENDS battery-related burn injuries treated in US EDs. The nature and circumstances of the injuries suggest these incidents were unintentional and would potentially be prevented through battery design requirements, battery testing standards and public education related to ENDS battery safety.

Wildfire exposure and fuel management on western US national forests.

PubMed

Ager, Alan A; Day, Michelle A; McHugh, Charles W; Short, Karen; Gilbertson-Day, Julie; Finney, Mark A; Calkin, David E

2014-12-01

Substantial investments in fuel management activities on national forests in the western US are part of a national strategy to reduce human and ecological losses from catastrophic wildfire and create fire resilient landscapes. Prioritizing these investments within and among national forests remains a challenge, partly because a comprehensive assessment that establishes the current wildfire risk and exposure does not exist, making it difficult to identify national priorities and target specific areas for fuel management. To gain a broader understanding of wildfire exposure in the national forest system, we analyzed an array of simulated and empirical data on wildfire activity and fuel treatment investments on the 82 western US national forests. We first summarized recent fire data to examine variation among the Forests in ignition frequency and burned area in relation to investments in fuel reduction treatments. We then used simulation modeling to analyze fine-scale spatial variation in burn probability and intensity. We also estimated the probability of a mega-fire event on each of the Forests, and the transmission of fires ignited on national forests to the surrounding urban interface. The analysis showed a good correspondence between recent area burned and predictions from the simulation models. The modeling also illustrated the magnitude of the variation in both burn probability and intensity among and within Forests. Simulated burn probabilities in most instances were lower than historical, reflecting fire exclusion on many national forests. Simulated wildfire transmission from national forests to the urban interface was highly variable among the Forests. We discuss how the results of the study can be used to prioritize investments in hazardous fuel reduction within a comprehensive multi-scale risk management framework. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The Fire INventory from NCAR (FINN): a high resolution global model to estimate the emissions from open burning

Treesearch

C. Wiedinmyer; S. K. Akagi; R. J. Yokelson; L. K. Emmons; J. A. Al-Saadi; J. J. Orlando; A. J. Soja

2010-01-01

The Fire INventory from NCAR version 1.0 (FINNv1) provides daily, 1 km resolution, global estimates of the trace gas and particle emissions from open burning of biomass, which includes wildfire, agricultural fires, and prescribed burning and does not include 5 biofuel use and trash burning. Emission factors used in the calculations have been updated with recent data,...

[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.

A One-Dimensional Global-Scaling Erosive Burning Model Informed by Blowing Wall Turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kibbey, Timothy P.

2014-01-01

This paper makes no attempt to comprehensively review erosive burning models or the data collected in pursuit of them; the interested reader could begin with Landsbaum for a historical summary. However, a discussion and comparison to recent work by McDonald and Rettenmaier and Heister will be included, along with data generated by Strand, et. al. Suffice it to say that the search for a way to predict erosive burning in any size motor with formulas cleanly applicable to a typical 1D ballistics analysis has been long thwarted. Some models were based on testing that failed to adequately simulate the solid rocket motor environment. In most cases, no real-time burn rate measurement was available. Two popular models, even when calibrated to recent motor-like real-time burn rate data obtained by Furfaro, were shown by McMillin to be inadequate at modeling erosive burning in the Space Shuttle Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM), the Space Launch Systems' Five-Segment RSRM (RSRMV), and the five-segment Engineering Test Motor (ETM)-3. Subsequently to the data cited from Strand and Furfaro, additional motors of the same kind as Furfaro's were tested with RSRMV propellant, utilizing 7 segments per motor and 3 throat sizes. By measuring propellant web thickness with ultrasonic gages, the burn rate was determined at cross-flow Mach numbers up to Mach 0.8. Furthermore, because of the different throat sizes in otherwise identical motors, this provides a unique look at the effect of pressure and base burn rate on the erosive response. Figure 1 shows example of the data pertaining to the high Mach motor, where the port area is initially less than the throat area. The burn rate data was processed using a smoothing method developed to reduce the noise without too severely introducing end effects that limit the range of useful data. Then, an empirical ballistics scheme was used to estimate the flow condition based on the burn rate measurements and pressure measured between each segment.

Biomass Burning, Land-Cover Change, and the Hydrological Cycle in Northern Sub-Saharan Africa

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ichoku, Charles; Ellison, Luke T.; Willmot, K. Elena; Matsui, Toshihisa; Dezfuli, Amin K.; Gatebe, Charles K.; Wang, Jun; Wilcox, Eric M.; Lee, Jejung; Adegoke, Jimmy;

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

Biomass burning - Combustion emissions, satellite imagery, and biogenic emissions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levine, Joel S.; Cofer, Wesley R., III; Winstead, Edward L.; Rhinehart, Robert P.; Cahoon, Donald R., Jr.; Sebacher, Daniel I.; Sebacher, Shirley; Stocks, Brian J.

1991-01-01

After detailing a technique for the estimation of the instantaneous emission of trace gases produced by biomass burning, using satellite imagery, attention is given to the recent discovery that burning results in significant enhancement of biogenic emissions of N2O, NO, and CH4. Biomass burning accordingly has an immediate and long-term impact on the production of atmospheric trace gases. It is presently demonstrated that satellite imagery of fires may be used to estimate combustion emissions, and could be used to estimate long-term postburn biogenic emission of trace gases to the atmosphere.

Estimating severity of burn in children: Pediatric Risk of Mortality (PRISM) score versus Abbreviated Burn Severity Index (ABSI).

PubMed

Berndtson, Allison E; Sen, Soman; Greenhalgh, David G; Palmieri, Tina L

2013-09-01

The purpose of our study is to validate the Pediatric Risk of Mortality (PRISM) score and compare the accuracy of PRISM predicted outcomes to the Abbreviated Burn Severity Index (ABSI). We hypothesized that the PRISM score is more accurate in predicting mortality and hospital length of stay than the ABSI in children with severe burns. All children <18 years of age admitted to a regional pediatric burn center between January 1, 2008 and July 1, 2010 were reviewed. Those with a Total Body Surface Area (TBSA) burn ≥20% who were admitted within 7 days of injury were selected for our study. Measured parameters included: demographics, burn characteristics, PRISM and ABSI scores at admission, and outcomes (mortality, hospital length of stay (LOS), ventilator days and cause of death). A total of 83 patients met criteria and had complete data sets. The mean age (±SEM) was 8.0±0.6 years, mean % TBSA burn 49.9±2.1%, 62.7% were male, and 45.8% had inhalation injury. Hospital LOS was 74.4±7.9 days, with 31.5±4.9 ventilator days. Mean PRISM score ranged from 14.2 to 16.0, with ABSI scores 7.9 to 8.5. Actual overall mortality was 18.1% compared to a PRISM predicted mortality of 19.8±2.5% (p<0.001, r=0.570). ABSI predicted mortality varied from 10 to 20% for a score of 7.9 to 30-50% for a score of 8.5. Logistic regression showed that both PRISM (p<0.001) and ABSI (p<0.001) mortality predictions accurately estimated actual mortality, which remained true in a combined model. ABSI was predictive of hospital LOS (p<0.001) and ventilator days (p<0.001) while PRISM was not (p=0.326 and p=0.863). Both PRISM and ABSI scores are predictive of mortality in severely burned children. Only ABSI correlates with hospital length of stay and ventilator days, and thus may also be more useful in predicting ICU resource utilization. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

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.

Space Radar Image of Yellowstone Park, Wyoming

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

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. Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C and X-Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) are part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. The radars illuminate Earth with microwaves, allowing detailed observations at any time, regardless of weather or sunlight conditions. SIR-C/X-SAR uses three microwave wavelengths: L-band (24 cm), C-band (6 cm), and X-band (3 cm). The multi-frequency data will be used by the international scientific community to better understand the global environment and how it is changing. The SIR-C/X-SAR data, complemented by aircraft and ground studies, will give scientists clearer insights into those environmental changes that are caused by nature and those changes that are induced by human activity. SIR-C was developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. X-SAR was developed by the Dornier and Alenia Spazio companies for the German space agency, Deutsche Agentur fuer Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (DARA), and the Italian space agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), with the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fuer Luft und Raumfahrt e.V.(DLR), the major partner in science, operations and data processing of X-SAR.

The Impact of Legislation on Gas Can- and Mattress-Related Burn Injuries.

PubMed

Kellogg, Levi; Butcher, Brandon; Peek-Asa, Corinne; Wibbenmeyer, Lucy

2018-01-01

Burn prevention program success requires thorough evaluation of intervention outcomes. The impact of 2 engineering-specific burn prevention regulations, the Children's Gasoline Burn Prevention Act and the Standard for the Flammability of Mattress Sets, will be assessed. Records from 1997 to 2015 within the Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC) National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) were reviewed. After identifying gas can- and mattress-involved burn injuries, injury incidence was estimated by utilizing survey sampling weights associated with each record. Logistic regression, incorporating estimated injury incidence and adjusting for gender and age, was performed to test for change in injury risk following these regulations. Within NEISS, there were 493 burns involving gas cans, yielding an estimated 19,339 injuries (95% confidence interval [CI], 15,781-22,896) during the 19-year study period. The odds of a gas can burn injury after legislation decreased by 67% for children younger than 5 years (odds ratio [OR], 0.33; 95% CI, 0.16-0.66; P = 0.0018). There was no significant change in risk for persons 5 years and older (OR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.80-1.41; P = 0.66). During the same time, there were 219 NEISS burns involving mattresses, yielding an estimated 6864 injuries (95% CI, 5071-8658). The odds of a mattress burn injury following legislation enactment decreased by 31% for all ages (OR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.51-0.94; P = 0.02). Both regulations decreased the odds of injury in their target populations. This study demonstrates that passive interventions involving engineering standards remain a powerful tool for burn prevention and should be the focus of future efforts to improve burn care.

Modeling study of biomass burning plumes and their impact on urban air quality; a case study of Santiago de Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cuchiara, Gustavo C.; Rappenglück, Bernhard; Angelica Rubio, Maria; Lissi, Eduardo; Gramsch, Ernesto; Garreaud, Rene D.

2017-04-01

Wildfires are a significant direct source of atmospheric pollutants; on a global scale biomass burning is believed to be the largest source of primary fine particles in the atmosphere and the second largest source of trace gases after anthropogenic emission sources. During the summer of 2014, an intense forest and dry pasture wildfire occurred nearby the city of Santiago de Chile. The biomass-burning plume was transported towards the metropolitan area of Santiago and exacerbated the air quality in this region. In this study, we investigated this wildfire event using a forward plume-rise and a chemistry (WRF/Chem) simulation. These data sets provided an opportunity to validate a regional air-quality simulation over Santiago, and a unique case to assess the performance of biomass burning plume modeling in complex topography and validated against an established air quality network. The results from both meteorological and air quality models provide insights about the transport of biomass-burning plumes from the wildfire region towards the metropolitan region of Santiago de Chile. We studied a seven-day period between January 01-07, 2014, and the impact of biomass burning plume emissions estimated by Fire Inventory from NCAR version 1 (FINNv1) on the air quality of Santiago de Chile.

Overview of the South American biomass burning analysis (SAMBBA) field experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morgan, W. T.; Allan, J. D.; Flynn, M.; Darbyshire, E.; Hodgson, A.; Johnson, B. T.; Haywood, J. M.; Freitas, S.; Longo, K.; Artaxo, P.; Coe, H.

2013-05-01

Biomass burning represents one of the largest sources of particulate matter to the atmosphere, which results in a significant perturbation to the Earth's radiative balance coupled with serious negative impacts on public health. Globally, biomass burning aerosols are thought to exert a small warming effect of 0.03 Wm-2, however the uncertainty is 4 times greater than the central estimate. On regional scales, the impact is substantially greater, particularly in areas such as the Amazon Basin where large, intense and frequent burning occurs on an annual basis for several months (usually from August-October). Furthermore, a growing number of people live within the Amazon region, which means that they are subject to the deleterious effects on their health from exposure to substantial volumes of polluted air. Initial results from the South American Biomass Burning Analysis (SAMBBA) field experiment, which took place during September and October 2012 over Brazil, are presented here. A suite of instrumentation was flown on-board the UK Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurement (FAAM) BAe-146 research aircraft and was supported by ground based measurements, with extensive measurements made in Porto Velho, Rondonia. The aircraft sampled a range of conditions with sampling of fresh biomass burning plumes, regional haze and elevated biomass burning layers within the free troposphere. The physical, chemical and optical properties of the aerosols across the region will be characterized in order to establish the impact of biomass burning on regional air quality, weather and climate.

Adding Fuel to the Fire: The Contribution of Perennial Bunchgrasses in Altering Fire Regimes in the Great Basin

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The historic fire return interval in Wyoming sagebrush ecosystems has been estimated in the hundreds of years; however, the current fire regime has shifted to short fire return intervals with some areas burning six times in the past 60 years. Invasive annual grasses (e.g. Bromus tectorum) are freque...

Fire severity in intermittent stream drainages, Western Cascade Range, Oregon.

Treesearch

Jennifer E. Tollefson; Frederick J. Swanson; John H. Cissel

2004-01-01

We quantified fire severity patterns within intermittent stream drainages in a recently burned area of the central western Cascades, Oregon. Aerial photographs were used to estimate post fire live canopy cover within streamside and upland zones on the southeast and southwest-facing slopes of 33 watersheds. Live canopy cover did not differ significantly between...

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.

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.

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

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

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.

Disentangling the contribution of multiple land covers to fire-mediated carbon emissions in Amazonia during the 2010 drought.

PubMed

Anderson, Liana Oighenstein; Aragão, Luiz E O C; Gloor, Manuel; Arai, Egídio; Adami, Marcos; Saatchi, Sassan S; Malhi, Yadvinder; Shimabukuro, Yosio E; Barlow, Jos; Berenguer, Erika; Duarte, Valdete

2015-10-01

In less than 15 years, the Amazon region experienced three major droughts. Links between droughts and fires have been demonstrated for the 1997/1998, 2005, and 2010 droughts. In 2010, emissions of 510 ± 120 Tg C were associated to fire alone in Amazonia. Existing approaches have, however, not yet disentangled the proportional contribution of multiple land cover sources to this total. We develop a novel integration of multisensor and multitemporal satellite-derived data on land cover, active fires, and burned area and an empirical model of fire-induced biomass loss to quantify the extent of burned areas and resulting biomass loss for multiple land covers in Mato Grosso (MT) state, southern Amazonia-the 2010 drought most impacted region. We show that 10.77% (96,855 km 2 ) of MT burned. We estimated a gross carbon emission of 56.21 ± 22.5 Tg C from direct combustion of biomass, with an additional 29.4 ± 10 Tg C committed to be emitted in the following years due to dead wood decay. It is estimated that old-growth forest fires in the whole Brazilian Legal Amazon (BLA) have contributed to 14.81 Tg of C (11.75 Tg C to 17.87 Tg C) emissions to the atmosphere during the 2010 fire season, with an affected area of 27,555 km 2 . Total C loss from the 2010 fires in MT state and old-growth forest fires in the BLA represent, respectively, 77% (47% to 107%) and 86% (68.2% to 103%) of Brazil's National Plan on Climate Change annual target for Amazonia C emission reductions from deforestation.

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.

Turbulent Burning Velocities of Two-Component Fuel Mixtures of Methane, Propane and Hydrogen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kido, Hiroyuki; Nakahara, Masaya; Hashimoto, Jun; Barat, Dilmurat

In order to clarify the turbulent burning velocity of multi-component fuel mixtures, both lean and rich two-component fuel mixtures, in which methane, propane and hydrogen were used as fuels, were prepared while maintaining the laminar burning velocity approximately constant. A distinct difference in the measured turbulent burning velocity at the same turbulence intensity is observed for two-component fuel mixtures having different addition rates of fuel, even the laminar burning velocities are approximately the same. The burning velocities of lean mixtures change almost constantly as the rate of addition changes, whereas the burning velocities of the rich mixtures show no such tendency. This trend can be explained qualitatively based on the mean local burning velocity, which is estimated by taking into account the preferential diffusion effect for each fuel component. In addition, a model of turbulent burning velocity proposed for single-component fuel mixtures may be applied to two-component fuel mixtures by considering the estimated mean local burning velocity of each fuel.

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.

Predicting the proportion of full-thickness involvement for any given burn size based on burn resuscitation volumes.

PubMed

Liu, Nehemiah T; Salinas, José; Fenrich, Craig A; Serio-Melvin, Maria L; Kramer, George C; Driscoll, Ian R; Schreiber, Martin A; Cancio, Leopoldo C; Chung, Kevin K

2016-11-01

The depth of burn has been an important factor often overlooked when estimating the total resuscitation fluid needed for early burn care. The goal of this study was to determine the degree to which full-thickness (FT) involvement affected overall 24-hour burn resuscitation volumes. We performed a retrospective review of patients admitted to our burn intensive care unit from December 2007 to April 2013, with significant burns that required resuscitation using our computerized decision support system for burn fluid resuscitation. We defined the degree of FT involvement as FT Index (FTI; percentage of FT injury/percentage of total body surface area (TBSA) burned [%FT / %TBSA]) and compared variables on actual 24-hour fluid resuscitation volumes overall as well as for any given burn size. A total of 203 patients admitted to our burn center during the study period were included in the analysis. Mean age and weight were 47 ± 19 years and 87 ± 18 kg, respectively. Mean %TBSA was 41 ± 20 with a mean %FT of 18 ± 24. As %TBSA, %FT, and FTI increased, so did actual 24-hour fluid resuscitation volumes (mL/kg). However, increase in FTI did not result in increased volume indexed to burn size (mL/kg per %TBSA). This was true even when patients with inhalation injury were excluded. Further investigation revealed that as %TBSA increased, %FT increased nonlinearly (quadratic polynomial) (R = 0.994). Total burn size and FT burn size were both highly correlated with increased 24-hour fluid resuscitation volumes. However, FTI did not correlate with a corresponding increase in resuscitation volumes for any given burn size, even when patients with inhalation injury were excluded. Thus, there are insufficient data to presume that those who receive more volume at any given burn size are likely to be mostly full thickness or vice versa. This was influenced by a relatively low sample size at each 10%TBSA increment and larger burn sizes disproportionately having more FT burns. A more robust sample size may elucidate this relationship better. Therapeutic/care management study, level IV.

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.

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.

Development and Application of Version 2.1 of the Fire INventory from NCAR (FINN)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McDonald-Buller, E.; Wiedinmyer, C.; Kimura, Y.

2016-12-01

The Fire INventory from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (FINN) generates global daily emissions estimates of trace gases and particles from open biomass burning, including wildfires, agricultural fires, and prescribed burning. FINN has been widely used for global and regional air quality studies, offering high spatial and temporal resolution necessary for capturing daily variations in emissions and chemistry, consistency across geopolitical boundaries, and chemical speciation profiles for volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions for the GEOS-Chem, SAPRC99, MOZART-4, and Carbon Bond mechanisms. FINN v.1 was first released in 2010 and updated in 2011. FINN v. 1.5 was released in 2014. The work presented here focuses on a collaborative effort between NCAR and the University of Texas at Austin to develop the next generation of the public release of the model, FINN v.2.1, to benefit air quality management and research initiatives within the U.S. and internationally. Specific objectives have included developing a new algorithm for estimating area burned from satellite-derived fire detections, distinguishing major crop types typically found in the U.S., improving the spatial resolution of fuel loading in the United States, and providing flexibility for applying alternative land cover representations from emerging global, U.S. national, and regional land cover products. A case study applies FINN2.1 for regional emission estimates and air quality predictions in Texas during 2012.

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

Usability and Functional Enhancements to an Online Interface for Predicting Post Fire Erosion (WEPP-PEP)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lew, Roger; Dobre, Mariana; Elliot, William; Robichaud, Pete; Brooks, Erin; Frankenberger, Jim

2017-04-01

There is an increased interest in the United States to use soil burn severity maps in watershed-scale hydrologic models to estimate post-fire sediment erosion from burned areas. This information is needed by stakeholders in order to concentrate their pre- or post-fire management efforts in ecologically sensitive areas to decrease the probability of post-fire sediment delivery. But these tools traditionally have been time consuming and difficult to use by managers because input datasets must be obtained and correctly processed for valid results. The Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) has previously been developed as an online and easy-to-use interface to help land managers with running simulations without any knowledge of computer programming or hydrologic modeling. The interface automates the acquisition of DEM, climate, soils, and landcover data, and also automates channel and hillslope delineation for the users. The backend is built with Mapserver, GDAL, PHP, C++, Python while the front end uses OpenLayers, and, of course, JavaScript. The existing WEPP online interface was enhanced to provide better usability to stakeholders in United States (Forest Service, BLM, USDA) as well as to provide enhanced functionality for managing both pre-fire and post-fire treatments. Previously, only site administrators could add burn severity maps. The interface now allows users to create accounts to upload and share FlamMap prediction maps, differenced Normalized Burned Ratio (dNBR), or Burned Area Reflectance Classification (BARC) maps. All maps are loaded into a sortable catalog so users can quickly find their area of interest. Once loaded, the interface has been modified to support running comparisons between baseline condition with "no burn" and with a burn severity classification map. The interface has also been enhanced to allow users to conduct single storm analyses to examine, for example, how much soil loss would result after a 100-year storm. An OpenLayers map allows users to overlay the watershed hillslopes and channels, burn severity, and erosion. The interface provides flowpath results for each hillslope and at the outlet, as well as return period and frequency analysis reports. Once problematic areas have been identified, the interface allows users to export the watershed in a format that can be used by the Erosion Risk Management Tool (ERMiT) and Disturbed WEPP (post-disturbance modeling) for more detailed hillslope-level analyses. Numerous other changes were made to improve the overall usability of the interface: allow simulations in both SI and English units, added immovable pop-up dialogs to guide the users, and removed extraneous information from the interface. In upcoming months, a workshop will be conducted to demonstrate these new capabilities to stakeholders. Efforts are underway to use site-specific SSURGO soils to that are modified based on burn severity rather than using generic soil classes.

