Modeling Fire Severity in Black Spruce Stands in the Alaskan Boreal Forest Using Spectral and Non-Spectral Geospatial Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barrett, K.; Kasischke, E. S.; McGuire, A. D.; Turetsky, M. R.; Kane, E. S.

2010-01-01

Biomass burning in the Alaskan interior is already a major disturbance and source of carbon emissions, and is likely to increase in response to the warming and drying predicted for the future climate. In addition to quantifying changes to the spatial and temporal patterns of burned areas, observing variations in severity is the key to studying the impact of changes to the fire regime on carbon cycling, energy budgets, and post-fire succession. Remote sensing indices of fire severity have not consistently been well-correlated with in situ observations of important severity characteristics in Alaskan black spruce stands, including depth of burning of the surface organic layer. The incorporation of ancillary data such as in situ observations and GIS layers with spectral data from Landsat TM/ETM+ greatly improved efforts to map the reduction of the organic layer in burned black spruce stands. Using a regression tree approach, the R2 of the organic layer depth reduction models was 0.60 and 0.55 (pb0.01) for relative and absolute depth reduction, respectively. All of the independent variables used by the regression tree to estimate burn depth can be obtained independently of field observations. Implementation of a gradient boosting algorithm improved the R2 to 0.80 and 0.79 (pb0.01) for absolute and relative organic layer depth reduction, respectively. Independent variables used in the regression tree model of burn depth included topographic position, remote sensing indices related to soil and vegetation characteristics, timing of the fire event, and meteorological data. Post-fire organic layer depth characteristics are determined for a large (N200,000 ha) fire to identify areas that are potentially vulnerable to a shift in post-fire succession. This application showed that 12% of this fire event experienced fire severe enough to support a change in post-fire succession. We conclude that non-parametric models and ancillary data are useful in the modeling of the surface organic layer fire depth. Because quantitative differences in post-fire surface characteristics do not directly influence spectral properties, these modeling techniques provide better information than the use of remote sensing data alone.

Modeling fire severity in black spruce stands in the Alaskan boreal forest using spectral and non-spectral geospatial data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Barrett, Kirsten M.; Kasischke, E.S.; McGuire, A.D.; Turetsky, M.R.; Kane, E.S.

2010-01-01

Biomass burning in the Alaskan interior is already a major disturbance and source of carbon emissions, and is likely to increase in response to the warming and drying predicted for the future climate. In addition to quantifying changes to the spatial and temporal patterns of burned areas, observing variations in severity is the key to studying the impact of changes to the fire regime on carbon cycling, energy budgets, and post-fire succession. Remote sensing indices of fire severity have not consistently been well-correlated with in situ observations of important severity characteristics in Alaskan black spruce stands, including depth of burning of the surface organic layer. The incorporation of ancillary data such as in situ observations and GIS layers with spectral data from Landsat TM/ETM+ greatly improved efforts to map the reduction of the organic layer in burned black spruce stands. Using a regression tree approach, the R2 of the organic layer depth reduction models was 0.60 and 0.55 (pb0.01) for relative and absolute depth reduction, respectively. All of the independent variables used by the regression tree to estimate burn depth can be obtained independently of field observations. Implementation of a gradient boosting algorithm improved the R2 to 0.80 and 0.79 (pb0.01) for absolute and relative organic layer depth reduction, respectively. Independent variables used in the regression tree model of burn depth included topographic position, remote sensing indices related to soil and vegetation characteristics, timing of the fire event, and meteorological data. Post-fire organic layer depth characteristics are determined for a large (N200,000 ha) fire to identify areas that are potentially vulnerable to a shift in post-fire succession. This application showed that 12% of this fire event experienced fire severe enough to support a change in post-fire succession. We conclude that non-parametric models and ancillary data are useful in the modeling of the surface organic layer fire depth. Because quantitative differences in post-fire surface characteristics do not directly influence spectral properties, these modeling techniques provide better information than the use of remote sensing data alone.