Rice straw burning in Southeast Asia as a source of CO and COS to the atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Ba Cuong; Mihalopoulos, Nikolaos; Putaud, Jean-Philippe

1994-08-01

Atmospheric samples were collected during rice straw burning at four different locations in Viet Nam during the dry and wet seasons (March 1992, February 1993, and August 1992, respectively). The samples were analyzed for CO2, CO, and COS. The emission ratios relative to CO2 for rice straw burning during the dry season were comparable to those observed on samples collected during burning of savanna in Africa or forest in the United States. On the contrary, during the wet season the emission ratios for CO and COS relative to CO2 were 2 to 10 times higher. With these emission ratios and estimates of rice production from southeastern Asia, we estimated that burning of rice straw emits annually about 2.1 Tmol of CO (25 Tg C) and 0.6 Gmol of COS (0.02 Tg S) to the atmosphere. Taking into account these new results, CO and COS fluxes from biomass burning could be reevaluated by 5-21% and 10-67%, respectively, with regard to previous estimates of these gas emissions from all biomass burning activities.

Black Carbon in the Arctic: Assessment of and efforts to reduce black carbon emissions from wildfires and agricultural burning in Russia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kinder, B.; Hao, W. M.; Larkin, N. K.; McCarty, G.; O'neal, K. J.; Gonzalez, O.; Luxenberg, J.; Rosenblum, M.; Petkov, A.

2011-12-01

Black carbon and other short-lived climate forcers exert a warming effect on the climate but remain in the atmosphere for short time periods when compared to carbon dioxide. Black carbon is a significant contributor to increasing temperatures in the Arctic region, which has warmed at twice the global rate over the past 100 years. Black carbon warms the Arctic by absorbing incoming solar radiation while in the atmosphere and, when deposited onto Arctic ice, leading to increased atmospheric temperatures and snow and ice melt. Black carbon remains in the atmosphere for a short time period ranging from days to weeks; therefore, local atmospheric conditions at the time of burning determine the amount of black carbon transport to the Arctic. Most black carbon transport and deposition in the Arctic results from the occurrence of wildfires, prescribed forest fires, and agricultural burning at latitudes greater than 40 degrees north latitude. Wildfire affects some 10-15 million hectares of forest, forest steppe, and grasslands in Russia each year. In addition to wildfire, there is widespread cropland burning in Russia occurring in the fall following harvest and in the spring prior to tilling. Agricultural burning is common practice for crop residue removal as well as suppression of weeds, insects and residue-borne diseases. The goal of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Black Carbon Initiative is to assess black carbon emissions from agricultural burning and wildfires in Russia and explore practical options and opportunities for reducing emissions from these two sources. The emissions assessment combines satellite-derived burned area measurements of forest and agricultural fires, burn severity information, ancillary geospatial data, vegetation and land cover maps, fuels data, fire emissions data, fire/weather relationship information, and smoke transport models to estimate black carbon transport and deposition in the Arctic. The assessment addresses necessary improvements to fire and burned area detection algorithms to improve agricultural burned area mapping accuracy. Efforts to explore practical options for reducing black carbon emissions from wildfires and agricultural burning in Russia have been focused on designing community-based fire prevention and education programs in Siberia and the Russia Far East, two regions prone to frequent human-caused fires. The initiative also seeks to identify practical alternatives to reduce black carbon emissions from agricultural burning and to help promote these alternatives through outreach to farmers and other agricultural organizations. This submission will explore the initial findings and results of the emissions assessment and discuss the progress and challenges associated with implementation of local-level fire prevention and mitigation efforts in Russia. The results of this initiative will help inform future policy and management tools to address black carbon emissions from wildfires and agricultural burning in Russia and perhaps additional interested countries.

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

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.

Analyzing Hydro-Geomorphic Responses in Post-Fire Stream Channels with Terrestrial LiDAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nourbakhshbeidokhti, S.; Kinoshita, A. M.; Chin, A.

2015-12-01

Wildfires have potential to significantly alter soil properties and vegetation within watersheds. These alterations often contribute to accelerated erosion, runoff, and sediment transport in stream channels and hillslopes. This research applies repeated Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) to stream reaches within the Pike National Forest in Colorado following the 2012 Waldo Canyon Fire. These scans allow investigation of the relationship between sediment delivery and environmental characteristics such as precipitation, soil burn severity, and vegetation. Post-fire LiDAR images provide high resolution information of stream channel changes in eight reaches for three years (2012-2014). All images are processed with RiSCAN PRO to remove vegetation and triangulated and smoothed to create a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) with 0.1 m resolution. Study reaches with two or more successive DEM images are compared using a differencing method to estimate the volume of sediment erosion and deposition. Preliminary analysis of four channel reaches within Williams Canyon and Camp Creek yielded erosion estimates between 0.035 and 0.618 m3 per unit area. Deposition was estimated as 0.365 to 1.67 m3 per unit area. Reaches that experienced higher soil burn severity or larger rainfall events produced the greatest geomorphic changes. Results from LiDAR analyses can be incorporated into post-fire hydrologic models to improve estimates of runoff and sediment yield. These models will, in turn, provide guidance for water resources management and downstream hazards mitigation.

Daily and 3-hourly Variability in Global Fire Emissions and Consequences for Atmospheric Model Predictions of Carbon Monoxide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mu, M.; Randerson, J. T.; vanderWerf, G. R.; Giglio, L.; Kasibhatla, P.; Morton, D.; Collatz, G. J.; DeFries, R. S.; Hyer, E. J.; Prins, E. M.;

Contribution of Biomass Burning to Carbonaceous Aerosols in Mexico City during may 2013

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tzompa Sosa, Z. A.; Sullivan, A.; Kreidenweis, S. M.

2014-12-01

The Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) is one of the largest megacities in the world with a population of 20 million people. Emissions transported from outside the basin, such as wildfires and agricultural burning, represent a potentially large contribution to air quality degradation. This study analyzed PM10 filter samples from six different stations located across the MCMA from May, 2013, which represented the month with the most reported fire counts in the region between 2002-2013. Two meteorological regimes were established considering the number of satellite derived fire counts, changes in predominant wind direction, ambient concentrations of CO, PM10 and PM2.5, and precipitation patterns inside MCMA. The filter samples were analyzed for biomass burning tracers including levoglucosan (LEV), water-soluble potassium (WSK+); and water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC). Results of these analyses show that LEV concentrations correlated positively with ambient concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 (R2=0.61 and R2=0.46, respectively). Strong correlations were also found between WSOC and LEV (R2=0.94) and between WSK+ and LEV (R2=0.75). An average LEV/WSOC ratio of 0.0147 was estimated for Regime 1 and 0.0062 for Regime 2. Our LEV concentrations and LEV/WSOC ratios are consistent with results found during the MILAGRO campaign (March, 2006). To the best of our knowledge, only total potassium concentrations have been measured in aerosol samples from MCMA. Therefore, this is the first study in MCMA to measure ambient concentrations of WSK+. Analysis of gravimetric mass concentrations showed that PM2.5 accounted for 60% of the PM10 mass concentration with an estimated PM10/PM2.5 ratio of 1.68. Estimates from our laboratory filter sample characterization indicated that we measured 37% of the total PM10 mass concentration. The missing mass is most likely crustal material (soil or dust) and carbonaceous aerosols that were not segregated into WSOC fraction. Assuming that LEV is inert in the atmosphere, the estimated biomass burning contributions to WSOC ranged from 7-23%. When assuming a LEV lifetime of 1.1 to 5 days, the estimated contributions increased on average 80%. Thus, we conclude that biomass burning sources had a large impact on WSOC and PM2.5 during May 2013, potentially explaining up to half of the measured WSOC.

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.

Evaluating alternative prescribed burning policies to reduce net economic damages from wildfire

Treesearch

D. Evan Mercer; Jeffrey P. Prestemon; David T. Butry; John M. Pye

2007-01-01

We estimate a wildfire risk model with a new measure of wildfire output, intensity-weighted risk and use it in Monte Carlo simulations to estimate welfare changes from alternative prescribed burning policies. Using Volusia County, Florida as a case study, an annual prescribed burning rate of 13% of all forest lands maximizes net welfare; ignoring the effects on...

Incorporating Anthropogenic Influences into Fire Probability Models: Effects of Human Activity and Climate Change on Fire Activity in California.

PubMed

Mann, Michael L; Batllori, Enric; Moritz, Max A; Waller, Eric K; Berck, Peter; Flint, Alan L; Flint, Lorraine E; Dolfi, Emmalee

2016-01-01

The costly interactions between humans and wildfires throughout California demonstrate the need to understand the relationships between them, especially in the face of a changing climate and expanding human communities. Although a number of statistical and process-based wildfire models exist for California, there is enormous uncertainty about the location and number of future fires, with previously published estimates of increases ranging from nine to fifty-three percent by the end of the century. Our goal is to assess the role of climate and anthropogenic influences on the state's fire regimes from 1975 to 2050. We develop an empirical model that integrates estimates of biophysical indicators relevant to plant communities and anthropogenic influences at each forecast time step. Historically, we find that anthropogenic influences account for up to fifty percent of explanatory power in the model. We also find that the total area burned is likely to increase, with burned area expected to increase by 2.2 and 5.0 percent by 2050 under climatic bookends (PCM and GFDL climate models, respectively). Our two climate models show considerable agreement, but due to potential shifts in rainfall patterns, substantial uncertainty remains for the semiarid inland deserts and coastal areas of the south. Given the strength of human-related variables in some regions, however, it is clear that comprehensive projections of future fire activity should include both anthropogenic and biophysical influences. Previous findings of substantially increased numbers of fires and burned area for California may be tied to omitted variable bias from the exclusion of human influences. The omission of anthropogenic variables in our model would overstate the importance of climatic ones by at least 24%. As such, the failure to include anthropogenic effects in many models likely overstates the response of wildfire to climatic change.

Incorporating Anthropogenic Influences into Fire Probability Models: Effects of Human Activity and Climate Change on Fire Activity in California

PubMed Central

Batllori, Enric; Moritz, Max A.; Waller, Eric K.; Berck, Peter; Flint, Alan L.; Flint, Lorraine E.; Dolfi, Emmalee

2016-01-01

The costly interactions between humans and wildfires throughout California demonstrate the need to understand the relationships between them, especially in the face of a changing climate and expanding human communities. Although a number of statistical and process-based wildfire models exist for California, there is enormous uncertainty about the location and number of future fires, with previously published estimates of increases ranging from nine to fifty-three percent by the end of the century. Our goal is to assess the role of climate and anthropogenic influences on the state’s fire regimes from 1975 to 2050. We develop an empirical model that integrates estimates of biophysical indicators relevant to plant communities and anthropogenic influences at each forecast time step. Historically, we find that anthropogenic influences account for up to fifty percent of explanatory power in the model. We also find that the total area burned is likely to increase, with burned area expected to increase by 2.2 and 5.0 percent by 2050 under climatic bookends (PCM and GFDL climate models, respectively). Our two climate models show considerable agreement, but due to potential shifts in rainfall patterns, substantial uncertainty remains for the semiarid inland deserts and coastal areas of the south. Given the strength of human-related variables in some regions, however, it is clear that comprehensive projections of future fire activity should include both anthropogenic and biophysical influences. Previous findings of substantially increased numbers of fires and burned area for California may be tied to omitted variable bias from the exclusion of human influences. The omission of anthropogenic variables in our model would overstate the importance of climatic ones by at least 24%. As such, the failure to include anthropogenic effects in many models likely overstates the response of wildfire to climatic change. PMID:27124597

Fire emissions in central Siberia

Treesearch

Douglas J. McRae; Steve P. Baker; Yuri N. Samsonov; Galina A. Ivanova

2009-01-01

Wildfires in the Russian boreal forest zone are estimated to typically burn 12-14 million hectares (ha) annually [Cahoon et al. 1994; Conard and Ivanova 1997; Conard et al. 2002; Dixon and Krankina 1993; Kasischke et al. 1999]. Boreal forests contain about 21 percent of global forest area and 28 percent of global forest carbon [Dixon et al. 1994], yet data on the...

A MODIS direct broadcast algorithm for mapping wildfire burned area in the western United States

Treesearch

S. P. Urbanski; J. M. Salmon; B. L. Nordgren; W. M. Hao

2009-01-01

Improved wildland fire emission inventory methods are needed to support air quality forecasting and guide the development of air shed management strategies. Air quality forecasting requires dynamic fire emission estimates that are generated in a timely manner to support real-time operations. In the regulatory and planning realm, emission inventories are essential for...

Carbon changes in conterminous US forests associated with growth and major disturbances: 1992-2001

Treesearch

Daolan Zheng; Linda S. Heath; Mark J. Ducey; James E. Smith

2011-01-01

We estimated forest area and carbon changes in the conterminous United States using a remote sensing based land cover change map, forest fire data from the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program, and forest growth and harvest data from the USDA Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis Program. Natural and human-associated disturbances reduced the forest...

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.

Exploring the Influence of Topographic Correction and SWIR Spectral Information Inclusion on Burnt Scars Detection From High Resolution EO Imagery: A Case Study Using ASTER imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Said, Yahia A.; Petropoulos, George; Srivastava, Prashant K.

2014-05-01

Information on burned area estimates is of key importance in environmental and ecological studies as well as in fire management including damage assessment and planning of post-fire recovery of affected areas. Earth Observation (EO) provides today the most efficient way in obtaining such information in a rapid, consistent and cost-effective manner. The present study aimed at exploring the effect of topographic correction to the burnt area delineation in conditions characteristic of a Mediterranean environment using ASTER high resolution multispectral remotely sensed imagery. A further objective was to investigate the potential added-value of the inclusion of the shortwave infrared (SWIR) bands in improving the retrievals of burned area cartography from the ASTER data. In particular the capability of the Maximum Likelihood (ML), the Support Vector Machines (SVMs) and Object-based Image Analysis (OBIA) classification techniques has been examined herein for the purposes of our study. As a case study is used a typical Mediterranean site on which a fire event occurred in Greece during the summer of 2007, for which post-fire ASTER imagery has been acquired. Our results indicated that the combination of topographic correction (ortho-rectification) with the inclusion of the SWIR bands returned the most accurate results in terms of burnt area mapping. In terms of image processing methods, OBIA showed the best results and found as the most promising approach for burned area mapping with least absolute difference from the validation polygon followed by SVM and ML. All in all, our study provides an important contribution to the understanding of the capability of high resolution imagery such as that from ASTER sensor and corroborates the usefulness particularly of the topographic correction as an image processing step when in delineating the burnt areas from such data. It also provides further evidence that use of EO technology can offer an effective practical tool for the extent of ecosystem destruction from wildfires, providing extremely useful information in co-ordinating efforts for the recovery of fire-affected ecosystems after wildfire. Keywords: Remote Sensing, ASTER, Burned area mapping, Maximum Likelihood, Support Vector Machines, Object-based image analysis, Greece

Large forest fires in Canada, 1959-1997

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stocks, B. J.; Mason, J. A.; Todd, J. B.; Bosch, E. M.; Wotton, B. M.; Amiro, B. D.; Flannigan, M. D.; Hirsch, K. G.; Logan, K. A.; Martell, D. L.; Skinner, W. R.

2002-01-01

A Large Fire Database (LFDB), which includes information on fire location, start date, final size, cause, and suppression action, has been developed for all fires larger than 200 ha in area for Canada for the 1959-1997 period. The LFDB represents only 3.1% of the total number of Canadian fires during this period, the remaining 96.9% of fires being suppressed while <200 ha in size, yet accounts for ˜97% of the total area burned, allowing a spatial and temporal analysis of recent Canadian landscape-scale fire impacts. On average ˜2 million ha burned annually in these large fires, although more than 7 million ha burned in some years. Ecozones in the boreal and taiga regions experienced the greatest areas burned, with an average of 0.7% of the forested land burning annually. Lightning fires predominate in northern Canada, accounting for 80% of the total LFDB area burned. Large fires, although small in number, contribute substantially to area burned, most particularly in the boreal and taiga regions. The Canadian fire season runs from late April through August, with most of the area burned occurring in June and July due primarily to lightning fire activity in northern Canada. Close to 50% of the area burned in Canada is the result of fires that are not actioned due to their remote location, low values-at-risk, and efforts to accommodate the natural role of fire in these ecosystems. The LFDB is updated annually and is being expanded back in time to permit a more thorough analysis of long-term trends in Canadian fire activity.

Large forest fires in Canada, 1959-1997

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stocks, B. J.; Mason, J. A.; Todd, J. B.; Bosch, E. M.; Wotton, B. M.; Amiro, B. D.; Flannigan, M. D.; Hirsch, K. G.; Logan, K. A.; Martell, D. L.; Skinner, W. R.

2003-01-01

A Large Fire Database (LFDB), which includes information on fire location, start date, final size, cause, and suppression action, has been developed for all fires larger than 200 ha in area for Canada for the 1959-1997 period. The LFDB represents only 3.1% of the total number of Canadian fires during this period, the remaining 96.9% of fires being suppressed while <200 ha in size, yet accounts for ~97% of the total area burned, allowing a spatial and temporal analysis of recent Canadian landscape-scale fire impacts. On average ~2 million ha burned annually in these large fires, although more than 7 million ha burned in some years. Ecozones in the boreal and taiga regions experienced the greatest areas burned, with an average of 0.7% of the forested land burning annually. Lightning fires predominate in northern Canada, accounting for 80% of the total LFDB area burned. Large fires, although small in number, contribute substantially to area burned, most particularly in the boreal and taiga regions. The Canadian fire season runs from late April through August, with most of the area burned occurring in June and July due primarily to lightning fire activity in northern Canada. Close to 50% of the area burned in Canada is the result of fires that are not actioned due to their remote location, low values-at-risk, and efforts to accommodate the natural role of fire in these ecosystems. The LFDB is updated annually and is being expanded back in time to permit a more thorough analysis of long-term trends in Canadian fire activity.

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.

Laboratory Studies of Carbon Emission from Biomass Burning for use in Remote Sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wald, Andrew E.; Kaufman, Yoram J.

1998-01-01

Biomass burning is a significant source of many trace gases in the atmosphere. Up to 25% of the total anthropogenic carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere annually is from biomass burning. However, this gaseous emission from fires is not directly detectable from satellite. Infrared radiance from the fires is. In order to see if infrared radiance can be used as a tracer for these emitted gases, we made laboratory measurements to determine the correlation of emitted carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and total burned biomass with emitted infrared radiance. If the measured correlations among these quantities hold in the field, then satellite-observed infrared radiance can be used to estimate gaseous emission and total burned biomass on a global, daily basis. To this end, several types of biomass fuels were burned under controlled conditions in a large-scale combustion laboratory. Simultaneous measurements of emitted spectral infrared radiance, emitted carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and total mass loss were made. In addition measurements of fuel moisture content and fuel elemental abundance were made. We found that for a given fire, the quantity of carbon burned can be estimated from 11 (micro)m radiance measurements only within a factor of five. This variation arises from three sources, 1) errors in our measurements, 2) the subpixel nature of the fires, and 3) inherent differences in combustion of different fuel types. Despite this large range, these measurements can still be used for large-scale satellite estimates of biomass burned. This is because of the very large possible spread of fire sizes that will be subpixel as seen by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Due to this large spread, even relatively low-precision correlations can still be useful for large-scale estimates of emitted carbon. Furthermore, such estimates using the MODIS 3.9 (micro)m channel should be even more accurate than our estimates based on 11 (micro)m radiance.

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.

Skin analysis following dermal exposure to kerosene in rats: the effects of postmortem exposure and fire.

PubMed

Hieda, Yoko; Tsujino, Yoshio; Xue, Yuying; Takayama, Koji; Fujihara, Junko; Kimura, Kojiro; Dekio, Satoshi

2004-02-01

To evaluate the usefulness of skin analysis for the forensic examination of cases involving postmortem dermal exposure to kerosene and/or fire, an experimental study using rats was performed. Rats received dermal exposure to kerosene before or after death, and the effect of fire was determined by burning an area of exposed skin after death. Kerosene concentrations in skin and blood were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and microscopic observation was performed for skin samples. No differences were observed in skin kerosene levels between antemortem and postmortem exposure. Kerosene concentrations in mildly burned skin where the stratum corneum (SC) was retained were approximately 84% compared to those in non-burned exposed skin, whereas concentrations in severely burned skin where the SC was almost completely burned off were 28% of non-burned skin. Even in non-exposed control skin 14% of the original kerosene concentrations could be detected, which was considered to be caused by contamination during the experimental protocol combined with kerosene's property of a high affinity for the SC. These results suggest that (1) skin analysis is useful in estimating the type of petroleum product involved in crimes or accidents even for postmortem exposure, (2) whether the SC is retained or not primarily determined the kerosene levels in burned skin, and (3) attention must be paid to evaluate the results obtained from skin samples in the light of the circumstances surrounding the case.

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.

A regional estimate of convective transport of CO from biomass burning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pickering, Kenneth E.; Scala, John R.; Thompson, Anne M.; Tao, Wei-Kuo; Simpson, Joanne

1992-01-01

A regional-scale estimate of the fraction of biomass burning emissions that are transported to the free troposphere by deep convection is presented. The focus is on CO and the study region is a part of Brazil that underwent intensive deforestation in the 1980s. The method of calculation is stepwise, scaling up from a prototype convective event, the dynamics of which are well-characterized, to the vertical mass flux of carbon monoxide over the region. Given uncertainties in CO emissions from biomass burning and the representativeness of the prototype event, it is estimated that 10-40 percent of CO emissions from the burning region may be rapidly transported to the free troposphere over the burning region. These relatively fresh emissions will produce O3 efficiently in the free troposphere where O3 has a longer lifetime than in the boundary layer.

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...

Estimation of black carbon content for biomass burning aerosols from multi-channel Raman lidar data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Talianu, Camelia; Marmureanu, Luminita; Nicolae, Doina

2015-04-01

Biomass burning due to natural processes (forest fires) or anthropical activities (agriculture, thermal power stations, domestic heating) is an important source of aerosols with a high content of carbon components (black carbon and organic carbon). Multi-channel Raman lidars provide information on the spectral dependence of the backscatter and extinction coefficients, embedding information on the black carbon content. Aerosols with a high content of black carbon have large extinction coefficients and small backscatter coefficients (strong absorption), while aerosols with high content of organic carbon have large backscatter coefficients (weak absorption). This paper presents a method based on radiative calculations to estimate the black carbon content of biomass burning aerosols from 3b+2a+1d lidar signals. Data is collected at Magurele, Romania, at the cross-road of air masses coming from Ukraine, Russia and Greece, where burning events are frequent during both cold and hot seasons. Aerosols are transported in the free troposphere, generally in the 2-4 km altitude range, and reaches the lidar location after 2-3 days. Optical data are collected between 2011-2012 by a multi-channel Raman lidar and follows the quality assurance program of EARLINET. Radiative calculations are made with libRadTran, an open source radiative model developed by ESA. Validation of the retrievals is made by comparison to a co-located C-ToF Aerosol Mass Spectrometer. Keywords: Lidar, aerosols, biomass burning, radiative model, black carbon Acknowledgment: This work has been supported by grants of the Romanian National Authority for Scientific Research, Programme for Research- Space Technology and Advanced Research - STAR, project no. 39/2012 - SIAFIM, and by Romanian Partnerships in priority areas PNII implemented with MEN-UEFISCDI support, project no. 309/2014 - MOBBE

Small mammal abundance in Mediterranean post-fire habitats: a role for predators?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Torre, I.; Díaz, M.

2004-05-01

We studied patterns of small mammal abundance and species richness in post-fire habitats by sampling 33 plots (225 m 2 each) representing different stages of vegetation recovery after fire. Small mammal abundance was estimated by live trapping during early spring 1999 and vegetation structure was sampled by visual estimation at the same plots. Recently-burnt areas were characterised by shrubby and herbaceous vegetation with low structural variability, and unburnt areas were characterised by well developed forest cover with high structural complexity. Small mammal abundance and species richness decreased with time elapsed since the last fire (from 5 to at least 50 years), and these differences were associated to the decreasing cover of short shrubs as the post-fire succession of plant communities advanced. However, relationships between vegetation structure and small mammals differed among areas burned in different times, with weak or negative relationship in recently burnt areas and positive and stronger relationship in unburnt areas. Furthermore, the abundance of small mammals was larger than expected from vegetation structure in plots burned recently whereas the contrary pattern was found in unburned areas. We hypothesised that the pattern observed could be related to the responses of small mammal predators to changes in vegetation and landscape structure promoted by fire. Fire-related fragmentation could have promoted the isolation of forest predators (owls and carnivores) in unburned forest patches, a fact that could have produced a higher predation pressure for small mammals. Conversely, small mammal populations would have been enhanced in early post-fire stages by lower predator numbers combined with better predator protection in areas covered by resprouting woody vegetation.

Clothing burns in Canadian children

PubMed Central

Stanwick, Richard S.

1985-01-01

A Canadian survey of 11 tertiary care pediatric centres with specialized burn facilities revealed that an estimated 37 children up to 9 years of age are admitted annually to such hospitals because of clothing burns. Sleepwear accounts for an estimated 21 such burns per year. Girls were found to suffer the most severe burns and represented eight of the nine children in the series who died. Loose and flowing garments dominated the girls' styles. The results of multiple-regression analysis confirmed that style of clothing (loose and flowing as opposed to snug) was the most significant predictor of burn severity, length of hospital stay, the need for skin grafting and survival. The ignition situation (avoidance of parental supervision at the time of injury) was the only other important predictor. The success of regulatory actions in other countries in reducing the incidence of severe clothing burns is reviewed, and preventive strategies for Canada are explored. ImagesFig. 2 PMID:3995433

Lightning Forcing in Global Fire Models: The Importance of Temporal Resolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Felsberg, A.; Kloster, S.; Wilkenskjeld, S.; Krause, A.; Lasslop, G.

2018-01-01

In global fire models, lightning is typically prescribed from observational data with monthly mean temporal resolution while meteorological forcings, such as precipitation or temperature, are prescribed in a daily resolution. In this study, we investigate the importance of the temporal resolution of the lightning forcing for the simulation of burned area by varying from daily to monthly and annual mean forcing. For this, we utilize the vegetation fire model JSBACH-SPITFIRE to simulate burned area, forced with meteorological and lightning data derived from the general circulation model ECHAM6. On a global scale, differences in burned area caused by lightning forcing applied in coarser temporal resolution stay below 0.55% compared to the use of daily mean forcing. Regionally, however, differences reach up to 100%, depending on the region and season. Monthly averaged lightning forcing as well as the monthly lightning climatology cause differences through an interaction between lightning ignitions and fire prone weather conditions, accounted for by the fire danger index. This interaction leads to decreased burned area in the boreal zone and increased burned area in the Tropics and Subtropics under the coarser temporal resolution. The exclusion of interannual variability, when forced with the lightning climatology, has only a minor impact on the simulated burned area. Annually averaged lightning forcing causes differences as a direct result of the eliminated seasonal characteristics of lightning. Burned area is decreased in summer and increased in winter where fuel is available. Regions with little seasonality, such as the Tropics and Subtropics, experience an increase in burned area.

Investigation of biomass burning and aerosol loading and transport in South America utilizing geostationary satellites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Menzel, Paul; Prins, Elaine

1995-01-01

This study attempts to assess the extent of burning and associated aerosol transport regimes in South America and the South Atlantic using geostationary satellite observations, in order to explore the possible roles of biomass burning in climate change and more directly in atmospheric chemistry and radiative transfer processes. Modeling and analysis efforts have suggested that the direct and indirect radiative effects of aerosols from biomass burning may play a major role in the radiative balance of the earth and are an important factor in climate change calculations. One of the most active regions of biomass burning is located in South America, associated with deforestation in the selva (forest), grassland management, and other agricultural practices. As part of the NASA Aerosol Interdisciplinary Program, we are utilizing GOES-7 (1988) and GOES-8 (1995) visible and multispectral infrared data (4, 11, and 12 microns) to document daily biomass burning activity in South America and to distinguish smoke/aerosols from other multi-level clouds and low-level moisture. This study catalogues the areal extent and transport of smoke/aerosols throughout the region and over the Atlantic Ocean for the 1988 (July-September) and 1995 (June-October) biomass burning seasons. The smoke/haze cover estimates are compared to the locations of fires to determine the source and verify the haze is actually associated with biomass burning activities. The temporal resolution of the GOES data (half-hourly in South America) makes it possible to determine the prevailing circulation and transport of aerosols by considering a series of visible and infrared images and tracking the motion of smoke, haze and adjacent clouds. The study area extends from 40 to 70 deg W and 0 to 40 deg S with aerosol coverage extending over the Atlantic Ocean when necessary. Fire activity is estimated with the GOES Automated Biomass Burning Algorithm (ABBA). To date, our efforts have focused on GOES-7 and GOES-8 ABBA development, algorithm development for aerosol monitoring, data acquisition and archiving, and participation in the SCAR-C and SCAR-B field programs which have provided valuable information for algorithm testing and validation. Implementation of the initial version of the GEOS-8 ABBA on case studies in North, Central, and South America has demonstrated the improved capability for monitoring diurnal fire activity and smoke/aerosol transport with the GOES-8 throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Municipal solid waste and dung cake burning: discoloring the Taj Mahal and human health impacts in Agra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lal, Raj M.; Nagpure, Ajay S.; Luo, Lina; Tripathi, Sachchida N.; Ramaswami, Anu; Bergin, Michael H.; Russell, Armistead G.

2016-10-01

The Taj Mahal—an iconic World Heritage monument built of white marble—has become discolored with time, due, in part, to high levels of particulate matter (PM) soiling its surface (Bergin et al 2015 Environ. Sci. Technol. 49 808-812). Such discoloration has required extensive and costly treatment (2015 Two Hundred Sixty Second Report on Effects of Pollution on Taj Parliament of India Rajya Sabha, New Delhi) and despite previous interventions to reduce pollution in its vicinity, the haze and darkening persists (Bergin et al 2015 Environ. Sci. Technol. 49 808-812 2015 Two Hundred Sixty Second Report on Effects of Pollution on Taj Parliament of India Rajya Sabha, New Delhi). PM responsible for the soiling has been attributed to a variety of sources including industrial emissions, vehicular exhaust and biomass burning, but the contribution of the emissions from the burning of open municipal solid waste (MSW) may also play an important role. A recent source apportionment study of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) at the Taj Mahal showed biomass burning emissions, which would include MSW emissions, accounted for nearly 40% of organic matter (OM)—a component of PM—deposition to its surface (Bergin et al 2015 Environ. Sci. Technol. 49 808-812) dung cake burning, used extensively for cooking in the region, was the suggested culprit and banned within the city limits (2015 Two Hundred Sixty Second Report on Effects of Pollution on Taj Parliament of India Rajya Sabha, New Delhi), although the burning of MSW, a ubiquitous practice in the area (Nagpure et al 2015 Environ. Sci. Technol. 49 12904-12), may play a more important role in local air quality. Using spatially detailed emission estimates and air quality modeling, we find that open MSW burning leads to about 150 (±130) mg m-2 yr-1 of PM2.5 being deposited to the surface of the Taj Mahal compared to about 12 (±3.2) mg m-2 yr-1 from dung cake burning. Those two sources, combined, also lead to an estimated 713 (377-1050) premature mortalities in Agra each year, dominated by waste burning in socioeconomically lower status neighborhoods. An effective MSW management strategy would reduce soiling of the Taj Mahal, improve human health, and have additional aesthetic benefits.

[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.

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.

Linking Satellite-Derived Fire Counts to Satellite-Derived Weather Data in Fire Prediction Models to Forecast Extreme Fires in Siberia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Westberg, David; Soja, Amber; Stackhouse, Paul, Jr.

2010-05-01

Fire is the dominant disturbance that precipitates ecosystem change in boreal regions, and fire is largely under the control of weather and climate. Boreal systems contain the largest pool of terrestrial carbon, and Russia holds 2/3 of the global boreal forests. Fire frequency, fire severity, area burned and fire season length are predicted to increase in boreal regions under climate change scenarios. Meteorological parameters influence fire danger and fire is a catalyst for ecosystem change. Therefore to predict fire weather and ecosystem change, we must understand the factors that influence fire regimes and at what scale these are viable. Our data consists of NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC)-derived fire weather indices (FWI) and National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) surface station-derived FWI on a domain from 50°N-80°N latitude and 70°E-170°W longitude and the fire season from April through October for the years of 1999, 2002, and 2004. Both of these are calculated using the Canadian Forest Service (CFS) FWI, which is based on local noon surface-level air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and daily (noon-noon) rainfall. The large-scale (1°) LaRC product uses NASA Goddard Earth Observing System version 4 (GEOS-4) reanalysis and NASA Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GEOS-4/GPCP) data to calculate FWI. CFS Natural Resources Canada uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to interpolate NCDC station data and calculate FWI. We compare the LaRC GEOS- 4/GPCP FWI and CFS NCDC FWI based on their fraction of 1° grid boxes that contain satellite-derived fire counts and area burned to the domain total number of 1° grid boxes with a common FWI category (very low to extreme). These are separated by International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) 1°x1° resolution vegetation types to determine and compare fire regimes in each FWI/ecosystem class and to estimate the fraction of each of the 18 IGBP ecosystems burned, which are dependent on the FWI. On days with fire counts, the domain total of 1°x1° grid boxes with and without daily fire counts and area burned are totaled. The fraction of 1° grid boxes with fire counts and area burned to the total number of 1° grid boxes having common FWI category and vegetation type are accumulated, and a daily mean for the burning season is calculated. The mean fire counts and mean area burned plots appear to be well related. The ultimate goal of this research is to assess the viability of large-scale (1°) data to be used to assess fire weather danger and fire regimes, so these data can be confidently used to predict future fire regimes using large-scale fire weather data. Specifically, we related large-scale fire weather, area burned, and the amount of fire-induced ecosystem change. Both the LaRC and CFS FWI showed gradual linear increase in fraction of grid boxes with fire counts and area burned with increasing FWI category, with an exponential increase in the higher FWI categories in some cases, for the majority of the vegetation types. Our analysis shows a direct correlation between increased fire activity and increased FWI, independent of time or the severity of the fire season. During normal and extreme fire seasons, we noticed the fraction of fire counts and area burned per 1° grid box increased with increasing FWI rating. Given this analysis, we are confident large-scale weather and climate data, in this case from the GEOS-4 reanalysis and the GPCP data sets, can be used to accurately assess future fire potential. This increases confidence in the ability of large-scale IPCC weather and climate scenarios to predict future fire regimes in boreal regions.

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.

An estimate of carbon emissions from 2004 wildfires across Alaskan Yukon River Basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tan, Zhengxi; Tieszen, Larry L.; Zhu, Zhiliang; Liu, Shuguang; Howard, Stephen M.

2007-01-01

BackgroundWildfires are an increasingly important component of the forces that drive the global carbon (C) cycle and climate change as progressive warming is expected in boreal areas. This study estimated C emissions from the wildfires across the Alaskan Yukon River Basin in 2004. We spatially related the firescars to land cover types and defined the C fractions of aboveground biomass and the ground layer (referring to the top 15 cm organic soil layer only in this paper) consumed in association with land cover types, soil drainage classes, and the C stocks in the ground layer.ResultsThe fires led to a burned area of 26,500 km2 and resulted in the total C emission of 81.1 ± 13.6 Tg (Tg, Teragram; 1 Tg = 1012 g) or 3.1 ± 0.7 kg C m-2 burned. Of the total C emission, about 73% and 27% could be attributed to the consumption of the ground layer and aboveground biomass, respectively.ConclusionThe predominant contribution of the ground layer to the total C emission implies the importance of ground fuel management to the control of wildfires and mitigation of C emissions. The magnitude of the total C emission depends on fire extent, while the C loss in kg C m-2 burned is affected strongly by the ground layer and soil drainage condition. The significant reduction in the ground layer by large fires may result in profound impacts on boreal ecosystem services with an increase in feedbacks between wildfires and climate change.

Relationships Between Fire and Land Use Change in the Brazilian Amazon Based on Satellite Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fanin, T.; van der Werf, G.

2014-12-01

Fires are used as a tool in the process of deforestation. The relationship between fire and deforestation varies temporally and spatially according to the type of deforestation and climatic conditions. This study evaluates spatiotemporal variability between fire and deforestation over the 2002-2012 period in the Brazilian Legal Amazon (BLA). We based our study on four datasets: deforestation estimates from PRODES (Amazon Deforestation Monitoring Project) and forest cover loss from the Global Forest Change (GFC) project based on Landsat data, and burned area and land cover based on Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. While GFC and PRODES supported similar findings on spatial and temporal dynamics, the Landsat-scale comparison also highlighted a number of differences. Both datasets show a decrease after 2004 in forest loss or deforestation extent mainly from decreasing clearing rates in evergreen broadleaf forest, mostly in the states of Mato Grosso and Rondonia. However, the drop is larger and more gradual in PRODES than in GFC, with the former having less than half the forest loss of the latter. GFC indicates anomalous high forest loss in the years 2007 and 2010 not seen in PRODES. Rescaling these forest dynamics datasets to 500-meter resolution, allowed for a comparison against the MODIS datasets. The burned area data indicates that the mismatch between PRODES and GFC is largely related to increased fire occurrence during these dry years, mainly in Para. In addition it indicates that the time interval between deforestation and fire differs according to land cover, which is important when estimating the atmospheric impact of forest loss. We found that evergreen broadleaf forests are burned shortly after deforestation due to slash and burn techniques, while croplands have longer intervals depending on the crop variety. As a final step, we used these insights to better quantify carbon emissions from this region.

Effects of biotic feedback and harvest management on boreal forest fire activity under climate change.

PubMed

Krawchuk, Meg A; Cumming, Steve G

2011-01-01

Predictions of future fire activity over Canada's boreal forests have primarily been generated from climate data following assumptions that direct effects of weather will stand alone in contributing to changes in burning. However, this assumption needs explicit testing. First, areas recently burned can be less likely to burn again in the near term, and this endogenous regulation suggests the potential for self-limiting, negative biotic feedback to regional climate-driven increases in fire. Second, forest harvest is ongoing, and resulting changes in vegetation structure have been shown to affect fire activity. Consequently, we tested the assumption that fire activity will be driven by changes in fire weather without regulation by biotic feedback or regional harvest-driven changes in vegetation structure in the mixedwood boreal forest of Alberta, Canada, using a simulation experiment that includes the interaction of fire, stand dynamics, climate change, and clear cut harvest management. We found that climate change projected with fire weather indices calculated from the Canadian Regional Climate Model increased fire activity, as expected, and our simulations established evidence that the magnitude of regional increase in fire was sufficient to generate negative feedback to subsequent fire activity. We illustrate a 39% (1.39-fold) increase in fire initiation and 47% (1.47-fold) increase in area burned when climate and stand dynamics were included in simulations, yet 48% (1.48-fold) and 61% (1.61-fold) increases, respectively, when climate was considered alone. Thus, although biotic feedbacks reduced burned area estimates in important ways, they were secondary to the direct effect of climate on fire. We then show that ongoing harvest management in this region changed landscape composition in a way that led to reduced fire activity, even in the context of climate change. Although forest harvesting resulted in decreased regional fire activity when compared to unharvested conditions, forest composition and age structure was shifted substantially, illustrating a trade-off between management goals to minimize fire and conservation goals to emulate natural disturbance.

Using Google Earth Engine To Apply Spectral Mixture Analysis Over Landsat 5TM Imagery To Map Fire Scars In The Alto Teles Pires River Basin, Mato Grosso State, Brazil.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antunes Daldegan, G.; Ribeiro, F.; Roberts, D. A.

2016-12-01

The two most extensive biomes in Brazil, the Amazon Forest and the Cerrado (the Brazilian savanna), are subject to many fire events every dry season. Both biomes are well-known for their ecological and environmental importance but, due to the intensive human occupation over the last decades, they have been experiencing high deforestation rates with much of their natural landscape being converted to agriculture and pasture uses. The Cerrado, as a savanna, has naturally evolved adapted to fire. According to some researchers, this biome has been exposed to fire for the last 25 million years, forging the diversification of many C4 grass species, for example. The Amazon forest does not have similar characteristics and studies have shown that forest areas that have been already burned become more prone to recurrent burns. Forest patches that are close to open areas have their edges exposed to higher insolation and greater turbulence, drying the understory vegetation and litter, turning those areas more susceptible to fire events. In cases where grass species become established in the understory they can be a renewable source of fuel for recurrent burns. This study aimed to identify and map fire scars present in the region of Alto Teles Pires river basin, State of Mato Grosso - Brazil, during 10 years (2002-2011). This region is located in the transition zone between the two biomes and is known for its high deforestation rates. By taking advantage of the Landsat 5TM imagery collection present in Google Earth Engine platform as well as applying Spectral Mixture Analysis (SMA) techniques over them it was possible to estimate fractions of Green Vegetation (GV), Non-Photosynthetic Vegetation (NPV), and Soil targets, which are the surfaces that compose the vast majority of the landscape in the study region. Iteratively running SMA analysis over the imagery using burned vegetation endmembers allowed us to further identify fire scars present in the region, returning excellent accuracy. Burned vegetation endmembers were extracted from Landsat 5TM imagery that cover burned control areas that are part of the Projeto Fogo, a project that has been under development for the last 27 year in an ecological reserve (Roncador Ecological Reserve) close to Brasilia, Distrito Federal, Brazil.

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.

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.

Air Quality Impact from Biomass Burning in Northern Sub-Saharan Africa (NSSA).

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Damoah, R.; Ichoku, C. M.; Ellison, L.

2016-12-01

Biomass burning (BB) is one of the major sources of troposheric ozone (O3) precursors such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxides (CO), and non-methane volatile organics compounds (NMVOCs) as well as primary aerosols such as organic carbon (OC) and black carbon (BC). These emissions do not only affect air quality locally, but also on continental to hemispheric scales through long-range transport. It is estimated that about 350 Million hectares of land burn globally every year of which 54 % are in Africa. The northern sub-Saharan African (NSSA) region (0 - 20N, 20W - 55E) is known to show one of the highest biomass burning rates (in terms of per unit land area) among all regions of the world. This is due to the high concentration and frequency of fires in this region. In 2016 a newly installed AERONET ( ) sun photometer at All Nations University College (6.2N, 0.3W) within our study region recorded enhanced aerosol optical depth presume to be triggered by smoke from fires. We will discuss sources of this enhancement as well results obtained from NASA's Global Modeling Initiative Chemistry and Transport Model (GMI-CTM), to quantify the impact on air quality by biomass burning.

The use of polar organic compounds to estimate the contribution of domestic solid fuel combustion and biogenic sources to ambient levels of organic carbon and PM2.5 in Cork Harbour, Ireland.

PubMed

Kourtchev, Ivan; Hellebust, Stig; Bell, Jennifer M; O'Connor, Ian P; Healy, Robert M; Allanic, Arnaud; Healy, David; Wenger, John C; Sodeau, John R

2011-05-01

PM(2.5) samples collected at Cork Harbour, Ireland during summer, autumn, late autumn and winter, 2008-2009 were analyzed for polar organic compounds that are useful markers for aerosol source characterization. The determined compounds include tracers for biomass burning primary particles, fungal spores, markers for secondary organic aerosol (SOA) from isoprene, α-/β-pinene, and d-limonene. Seasonal and temporal variations and other characteristic features of the detected tracers are discussed in terms of aerosol sources and processes. The biogenic species were detected only during the summer period where the contributions of isoprene SOA and fungal spores to the PM(2.5) organic carbon (OC) were estimated to be 1.6% and 1% respectively. The biomass burning markers, and in particular levoglucosan, were present in all samples and attributed to the combustion of cellulose-containing fuels including wood, peat, bituminous and smokeless coal. The contribution of domestic solid fuel (DSF) burning to the measured OC mass concentration was estimated at 10.8, 50, 66.4 and 74.9% for summer, autumn, late autumn and winter periods, respectively, based on factors derived from a series of burning experiments on locally available fuels. Application of an alternative approach, namely principal component analysis-multiple linear regression (PCA-MLR), to the measured concentrations of the polar organic marker compounds used in conjunction with real-time air quality data provided similar trends and estimates for DSF combustion during all seasons except summer. This study clearly demonstrates that, despite the ban on the sale of bituminous coal in Cork and other large urban areas in Ireland, DSF combustion is still the major source of OC during autumn and winter periods and also makes a significant contribution to PM(2.5) levels. The developed marker approach for estimating the contribution of DSF combustion to ambient OC concentrations can, in principle, also be applied to other locations. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of the composite burn index for assessing fire severity in Alaskan black spruce forests

Treesearch

Eric S. Kasischke; Merritt R. Turetsky; Roger D. Ottmar; Nancy H.F. French; Elizabeth E. Hoy; Evan S. Kane

2008-01-01

We evaluated the utility of the composite burn index (CBI) for estimating fire severity in Alaskan black spruce forests by comparing data from 81 plots located in 2004 and 2005 fire events. We collected data to estimate the CBI and quantify crown damage, percentage of trees standing after the fire, depth of the organic layer remaining after the fire, depth of burning...