Fires in Idaho and Montana

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

2000 continues to be the worst fire season in the United States in decades. By August 8, 2000, fires in Montana and Idaho had burned more than 250,000 acres. Resources were stretched so thin that Army and Marine soldiers were recruited to help fight the fires. President Clinton visited Payette National Forest to lend moral support to the firefighters. Dense smoke from Idaho and western Montana is visible stretching all the way to North and South Dakota in this image from the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). The image was taken on August 7, 2000. Although the primary mission of SeaWiFS is to measure the biology of the ocean, it also provides stunning color imagery of the Earth's surface. For more information about fires in the U.S., visit the National Interagency Fire Center. To learn more about using satellites to monitor fires, visit Global Fire Monitoring and New Technology for Monitoring Fires from Space in the Earth Observatory. Provided by the SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE

US Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Capabilities, Risks, Possible Missions, and Modules to Support Future USMC Operating Concepts

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-07-29

squad Armament: M60 7 .62mm machine gun , MK19 40mm, M2 .50 caL machine gun 61 "Spartan Scout Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV)," Defense Industry...1) RQ-8B Fire Scout helicopter (VTUAV) a) EO/IR/LD sensor and datalink relay 2) MH-60R/S helicopters a) GAU 16/19 machine gun b) AGM-114 Hellfire...60Rhelicopter car1ies the a .50 caliber OAU 16/A machine gun , a crew-served, recoil operated, belt-fed, air cooled, percussion fired weapon, with a rate of fire

Relevance of wildfires on dust emissions via interaction with near-surface wind pattern

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wagner, Robert; Jähn, Michael; Schepanski, Kerstin

2017-04-01

Mineral dust is a key player in the Earth system and shows diverse impacts on the radiation budget, cloud microphysics, marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Eventually, it also affects our modern way of life. Not only dust emissions from barren or unvegetated soil surfaces like deserts or uncultivated croplands are important sources of airborne mineral dust. Also, during fire events dust is entrained into the atmosphere and appears to contribute noteworthy to the atmospheric dust burden. The underlying process, which drives dust entrainment during fires, is the so-called pyro-convection. The high temperatures in the center of a fire result in an upward motion of the heated air. Subsequently, air flows towards the fire replacing the raising air. The resulting accelerated winds are able to mobilize soil and dust particles up to a size of several millimeters, depending of both the size and the strength of the fire. Several measurements have shown that up to 80% of the mass fraction of the emitted particles during natural or prescribed fires is related to soil or dust particles. The particles are then mixed externally with the combustion aerosols into the convective updraft and were finally inject into altitudes above the planetary boundary layer where they can be distributed and transported over long distances by the atmospheric circulation. To investigate the impacts of such fires on the near-surface wind pattern and the potential for dust emissions via exceeding typical threshold velocities, high resolved Large-Eddy Simulations (LES) with the All Scale Atmospheric Model (ASAM) were executed. In the framework of this study, the influences of different fire properties (fire intensity, size, and shape) and different atmospheric conditions on the strength and extent of fire-related winds and finally their relevance for dust emissions were investigated using sensitivity studies. Prescribed fires are omnipresent during dry seasons and pyro-convection is a mechanism entraining dust particles into boundary layer. As the quantity of dust emitted during fire events is still unclear, the results presented here will support the development of a parameterization of fire-related dust entrainment for meso-scale models. This will allow an estimation of such fire-related dust emissions on a continental scale and can finally reduce the uncertainty in the aerosol-climate feedback.

Numerical modeling of laboratory-scale surface-to-crown fire transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castle, Drew Clayton

Understanding the conditions leading to the transition of fire spread from a surface fuel to an elevated (crown) fuel is critical to effective fire risk assessment and management. Surface fires that successfully transition to crown fires can be very difficult to suppress, potentially leading to damages in the natural and built environments. This is relevant to chaparral shrub lands which are common throughout parts of the Southwest U.S. and represent a significant part of the wildland urban interface. The ability of the Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Dynamic Simulator (WFDS) to model surface-to-crown fire transition was evaluated through comparison to laboratory experiments. The WFDS model is being developed by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The experiments were conducted at the USFS Forest Fire Laboratory in Riverside, California. The experiments measured the ignition of chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum) crown fuel held above a surface fire spreading through excelsior fuel. Cases with different crown fuel bulk densities, crown fuel base heights, and imposed wind speeds were considered. Cold-flow simulations yielded wind speed profiles that closely matched the experimental measurements. Next, fire simulations with only the surface fuel were conducted to verify the rate of spread while factors such as substrate properties were varied. Finally, simulations with both a surface fuel and a crown fuel were completed. Examination of specific surface fire characteristics (rate of spread, flame angle, etc.) and the corresponding experimental surface fire behavior provided a basis for comparison of the factors most responsible for transition from a surface fire to the raised fuel ignition. The rate of spread was determined by tracking the flame in the Smokeview animations using a tool developed for tracking an actual flame in a video. WFDS simulations produced results in both surface fire spread and raised fuel bed ignition which closely matched the trends reported in the laboratory experiments.

Understanding the interaction between wild fire and vegetation distribution within the NCAR CESM framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seo, H.; Kim, Y.; Kim, H. J.

2017-12-01

Every year wild fire brings about 400Mha of land burned therefore 2Pg of carbon emissions from the surface occur. In this way fire not only affects the carbon circulation but also has an effect on the terrestrial ecosystems. This study aims to understand role of fire on the geographic vegetation distribution and the terrestrial carbon balances within the NCAR CESM framework, specifically with the CLM-BGC and CLM-BGC-DV. Global climate data from Climate Research Unit (CRU)-National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) data ranging from 1901 to 2010 are used to drive the land models. First, by comparing fire-on and fire-off simulations with the CLM-BGC-DV, the fire impacts in dynamic vegetation are quantified by the fractional land areas of the different plant functional types. In addition, we examine how changes in vegetation distribution affect the total sum of the burned areas and the carbon balances. This study would provide the limits of and suggestions for the fire and dynamic vegetation modules of the CLM-BGC. AcknowledgementsThis work was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (2015R1C1A2A01054800) and by the Korea Meteorological Administration R&D Program under Grant KMIPA 2015-6180. This work was also supported by the Yonsei University Future-leading Research Initiative of 2015(2016-22-0061).

Geomorphology of coal seam fires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuenzer, Claudia; Stracher, Glenn B.

2012-02-01

Coal fires occur in underground natural coal seams, in exposed surface seams, and in coal storage or waste piles. The fires ignite through spontaneous combustion or natural or anthropogenic causes. They are reported from China, India, USA, South Africa, Australia, and Russia, as well as many other countries. Coal fires lead to loss of a valuable resource (coal), the emission of greenhouse-relevant and toxic gases, and vegetation deterioration. A dangerous aspect of the fires is the threat to local mines, industries, and settlements through the volume loss underground. Surface collapse in coal fire areas is common. Thus, coal fires are significantly affecting the evolution of the landscape. Based on more than a decade of experience with in situ mapping of coal fire areas worldwide, a general classification system for coal fires is presented. Furthermore, coal seam fire geomorphology is explained in detail. The major landforms associated with, and induced by, these fires are presented. The landforms include manifestations resulting from bedrock surface fracturing, such as fissures, cracks, funnels, vents, and sponges. Further manifestations resulting from surface bedrock subsidence include sinkholes, trenches, depressions, partial surface subsidence, large surface subsidence, and slides. Additional geomorphologic coal fire manifestations include exposed ash layers, pyrometamorphic rocks, and fumarolic minerals. The origin, evolution, and possible future development of these features are explained, and examples from in situ surveys, as well as from high-resolution satellite data analyses, are presented. The geomorphology of coal fires has not been presented in a systematic manner. Knowledge of coal fire geomorphology enables the detection of underground coal fires based on distinct surface manifestations. Furthermore, it allows judgments about the safety of coal fire-affected terrain. Additionally, geomorphologic features are indicators of the burning stage of fires. Finally, coal fire geomorphology helps to explain landscape features whose occurrence would otherwise not be understood. Although coal fire-induced thermal anomalies and gas release are also indications of coal fire activity, as addressed by many investigators, no assessment is complete without sound geomorphologic mapping of the fire-induced geomorphologic features.

Post-fire logging reduces surface woody fuels up to four decades following wildfire

Treesearch

David W. Peterson; Erich Kyle Dodson; Richy J. Harrod

2015-01-01

Severe wildfires create pulses of dead trees that influence future fuel loads, fire behavior, and fire effects as they decay and deposit surface woody fuels. Harvesting fire-killed trees may reduce future surface woody fuels and related fire hazards, but the magnitude and timing of post-fire logging effects on woody fuels have not been fully assessed. To address this...

Vulnerability and Resilience of Temperate Forest Landscapes to Broad-Scale Deforestation in Response to Changing Fire Regimes and Altered Post-Fire Vegetation Dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tepley, A. J.; Veblen, T. T.; Perry, G.; Anderson-Teixeira, K. J.