Satellite Contributions to the Quantitative Characterization of Biomass Burning for Climate Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ichoku, Charles; Kahn, Ralph; Chin, Mian

2012-01-01

Characterization of biomass burning from space has been the subject of an extensive body of literature published over the last few decades. Given the importance of this topic, we review how satellite observations contribute toward improving the representation of biomass burning quantitatively in climate and air-quality modeling and assessment. Satellite observations related to biomass burning may be classified into five broad categories: (i) active fire location and energy release, (ii) burned areas and burn severity, (iii) smoke plume physical disposition, (iv) aerosol distribution and particle properties, and (v) trace gas concentrations. Each of these categories involves multiple parameters used in characterizing specific aspects of the biomass-burning phenomenon. Some of the parameters are merely qualitative, whereas others are quantitative, although all are essential for improving the scientific understanding of the overall distribution (both spatial and temporal) and impacts of biomass burning. Some of the qualitative satellite datasets, such as fire locations, aerosol index, and gas estimates have fairly long-term records. They date back as far as the 1970s, following the launches of the DMSP, Landsat, NOAA, and Nimbus series of earth observation satellites. Although there were additional satellite launches in the 1980s and 1990s, space-based retrieval of quantitative biomass burning data products began in earnest following the launch of Terra in December 1999. Starting in 2000, fire radiative power, aerosol optical thickness and particle properties over land, smoke plume injection height and profile, and essential trace gas concentrations at improved resolutions became available. The 2000s also saw a large list of other new satellite launches, including Aqua, Aura, Envisat, Parasol, and CALIPSO, carrying a host of sophisticated instruments providing high quality measurements of parameters related to biomass burning and other phenomena. These improved data products have enabled significant progress in the study of biomass burning from space. However, appreciable uncertainty remains in many of the measurements that still needs to be addressed. Nevertheless, climate and other atmospheric models are

Burns to the genitalia, perineum, and buttocks increase the risk of death among U.S. service members sustaining combat-related burns in Iraq and Afghanistan.

PubMed

Clemens, Michael S; Janak, Judson C; Rizzo, Julie A; Graybill, John C; Buehner, Michelle F; Hudak, Steven J; Thompson, Charles K; Chung, Kevin K

2017-08-01

Among service members injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, to determine the risk of mortality associated with combat-related burns to the genitalia, perineum, and buttocks. The prospectively maintained burn registry from the United States Army Institute of Surgical Research was retrospectively reviewed to identify all service members with combat-related burns sustained in Iraq and Afghanistan from March 2003 to October 2013. The two primary risk factors of interest were (1) any burn to the genitals, perineum, and/or buttocks (PB) and (2) burns involving the entire perineal, genital, and buttock region (complete PB). Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate the risk of mortality for both primary risk factors, and adjusted for severe non-burn-related trauma, percent of burn over total body surface area (TBSA), inhalational injury, time to urinary tract infection, and time to bacteremia. A post-hoc analysis was performed to explore the potential effect modification of TBSA burned on the relationship between PB and mortality. Among the 902 U.S. service members with combat-related burns sustained during the study period, 226 (25.0%) had involvement of the genitalia, perineum, and/or buttocks. Complete PB was associated with a crude risk of mortality (HR: 5.3; 2.9-9.7), but not an adjusted risk (HR=1.8; 0.8-4.0). However, TBSA burned was identified as a potential negative effect modifier. Among patients with burns <60% TBSA, sustaining a complete PB conferred an adjusted risk of death (HR=2.7; 1.1-6.8). Further, patients with a perineal burn had a five-fold increased incidence of bacteremia. In adjusted models, each event of bacteremia increased the risk of mortality by 92% (HR 1.92; 1.39-2.65). Perineal burns were associated with a two-fold increased incidence of severe non-burn related trauma that also doubled mortality risk in adjusted models (HR 2.29; 1.23-4.27). Among those with relatively survivable combat-related burns (<60% TBSA), genital/perineal/buttock involvement increases the risk of death. Bacteremia may account for part of this increased risk, but does not fully explain the independent risk associated with perineal burns. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

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.

Preliminary soil-site studies in the western white pine type

Treesearch

Otis L. Copeland

1956-01-01

A guide for estimating site quality on bare, cut-over, or burned-over lands in the western white pine type is needed for planning the management of these lands. On many areas trees may be entirely lacking or an insufficient number in the proper crown classes remain on which reliable site index determinations can be based. Therefore, reliance must be placed on some...

Burn Injury Assessment Tool with Morphable 3D Human Body Models

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-04-21

waist, arms and legs measurements) as stored in most anthropometry databases . To improve on bum area estimations, the bum tool will allow the user to...different algorithm for morphing that relies on searching of an extensive anthropometric database , which is created from thousands of randomly...interpolation methods are required. Develop Patient Database : Patient data entered (name, gender, age, anthropometric measurements), collected (photographic

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.

Photochemical model estimated fire impacts on ozone and aerosol evaluated with field studies and routine data sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baker, K. R.

2017-12-01

Highly instrumented field studies provide a unique opportunity to evaluate multiple aspects of photochemical grid model representation of fire emissions, dispersion, and chemical evolution. Fuel information and burn area for a specific fire coupled with near-fire and downwind chemical measurements provides information needed to constrain model predicted fire plume transport and chemical evolution of important pollutants such as ozone and particulate matter (PM2.5) that have deleterious health effects. Most local to regional scale field campaigns to date have made relatively few transects through plumes from fires with well characterized fuel type and consumption. While more comprehensive field studies are being planned for 2018 and beyond (WE-CAN, FIREX, FIRE-CHEM, and FASMEE), existing measurement data from multiple field campaigns including 2013 SEAC4RS, satellite data, and routine surface networks are used to assess how a regulatory modeling system captures fire impacts on local to regional scale ozone and PM2.5. Key aspects of the regulatory modeling system include fire location and burn area from SMARTFIRE2, emissions from BlueSky framework, and predictions of ambient O3 and PM2.5 from the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) photochemical transport model. A comparison of model estimated O3 from specific fires with routine surface measurements at rural locations in proximity to the 2013 Rim fire, 2011 Wallow fire, and 2011 Flint Hills fires suggest the modeling system over-estimates smoke impacts on hourly ozone. Sensitivity simulations where solar radiation and photolysis rates are more aggressively attenuated by smoke reduced O3 predictions but did not ameliorate the over prediction bias. PM2.5 organic carbon tends to be overpredicted at rural surface sites downwind from the 2011 Flint Hills prescribed fires while results were mixed at rural sites downwind of the 2013 Rim fire and 2011 Wallow fire suggesting differences in fuel characterization (e.g., emission factors, emissions speciation, burn period, etc.) between these areas may contribute to differences in model prediction. Aircraft plume transects made downwind of the 2013 Rim fire and satellite information suggest the model does well at regional scale plume transport.

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...

Modeling biomass burning emissions for Amazon forest and pastures in Rondônia, Brazil.

Treesearch

Liane S. Guild; J. Boone Kauffman; Warren B. Cohen; Christine A. Hlavka; Darold E. Ward

2004-01-01

As a source of atmospheric carbon, biomass burning emissions associated with deforestation in the Amazon are globally significant. Once deforested, these lands continue to be sources of substantial burning emissions for many years due to frequent pasture burning. The objective of this research was to quantify biomass-burning emissions at a local scale. We estimated...

From dust to dose: Effects of forest disturbance on increased inhalation exposure.

PubMed

Whicker, Jeffrey J; Pinder, John E; Breshears, David D; Eberhart, Craig F

2006-09-15

Ecosystem disturbances that remove vegetation and disturb surface soils are major causes of excessive soil erosion and can result in accelerated transport of soils contaminated with hazardous materials. Accelerated wind erosion in disturbed lands that are contaminated is of particular concern because of potential increased inhalation exposure, yet measurements regarding these relationships are lacking. The importance of this was highlighted when, in May of 2000, the Cerro Grande fire burned over roughly 30% of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), mostly in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forest, and through areas with soils containing contaminants, particularly excess depleted and natural uranium. Additionally, post-fire thinning was performed in burned and unburned forests on about 25% of LANL land. The first goal of this study was to assess the potential for increased inhalation dose from uranium contaminated soils via wind-driven resuspension of soil following the Cerro Grande Fire and subsequent forest thinning. This was done through analysis of post-disturbance measurements of uranium air concentrations and their relationships with wind velocity and seasonal vegetation cover. We found a 14% average increase in uranium air concentrations at LANL perimeter locations after the fire, and the greatest air concentrations occurred during the months of April-June when wind velocities are highest, no snow cover, and low vegetation cover. The second goal was to develop a methodology to assess the relative contribution of each disturbance type towards increasing public and worker exposure to these resuspended soils. Measurements of wind-driven dust flux in severely burned, moderately burned, thinned, and unburned/unthinned forest areas were used to assess horizontal dust flux (HDF) in these areas. Using empirically derived relationships between measurements of HDF and respirible dust, coupled with onsite uranium soil concentrations, we estimate relative increases in inhalation doses for workers ranging from 15% to 38%. Despite the potential for increased doses resulting from these forest disturbances, the estimated annual dose rate for the public was <1 microSv yr(-1), which is far below the dose limits for public exposures, and the upper-bound dose rate for a LANL worker was estimated to be 140 microSv yr(-1), far below the 5 x 10(4) microSv yr(-1) occupational dose limit. These results show the importance of ecosystem disturbance in increasing mobility of soil-bound contaminants, which can ultimately increase exposure. However, it is important to investigate the magnitude of the increases when deciding appropriate strategies for management and long-term stewardship of contaminated lands.

Assessing wildfire exposure in the Wildland-Urban Interface area of the mountains of central Argentina.

PubMed

Argañaraz, J P; Radeloff, V C; Bar-Massada, A; Gavier-Pizarro, G I; Scavuzzo, C M; Bellis, L M

2017-07-01

Wildfires are a major threat to people and property in Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) communities worldwide, but while the patterns of the WUI in North America, Europe and Oceania have been studied before, this is not the case in Latin America. Our goals were to a) map WUI areas in central Argentina, and b) assess wildfire exposure for WUI communities in relation to historic fires, with special emphasis on large fires and estimated burn probability based on an empirical model. We mapped the WUI in the mountains of central Argentina (810,000 ha), after digitizing the location of 276,700 buildings and deriving vegetation maps from satellite imagery. The areas where houses and wildland vegetation intermingle were classified as Intermix WUI (housing density > 6.17 hu/km 2 and wildland vegetation cover > 50%), and the areas where wildland vegetation abuts settlements were classified as Interface WUI (housing density > 6.17 hu/km 2 , wildland vegetation cover < 50%, but within 600 m of a vegetated patch larger than 5 km 2 ). We generated burn probability maps based on historical fire data from 1999 to 2011; as well as from an empirical model of fire frequency. WUI areas occupied 15% of our study area and contained 144,000 buildings (52%). Most WUI area was Intermix WUI, but most WUI buildings were in the Interface WUI. Our findings suggest that central Argentina has a WUI fire problem. WUI areas included most of the buildings exposed to wildfires and most of the buildings located in areas of higher burn probability. Our findings can help focus fire management activities in areas of higher risk, and ultimately provide support for landscape management and planning aimed at reducing wildfire risk in WUI communities. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Postwildfire measurement of soil physical and hydraulic properties at selected sampling sites in the 2011 Las Conchas wildfire burn scar, Jemez Mountains, north-central New Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Romero, Orlando C.; Ebel, Brian A.; Martin, Deborah A.; Buchan, Katie W.; Jornigan, Alanna D.

2018-04-10

The generation of runoff and the resultant flash flooding can be substantially larger following wildfire than for similar rainstorms that precede wildfire disturbance. Flash flooding after the 2011 Las Conchas Fire in New Mexico provided the motivation for this investigation to assess postwildfire effects on soil-hydraulic properties (SHPs) and soil-physical properties (SPPs) as a function of remotely sensed burn severity 4 years following the wildfire. A secondary purpose of this report is to illustrate a methodology to determine SHPs that analyzes infiltrometer data by using three different analysis methods. The SPPs and SHPs are measured as a function of remotely sensed burn severity by using the difference in the Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR) metric for seven sites. The dNBR metric was used to guide field sample collection across a full spectrum of burn severities that covered the range of Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) and Burned Area Reflectance Classification (BARC) thematic classes from low to high severity. The SPPs (initial and saturated soil-water content, bulk density, soil-organic matter, and soil-particle size) and SHPs (field-saturated hydraulic conductivity and sorptivity) were measured under controlled laboratory conditions for soil cores collected in the field. The SHPs were estimated by using tension infiltrometer measurements and three different data analysis methods. These measurements showed large effects of burn severity, focused in the top1 centimeter (cm) of soil, on some SPPs (bulk density, soil organic matter, and particle sizes). The threshold of these bulk density and soil organic matter effects was between 300 and 400 dNBR, which corresponds to a MTBS thematic class between moderate and high burn severity and a BARC4 thematic class of high severity. Gravel content and the content of fines in the top 1 cm of soil had a higher threshold value between 450 and 500 dNBR. Lesser effects on SPPs were observed at depths of 1–3 cm and 3–6 cm. In contrast, SHPs showed little effect from dNBR or from MTBS/BARC4 thematic class. Measurements suggested that 4 years of elapsed time after the wildfire may be sufficient for SHP recovery in this area. These measurements also indicated that SPP differences as a function of burn severity cannot be used as reliable indicators of SHP differences as a function of burn severity.

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.

Recovery of biological soil crust richness and cover 12-16 years after wildfires in Idaho, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Root, Heather T.; Brinda, John C.; Dodson, E. Kyle

2017-09-01

Changing fire regimes in western North America may impact biological soil crust (BSC) communities that influence many ecosystem functions, such as soil stability and C and N cycling. However, longer-term effects of wildfire on BSC abundance, species richness, functional groups, and ecosystem functions after wildfire (i.e., BSC resilience) are still poorly understood. We sampled BSC lichen and bryophyte communities at four sites in Idaho, USA, within foothill steppe communities that included wildfires from 12 to 16 years old. We established six plots outside each burn perimeter and compared them with six plots of varying severity within each fire perimeter at each site. BSC cover was most strongly negatively impacted by wildfire at sites that had well-developed BSC communities in adjacent unburned plots. BSC species richness was estimated to be 65 % greater in unburned plots compared with burned plots, and fire effects did not vary among sites. In contrast, there was no evidence that vascular plant functional groups or fire severity (as measured by satellite metrics differenced normalized burn ratio (dNBR) or relativized differenced normalized burn ratio (RdNBR)) significantly affected longer-term BSC responses. Three large-statured BSC functional groups that may be important in controlling wind and water erosion (squamulose lichens, vagrant lichens, and tall turf mosses) exhibited a significant decrease in abundance in burned areas relative to adjacent unburned areas. The decreases in BSC cover and richness along with decreased abundance of several functional groups suggest that wildfire can negatively impact ecosystem function in these semiarid ecosystems for at least 1 to 2 decades. This is a concern given that increased fire frequency is predicted for the region due to exotic grass invasion and climate change.

Modeling of bioheat equation for skin and a preliminary study on a noninvasive diagnostic method for skin burn wounds.

PubMed

Lee, Shong-Leih; Lu, Yung-Hsiang

2014-08-01

Heat transfer in a unit three-dimensional skin tissue with an embedded vascular system of actual histology structure is computed in the present work. The tissue temperature and the blood temperatures in artery and vein vessels are solved with a multi-grid system. The mean temperature of the tissue over the cross-section of the unit skin area is evaluated. The resulting one-dimensional function is regarded as the temperature of healthy tissue (or injured skin but the blood perfusion is still normally working) for large area of skin in view of the symmetric and periodic structure of the paired artery-vein vessels in nature. A three-dimensional bioheat equation then is formulated by the superposition of the skin burn wound effect and the healthy skin temperature with and without thermal radiation exposure. When this bioheat equation is employed to simulate ADT process on burn wounds, the decaying factor of the skin surface temperature is found to be a sharply decreasing function of time in the self-cooling stage after a thermal radiation heating. Nevertheless, the boundary of non-healing (needing surgery) and healing regions in a large burn wound can be estimated by tracking the peak of the gradient of decaying factor within 30 s after the thermal radiation is turned off. Experimental studies on the full ADT procedure are needed to justify the assumptions in the present computation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

An overview of particulate emissions from residential biomass combustion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vicente, E. D.; Alves, C. A.

2018-01-01

Residential biomass burning has been pointed out as one of the largest sources of fine particles in the global troposphere with serious impacts on air quality, climate and human health. Quantitative estimations of the contribution of this source to the atmospheric particulate matter levels are hard to obtain, because emission factors vary greatly with wood type, combustion equipment and operating conditions. Updated information should improve not only regional and global biomass burning emission inventories, but also the input for atmospheric models. In this work, an extensive tabulation of particulate matter emission factors obtained worldwide is presented and critically evaluated. Existing quantifications and the suitability of specific organic markers to assign the input of residential biomass combustion to the ambient carbonaceous aerosol are also discussed. Based on these organic markers or other tracers, estimates of the contribution of this sector to observed particulate levels by receptor models for different regions around the world are compiled. Key areas requiring future research are highlighted and briefly discussed.

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.

Assessing land-use and carbon stock in slash-and-burn ecosystems in tropical mountain of Laos based on time-series satellite images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Inoue, Yoshio; Kiyono, Yoshiyuki; Asai, Hidetoshi; Ochiai, Yukihito; Qi, Jiaguo; Olioso, Albert; Shiraiwa, Tatsuhiko; Horie, Takeshi; Saito, Kazuki; Dounagsavanh, Linkham

2010-08-01

In the tropical mountains of Southeast Asia, slash-and-burn (S/B) agriculture is a widely practiced and important food production system. The ecosystem carbon stock in this land-use is linked not only to the carbon exchange with the atmosphere but also with food and resource security. The objective of this study was to provide quantitative information on the land-use and ecosystem carbon stock in the region as well as to infer the impacts of alternative land-use and ecosystem management scenarios on the carbon sequestration potential at a regional scale. The study area was selected in a typical slash-and-burn region in the northern part of Laos. The chrono-sequential changes of land-use such as the relative areas of community age and cropping (C) + fallow (F) patterns were derived from the analysis of time-series satellite images. The chrono-sequential analysis showed that a consistent increase of S/B area during the past three decades and a rapid increase after 1990. Approximately 37% of the whole area was with the community age of 1-5 years, whereas 10% for 6-10 years in 2004. The ecosystem carbon stock at a regional scale was estimated by synthesizing the land-use patterns and semi-empirical carbon stock model derived from in situ measurements where the community age was used as a clue to the linkage. The ecosystem carbon stock in the region was strongly affected by the land-use patterns; the temporal average of carbon stock in 1C + 10F cycles, for example, was greater by 33 MgC ha -1 compared to that in 1C + 2F land-use pattern. The amount of carbon lost from the regional ecosystems during 1990-2004 periods was estimated to be 42 MgC ha -1. The study approach proved to be useful especially in such regions with low data-availability and accessibility. This study revealed the dynamic change of land-use and ecosystem carbon stock in the tropical mountain of Laos as affected by land-use. Results suggest the significant potential of carbon sequestration through changing land-use and ecosystem management scenarios. These quantitative estimates would be useful to better understand and manage the land-use and ecosystem carbon stock towards higher sustainability and food security in similar ecosystems.

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.

[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.

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.

Fine particulate matter emissions inventories: comparisons of emissions estimates with observations from recent field programs.

PubMed

Simon, Heather; Allen, David T; Wittig, Ann E

2008-02-01

Emissions inventories of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) were compared with estimates of emissions based on data emerging from U.S. Environment Protection Agency Particulate Matter Supersites and other field programs. Six source categories for PM2.5 emissions were reviewed: on-road mobile sources, nonroad mobile sources, cooking, biomass combustion, fugitive dust, and stationary sources. Ammonia emissions from all of the source categories were also examined. Regional emissions inventories of PM in the exhaust from on-road and nonroad sources were generally consistent with ambient observations, though uncertainties in some emission factors were twice as large as the emission factors. In contrast, emissions inventories of road dust were up to an order of magnitude larger than ambient observations, and estimated brake wear and tire dust emissions were half as large as ambient observations in urban areas. Although comprehensive nationwide emissions inventories of PM2.5 from cooking sources and biomass burning are not yet available, observational data in urban areas suggest that cooking sources account for approximately 5-20% of total primary emissions (excluding dust), and biomass burning sources are highly dependent on region. Finally, relatively few observational data were available to assess the accuracy of emission estimates for stationary sources. Overall, the uncertainties in primary emissions for PM2.s are substantial. Similar uncertainties exist for ammonia emissions. Because of these uncertainties, the design of PM2.5 control strategies should be based on inventories that have been refined by a combination of bottom-up and top-down methods.

Assessing accuracy of a probabilistic model for very large fire in the Rocky Mountains: A High Park Fire case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stavros, E.; Abatzoglou, J. T.; Larkin, N.; McKenzie, D.; Steel, A.

2012-12-01

Across the western United States, the largest wildfires account for a major proportion of the area burned and substantially affect mountain forests and their associated ecosystem services, among which is pristine air quality. These fires commandeer national attention and significant fire suppression resources. Despite efforts to understand the influence of fuel loading, climate, and weather on annual area burned, few studies have focused on understanding what abiotic factors enable and drive the very largest wildfires. We investigated the correlation between both antecedent climate and in-situ biophysical variables and very large (>20,000 ha) fires in the western United States from 1984 to 2009. We built logistic regression models, at the spatial scale of the national Geographic Area Coordination Centers (GACCs), to estimate the probability that a given day is conducive to a very large wildfire. Models vary in accuracy and in which variables are the best predictors. In a case study of the conditions of the High Park Fire, neighboring Fort Collins, Colorado, occurring in early summer 2012, we evaluate the predictive accuracy of the Rocky Mountain model.