2015-12-01

In the face of on-going climatic warming and land-use change, there is growing concern that temperate forest landscapes could be near a tipping point where relatively small changes to the fire regime or altered post-fire vegetation dynamics could lead to extensive conversion to shrublands or savannas. To evaluate vulnerability and resilience to such conversion, we develop a simple model based on three factors we hypothesize to be key in predicting temperate forest responses to changing fire regimes: (1) the hazard rate (i.e., the probability of burning in the next year given the time since the last fire) in closed-canopy forests, (2) the hazard rate for recently-burned, open-canopy vegetation, and (3) the time to redevelop canopy closure following fire. We generate a response surface representing the proportions of the landscape potentially supporting closed-canopy forest and non-forest vegetation under nearly all combinations of these three factors. We then place real landscapes on this response surface to assess the type and magnitude of changes to the fire regime that would drive extensive forest loss. We show that the deforestation of much of New Zealand that followed initial human colonization and the introduction of a new ignition source ca. 750 years ago was essentially inevitable due to the slow rate of forest recovery after fire and the high flammability of post-fire vegetation. In North America's Pacific Northwest, by contrast, a predominantly forested landscape persisted despite two periods of widespread burning in the recent past due in large part to faster post-fire forest recovery and less pronounced differences in flammability between forests and the post-fire vegetation. We also assess the factors that could drive extensive deforestation in other regions to identify where management could reduce this potential and to guide field and modeling work to better understand the responses and ecological feedbacks to changing fire regimes.

Impact of fire on global land surface air temperature and energy budget for the 20th century due to changes within ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Fang; Lawrence, David M.; Bond-Lamberty, Ben

2017-04-01

Fire is a global phenomenon and tightly interacts with the biosphere and climate. This study provides the first quantitative assessment and understanding of fire’s influence on the global annual land surface air temperature and energy budget through its impact on terrestrial ecosystems. Fire impacts are quantified by comparing fire-on and fire-off simulations with the Community Earth System Model (CESM). Results show that, for the 20th century average, fire-induced changes in terrestrial ecosystems significantly increase global land annual mean surface air temperature by 0.18 °C, decrease surface net radiation and latent heat flux by 1.08 W m-2 and 0.99 W m-2, respectively, and have limited influence on sensible heat flux (-0.11 W m-2) and ground heat flux (+0.02 W m-2). Fire impacts are most clearly seen in the tropical savannas. Our analyses suggest that fire increases surface air temperature predominantly by reducing latent heat flux, mainly due to fire-induced damage to the vegetation canopy, and decreases net radiation primarily because fire-induced surface warming significantly increases upward surface longwave radiation. This study provides an integrated estimate of fire and induced changes in ecosystems, climate, and energy budget at a global scale, and emphasizes the importance of a consistent and integrated understanding of fire effects.

Thermal analysis of GFRP-reinforced continuous concrete decks subjected to top fire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hawileh, Rami A.; Rasheed, Hayder A.

2017-12-01

This paper presents a numerical study that investigates the behavior of continuous concrete decks doubly reinforced with top and bottom glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars subjected to top surface fire. A finite element (FE) model is developed and a detailed transient thermal analysis is performed on a continuous concrete bridge deck under the effect of various fire curves. A parametric study is performed to examine the top cover thickness and the critical fire exposure curve needed to fully degrade the top GFRP bars while achieving certain fire ratings for the deck considered. Accordingly, design tables are prepared for each fire curve to guide the engineer to properly size the top concrete cover and maintain the temperature in the GFRP bars below critical design values in order to control the full top GFRP degradation. It is notable to indicate that degradation of top GFRP bars do not pose a collapse hazard but rather a serviceability concern since cracks in the negative moment region widen resulting in simply supported spans.

What Fraction of Global Fire Activity Can Be Forecast Using Sea Surface Temperatures?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Y.; Randerson, J. T.; Morton, D. C.; Andela, N.; Giglio, L.

2015-12-01

Variations in sea surface temperatures (SSTs) can influence climate dynamics in local and remote land areas, and thus influence fire-climate interactions that govern burned area. SST information has been recently used in statistical models to create seasonal outlooks of fire season severity in South America and as the initial condition for dynamical model predictions of fire activity in Indonesia. However, the degree to which large-scale ocean-atmosphere interactions can influence burned area in other continental regions has not been systematically explored. Here we quantified the amount of global burned area that can be predicted using SSTs in 14 different oceans regions as statistical predictors. We first examined lagged correlations between GFED4s burned area and the 14 ocean climate indices (OCIs) individually. The maximum correlations from different OCIs were used to construct a global map of fire predictability. About half of the global burned area can be forecast by this approach 3 months before the peak burning month (with a Pearson's r of 0.5 or higher), with the highest levels of predictability in Central America and Equatorial Asia. Several hotspots of predictability were identified using k-means cluster analysis. Within these regions, we tested the improvements of the forecast by using two OCIs from different oceans. Our forecast models were based on near-real-time SST data and may therefore support the development of new seasonal outlooks for fire activity that can aid the sustainable management of these fire-prone ecosystems.

Risk of post-fire metal mobilization into surface water resources: A review.

PubMed

Abraham, Joji; Dowling, Kim; Florentine, Singarayer

2017-12-01

One of the significant economic benefits to communities around the world of having pristine forest catchments is the supply of substantial quantities of high quality potable water. This supports a saving of around US$ 4.1 trillion per year globally by limiting the cost of expensive drinking water treatments and provision of unnecessary infrastructure. Even low levels of contaminants specifically organics and metals in catchments when in a mobile state can reduce these economic benefits by seriously affecting the water quality. Contamination and contaminant mobility can occur through natural and anthropogenic activities including forest fires. Moderate to high intensity forest fires are able to alter soil properties and release sequestered metals from sediments, soil organic matter and fragments of vegetation. In addition, the increase in post-fire erosion rate by rainfall runoff and strong winds facilitates the rapid transport of these metals downslope and downstream. The subsequent metal deposition in distal soil and water bodies can influence surface water quality with potential impacts to the larger ecosystems inclusive of negative effects on humans. This is of substantial concern as 4 billion hectares of forest catchments provide high quality water to global communities. Redressing this problem requires quantification of the potential effects on water resources and instituting rigorous fire and environmental management plans to mitigate deleterious effects on catchment areas. This paper is a review of the current state of the art literature dealing with the risk of post-fire mobilization of the metals into surface water resources. It is intended to inform discussion on the preparation of suitable management plans and policies during and after fire events in order to maintain potable water quality in a cost-effective manner. In these times of climate fluctuation and increased incidence of fires, the need for development of new policies and management frameworks are of heighted significance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

Iwahana, Go; Uchida, Masao; Liu, Lin

Thermokarst is the process of ground subsidence caused by either the thawing of ice-rich permafrost or the melting of massive ground ice. The consequences of permafrost degradation associated with thermokarst for surface ecology, landscape evolution, and hydrological processes have been of great scientific interest and social concern. Part of a tundra patch affected by wildfire in northern Alaska (27.5 km 2) was investigated here, using remote sensing and in situ surveys to quantify and understand permafrost thaw dynamics after surface disturbances. A two-pass differential InSAR technique using L-band ALOS-PALSAR has been shown capable of capturing thermokarst subsidence triggered by amore » tundra fire at a spatial resolution of tens of meters, with supporting evidence from field data and optical satellite images. We have introduced a calibration procedure, comparing burned and unburned areas for InSAR subsidence signals, to remove the noise due to seasonal surface movement. In the first year after the fire, an average subsidence rate of 6.2 cm/year (vertical) was measured. Subsidence in the burned area continued over the following two years, with decreased rates. The mean rate of subsidence observed in our interferograms (from 24 July 2008 to 14 September 2010) was 3.3 cm/year, a value comparable to that estimated from field surveys at two plots on average (2.2 cm/year) for the six years after the fire. These results suggest that this InSAR-measured ground subsidence is caused by the development of thermokarst, a thawing process supported by surface change observations from high-resolution optical images and in situ ground level surveys.« less

Post-fire surface fuel dynamics in California forests across three burn severity classes

Treesearch

Bianca N. I. Eskelson; Vicente J. Monleon

2018-01-01

Forest wildfires consume fuel and are followed by post-fire fuel accumulation. This study examines post-fire surface fuel dynamics over 9 years across a wide range of conditions characteristic of California fires in dry conifer and hardwood forests. We estimated post-fire surface fuel loadings (Mg ha _1) from 191 repeatedly measured United States...

Index for characterizing post-fire soil environments in temperate coniferous forests

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jain, Theresa B.; Pilliod, David S.; Graham, Russell T.; Lentile, Leigh B.; Sandquist, Jonathan E.