Emissions From Miombo Woodland and Dambo Grassland Savanna Fires in Southern Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sinha, P.; Hobbs, P. V.; Yokelson, R. J.; Blake, D. R.; Gao, S.; Kirchstetter, T. W.

2003-12-01

African savanna fires are the largest source of biomass burning emissions worldwide, and the miombo woodland ecosystem is the most abundant type of savanna in southern Africa. Dambo grasslands are major enclaves within miombo woodlands. Savanna fires in these two ecosystems accounted for over one-third of the total area burned in southern Africa during the dry season of 2000. Airborne measurements of trace gases and particles over and downwind of two prescribed savanna fires in plots of miombo woodland and dambo grassland were obtained on September 1 and September 5, 2000, respectively. These measurements provide emission factors for a number of gaseous species including carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), dimethyl sulfide (DMS), nitrogen oxides (NOx), ammonia (NH3), hydrogen cyanide (HCN), methane (CH4), non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC), halocarbons, oxygenated compounds, as well as for particulates. Emission factors for the two fires are combined with measurements of fuel loading, combustion completeness, and burned area to estimate the emissions of trace gases and particles from miombo woodland and dambo grassland fires in southern Africa during the dry season of 2000. These estimates indicate that in August and September of 2000 miombo woodland and dambo grassland fires in southern Africa accounted for about 30%, 25%, 15%, and 64% of the emissions of CO2, CO, total hydrocarbons, and total particulate matter, respectively, emitted from all types of savanna fires in southern Africa. It is also estimated that the ratios of dry season emissions from miombo woodland and dambo grassland fires in Zambia to annual emissions from the use of biofuels in Zambia for CO2, CO, NOx, formic acid, CH4, NH3, ethane, ethene, propene, acetylene, formaldehyde, methanol, and acetic acid are 3.2, 1.5, 7.2, 2.5, 0.2, 0.6, 0.2, 0.5, 0.4, 0.3, 0.6, 0.3, and 0.5, respectively.

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%.

Lizard activity and abundance greater in burned habitat of a xeric montane forest

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fouts, Kevin L.; Moore, Clinton; Johnson, Kristine D.; Maerz, John C.

2017-01-01

Restoring the natural or historical state of ecosystems is a common objective among resource managers, but determining whether desired system responses to management actions are occurring is often protracted and challenging. For wildlife, the integration of mechanistic habitat modeling with population monitoring may provide expedited measures of management effectiveness and improve understanding of how management actions succeed or fail to recover populations. Southern Appalachia is a region of high biodiversity that has undergone dramatic change as a result of human activities such as historic logging, exotic invasions, and alteration of disturbance regimes—including reduction in application of fire. Contemporary efforts to restore fire-maintained ecosystems within southern Appalachian forests require tools to assess the effects of fire management practices on individual animal fitness and relate them to corresponding influences on species abundance. Using automated sensing equipment, we investigated the effects of burned forests on reptile habitat suitability within the western portion of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. Specifically, we used microclimate measurements to model northern fence lizard Sceloporus undulatus hyacinthinus diurnal activity budgets in unburned and variable burn age (3–27-y) forest stands. We estimated northern fence lizard occurrence and abundance along transects through burned and unburned forests. Burned forest stands had microclimates that resulted in longer modeled daily activity periods under most conditions during summer. S. undulatus abundance was 4.75 times greater on burned stands compared to paired unburned stands, although the relationship between burn age and abundance was not well determined. Results suggest the more open habitat structure of burned areas within these xeric pine–oak forests may benefit S. undulatus.

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...

Not child's play: National estimates of microwave-related burn injuries among young children.

PubMed

Lowell, Gina; Quinlan, Kyran

2016-10-01

Previous studies have shown that children as young as 18 months can open a microwave and remove its contents causing sometimes severe scalds. Although this mechanism may be uniquely preventable by an engineering fix, no national estimate of this type of child burn injury has been reported. We analyzed the Consumer Product Safety Commission's National Electronic Injury Surveillance System data on emergency department-treated microwave-related burn injuries from January 2002 through December 2012 in children aged 12 months to 4 years. Based on the narrative description of how the injury occurred, we defined a case as a burn with a mechanism of either definitely or probably involving a child himself or herself opening a microwave oven and accessing the heated contents. National estimates of cases and their characteristics were calculated. During the 11 years studied, an estimated 10,902 (95% confidence interval, 8,231-13,573) microwave-related burns occurred in children aged 12 months to 4 years. Of these, 7,274 (66.7%) (95% confidence interval, 5,135-9,413) were cases of children burned after accessing the contents of the microwave themselves. A total of 1,124 (15.5%) cases required hospitalization or transfer from the treating emergency department. Narratives for children as young as 12 months described the child himself or herself being able to access microwave contents. The most commonly burned body parts were the upper trunk (3,056 cases) and the face (1,039 cases). The most common scalding substances were water (2,863 cases), noodles (1,011 cases), and soup (931 cases). The majority of microwave-related burns in young children occur as a result of the child himself or herself accessing the microwave and removing the contents. More than 600 young children are treated in US emergency departments annually for such burns. Children as young as 12 months sustained burns caused by this mechanism of injury. These burns could be prevented with a redesign of microwaves to thwart young children from being able to open the microwave oven door. Epidemiologic study, level III.

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.

Angora Fire, Lake Tahoe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2007-01-01

On the weekend of June 23, 2007, a wildfire broke out south of Lake Tahoe, which stretches across the California-Nevada border. By June 28, the Angora Fire had burned more than 200 homes and forced some 2,000 residents to evacuate, according to The Seattle Times and the Central Valley Business Times. On June 27, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA's Terra satellite captured this image of the burn scar left by the Angora fire. The burn scar is dark gray, or charcoal. Water bodies, including the southern tip of Lake Tahoe and Fallen Leaf Lake, are pale silvery blue, the silver color a result of sunlight reflecting off the surface of the water. Vegetation ranges in color from dark to bright green. Streets are light gray, and the customary pattern of meandering residential streets and cul-de-sacs appears throughout the image, including the area that burned. The burn scar shows where the fire obliterated some of the residential areas just east of Fallen Leaf Lake. According to news reports, the U.S. Forest Service had expressed optimism about containing the fire within a week of the outbreak, but a few days after the fire started, it jumped a defense, forcing the evacuation of hundreds more residents. Strong winds that had been forecast for June 27, however, did not materialize, allowing firefighters to regain ground in controlling the blaze. On June 27, authorities hoped that the fire would be completely contained by July 3. According to estimates provided in the daily report from the National Interagency Fire Center, the fire had burned 3,100 acres (about 12.5 square kilometers) and was about 55 percent contained as of June 28. Some mandatory evacuations remained in effect. NASA image by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the NASA/GSFC/MITI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team.

Bat activity following restoration prescribed burning in the central Appalachian Upland and riparian habitats

USGS Publications Warehouse

Austin, Lauren V.; Silvis, Alexander; Ford, W. Mark; Muthersbaugh, Michael; Powers, Karen E.

2018-01-01

After decades of fire suppression in eastern North America, land managers now are prioritizing prescribed fire as a management tool to restore or maintain fire-adapted vegetation communities. However, in long—fire-suppressed landscapes, such as the central and southern Appalachians, it is unknown how bats will respond to prescribed fire in both riparian and upland forest habitats. To address these concerns, we conducted zero-crossing acoustic surveys of bat activity in burned, unburned, riparian, and non-riparian areas in the central Appalachians, Virginia, USA. Burn and riparian variables had model support (ΔAICc < 4) to explain activity of all bat species. Nonetheless, parameter estimates for these conditions were small and confidence intervals overlapped zero for all species, indicating effect sizes were marginal. Our results suggest that bats respond to fire differently between upland and riparian forest habitats, but overall, large landscape-level prescribed fire has a slightly positive to neutral impact on all bats species identified at our study site post—fire application.

Fires Scorch Oregon

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

In southwest Oregon, the Biscuit Fire continues to grow. This Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) image from August 14, 2002, shows the burn scar associated with the enormous blaze. The visualization uses ASTER's 30-meter-resolution, short-wave infrared bands to minimize smoke contamination and enhance the burn scar, which appears purple amid green vegetation. Actively burning areas of the fire appear very light purple. More than 6,000 fire personnel are assigned to the Biscuit Fire, which was 390, 276 acres as of Friday morning, August 15, and only 26 percent contained. Among the resources threatened are thousands of homes, three nationally designated wild and scenic rivers, and habitat for several categories of plants and animals at risk of extinction. Firefighters currently have no estimate as to when the fire might be contained. Credit: This image was acquired on an expedited basis as part of NASA Wildfire Response Team activities. Image courtesy Mike Abrams, Simon Hook, and the ASTER team at EROS Data Center DAAC.

[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.

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.

X-Ray Fluorescence to Estimate the Maximum Temperature Reached at Soil Surface during Experimental Slash-and-Burn Fires.

PubMed

Melquiades, Fábio L; Thomaz, Edivaldo L

2016-05-01

An important aspect for the evaluation of fire effects in slash-and-burn agricultural system, as well as in wildfire, is the soil burn severity. The objective of this study is to estimate the maximum temperature reached in real soil burn events using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) as an analytical tool, combined with partial least square (PLS) regression. Muffle-heated soil samples were used for PLS regression model calibration and two real slash-and-burn soils were tested as external samples in the model. It was possible to associate EDXRF spectra alterations to the maximum temperature reached in the heat affected soils with about 17% relative standard deviation. The results are promising since the analysis is fast, nondestructive, and conducted after the burn event, although local calibration for each type of burned soil is necessary. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

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.

Short-term effects of prescribed burning on litterfall biomass in mixed stands of Pinus nigra and Pinus pinaster and pure stands of Pinus nigra in the Cuenca Mountains (Central-Eastern Spain).

PubMed

Espinosa, J; Madrigal, J; De La Cruz, A C; Guijarro, M; Jimenez, E; Hernando, C

2018-03-15

Fire severity, defined as the magnitude of fire effects in an ecosystem, is a key factor to consider in planning management strategies for protecting forests against fire. Although prescribed burning has been used as a fuel reduction tool in forest ecosystems, it is quite limited in the Mediterranean region. Furthermore, little is known about how tree crowns are affected by prescribed underburning aimed at reducing fire severity in conifer stands. As part of an ongoing study to assess the effects of prescribed burning on the tree canopy, litterfall is currently being monitored in a network of experimental plots located in mixed (Pinus nigra and Pinus pinaster) and pure (P. nigra) conifer stands in the Cuenca Mountains (Castilla La Mancha, Spain). A total of 12 study plots (30m×30m) were established in a completely randomized experimental design to determine the effect of burning, with 2 treatments: no burning (control) and burning (i.e. with three replicate plots for each treatment and site). Burning was conducted in May 2016. In each plot, 8 litterfall collectors were installed at regular intervals, according to international protocols (ICP Forests), and all biomass falling into the collectors is being monitored monthly. The specific objective of this study is to assess how prescribed burning affects the rate of generation of foliar and non-foliar litterfall biomass due to the fire. In addition, the Leaf Area Index was estimated before burning and one year later to verify possible changes in the structure of the stands. This information could be used to help minimize the negative impacts of prescribed underburning on litterfall. To our knowledge, this study represents the first attempt to evaluate the effect of prescribed burning on litterfall biomass in Europe. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Impaired Respiratory Function and Heightened Pulmonary Inflammation in Episodic Binge Ethanol Intoxication and Burn Injury

PubMed Central

Shults, Jill A.; Curtis, Brenda J.; Chen, Michael M.; O'Halloran, Eileen B.; Ramirez, Luis; Kovacs, Elizabeth J.

2015-01-01

Clinical data indicate that cutaneous burn injuries covering greater than ten percent total body surface area are associated with significant morbidity and mortality, where pulmonary complications, including acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), contribute to nearly half of all patient deaths. Approximately 50% of burn patients are intoxicated at the time of hospital admission, which increases days on ventilators by three-fold, and doubles length of hospital admittance, compared to non-intoxicated burn patients. The most common drinking pattern in the United States is binge drinking, where one rapidly consumes alcoholic beverages (4 for women, 5 for men) in 2 hours and an estimated 38 million Americans binge drink, often several times per month. Experimental data demonstrate a single binge ethanol exposure prior to scald injury, impairs innate and adaptive immune responses, thereby enhancing infection susceptibility and amplifying pulmonary inflammation, neutrophil infiltration, and edema, and is associated with increased mortality. Since these characteristics are similar to those observed in ARDS burn patients, our study objective was to determine whether ethanol intoxication and burn injury and the subsequent pulmonary congestion affects physiological parameters of lung function using non-invasive and unrestrained plethysmography in a murine model system. Furthermore, to mirror young adult binge drinking patterns, and to determine the effect of multiple ethanol exposures on pulmonary inflammation, we utilized an episodic binge ethanol exposure regimen, where mice were exposed to ethanol for a total of 6 days (3 days ethanol, 4 days rest, 3 days ethanol) prior to burn injury. Our analyses demonstrate mice exposed to episodic binge ethanol and burn injury have higher mortality, increased pulmonary congestion and neutrophil infiltration, elevated neutrophil chemoattractants, and respiratory dysfunction, compared to burn or ethanol intoxication alone. Overall, our study identifies plethysmography as a useful tool for characterizing respiratory function in a murine burn model and for future identification of therapeutic compounds capable of restoring pulmonary functionality. PMID:26364264

[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.

Detection and Characterization of Low Temperature Peat Fires during the 2015 Fire Catastrophe in Indonesia Using a New High-Sensitivity Fire Monitoring Satellite Sensor (FireBird)

PubMed Central

Atwood, Elizabeth C.; Englhart, Sandra; Lorenz, Eckehard; Halle, Winfried; Wiedemann, Werner; Siegert, Florian

2016-01-01

Vast and disastrous fires occurred on Borneo during the 2015 dry season, pushing Indonesia into the top five carbon emitting countries. The region was affected by a very strong El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate phenomenon, on par with the last severe event in 1997/98. Fire dynamics in Central Kalimantan were investigated using an innovative sensor offering higher sensitivity to a wider range of fire intensities at a finer spatial resolution (160 m) than heretofore available. The sensor is onboard the TET-1 satellite, part of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) FireBird mission. TET-1 images (acquired every 2–3 days) from the middle infrared were used to detect fires continuously burning for almost three weeks in the protected peatlands of Sebangau National Park as well as surrounding areas with active logging and oil palm concessions. TET-1 detection capabilities were compared with MODIS active fire detection and Landsat burned area algorithms. Fire dynamics, including fire front propagation speed and area burned, were investigated. We show that TET-1 has improved detection capabilities over MODIS in monitoring low-intensity peatland fire fronts through thick smoke and haze. Analysis of fire dynamics revealed that the largest burned areas resulted from fire front lines started from multiple locations, and the highest propagation speeds were in excess of 500 m/day (all over peat > 2m deep). Fires were found to occur most often in concessions that contained drainage infrastructure but were not cleared prior to the fire season. Benefits of implementing this sensor system to improve current fire management techniques are discussed. Near real-time fire detection together with enhanced fire behavior monitoring capabilities would not only improve firefighting efforts, but also benefit analysis of fire impact on tropical peatlands, greenhouse gas emission estimations as well as mitigation measures to reduce severe fire events in the future. PMID:27486664

Detection and Characterization of Low Temperature Peat Fires during the 2015 Fire Catastrophe in Indonesia Using a New High-Sensitivity Fire Monitoring Satellite Sensor (FireBird).

PubMed

Atwood, Elizabeth C; Englhart, Sandra; Lorenz, Eckehard; Halle, Winfried; Wiedemann, Werner; Siegert, Florian

2016-01-01

Vast and disastrous fires occurred on Borneo during the 2015 dry season, pushing Indonesia into the top five carbon emitting countries. The region was affected by a very strong El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate phenomenon, on par with the last severe event in 1997/98. Fire dynamics in Central Kalimantan were investigated using an innovative sensor offering higher sensitivity to a wider range of fire intensities at a finer spatial resolution (160 m) than heretofore available. The sensor is onboard the TET-1 satellite, part of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) FireBird mission. TET-1 images (acquired every 2-3 days) from the middle infrared were used to detect fires continuously burning for almost three weeks in the protected peatlands of Sebangau National Park as well as surrounding areas with active logging and oil palm concessions. TET-1 detection capabilities were compared with MODIS active fire detection and Landsat burned area algorithms. Fire dynamics, including fire front propagation speed and area burned, were investigated. We show that TET-1 has improved detection capabilities over MODIS in monitoring low-intensity peatland fire fronts through thick smoke and haze. Analysis of fire dynamics revealed that the largest burned areas resulted from fire front lines started from multiple locations, and the highest propagation speeds were in excess of 500 m/day (all over peat > 2m deep). Fires were found to occur most often in concessions that contained drainage infrastructure but were not cleared prior to the fire season. Benefits of implementing this sensor system to improve current fire management techniques are discussed. Near real-time fire detection together with enhanced fire behavior monitoring capabilities would not only improve firefighting efforts, but also benefit analysis of fire impact on tropical peatlands, greenhouse gas emission estimations as well as mitigation measures to reduce severe fire events in the future.

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.

A systematic review of quantitative burn wound microbiology in the management of burns patients.

PubMed

Halstead, Fenella D; Lee, Kwang Chear; Kwei, Johnny; Dretzke, Janine; Oppenheim, Beryl A; Moiemen, Naiem S

2018-02-01

The early diagnosis of infection or sepsis in burns are important for patient care. Globally, a large number of burn centres advocate quantitative cultures of wound biopsies for patient management, since there is assumed to be a direct link between the bioburden of a burn wound and the risk of microbial invasion. Given the conflicting study findings in this area, a systematic review was warranted. Bibliographic databases were searched with no language restrictions to August 2015. Study selection, data extraction and risk of bias assessment were performed in duplicate using pre-defined criteria. Substantial heterogeneity precluded quantitative synthesis, and findings were described narratively, sub-grouped by clinical question. Twenty six laboratory and/or clinical studies were included. Substantial heterogeneity hampered comparisons across studies and interpretation of findings. Limited evidence suggests that (i) more than one quantitative microbiology sample is required to obtain reliable estimates of bacterial load; (ii) biopsies are more sensitive than swabs in diagnosing or predicting sepsis; (iii) high bacterial loads may predict worse clinical outcomes, and (iv) both quantitative and semi-quantitative culture reports need to be interpreted with caution and in the context of other clinical risk factors. The evidence base for the utility and reliability of quantitative microbiology for diagnosing or predicting clinical outcomes in burns patients is limited and often poorly reported. Consequently future research is warranted. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. 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.

Secondary forest succession in a tropical dry forest: patterns of development across a 50-year chronosequence in lowland Bolivia

Treesearch

Deborah K. Kennard

2002-01-01

Stand structure, species richness and population structures of tree species were characterized in 12 stands representing 50 y of succession following slash-and-burn agriculture in a tropical dry forest in lowland Bolivia. Estimates of tree species richness, canopy cover and basal area reached or surpassed 75% of mature forest levels in the 5-, 8-, and 23-y-old stands...

Improving Fire Emission Estimates in the eastern United States Using Satellite-Based Fuel Loading Factors

Treesearch

Yongqiang Liu; John J. Qu; Xianjun Hao; Wanting Wang

2005-01-01

Wildfires can lead to severe environmental consequences by releasing large amounts of particulate matter (PM) and precursors of ozone (Sandberg et al., 1999; Riebau and Fox, 2001). The Southeast has the most burned area among various U.S. regions (Stanturf et al., 2002) and has regionally some of the highest levels of PM and ozone in the nation. Fires have been found...

Quantifying the emissions of HCN from on-road vehicles in urban areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moussa, S. G.; Leithead, A.; Wentzell, J. J.; Lu, G.; Li, S.; Brook, J.; Liggio, J.

2013-12-01

Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN), has been considered a marker for biomass burning emissions. Despite its adverse health impacts, estimate of its global sources and sinks are highly uncertain due to a limited number of field and laboratory studies. In particular, HCN emissions from automobile exhaust are not well constrained for modern vehicles, and thought to be relatively small compared to emissions from biomass burning. In the current study, HCN emissions from individual diesel and gasoline vehicles were quantified as a function of engine driving mode, and fuel type. Proton transfer Reaction-Time of Flight-Mass spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS) was used to measure HCN emissions from diesel engines operating on ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) and various bio-diesel blends including Soy, Tallow, and Canola. Significant emissions of HCN were observed from all vehicles, and enhanced with the use of biodiesel. In addition, ambient measurements of HCN in a traffic dominated urban area in Toronto, Canada demonstrated that a correlation between HCN, and traditional vehicle emissions markers such as benzene and xylenes exists and indicating that HCN has the potential to be a marker of fuel combustion. The ambient data and the calculated emission factors further suggest that vehicular emissions are a major source of HCN even in the presence of biomass burning, and that near roadway conditions may represent the dominant exposure pathway to HCN in urban areas. Results of this study have important implications on HCN global budget, health impacts in urban areas and the effect of alternate fuels on the emissions of this toxic species.

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...

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

[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.

On the road to recovery: Gasoline content regulations and child health.

PubMed

Marcus, Michelle

2017-07-01

Gasoline content regulations are designed to curb pollution and improve health, but their impact on health has not been quantified. By exploiting both the timing of regulation and spatial variation in children's exposure to highways, I estimate the effect of gasoline content regulation on pollution and child health. The introduction of cleaner-burning gasoline in California in 1996 reduced asthma admissions by 8% in high exposure areas. Reductions are greatest for areas downwind from highways and heavy traffic areas. Stringent gasoline content regulations can improve child health, and may diminish existing health disparities. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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.

The use of satellite data for monitoring temporal and spatial patterns of fire: a comprehensive review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lasaponara, R.