2012-01-01

Many scientists and managers have an interest in describing the environment following a fire to understand the effects on soil productivity, vegetation growth, and wildlife habitat, but little research has focused on the scientific rationale for classifying the post-fire environment. We developed an empirically-grounded soil post-fire index (PFI) based on available science and ecological thresholds. Using over 50 literature sources, we identified a minimum of five broad categories of post-fire outcomes: (a) unburned, (b) abundant surface organic matter ( > 85% surface organic matter), (c) moderate amount of surface organic matter ( ≥ 40 through 85%), (d) small amounts of surface organic matter ( < 40%), and (e) absence of surface organic matter (no organic matter left). We then subdivided each broad category on the basis of post-fire mineral soil colors providing a more fine-tuned post-fire soil index. We related each PFI category to characteristics such as soil temperature and duration of heating during fire, and physical, chemical, and biological responses. Classifying or describing post-fire soil conditions consistently will improve interpretations of fire effects research and facilitate communication of potential responses or outcomes (e.g., erosion potential) from fires of varying severities.

Influences of multiple firings and aging on surface roughness, strength and hardness of veneering ceramics for zirconia frameworks.

PubMed

Tang, Xuehua; Luo, Huinan; Bai, Yang; Tang, Hui; Nakamura, Takashi; Yatani, Hirofumi

2015-09-01

To evaluate the effects of multiple firings and aging on surface roughness, strength, and hardness of veneering ceramics for zirconia frameworks. Five different veneering ceramics for zirconia frameworks were used: Vintage ZR (ZR), Cerabien ZR (CZR), VitaVM9 (VM9), Cercon ceram KISS (KISS), and IPS e.max ceram (e.max). Specimens were fired 2 or 10 times in order to accelerate aging. Surface roughness was evaluated using laser profilometry. Flexural strength and Vickers hardness were also measured. Surface topography was observed using scanning electron microscopy. After accelerated aging, the surface roughness of all specimens fired 10 times was significantly lower than that of the same specimens fired 2 times (P=0.000). Except for VM9, the flexural strength of all specimens fired 10 times was greater than that of the same specimens fired 2 times, and the differences were significant for ZR and CZR (P<0.01). The flexural strength of VM9 fired 10 times was significantly lower than that of VM9 fired 2 times (P=0.034). The Vickers hardness of ZR and VM9 fired 10 times was significantly higher than that of the same specimens fired 2 times (P<0.05), but that of KISS fired 10 times was significantly lower than that of KISS fired 2 times (P=0.000). Multiple firings had a positive effect on the surface roughness of all aged veneering ceramics used for zirconia restorations and on the strength and hardness of many aged veneering ceramics used for zirconia restorations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Monitoring subsurface coal fires in Jharia coalfield using observations of land subsidence from differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (DInSAR)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, Nishant; Syed, Tajdarul H.; Athiphro, Ashiihrii

2013-10-01

Coal fires in the Jharia coalfield pose a serious threat to India's vital resource of primary coking coal and the regional environment. In order to undertake effective preventative measures, it is critical to detect the occurrence of subsurface coal fires and to monitor the extent of the existing ones. In this study, Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperature Radar (DInSAR) technique has been utilized to monitor subsurface coal fires in the Jharia coalfield. Results showed that majority of the coal fire-related subsidence were concentrated on the eastern and western boundaries of the coalfield. The magnitude of subsidence observed was classified into high (10-27.8 mm), low (0-10 mm) and upliftment (-10-0 mm). The results were strongly supported by in situ observations and satellite-based thermal imagery analysis. Major subsidence was observed in the areas with repeated sightings of coal fire. Further, the study highlighted on the capability of the methodology for predicting potential coal fire zones on the basis of land surface subsidence only. The results from this study have major implications for demarcating the hazardous coal fire areas as well as effective implementation of public safety measures.

Modeling wind adjustment factor and midflame wind speed for Rothermel's surface fire spread model

Treesearch

Patricia L. Andrews

2012-01-01

Rothermel's surface fire spread model was developed to use a value for the wind speed that affects surface fire, called midflame wind speed. Models have been developed to adjust 20-ft wind speed to midflame wind speed for sheltered and unsheltered surface fuel. In this report, Wind Adjustment Factor (WAF) model equations are given, and the BehavePlus fire modeling...

Fire-induced albedo change and surface radiative forcing in sub-Saharan Africa savanna ecosystems: Implications for the energy balance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dintwe, Kebonye; Okin, Gregory S.; Xue, Yongkang

2017-06-01

Surface albedo is a critical parameter that controls surface energy balance. In dryland ecosystems, fires play a significant role in decreasing surface albedo, resulting in positive radiative forcing. Here we investigate the long-term effect of fire on surface albedo. We devised a method to calculate short-, medium-, and long-term effect of fire-induced radiative forcing and their relative effects on energy balance. We used Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data in our analysis, covering different vegetation classes in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Our analysis indicated that mean short-term fire-induced albedo change in SSA was -0.022, -0.035, and -0.041 for savannas, shrubland, and grasslands, respectively. At regional scale, mean fire-induced albedo change in savannas was -0.018 and -0.024 for northern sub-Saharan of Africa and the southern hemisphere Africa, respectively. The short-term mean fire-induced radiative forcing in burned areas in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) was 5.41 W m-2, which contributed continental and global radiative forcings of 0.25 and 0.058 W m-2, respectively. The impact of fire in surface albedo has long-lasting effects that varies with vegetation type. The long-term energetic effects of fire-induced albedo change and associated radiative forcing were, on average, more than 19 times greater across SSA than the short-term effects, suggesting that fires exerted far more radiative forcing than previously thought. Taking into account the actual duration of fire's effect on surface albedo, we conclude that the contribution of SSA fires, globally and throughout the year, is 0.12 W m-2. These findings provide crucial information on possible impact of fire on regional climate variability.

WRF-Fire: coupled weather-wildland fire modeling with the weather research and forecasting model

Treesearch

Janice L. Coen; Marques Cameron; John Michalakes; Edward G. Patton; Philip J. Riggan; Kara M. Yedinak

2012-01-01

A wildland fire behavior module (WRF-Fire) was integrated into the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) public domain numerical weather prediction model. The fire module is a surface fire behavior model that is two-way coupled with the atmospheric model. Near-surface winds from the atmospheric model are interpolated to a finer fire grid and used, with fuel properties...

Applying the Wildland Fire Decision Support System (WFDSS) to support risk-informed decision making: The Gold Pan Fire, Bitterroot National Forest, Montana, USA

Treesearch

Erin K. Noonan-Wright; Tonja S. Opperman

2015-01-01

In response to federal wildfire policy changes, risk-informed decision-making by way of improved decision support, is increasingly becoming a component of managing wildfires. As fire incidents escalate in size and complexity, the Wildland Fire Decision Support System (WFDSS) provides support with different analytical tools as fire conditions change. We demonstrate the...

Comparison of crown fire modeling systems used in three fire management applications

Treesearch

Joe H. Scott

2006-01-01

The relative behavior of surface-crown fire spread rate modeling systems used in three fire management applications-CFIS (Crown Fire Initiation and Spread), FlamMap and NEXUS- is compared using fire environment characteristics derived from a dataset of destructively measured canopy fuel and associated stand characteristics. Although the surface-crown modeling systems...

The effect of repeated firings on the color change and surface roughness of dental ceramics

PubMed Central

Yılmaz, Kerem; Ozturk, Caner

2014-01-01

PURPOSE The color of the ceramic restorations is affected by various factors such as brand, thickness of the layered the ceramic, condensation techniques, smoothness of surface, number of firings, firing temperature and thickness of dentin. The aim of this study was to evaluate the color change and surface roughness in dental porcelain with different thicknesses during repeated firings. MATERIALS AND METHODS Disc-shaped (N=21) metal-ceramic samples (IPS Classic; Ivoclar Vivadent; Shaar, Liechtenstein) with different thickness were exposed to repeated firings. Color measurement of the samples was made using a colorimeter and profilometer was used to determine surface roughness. ANOVA and Tukey tests with repeated measurements were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS The total thickness of the ceramics which is less than 2 mm significantly have detrimental effect on the surface properties and color of porcelains during firings (P<.05). CONCLUSION Repeated firings have effects on the color change and surface roughness of the dental ceramics and should be avoided. PMID:25177475

Modeling fuel succession

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Brett; Van Wagtendonk, Jan W.; Beck, Jen; van Wagtendonk, Kent A.