2009-04-01

Remotely sensed (RS) data can fruitfully support both research activities and operative monitoring of fire at different temporal and spatial scales with a synoptic view and cost effective technologies. "The contribution of remote sensing (RS) to forest fires may be grouped in three categories, according to the three phases of fire management: (i) risk estimation (before fire), (ii) detection (during fire) and (iii) assessment (after fire)" Chuvieco (2006). Relating each phase, wide research activities have been conducted over the years. (i) Risk estimation (before fire) has been mainly based on the use of RS data for (i) monitoring vegetation stress and assessing variations in vegetation moisture content, (ii) fuel type mapping, at different temporal and spatial scales from global, regional down to a local scale (using AVHRR, MODIS, TM, ASTER, Quickbird images and airborne hyperspectral and LIDAR data). Danger estimation has been mainly based on the use of AVHRR (onborad NOAA), MODIS (onboard TERRA and AQUA), VEGETATION (onboard SPOT) due to the technical characteristics (i.e. spectral, spatial and temporal resolution). Nevertheless microwave data have been also used for vegetation monitoring. (ii) Detection: identification of active fires, estimation of fire radiative energy and fire emission. AVHRR was one of the first satellite sensors used for setting up fire detection algorithms. The availbility of MODIS allowed us to obtain global fire products free downloaded from NASA web site. Sensors onboard geostationary satellite platforms, such as GOES, SEVIRI, have been used for fire detection, to obtain a high temporal resolution (at around 15 minutes) monitoring of active fires. (iii) Post fire damage assessment includes: burnt area mapping, fire emission, fire severity, vegetation recovery, fire resilience estimation, and, more recently, fire regime characterization. Chuvieco E. L. Giglio, C. Justice, 2008 Global charactrerization of fire activity: toward defining fire regimes from Earth observation data Global Change Biology vo. 14. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2008.01585.x 1-15, Chuvieco E., P. Englefield, Alexander P. Trishchenko, Yi Luo Generation of long time series of burn area maps of the boreal forest from NOAA-AVHRR composite data. Remote Sensing of Environment, Volume 112, Issue 5, 15 May 2008, Pages 2381-2396 Chuvieco Emilio 2006, Remote Sensing of Forest Fires: Current limitations and future prospects in Observing Land from Space: Science, Customers and Technology, Advances in Global Change Research Vol. 4 pp 47-51 De Santis A., E. Chuvieco Burn severity estimation from remotely sensed data: Performance of simulation versus empirical models, Remote Sensing of Environment, Volume 108, Issue 4, 29 June 2007, Pages 422-435. De Santis A., E. Chuvieco, Patrick J. Vaughan, Short-term assessment of burn severity using the inversion of PROSPECT and GeoSail models, Remote Sensing of Environment, Volume 113, Issue 1, 15 January 2009, Pages 126-136 García M., E. Chuvieco, H. Nieto, I. Aguado Combining AVHRR and meteorological data for estimating live fuel moisture content Remote Sensing of Environment, Volume 112, Issue 9, 15 September 2008, Pages 3618-3627 Ichoku C., L. Giglio, M. J. Wooster, L. A. Remer Global characterization of biomass-burning patterns using satellite measurements of fire radiative energy. Remote Sensing of Environment, Volume 112, Issue 6, 16 June 2008, Pages 2950-2962. Lasaponara R. and Lanorte, On the capability of satellite VHR QuickBird data for fuel type characterization in fragmented landscape Ecological Modelling Volume 204, Issues 1-2, 24 May 2007, Pages 79-84 Lasaponara R., A. Lanorte, S. Pignatti,2006 Multiscale fuel type mapping in fragmented ecosystems: preliminary results from Hyperspectral MIVIS and Multispectral Landsat TM data, Int. J. Remote Sens., vol. 27 (3) pp. 587-593. Lasaponara R., V. Cuomo, M. F. Macchiato, and T. Simoniello, 2003 .A self-adaptive algorithm based on AVHRR multitemporal data analysis for small active fire detection.n International Journal of Remote Sensing, vol. 24, No 8, 1723-1749. Minchella A., F. Del Frate, F. Capogna, S. Anselmi, F. Manes Use of multitemporal SAR data for monitoring vegetation recovery of Mediterranean burned areas Remote Sensing of Environment, In Press Næsset E., T. Gobakken Estimation of above- and below-ground biomass across regions of the boreal forest zone using airborne laser Remote Sensing of Environment, Volume 112, Issue 6, 16 June 2008, Pages 3079-3090 Peterson S. H, Dar A. Roberts, Philip E. Dennison Mapping live fuel moisture with MODIS data: A multiple regression approach, Remote Sensing of Environment, Volume 112, Issue 12, 15 December 2008, Pages 4272-4284. Schroeder Wilfrid, Elaine Prins, Louis Giglio, Ivan Csiszar, Christopher Schmidt, Jeffrey Morisette, Douglas Morton Validation of GOES and MODIS active fire detection products using ASTER and ETM+ data Remote Sensing of Environment, Volume 112, Issue 5, 15 May 2008, Pages 2711-2726 Shi J., T. Jackson, J. Tao, J. Du, R. Bindlish, L. Lu, K.S. Chen Microwave vegetation indices for short vegetation covers from satellite passive microwave sensor AMSR-E Remote Sensing of Environment, Volume 112, Issue 12, 15 December 2008, Pages 4285-4300 Tansey, K., Grégoire, J-M., Defourny, P., Leigh, R., Pekel, J-F., van Bogaert, E. and Bartholomé, E., 2008 A New, Global, Multi-Annual (2000-2007) Burnt Area Product at 1 km Resolution and Daily Intervals Geophysical Research Letters, VOL. 35, L01401, doi:10.1029/2007GL031567, 2008. Telesca L. and Lasaponara R., 2006; "Pre-and Post- fire Behaviural trends revealed in satellite NDVI time series" Geophysical Research Letters,., 33, L14401, doi:10.1029/2006GL026630 Telesca L. and Lasaponara R 2005 Discriminating Dynamical Patterns in Burned and Unburned Vegetational Covers by Using SPOT-VGT NDVI Data. Geophysical Research Letters,, 32, L21401, doi:10.1029/2005GL024391. Telesca L. and Lasaponara R. Investigating fire-induced behavioural trends in vegetation covers , Communications in Nonlinear Science and Numerical Simulation, 13, 2018-2023, 2008 Telesca L., A. Lanorte and R. Lasaponara, 2007. Investigating dynamical trends in burned and unburned vegetation covers by using SPOT-VGT NDVI data. Journal of Geophysics and Engineering, Vol. 4, pp. 128-138, 2007 Telesca L., R. Lasaponara, and A. Lanorte, Intra-annual dynamical persistent mechanisms in Mediterranean ecosystems revealed SPOT-VEGETATION Time Series, Ecological Complexity, 5, 151-156, 2008 Verbesselt, J., Somers, B., Lhermitte, S., Jonckheere, I., van Aardt, J., and Coppin, P. (2007) Monitoring herbaceous fuel moisture content with SPOT VEGETATION time-series for fire risk prediction in savanna ecosystems. Remote Sensing of Environment 108: 357-368. Zhang X., S. Kondragunta Temporal and spatial variability in biomass burned areas across the USA derived from the GOES fire product Remote Sensing of Environment, Volume 112, Issue 6, 16 June 2008, Pages 2886-2897 Zhang X., Shobha Kondragunta Temporal and spatial variability in biomass burned areas across the USA derived from the GOES fire product Remote Sensing of Environment, Volume 112, Issue 6, 16 June 2008, Pages 2886-2897

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.

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.

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.

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.

Compounding nonlinearities in the climate and wildfire system contribute to high uncertainty in estimates of future burned area in the western United State

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, P.

2015-12-01

Ecological studies are increasingly recognizing the importance of atmospheric vapor-pressure deficit (VPD) as a driver of forest drought stress and disturbance processes such as wildfire. Because of the nonlinear Clausius-Clapeyron relationship between temperature and saturation vapor pressure, small variations in temperature can have large impacts on VPD, and therefore drought, particularly in warm, dry areas and particularly during the warm season. It is also clear that VPD and drought affect forest fire nonlinearly, as incremental drying leads to increasingly large burned areas. Forest fire is also affected by fuel amount and connectivity, which are promoted by vegetation growth in previous years, which is in turn promoted by lack of drought, highlighting the importance of nuances in the sequencing of natural interannual climate variations in modulating the impacts of drought on wildfire. The many factors affecting forest fire, and the nonlinearities embedded within the climate and wildfire systems, cause interannual variability in forest-fire area and frequency to be wildly variable and strongly affected by internal climate variability. In addition, warming over the past century has produced a background increase in forest fire frequency and area in many regions. In this talk I focus on the western United States and will explore whether the relationships between internal climate variability on forest fire area have been amplified by the effects of warming as a result of the compounding nonlinearities described above. I will then explore what this means for future burned area in the western United States and make the case that uncertainties in the future global greenhouse gas emissions trajectory, model projections of mean temperatures, model projections of precipitation, and model projections of natural climate variability translate to very large uncertainties in the effects of future climate variability on forest fire area in the United States and globally.

Infection Casualty Estimation (ICE) Model: Predicting Sepsis in Nuclear Detonation Burn Patient Populations using Procalcitonin as a Biomarker

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-06-06

environments may be injured or killed from the primary blast wave, thermal pulse and ionizing radiation . Burn casualties surviving the initial blast wave are...32]/1.8 degree Celsius (oC) degree Fahrenheit (oF) [T(oF) + 459.67]/1.8 kelvin (K) Radiation activity of radionuclides [curie (Ci)] 3.7 × 1010...develop casualty estimation models for improvised nuclear device (IND) scenarios. The HSRDIPT team has developed health effects models of radiation , burn

Perspectives on Fire Research Collaboration in Siberia: What Have We Learned; Why Does It Matter; and Where Do We Go from Here?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Conard, S. G.

2010-12-01

My first experience of the vast taiga forests of Russia, and my first chance to meet and work with Russian fire researchers, was at a 1993 conference and field experiment planned jointly by Johann G. Goldammer from Germany and Valentin V. Furyaev from Russia. This meeting was the beginning of a long and fruitful collaboration among US, Canadian, and Russian fire scientists. We all became increasingly aware of the global signifiance of the circumpolar boreal zone, and of the need for better information on the extent and effects of boreal fires. Wildfires are the dominant disturbance regime in the Russian boreal zone, burning 10 to 20 million hectares per year. These fires are a significant source of CO2 and other greenhouse gases and aerosols. Our research team published some of the first remote-sensing based estimates of the extent of fire in Russia and of the potential variability in emissions that could result from different burning conditions. Through a series of 20 prescribed burns we were able to mimic a wide range of burning conditions and obtain information on the impacts on soils, vegetation, and fuel consumption. Based on these experimental fires, we have modeled the effects of weather and fuels on fuel consumption and other factors, and related fire characteristics to emissions, carbon stocks, and soil and vegetation processes. For the past 10 years, we have focused on the ecosystem effects of fires of varying severity in the Scots pine and mixed larch forests of central Siberia, on improved remote-sensing based estimates of burned area and fire effects, and on relating fire weather indices to fire potential and fuel consumption. Logging is an increasingly important disturbance in Russia’s forests, and logged sites, with their high fuel loads seem particularly susceptible to fire. We are currently studying interactions between logging and fire, with an emphasis on the differences in fuel consumption, emissions, and carbon stocks when fires burn in logged and unlogged areas. Fire activity and emissions are projected to increase substantially in the boreal zone as climate warms. We are currently working to develop a 30-yr fire record for Siberia based on satellite data. We will integrate these data with historic fire weather, emissions, and vegetation data to estimate fuel consumption and emissions from fires in Siberia from 1980 to 2010. We will reconstruct past fire regimes using dendrochronology data for selected sub-regions. The relationships derived through this work will provide a basis for projecting the future effects of changing climate on fire patterns, emissions and carbon cycle in Siberia. This project will provide critical information for input to global change models and for analysis of the regional and global impacts of changing fire regimes in the boreal zone.

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).

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.

Physiochemical characterisation of biomass burning plumes in Brazil during SAMBBA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morgan, William; Allan, James; Flynn, Michael; Darbyshire, Eoghan; Hodgson, Amy; Johnson, Ben; Haywood, Jim; Longo, Karla; Artaxo, Paulo; Coe, Hugh

2013-04-01

Biomass burning represents one of the largest sources of particulate matter to the atmosphere, which results in a significant perturbation to the Earth's radiative balance coupled with serious negative impacts on public health. Globally, biomass burning aerosols are thought to exert a small warming effect of 0.03 Wm-2, however the uncertainty is 4 times greater than the central estimate. On regional scales, the impact is substantially greater, particularly in areas such as the Amazon Basin where large, intense and frequent burning occurs on an annual basis for several months (usually from August-October). Furthermore, a growing number of people live within the Amazon region, which means that they are subject to the deleterious effects on their health from exposure to substantial volumes of polluted air. Results are presented here from the South American Biomass Burning Analysis (SAMBBA), which took place during September and October 2012 over Brazil. A suite of instrumentation was flown on-board the UK Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurement (FAAM) BAe-146 research aircraft. Measurements from the Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) and Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) form the major part of the analysis presented here. The aircraft sampled several fires in close proximity (approximately 150m above the most intense fires) in different areas of Brazil. This included two extensive areas of burning, which occurred in the states of Rondonia and Tocantins. The Rondonia fire was largely dominated by smouldering combustion of a huge single area of rainforest with a visible plume of smoke extending approximately 80km downwind. The Tocantins example contrasted with this as it was a collection of a large number of smaller fires, with flaming combustion being more prevalent. Furthermore, the burned area was largely made up of agricultural land in a cerrado (savannah-like) region of Brazil. Initial results suggest that the chemical nature of these fires differed markedly, with BC concentrations being an order of magnitude greater in the Tocantins case (up to 50 μg m-3 of BC) compared with the Rondonia case (up to 5 μg m-3 of BC). Organic matter (OM) concentrations were similar in both cases, with maximum concentrations peaking between 4-5 mg m-3. Such concentrations are approximately more than 100 times greater than those sampled in the "background" regional haze. This variation of BC to OM ratio has potentially large implications for the radiative balance in the respective regions, as BC represents the major absorbing component of biomass burning aerosol. Further analysis will compare the aerosol mass concentrations with gas phase species, as well as probing the chemical and physical evolution of the aerosol as it advects downwind and is diluted with regional air. In particular, such analyses will focus upon the aging of the organic aerosol component as well as examining how the mixing state of the BC particles evolves. Such properties have important implications for the life cycle and formation of particulate material, which governs its subsequent impacts.

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...

Net mitigation potential of straw return to Chinese cropland: estimation with a full greenhouse gas budget model.

PubMed

Lu, Fei; Wang, Xiaoke; Han, Bing; Ouyang, Zhiyun; Duan, Xiaonan; Zheng, Hua

2010-04-01

Based on the carbon-nitrogen cycles and greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation and emission processes related to straw return and burning, a compound greenhouse gas budget model, the "Straw Return and Burning Model" (SRBM), was constructed to estimate the net mitigation potential of straw return to the soil in China. As a full GHG budget model, the SRBM addressed the following five processes: (1) soil carbon sequestration, (2) mitigation of synthetic N fertilizer substitution, (3) methane emission from rice paddies, (4) additional fossil fuel use for straw return, and (5) CH4 and N2O emissions from straw burning in the fields. Two comparable scenarios were created to reflect different degrees of implementation for straw return and straw burning. With GHG emissions and mitigation effects of the five processes converted into global warming potential (GWP), the net GHG mitigation was estimated. We concluded that (1) when the full greenhouse gas budget is considered, the net mitigation potential of straw return differs from that when soil carbon sequestration is considered alone; (2) implementation of straw return across a larger area of cropland in 10 provinces (i.e., Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan) will increase net GHG emission; (3) if straw return is promoted as a feasible mitigation measure in the remaining provinces, the total net mitigation potential before soil organic carbon (SOC) saturation will be 71.89 Tg CO2 equivalent (eqv)/yr, which is equivalent to 1.733% of the annual carbon emission from fossil fuel use in China in 2003; (4) after SOC saturation, only 13 of 21 provinces retain a relatively small but permanent net mitigation potential, while in the others the net GHG mitigation potential will gradually diminish; and (5) the major obstacle to the feasibility or permanence of straw return as a mitigation measure is the increased CH4 emission from rice paddies. The paper also suggests that comparable scenarios in which all the related carbon-nitrogen cycles are taken into account be created to estimate the mitigation potentials of organic wastes in different utilizations and treatments.

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.

Source apportionment of atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Palm Beach County, Florida.

PubMed

Afshar-Mohajer, Nima; Wilson, Christina; Wu, Chang-Yu; Stormer, James E

2016-04-01

Due to concerns about adverse health effects associated with inhalation of atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 30 ambient air samples were obtained at an air quality monitoring station in Palm Beach County, Florida, from March 2013 to March 2014. The ambient PAH concentration measurements and fractional emission rates of known sources were incorporated into a chemical mass balance model, CMB8.2, developed by EPA, to apportion contributions of three major PAH sources including preharvest sugarcane burning, mobile vehicles, and wildland fires. Strong association between the number of benzene rings and source contribution was found, and mobile vehicles were identified to be the prevailing source (contribution≥56%) for the observed PAHs concentration with lower molecular weights (four or fewer benzene rings) throughout the year. Preharvest sugarcane burning was the primary contributing source for PAHs with relatively higher molecular weights (five or more benzene rings) during the sugarcane burning season (from October to May of the next year). Source contribution of wildland fires varied among PAH compounds but was consistently lower than for sugarcane burning during the sugarcane harvest season. Determining the major sources responsible for ground-level PAHs serves as a tool to improving management strategies for PAH emitting sources and a step toward better protection of the health of residents in terms of exposure to PAHs. The results obtain insight into temporal dominance of PAH polluting sources for those residential areas located near sugarcane burning facilities and have implications beyond Palm Beach County, in areas with high concerns of PAHs and their linked sources. Source apportionment of atmospheric polycyclic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Palm Beach County, Florida, meant to estimate contributions of major sources in PAH concentrations measured at Belle Glade City of Palm Beach County. Number of benzene rings was found to be the key parameter in determining the source with the prevailing contribution. Mobile vehicle sources showed a higher contribution for species with four or fewer benzene rings, whereas sugarcane burning contributed more for species with five or more benzene rings. Results from this study encourage more control for sugarcane burns and help to better manage authorization of the sugarcane burning incidents and more restrictive transportation plans to limit PAH emissions from mobile vehicles.

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.

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

Developing ecological criteria for prescribed fire in South Florida pine rockland ecosystems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Snyder, James R.; Ross, Michael S.; Koptur, Suzanne; Sah, Jay P.

2005-01-01

The pine rocklands of South Florida, characterized by a rich herbaceous flora with many narrowly endemic taxa beneath an overstory of south Florida slash pine (Pinus elliottii var. densa), are found in three areas: the Miami Rock Ridge of southeastern peninsular Florida, the Lower Florida Keys, and slightly elevated portions of the southern Big Cypress National Preserve. Fire is an important element in these ecosystems, since in its absence the pine canopy is likely to be replaced by dense hardwoods, resulting in loss of the characteristic pineland herb flora. Prescribed fire has been used in Florida Keys pine forests since the creation of the National Key Deer Refuge (NKDR), with the primary aim of reducing fuels. Because fire can also be an effective tool in shaping ecological communities, we conducted a 4-year research study which explored a range of fire management options in NKDR. The intent of the study was to provide the Fish and Wildlife Service and other land managers with information regarding when and where to burn in order to perpetuate these unique forests. In 1998 we initiated a burning experiment in a randomized complete block design. Three treatments were to be carried out in a single well-defined block in each of two characteristic understory types during each year from 1998 through 2000. One understory type was characterized by a relatively sparse shrub layer and a well-developed herb layer ('open'), and the second had a dense shrub layer and poorly developed herb layer ('shrubby'). The three burn treatments were: (a) summer burn, (b) winter burn, and (c) no burn, or control. Three 1- ha plots were established in each block, and randomly assigned to the three treatments. Though the first year experimental burns were carried out without incident, constraints posed by external factors, including nationwide and statewide prohibitions on prescribed burning due to wildfires in other regions, delayed the experimental burns and precluded collection of postburn data on one third of the burns. Ultimately we burned only eleven plots, three in winter and eight in summer, over a four-year period from 1998 to 2001. Vegetation was sampled in a stratified, nested design within 18 plots. Trees were sampled in a 1.0-ha plot, shrubs in twenty 50-m2 circular (radius 4 m) subplots within the tree plot, and the herb layer in four circular 1-m2 quadrats (radius 0.57 m) within each subplot. The amount of fuel in the shrub layer was estimated by applying regression models to plant dimensional data, and ground layer fuel was estimated by a harvest method. The effects of Key deer herbivory on regeneration of the understory pine rockland plant community after fire was studied by monitoring inside and outside exclosures established within two of the six blocks. Pine trees constituted more than half (53.3%) of the biomass, but understory fine fuels comprised a surprisingly high proportion of total aboveground biomass. In the three blocks in which paired summer and winter burns were successfully conducted, the summer burns were more intense than the winter burns as judged by our indicators of fire intensity. Because of the differences in fire intensity between seasons, it was not possible to say whether observed differences in vegetation response between summer and winter burns were due to season or to fire intensity. The mortality of South Florida slash pine trees was greater after the summer burn than the winter burn in each block, but other vegetation responses were rarely as consistent. For instance, Metopium showed less recovery after summer burns in two blocks and after the winter burn in the third block. Moreover, there were instances in which alternative growth stages of the same species responded differently. Adult palms succumbed more frequently to summer than winter burns, and mortality of Coccothrinax exceeded that of Thrinax. In contrast, small palms recovered more readily after summer burns than winter burns. High in

Global biomass burning - Atmospheric, climatic, and biospheric implications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levine, Joel S.

1991-01-01

On a global scale, the total biomass consumed by annual burning is about 8680 million tons of dry material; the estimated total biomass consumed by the burning of savanna grasslands, at 3690 million tons/year, exceeds all other biomass burning (BMB) components. These components encompass agricultural wastes burning, forest burning, and fuel wood burning. BMB is not restricted to the tropics, and is largely anthropogenic. Satellite measurements indicate significantly increased tropospheric concentrations of CO and ozone associated with BMB. BMB significantly enhances the microbial production and emission of NO(x) from soils, and of methane from wetlands.

Division of overall duration of stay into operative stay and postoperative stay improves the overall estimate as a measure of quality of outcome in burn care

PubMed Central

Olofsson, Pia; Fredrikson, Mats; Sjoberg, Folke

2017-01-01

Total duration of stay adjusted for percentage of the total body surface area burned (TBSA%) is a commonly used outcome measure in burn care. However, it has been criticised as it is affected by many factors, some of which are not strictly part of burn care. A division into operative stay and postoperative stay may improve this measure. The aim was to evaluate if operative stay can serve as a more standardised measure by: comparing the variation in operative stay/TBSA% with the variation in total stay/TBSA%, and to study different factors associated with operative stay and postoperative stay. Patients and methods Surgically managed burn patients admitted between 2010–14 were included. Operative stay was defined as the time from admission until the last operation, postoperative stay as the time from the last operation until discharge. The difference in variation was analysed with F-test. A retrospective review of medical records was done to explore reasons for extended postoperative stay. Multivariable regression was used to assess factors associated with operative stay and postoperative stay. Results Operative stay/TBSA% showed less variation than total duration/TBSA% (F test = 2.38, p<0.01). The size of the burn, and the number of operations, were the independent factors that influenced operative stay (R2 0.65). Except for the size of the burn other factors were associated with duration of postoperative stay: wound related, psychological and other medical causes, advanced medical support, and accommodation arrangements before discharge, of which the two last were the most important with an increase of (mean) 12 and 17 days (p<0.001, R2 0.51). Conclusion Adjusted operative stay showed less variation than total hospital stay and thus can be considered a more accurate outcome measure for surgically managed burns. The size of burn and number of operations are the factors affecting this outcome measure. PMID:28362844

The application of neuropathic pain questionnaires in burning mouth syndrome patients.

PubMed

Heo, Jun-Young; Ok, Soo-Min; Ahn, Yong-Woo; Ko, Myung-Yun; Jeong, Sung-Hee

2015-01-01

To evaluate and compare the validity of the PainDETECT, DN4, and abbreviated DN4 (DN4i) neuropathic pain questionnaires for primary burning mouth syndrome (BMS), which is a burning sensation in the oral mucosa in the absence of any identifiable organic etiology. Eighty-one patients (42 with primary BMS and 39 with nociceptive pain) complaining of a burning sensation and pain in their oral mucosa were enrolled in this study. All of the patients completed the neuropathic pain questionnaires. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were estimated. Then the relationship between pain intensity and total neuropathic pain score was investigated. Data were analyzed with the chi-square test and independent t test for subjects' baseline characteristic differences, and with Pearson correlation coefficients for the relationship of variables. The mean area under the ROC curves (AUCs) for PainDETECT, DN4, and DN4i were 0.81, 0.79, and 0.81, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the AUCs among the questionnaires. PainDETECT, DN4, and DN4i had a lower sensitivity and specificity for BMS compared to previous validation studies. The total scores for PainDETECT, DN4, and DN4i in the primary BMS group were significantly associated with pain intensity. Although the results of this study suggest that neuropathic pain questionnaires, such as PainDETECT and DN4, are not ideal principal screening tools for BMS patients, a substantial proportion of neuropathic symptoms in primary BMS patients were identified.

Vegetation burn severity mapping using Landsat-8 and WorldView-2

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wu, Zhuoting; Middleton, Barry R.; Hetzler, Robert; Vogel, John M.; Dye, Dennis G.

2015-01-01

We used remotely sensed data from the Landsat-8 and WorldView-2 satellites to estimate vegetation burn severity of the Creek Fire on the San Carlos Apache Reservation, where wildfire occurrences affect the Tribe's crucial livestock and logging industries. Accurate pre- and post-fire canopy maps at high (0.5-meter) resolution were created from World- View-2 data to generate canopy loss maps, and multiple indices from pre- and post-fire Landsat-8 images were used to evaluate vegetation burn severity. Normalized difference vegetation index based vegetation burn severity map had the highest correlation coefficients with canopy loss map from WorldView-2. Two distinct approaches - canopy loss mapping from WorldView-2 and spectral index differencing from Landsat-8 - agreed well with the field-based burn severity estimates and are both effective for vegetation burn severity mapping. Canopy loss maps created with WorldView-2 imagery add to a short list of accurate vegetation burn severity mapping techniques that can help guide effective management of forest resources on the San Carlos Apache Reservation, and the broader fire-prone regions of the Southwest.

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.

Improving Long-term Post-wildfire hydrologic simulations using ParFlow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopez, S. R.; Kinoshita, A. M.

2015-12-01

Wildfires alter the natural hydrologic processes within a watershed. After vegetation is burned, the combustion of organic material and debris settles into the soil creating a hydrophobic layer beneath the soil surface with varying degree of thickness and depth. Vegetation regrowth rates vary as a function of radiative exposure, burn severity, and precipitation patterns. Hydrologic models used by the Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) teams use input data and model calibration constraints that are generally either one-dimensional, empirically-based models, or two-dimensional, conceptually-based models with lumped parameter distributions. These models estimate runoff measurements at the watershed outlet; however, do not provide a distributed hydrologic simulation at each point within the watershed. This work uses ParFlow, a three-dimensional, distributed hydrologic model to (1) correlate burn severity with hydrophobicity, (2) evaluate vegetation recovery rate on water components, and (3) improve flood prediction for managers to help with resource allocation and management operations in burned watersheds. ParFlow is applied to Devil Canyon (43 km2) in San Bernardino, California, which was 97% burned in the 2003 Old Fire. The model set-up uses a 30m-cell size resolution over a 6.7 km by 6.4 km lateral extent. The subsurface reaches 30 m and is assigned a variable cell thickness. Variable subsurface thickness allows users to explicitly consider the degree of recovery throughout the stages of regrowth. Burn severity maps from remotely sensed imagery are used to assign initial hydrophobic layer parameters and thickness. Vegetation regrowth is represented with satellite an Enhanced Vegetation Index. Pre and post-fire hydrologic response is evaluated using runoff measurements at the watershed outlet, and using water component (overland flow, lateral flow, baseflow) measurements.

Application of wildfire simulation methods to assess wildfire exposure in a Mediterranean fire-prone area (Sardinia, Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salis, M.; Ager, A.; Arca, B.; Finney, M.; Bacciu, V. M.; Spano, D.; Duce, P.

2012-12-01

Spatial and temporal patterns of fire spread and behavior are dependent on interactions among climate, topography, vegetation and fire suppression efforts (Pyne et al. 1996; Viegas 2006; Falk et al. 2007). Humans also play a key role in determining frequency and spatial distribution of ignitions (Bar Massada et al, 2011), and thus influence fire regimes as well. The growing incidence of catastrophic wildfires has led to substantial losses for important ecological and human values within many areas of the Mediterranean basin (Moreno et al. 1998; Mouillot et al. 2005; Viegas et al. 2006a; Riaño et al. 2007). The growing fire risk issue has led to many new programs and policies of fuel management and risk mitigation by environmental and fire agencies. However, risk-based methodologies to help identify areas characterized by high potential losses and prioritize fuel management have been lacking for the region. Formal risk assessment requires the joint consideration of likelihood, intensity, and susceptibility, the product of which estimates the chance of a specific loss (Brillinger 2003; Society of Risk Analysis, 2006). Quantifying fire risk therefore requires estimates of a) the probability of a specific location burning at a specific intensity and location, and b) the resulting change in financial or ecological value (Finney 2005; Scott 2006). When large fires are the primary cause of damage, the application of this risk formulation requires modeling fire spread to capture landscape properties that affect burn probability. Recently, the incorporation of large fire spread into risk assessment systems has become feasible with the development of high performance fire simulation systems (Finney et al. 2011) that permit the simulation of hundreds of thousands of fires to generate fine scale maps of burn probability, flame length, and fire size, while considering the combined effects of weather, fuels, and topography (Finney 2002; Andrews et al. 2007; Ager and Finney 2009; Finney et al. 2009; Salis et al. 2012 accepted). In this work, we employed wildfire simulation methods to quantify wildfire exposure to human and ecological values for the island of Sardinia, Italy. The work was focused on the risk and exposure posed by large fires (e.g. 100 - 10,000 ha), and considers historical weather, ignition patterns and fuels. We simulated 100,000 fires using burn periods that replicated the historical size distribution on the Island, and an ignition probability grid derived from historic ignition data. We then examine spatial variation in three exposure components (burn probability, flame length, fire size) among important human and ecological values. The results allowed us to contract exposure among and within the various features examined, and highlighted the importance of human factors in shaping wildfire exposure in Sardinia. The work represents the first application of burn probability modeling in the Mediterranean region, and sets the stage for expanded work in the region to quantify risk from large fires

Environmental Assessment for Clear AFS Grid Tie-in and Heat Plant, Clear Air Force Station, Alaska

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-07-01

greenhouse gases are presented in this section. 3.3.2.1 Air Quality Standards All stationary and mobile sources of air pollutants within a...These inventories provide estimates of criteria pollutant emissions associated with industrial sources, residential wood burning, mobile sources...larger, more mobile wildlife species are expected to vacate the project area, whereas individuals of less mobile species (i.e., small mammals,) could

Open Burn/Open Detonation (OBOD) Area Management Using Lime for Explosives Transformation and Metals Immobilization

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-10-01

33  Table 5. Runoff water and leachate estimations as calculated by the HELP model for...was an insignificant change in leachate pH from Day 1 to Day 9 showing that, while the increase was stable, the lime transport, as indicated by pH...horizontal transport in surface water and vertical leachate water transport. These pathways provide a means by which limitations to OB/OD

Estimating aboveground forest biomass carbon and fire consumption in the U.S. Utah High Plateaus using data from the Forest Inventory and Analysis program, Landsat, and LANDFIRE

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chen, Xuexia; Liu, Shuguang; Zhu, Zhiliang; Vogelmann, James E.; Li, Zhengpeng; Ohlen, Donald O.

2011-01-01

The concentrations of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have been increasing and greatly affecting global climate and socio-economic systems. Actively growing forests are generally considered to be a major carbon sink, but forest wildfires lead to large releases of biomass carbon into the atmosphere. Aboveground forest biomass carbon (AFBC), an important ecological indicator, and fire-induced carbon emissions at regional scales are highly relevant to forest sustainable management and climate change. It is challenging to accurately estimate the spatial distribution of AFBC across large areas because of the spatial heterogeneity of forest cover types and canopy structure. In this study, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data, Landsat, and Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Tools Project (LANDFIRE) data were integrated in a regression tree model for estimating AFBC at a 30-m resolution in the Utah High Plateaus. AFBC were calculated from 225 FIA field plots and used as the dependent variable in the model. Of these plots, 10% were held out for model evaluation with stratified random sampling, and the other 90% were used as training data to develop the regression tree model. Independent variable layers included Landsat imagery and the derived spectral indicators, digital elevation model (DEM) data and derivatives, biophysical gradient data, existing vegetation cover type and vegetation structure. The cross-validation correlation coefficient (r value) was 0.81 for the training model. Independent validation using withheld plot data was similar with r value of 0.82. This validated regression tree model was applied to map AFBC in the Utah High Plateaus and then combined with burn severity information to estimate loss of AFBC in the Longston fire of Zion National Park in 2001. The final dataset represented 24 forest cover types for a 4 million ha forested area. We estimated a total of 353 Tg AFBC with an average of 87 MgC/ha in the Utah High Plateaus. We also estimated that 8054 Mg AFBC were released from 2.24 km2 burned forest area in the Longston fire. These results demonstrate that an AFBC spatial map and estimated biomass carbon consumption can readily be generated using existing database. The methodology provides a consistent, practical, and inexpensive way for estimating AFBC at 30-m resolution over large areas throughout the United States.

Estimating the consequences of fire exclusion for food crop production, soil fertility, and fallow recovery in shifting cultivation landscapes in the humid tropics.

PubMed

Norgrove, Lindsey; Hauser, Stefan

2015-03-01

In the Congo Basin, smallholder farmers practice slash-and-burn shifting cultivation. Yet, deliberate burning might no longer be sustainable under reduced fallow scenarios. We synthesized data from the Forest Margins Benchmark Area (FMBA), comprising 1.54 million hectares (ha), in southern Cameroon and assessed the impact of fire exclusion on yield, labor inputs, soil fertility, ecosystem carbon stocks, and fallow recovery indicators in two common field types (plantain and maize) under both current and reduced fallow scenarios. While we could not distinguish between impacts of standard farmer burning practice and fire exclusion treatments for the current fallow scenario, we concluded that fire exclusion would lead to higher yields, higher ecosystem carbon stocks as well as potentially faster fallow recovery under the reduced fallow scenario. While its implementation would increase labor requirements, we estimated increased revenues of 421 and 388 US$ ha(-1) for plantain and maize, respectively. Applied to the FMBA, and assuming a 6-year reduced fallow scenario, fire exclusion in plantain fields would potentially retain 240,464 Mg more ecosystem carbon, comprising topsoil carbon plus tree biomass carbon, than standard farmer practice. Results demonstrate a potential "win-win scenario" where yield benefits, albeit modest, and conservation benefits can be obtained simultaneously. This could be considered as a transitional phase towards higher input use and thus higher yielding systems.

Estimating the Consequences of Fire Exclusion for Food Crop Production, Soil Fertility, and Fallow Recovery in Shifting Cultivation Landscapes in the Humid Tropics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Norgrove, Lindsey; Hauser, Stefan

2015-03-01

In the Congo Basin, smallholder farmers practice slash-and-burn shifting cultivation. Yet, deliberate burning might no longer be sustainable under reduced fallow scenarios. We synthesized data from the Forest Margins Benchmark Area (FMBA), comprising 1.54 million hectares (ha), in southern Cameroon and assessed the impact of fire exclusion on yield, labor inputs, soil fertility, ecosystem carbon stocks, and fallow recovery indicators in two common field types (plantain and maize) under both current and reduced fallow scenarios. While we could not distinguish between impacts of standard farmer burning practice and fire exclusion treatments for the current fallow scenario, we concluded that fire exclusion would lead to higher yields, higher ecosystem carbon stocks as well as potentially faster fallow recovery under the reduced fallow scenario. While its implementation would increase labor requirements, we estimated increased revenues of 421 and 388 US ha-1 for plantain and maize, respectively. Applied to the FMBA, and assuming a 6-year reduced fallow scenario, fire exclusion in plantain fields would potentially retain 240,464 Mg more ecosystem carbon, comprising topsoil carbon plus tree biomass carbon, than standard farmer practice. Results demonstrate a potential "win-win scenario" where yield benefits, albeit modest, and conservation benefits can be obtained simultaneously. This could be considered as a transitional phase towards higher input use and thus higher yielding systems.

Use of MODIS-Derived Fire Radiative Energy to Estimate Smoke Aerosol Emissions over Different Ecosystems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ichoku, Charles; Kaufman, Yoram J.

2003-01-01

Biomass burning is the main source of smoke aerosols and certain trace gases in the atmosphere. However, estimates of the rates of biomass consumption and emission of aerosols and trace gases from fires have not attained adequate reliability thus far. Traditional methods for deriving emission rates employ the use of emission factors e(sub x), (in g of species x per kg of biomass burned), which are difficult to measure from satellites. In this era of environmental monitoring from space, fire characterization was not a major consideration in the design of the early satellite-borne remote sensing instruments, such as AVHRR. Therefore, although they are able to provide fire location information, they were not adequately sensitive to variations in fire strength or size, because their thermal bands used for fire detection saturated at the lower end of fire radiative temperature range. As such, hitherto, satellite-based emission estimates employ proxy techniques using satellite derived fire pixel counts (which do not express the fire strength or rate of biomass consumption) or burned areas (which can only be obtained after the fire is over). The MODIS sensor, recently launched into orbit aboard EOS Terra (1999) and Aqua (2002) satellites, have a much higher saturation level and can, not only detect the fire locations 4 times daily, but also measures the at-satellite fire radiative energy (which is a measure of the fire strength) based on its 4 micron channel temperature. Also, MODIS measures the optical thickness of smoke and other aerosols. Preliminary analysis shows appreciable correlation between the MODIS-derived rates of emission of fire radiative energy and smoke over different regions across the globe. These relationships hold great promise for deriving emission coefficients, which can be used for estimating smoke aerosol emissions from MODIS active fire products. This procedure has the potential to provide more accurate emission estimates in near real-time, providing opportunities for various disaster management applications such as alerts, evacuation and, smoke dispersion forecasting.

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.

Burn injuries related to motorcycle exhaust pipes: a study in Greece.

PubMed

Matzavakis, Ioannis; Frangakis, Constantine E; Charalampopoulou, Ava; Petridou, Eleni

2005-05-01

To identify measures that should reduce the incidence of burn injuries resulting from motorcycle exhaust pipes through epidemiological analysis of such injuries. During a 5-year period, 251 persons who suffered burn injuries related to motorcycle exhaust pipes have contacted four major hospitals belonging to the Emergency Department Injury Surveillance System (EDISS) operating since 1996 in Greece. These burn injuries were studied in relation to person, environment and vehicle characteristics. The estimated countrywide incidence of burns from motorcycle exhaust pipes was 17 per 100,000 person-years (208 per 100,000 motorcycle-years). The incidence was two times higher for children than for older persons and among the latter it was 60% higher among females than among males. Most of burn injuries (70.5%) concerned motorcycle passengers, mainly when getting on or off motorcycle, with peak incidence during summer. The most frequent location of burn wounds was below the knee and particularly the right leg. It was estimated that the risk of motorcycle exhaust pipe burns when wearing shorts could be reduced by 46% through wearing long pants. Among the victims 65.3% experienced second degree burns. Motorcycle exhaust burns could be substantially reduced by systematically wearing long pants, by incorporating in the design of motorcycles external thermo resistant shields with adequate distance to the exhaust pipe, and by avoiding riding with children on motorcycles.

Characteristics of fatal and hospital admissions for burns in Fiji: a population-based study (TRIP Project-2).

PubMed

Taoi, Mable; Wainiqolo, Iris; Kafoa, Berlin; Kool, Bridget; Naisaki, Asilika; McCaig, Eddie; Ameratunga, Shanthi

2012-08-01

Over 95% of burn deaths are estimated to occur in low-and-middle-income countries. However, the epidemiology of burn-related injuries in Pacific Island Countries is unclear. This study investigated the incidence and demographic characteristics associated with fatal and hospitalised burns in Fiji. This cross-sectional study utilised the Fiji Injury Surveillance in Hospital database to estimate the population-based incidence and contextual characteristics associated with burns resulting in death or hospital admission (≥12h) during a 12-month period commencing 1st October 2005. 116 people were admitted to hospital or died as a result of burns during the study period accounting for an overall annual incidence of 17.8/100,000 population, and mortality rate of 3.4/100,000. Most (92.2%) burns occurred at home, and 85.3% were recorded as unintentional. Burns were disproportionately higher among Fijian children compared with Fijian-Indian children with the converse occurring in adulthood. In adults, Indian women were at particularly high risk of death from self-inflicted burns as a consequence of 'conflict situations'. Burns are a significant public health burden in Fiji requiring prevention and management strategies informed by important differences in the context of these injuries among the major ethic groups of the country. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Characteristics of fatal and hospital admissions for burns in Fiji: A population-based study (TRIP Project-2)

PubMed Central

Taoi, Mable; Wainiqolo, Iris; Kafoa, Berlin; Kool, Bridget; Naisaki, Asilika; McCaig, Eddie; Ameratunga, Shanthi

2012-01-01

Background Over 95% of burn deaths are estimated to occur in low-and-middle-income countries. However, the epidemiology of burn-related injuries in Pacific Island Countries is unclear. This study investigated the incidence and demographic characteristics associated with fatal and hospitalised burns in Fiji. Methods This cross-sectional study utilised the Fiji Injury Surveillance in Hospital database to estimate the population-based incidence and contextual characteristics associated with burns resulting in death or hospital admission (≥12 h) during a 12-month period commencing 1st October 2005. Results 116 people were admitted to hospital or died as a result of burns during the study period accounting for an overall annual incidence of 17.8/100,000 population, and mortality rate of 3.4/100,000. Most (92.2%) burns occurred at home, and 85.3% were recorded as unintentional. Burns were disproportionately higher among Fijian children compared with Fijian–Indian children with the converse occurring in adulthood. In adults, Indian women were at particularly high risk of death from self-inflicted burns as a consequence of ‘conflict situations’. Conclusion Burns are a significant public health burden in Fiji requiring prevention and management strategies informed by important differences in the context of these injuries among the major ethic groups of the country. PMID:22342176

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

Effects of wildland fire on regional and global carbon stocks in a changing environment

Treesearch

Allen M. Solomon

2009-01-01

Every year tens of millions of hectares of forests, woodlands, and grasslands burn globally. Some are burned intentionally for land conversion, pasture renewal or hazard reduction, or wildlife habitat improvement, but most are burned by uncontrolled wildfire. Estimates of...

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.

Carbon Emissions from Residue Burn Piles Estimated Using LiDAR or Ground Based Measurements of Pile Volumes in a Coastal Douglas-Fir Forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trofymow, J. A.; Coops, N.; Hayhurst, D.

2012-12-01

Following forest harvest, residues left on site and roadsides are often disposed of to reduce fire risk and free planting space. In coastal British Columbia burn piles are the main method of disposal, particularly for accumulations from log processing. Quantification of residue wood in piles is required for: smoke emission estimates, C budget calculations, billable waste assessment, harvest efficiency monitoring, and determination of bioenergy potentials. A second-growth Douglas-fir dominated (DF1949) site on eastern Vancouver Island and subject of C flux and budget studies since 1998, was clearcut in winter 2011, residues piled in spring and burned in fall. Prior to harvest, the site was divided into 4 blocks to account for harvest plans and ecosite conditions. Total harvested wood volume was scaled for each block. Residue pile wood volume was determined by a standard Waste and Residue Survey (WRS) using field estimates of pile base area and plot density (wood volume / 0.005 ha plot) on 2 piles per block, by a smoke emissions geometric method with pile volumes estimated as ellipsoidal paraboloids and packing ratios (wood volume / pile volume) for 2 piles per block, as well as by five other GIS methods using pile volumes and areas from LiDAR and orthophotography flown August 2011, a LiDAR derived digital elevation model (DEM) from 2008, and total scaled wood volumes of 8 sample piles disassembled November 2011. A weak but significant negative relationship was found between pile packing ratio and pile volume. Block level avoidable+unavoidable residue pile wood volumes from the WRS method (20.0 m3 ha-1 SE 2.8) were 30%-50% of the geometric (69.0 m3 ha-1 SE 18.0) or five GIS/LiDAR (48.0 to 65.7 m3 ha-1 ) methods. Block volumes using the 2008 LiDAR DEM (unshifted 48.0 m3 ha-1 SE 3.9, shifted 53.6 m3 ha-1 SE 4.2) to account for pre-existing humps or hollows beneath piles were not different from those using the 2011 LiDAR DEM (50.3 m3 ha-1 SE 4.0). The block volume ratio (total residue pile / harvest scale, wood volumes x 100) for the WRS method (3.3% SE 0.45) was lower than for LiDAR 2011 method (8.1% SE 0.31). Using wood densities from in situ samples and LiDAR 2011 method wood volumes, total residue pile wood biomass in the blocks was 21.5 t dry mass ha-1 (SE 1.9). Post-burn charred residues were ~1.5 t dry mass ha-1 resulting in C emission estimates of 10 t C ha-1 (SE 0.91), assuming 50% C, and equivalent to 2 - 3 years of pre-harvest stand C uptake (NEP 4.8 t C ha-1 y-1 SE 0.58). Results suggest the WRS method may underestimate residue pile wood volumes, while the geometric method may overestimate depending on packing ratio used. While remote sensing methods reduce uncertainty in estimating volumes or areas of all piles in a block, quantification of packing ratios remains a significant source of uncertainty in determining block level residue pile wood volumes. Additional studies are needed for other forest and harvest types to determine the wider applicability of these findings.

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

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...

Quantifying Asian and biomass burning sources of mercury using the Hg/CO ratio in pollution plumes observed at the Mount Bachelor observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weiss-Penzias, Peter; Jaffe, Dan; Swartzendruber, Phil; Hafner, William; Chand, Duli; Prestbo, Eric

Total airborne mercury (TAM) and carbon monoxide (CO) were measured in 22 pollution transport "events" at Mt. Bachelor Observatory (MBO), USA (2.8 km asl) between March 2004 and September 2005. Submicron particulate scattering ( σsp), ozone ( O3), and nitrogen oxides ( NOy) were also measured and enhancement ratios for each chemical and aerosol species with CO were calculated. Events were categorized based on their source regions, which were determined by a combination of back trajectories, satellite fire detections, chemical and aerosol enhancement ratios, and meteorology. The mean ΔTAM/ΔCO values for each source region are: East Asian industrial ( 0.0046±0.0013ngm-3ppbv-1, n=10 events, 236 h), Pacific Northwest U.S. (PNW) biomass burning ( 0.0013±0.008ngm-3ppbv-1, n=7 events, 173 h), and Alaska biomass burning ( 0.0014±0.0006ngm-3ppbv-1, n=3 events, 96 h). The ΔTAM/ΔCO means from Asian long-range transport (ALRT) and biomass burning events are combined with previous estimates of CO emissions from Chinese anthropogenic, global biomass burning, and global boreal biomass sources in order to estimate the emissions of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) from these sources. The GEM emissions that we calculate here are: Chinese anthropogenic ( 620±180ty-1), global biomass burning (670±330ty-1), and global boreal biomass burning (168±75ty-1), with errors estimated from propagating the uncertainty in the mean enhancement ratios and CO emissions. A comparison of our results with published mercury (Hg) emissions inventories reveals that the Chinese GEM emissions from this study are higher by about a factor of two, while our estimate for global biomass burning is consistent with previous studies.

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.

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.

Fuelwood use in U.S. counties

Treesearch

Kenneth E. Skog; Robert S. Manthy

1989-01-01

This study explains and determines fuelwood consumption at the county level based on county economic and demographic conditions, and identifies U.S. counties where potential fuelwood use problems and benefits are greatest. The percentage of wood-burning households in a county is estimated and multiplied by estimated average wood consumed per wood-burning household in...

The evolution of biomass-burning aerosol size distributions due to coagulation: dependence on fire and meteorological details and parameterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakamoto, Kimiko M.; Laing, James R.; Stevens, Robin G.; Jaffe, Daniel A.; Pierce, Jeffrey R.

2016-06-01

Biomass-burning aerosols have a significant effect on global and regional aerosol climate forcings. To model the magnitude of these effects accurately requires knowledge of the size distribution of the emitted and evolving aerosol particles. Current biomass-burning inventories do not include size distributions, and global and regional models generally assume a fixed size distribution from all biomass-burning emissions. However, biomass-burning size distributions evolve in the plume due to coagulation and net organic aerosol (OA) evaporation or formation, and the plume processes occur on spacial scales smaller than global/regional-model grid boxes. The extent of this size-distribution evolution is dependent on a variety of factors relating to the emission source and atmospheric conditions. Therefore, accurately accounting for biomass-burning aerosol size in global models requires an effective aerosol size distribution that accounts for this sub-grid evolution and can be derived from available emission-inventory and meteorological parameters. In this paper, we perform a detailed investigation of the effects of coagulation on the aerosol size distribution in biomass-burning plumes. We compare the effect of coagulation to that of OA evaporation and formation. We develop coagulation-only parameterizations for effective biomass-burning size distributions using the SAM-TOMAS large-eddy simulation plume model. For the most-sophisticated parameterization, we use the Gaussian Emulation Machine for Sensitivity Analysis (GEM-SA) to build a parameterization of the aged size distribution based on the SAM-TOMAS output and seven inputs: emission median dry diameter, emission distribution modal width, mass emissions flux, fire area, mean boundary-layer wind speed, plume mixing depth, and time/distance since emission. This parameterization was tested against an independent set of SAM-TOMAS simulations and yields R2 values of 0.83 and 0.89 for Dpm and modal width, respectively. The size distribution is particularly sensitive to the mass emissions flux, fire area, wind speed, and time, and we provide simplified fits of the aged size distribution to just these input variables. The simplified fits were tested against 11 aged biomass-burning size distributions observed at the Mt. Bachelor Observatory in August 2015. The simple fits captured over half of the variability in observed Dpm and modal width even though the freshly emitted Dpm and modal widths were unknown. These fits may be used in global and regional aerosol models. Finally, we show that coagulation generally leads to greater changes in the particle size distribution than OA evaporation/formation does, using estimates of OA production/loss from the literature.

Wildfire impacts on stream sedimentation: re-visiting the Boulder Creek Burn in Little Granite Creek, Wyoming, USA

Treesearch

Sandra Ryan; Kathleen Dwire

2012-01-01

In this study of a burned watershed in northwestern Wyoming, USA, sedimentation impacts following a moderately-sized fire (Boulder Creek burn, 2000) were evaluated against sediment loads estimated for the period prior to burning. Early observations of suspended sediment yield showed substantially elevated loads (5x) the first year post-fire (2001), followed by less...

Home radiator burns among inner-city children--Chicago, September 1991-April 1994.

PubMed

1996-09-27

Contact with hot surfaces is a cause of substantial morbidity among children. In 1993, an estimated 1881 children visited emergency departments for treatment of burns related to nonvehicle radiators in the United States. This report summarizes the investigation of radiator burns among children aged 0-19 years living in a Chicago housing project and provides recommendations for preventing radiator burn injuries.

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

EPA Science Inventory

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 ...

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.

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.

Investigating the effect of fire dynamics on aboveground carbon storage in the Bateke landscape, Republic of Congo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nieto Quintano, P.; Mitchard, E. T.; Ryan, C.; Tim, R.

2016-12-01

It is estimated that 68% of Africa's surface area burns every year (Roy et al. 2008), being the savanna biome the most continuously affected by burning with strong environmental and social impacts (Romero-Ruiz et al., 2010). Most fires in Africa are anthropogenic and occur during the Late Dry Season, but their dynamics and effects remain understudied. Sankaran et al. (2005) suggested that if disturbances by fire, browsers and humans were absent, then large areas of Africa would become forests. The main objective of this research is to understand the woody cover, productivity, carbon storage and fire regime of the complex forest/savanna system of the Bateke Plateau. The Bateke Plateau is a landscape composed of frequently burned grassland savanna surrounded by tropical forest, situated in the centre of the Republic of Congo. This study combines two approaches: firstly experimental, with long term field experiments where the fire regime is manipulated, and then observational, using remote sensing to study the past history of fire regime in the region. Field experiments suggest that late dry season fires are more intense and have higher mortality rates. We also investigated aboveground biomass, fire occurrence and intensity, using Landsat, ALOS PALSAR and the fire products of MODIS. We found that most savanna areas burnt at least once every 4 years, with more frequent fires occurring in the late dry season and around roads and settlements. This two approaches will be then combined to create a novel model of vegetation-fire-climate interactions in order to predict the vegetation response to different future scenarios. The results will be used to promote better management of this area to enhance carbon storage, as well as increase our understanding of vegetation dynamics in this understudied ecosystem and help orient policy and conservation.

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.

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.

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.

The smoke-fireplume model : tool for eventual application to prescribed burns and wildland fires.

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

Brown, D. F.; Dunn, W. E.; Lazaro, M. A.

Land managers are increasingly implementing strategies that employ the use of fire in prescribed burns to sustain ecosystems and plan to sustain the rate of increase in its use over the next five years. In planning and executing expanded use of fire in wildland treatment it is important to estimate the human health and safety consequences, property damage, and the extent of visibility degradation from the resulting conflagration-pyrolysis gases, soot and smoke generated during flaming, smoldering and/or glowing fires. Traditional approaches have often employed the analysis of weather observations and forecasts to determine whether a prescribed burn will affect populations,more » property, or protected Class I areas. However, the complexity of the problem lends itself to advanced PC-based models that are simple to use for both calculating the emissions from the burning of wildland fuels and the downwind dispersion of smoke and other products of pyrolysis, distillation, and/or fuels combustion. These models will need to address the effects of residual smoldering combustion, including plume dynamics and optical effects. In this paper, we discuss a suite of tools that can be applied for analyzing dispersion. These tools include the dispersion models FIREPLUME and SMOKE, together with the meteorological preprocessor SEBMET.« less

Estimating post-fire organic soil depth in the Alaskan boreal forest using the Normalized Burn Ratio

Treesearch

D. Verbyla; R. Lord

2008-01-01

As part of a long-term moose browse/fire severity study, we used the Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) with historic Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery to estimate fire severity from a 1983 wildfire in interior Alaska. Fire severity was estimated in the field by measuring the depth of the organic soil at 57 sites during the summer of 2006. Sites were selected for field...

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.

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...

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.

Detection, Emission Estimation and Risk Prediction of Forest Fires in China Using Satellite Sensors and Simulation Models in the Past Three Decades—An Overview

PubMed Central

Zhang, Jia-Hua; Yao, Feng-Mei; Liu, Cheng; Yang, Li-Min; Boken, Vijendra K.

2011-01-01

Forest fires have major impact on ecosystems and greatly impact the amount of greenhouse gases and aerosols in the atmosphere. This paper presents an overview in the forest fire detection, emission estimation, and fire risk prediction in China using satellite imagery, climate data, and various simulation models over the past three decades. Since the 1980s, remotely-sensed data acquired by many satellites, such as NOAA/AVHRR, FY-series, MODIS, CBERS, and ENVISAT, have been widely utilized for detecting forest fire hot spots and burned areas in China. Some developed algorithms have been utilized for detecting the forest fire hot spots at a sub-pixel level. With respect to modeling the forest burning emission, a remote sensing data-driven Net Primary productivity (NPP) estimation model was developed for estimating forest biomass and fuel. In order to improve the forest fire risk modeling in China, real-time meteorological data, such as surface temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, have been used as the model input for improving prediction of forest fire occurrence and its behavior. Shortwave infrared (SWIR) and near infrared (NIR) channels of satellite sensors have been employed for detecting live fuel moisture content (FMC), and the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) was used for evaluating the forest vegetation condition and its moisture status. PMID:21909297

Detection, emission estimation and risk prediction of forest fires in China using satellite sensors and simulation models in the past three decades--an overview.

PubMed

Zhang, Jia-Hua; Yao, Feng-Mei; Liu, Cheng; Yang, Li-Min; Boken, Vijendra K

2011-08-01

Forest fires have major impact on ecosystems and greatly impact the amount of greenhouse gases and aerosols in the atmosphere. This paper presents an overview in the forest fire detection, emission estimation, and fire risk prediction in China using satellite imagery, climate data, and various simulation models over the past three decades. Since the 1980s, remotely-sensed data acquired by many satellites, such as NOAA/AVHRR, FY-series, MODIS, CBERS, and ENVISAT, have been widely utilized for detecting forest fire hot spots and burned areas in China. Some developed algorithms have been utilized for detecting the forest fire hot spots at a sub-pixel level. With respect to modeling the forest burning emission, a remote sensing data-driven Net Primary productivity (NPP) estimation model was developed for estimating forest biomass and fuel. In order to improve the forest fire risk modeling in China, real-time meteorological data, such as surface temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, have been used as the model input for improving prediction of forest fire occurrence and its behavior. Shortwave infrared (SWIR) and near infrared (NIR) channels of satellite sensors have been employed for detecting live fuel moisture content (FMC), and the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) was used for evaluating the forest vegetation condition and its moisture status.

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...

Remote sensing sensitivity to fire severity and fire recovery

USGS Publications Warehouse

Key, C.H.

2005-01-01

The paper examines fundamental ways that geospatial data on fire severity and recovery are influenced by conditions of the remote sensing. Remote sensing sensitivities are spatial, temporal and radiometric in origin. Those discussed include spatial resolution, the sampling time of year, and time since fire. For standard reference, sensitivities are demonstrated with examples drawn from an archive of burn assessments based on one radiometric index, the differenced Normalized Burn Ratio. Resolution determines the aggregation of fire effects within a pixel (alpha variation), hence defining the detected ecological response, and controlling the ability to determine patchiness and spatial distribution of responses throughout a burn (beta variation). As resolution decreases, alpha variation increases, extracting beta variation from the complexity of the whole burn. Seasonal timing impacts the radiometric quality of data in terms of transmittance, sun angle, and potential for enhanced contrast between responses within burns. Remote sensing sensitivity can degrade during many fire seasons when snow, incomplete burning, hazy conditions, low sun angles, or extended drought are common. Time since fire (lag timing) most notably shapes severity detection through the first-order fire effects evident in survivorship and delayed mortality that emerge by the growth period after fire. The former effects appear overly severe at first, but diminish, as burned vegetation remains viable. Conversely, the latter signals vegetation that appears healthy at first, but is damaged by heat to the extent that it soon dies. Both responses can lead to either over- or under-estimating severity, respectively, depending on fire behavior and pre-fire composition unique to each burned area. Based on implications of such sensitivities, three sampling intervals for short-term burn severity are identified; rapid, initial, and extended assessment, sampled within ca. two weeks, two months, and depending on the ecotype, from three months to one year after fire, respectively. Jointly, remote sensing conditions and the way burns are studied yield different tendencies for data quality and information content that impact the objectives and hypotheses that can be studied. Such considerations can be commonly overlooked, but need to be incorporated especially in comparative studies, and to build long-term reference databases on fire severity and recovery.

Assessment of light extinction at a European polluted urban area during wintertime: Impact of PM1 composition and sources.

PubMed

Vecchi, R; Bernardoni, V; Valentini, S; Piazzalunga, A; Fermo, P; Valli, G

2018-02-01

In this paper, results from receptor modelling performed on a well-characterised PM 1 dataset were combined to chemical light extinction data (b ext ) with the aim of assessing the impact of different PM 1 components and sources on light extinction and visibility at a European polluted urban area. It is noteworthy that, at the state of the art, there are still very few papers estimating the impact of different emission sources on light extinction as we present here, although being among the major environmental challenges at many polluted areas. Following the concept of the well-known IMPROVE algorithm, here a tailored site-specific approach (recently developed by our group) was applied to assess chemical light extinction due to PM 1 components and major sources. PM 1 samples collected separately during daytime and nighttime at the urban area of Milan (Italy) were chemically characterised for elements, major ions, elemental and organic carbon, and levoglucosan. Chemical light extinction was estimated and results showed that at the investigated urban site it is heavily impacted by ammonium nitrate and organic matter. Receptor modelling (i.e. Positive Matrix Factorization, EPA-PMF 5.0) was effective to obtain source apportionment; the most reliable solution was found with 7 factors which were tentatively assigned to nitrates, sulphates, wood burning, traffic, industry, fine dust, and a Pb-rich source. The apportionment of aerosol light extinction (b ext,aer ) according to resolved sources showed that considering all samples together nitrate contributed at most (on average 41.6%), followed by sulphate, traffic, and wood burning accounting for 18.3%, 17.8% and 12.4%, respectively. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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.

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 of the ability of large-scale reanalysis data to define Siberian fire danger in preparation for future fire prediction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soja, Amber; Westberg, David; Stackhouse, Paul, Jr.; McRae, Douglas; Jin, Ji-Zhong; Sukhinin, Anatoly

2010-05-01

Fire is the dominant disturbance that precipitates ecosystem change in boreal regions, and fire is largely under the control of weather and climate. Fire frequency, fire severity, area burned and fire season length are predicted to increase in boreal regions under current climate change scenarios. Therefore, changes in fire regimes have the potential to compel ecological change, moving ecosystems more quickly towards equilibrium with a new climate. The ultimate goal of this research is to assess the viability of large-scale (1°) data to be used to define fire weather danger and fire regimes, so that large-scale data can be confidently used to predict future fire regimes using large-scale fire weather data, like that available from current Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) climate change scenarios. In this talk, we intent to: (1) evaluate Fire Weather Indices (FWI) derived using reanalysis and interpolated station data; (2) discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using these distinct data sources; and (3) highlight established relationships between large-scale fire weather data, area burned, active fires and ecosystems burned. Specifically, the Canadian Forestry Service (CFS) Fire Weather Index (FWI) will be derived using: (1) NASA Goddard Earth Observing System version 4 (GEOS-4) large-scale reanalysis and NASA Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) data; and National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) surface station-interpolated data. Requirements of the FWI are local noon surface-level air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and daily (noon-noon) rainfall. GEOS-4 reanalysis and NCDC station-interpolated fire weather indices are generally consistent spatially, temporally and quantitatively. Additionally, increased fire activity coincides with increased FWI ratings in both data products. Relationships have been established between large-scale FWI to area burned, fire frequency, ecosystem types, and these can be use to estimate historic and future fire regimes.

Spatial and temporal variability of carbonaceous aerosols: Assessing the impact of biomass burning in the urban environment.

PubMed

Titos, G; Del Águila, A; Cazorla, A; Lyamani, H; Casquero-Vera, J A; Colombi, C; Cuccia, E; Gianelle, V; Močnik, G; Alastuey, A; Olmo, F J; Alados-Arboledas, L

2017-02-01

Biomass burning (BB) is a significant source of atmospheric particles in many parts of the world. Whereas many studies have demonstrated the importance of BB emissions in central and northern Europe, especially in rural areas, its impact in urban air quality of southern European countries has been sparsely investigated. In this study, highly time resolved multi-wavelength absorption coefficients together with levoglucosan (BB tracer) mass concentrations were combined to apportion carbonaceous aerosol sources. The Aethalometer model takes advantage of the different spectral behavior of BB and fossil fuel (FF) combustion aerosols. The model was found to be more sensitive to the assumed value of the aerosol Ångström exponent (AAE) for FF (AAE ff ) than to the AAE for BB (AAE bb ). As result of various sensitivity tests the model was optimized with AAE ff =1.1 and AAE bb =2. The Aethalometer model and levoglucosan tracer estimates were in good agreement. The Aethalometer model was further applied to data from three sites in Granada urban area to evaluate the spatial variation of CM ff and CM bb (carbonaceous matter from FF or BB origin, respectively) concentrations within the city. The results showed that CM bb was lower in the city centre while it has an unexpected profound impact on the CM levels measured in the suburbs (about 40%). Analysis of BB tracers with respect to wind speed suggested that BB was dominated by sources outside the city, to the west in a rural area. Distinguishing whether it corresponds to agricultural waste burning or with biomass burning for domestic heating was not possible. This study also shows that although traffic restrictions measures contribute to reduce carbonaceous concentrations, the extent of the reduction is very local. Other sources such as BB, which can contribute to CM as much as traffic emissions, should be targeted to reduce air pollution. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analysis of Electrocardiograms Associated with Pediatric Electrical Burns.

PubMed

McLeod, Jennifer S; Maringo, Alison E; Doyle, Patrick J; Vitale, Lisa; Klein, Justin D; Shanti, Christina M

2017-05-26

The purpose of this study was to examine the utility of electrocardiograms (EKGs) for low-risk, low-voltage pediatric electrical burn victims. A retrospective chart review was conducted on 86 pediatric patients who presented to the children's hospital between 2000 and 2015 after sustaining electrical burns. Variables included source and estimated voltage, extent of injuries, length of stay, high risk factors, and EKG results. High risk factors included estimated voltage > 1000 V, lightning, tetany, symptoms, loss of consciousness, or seizures. Statistical analyses were conducted. Average age was 5 years. Of those who sustained burns, 84.5% (n = 71/84) had second-degree burns ≤ 1% TBSA or less. Eleven patients had high risk factors, 12.9% (n = 11/85) and most had length of stay < 3 days (91.8%; n = 78/85). Majority sustained burns from low-voltage (< 300 V) household electrical outlets, cords, or light bulb sockets (90.4%; n = 75/83). Among patients with available EKGs, 12 had arrhythmias on initial EKG (i.e., low right atrial rhythm, t-wave inversions, sinus tachycardia, bundle branch block; 20.7%; n = 12/58). All were transient and nonfatal. The data suggest that low estimated voltage (< 300 V) electrical injuries were associated with negative EKGs; however, due to the low rate of arrhythmias, a Fisher's exact test did not show significance, P = 0.09 (P > 0.05). Preliminary data suggest that most pediatric electrical burns are due to low voltage (< 300 V) household sources. Few have high risk factors or arrhythmias that were transient and nonfatal. These data suggest that low-risk, asymptomatic, low-voltage pediatric electrical burns may not require an initial screening EKG.