2009-01-01

Surface fuels data are of critical importance for supporting fire incident management, risk assessment, and fuel management planning, but the development of surface fuels data can be expensive and time consuming. The data development process is extensive, generally beginning with acquisition of remotely sensed spatial data such as aerial photography or satellite imagery (Keane and others 2001). The spatial vegetation data are then crosswalked to a set of fire behavior fuel models that describe the available fuels (the burnable portions of the vegetation) (Anderson 1982, Scott and Burgan 2005). Finally, spatial fuels data are used as input to tools such as FARSITE and FlamMap to model current and potential fire spread and behavior (Finney 1998, Finney 2006). The capture date of the remotely sensed data defines the period for which the vegetation, and, therefore, fuels, data are most accurate. The more time that passes after the capture date, the less accurate the data become due to vegetation growth and processes such as fire. Subsequently, the results of any fire simulation based on these data become less accurate as the data age. Because of the amount of labor and expense required to develop these data, keeping them updated may prove to be a challenge. In this article, we describe the Sierra Nevada Fuel Succession Model, a modeling tool that can quickly and easily update surface fuel models with a minimum of additional input data. Although it was developed for use by Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks, it is applicable to much of the central and southern Sierra Nevada. Furthermore, the methods used to develop the model have national applicability.

Evidence for an unorthodox firing sequence employed by the Berlin Painter. Deciphering ancient ceramic firing conditions through high-resolution material characterization and replication

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

Cianchetta, I.; Trentelman, K.; Maish, J.

XANES spectroscopy was used to complement the results previously obtained with Raman spectroscopy by the same group to determine the firing conditions used in the production of a single vessel painted by the Berlin Painter in the 5th century B.C. The vessel, part of the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum, presents a complicated layered architecture of black and red gloss, with different stratigraphies present on the interior and exterior surfaces. The study of two samples, one each from the interior and exterior surface of the vessel, was performed with the complementary analytical techniques of X-ray nano- and micro-spectroscopymore » (X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) and full-field transmission X-ray micro-spectroscopy (FF-XANES) across the Fe K edge), and supported by a replication study. The replicates, made in a laboratory furnace providing complete control over the firing temperature and oxygen partial pressure, provided a paradigm for the comparison of the mineralogical phases observed in the ancient samples, which led to a deeper understanding of the firing conditions necessary for the production of the Berlin Painter's vessel. Our results confirm the necessity of multiple firings and painting applications to obtain the Berlin Painter's architecture and provide a further example of the multiplicity of techniques and practices employed by the potters of the Kerameikos in ancient Athens.« less

Evidence for an unorthodox firing sequence employed by the Berlin Painter. Deciphering ancient ceramic firing conditions through high-resolution material characterization and replication

DOE PAGES

Cianchetta, I.; Trentelman, K.; Maish, J.; ...

2014-12-10

XANES spectroscopy was used to complement the results previously obtained with Raman spectroscopy by the same group to determine the firing conditions used in the production of a single vessel painted by the Berlin Painter in the 5th century B.C. The vessel, part of the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum, presents a complicated layered architecture of black and red gloss, with different stratigraphies present on the interior and exterior surfaces. The study of two samples, one each from the interior and exterior surface of the vessel, was performed with the complementary analytical techniques of X-ray nano- and micro-spectroscopymore » (X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) and full-field transmission X-ray micro-spectroscopy (FF-XANES) across the Fe K edge), and supported by a replication study. The replicates, made in a laboratory furnace providing complete control over the firing temperature and oxygen partial pressure, provided a paradigm for the comparison of the mineralogical phases observed in the ancient samples, which led to a deeper understanding of the firing conditions necessary for the production of the Berlin Painter's vessel. Our results confirm the necessity of multiple firings and painting applications to obtain the Berlin Painter's architecture and provide a further example of the multiplicity of techniques and practices employed by the potters of the Kerameikos in ancient Athens.« less

A new method for the characterization of the degree of fire damage to gypsum wallboard for use in fire investigations.

PubMed

Gorbett, Gregory E; Morris, Sarah M; Meacham, Brian J; Wood, Christopher B

2015-01-01

A new method to characterize the degree of fire damage to gypsum wallboard is introduced, implemented, and tested to determine the efficacy of its application among novices. The method was evaluated by comparing degree of fire damage assessments of novices with and without the method. Thirty-nine "novice" raters assessed damage to a gypsum wallboard surface, completing 66 ratings, first without the method, and then again using the method. The inter-rater reliability was evaluated for ratings of damage without and with the method. For novice fire investigators rating degree of damage without the aid of the method, ICC(1,2) = 0.277 with 95% CI (0.211, 0.365), and with the method, ICC(2,1) = 0.593 with 95% CI (0.509, 0.684). Results indicate that the raters were more reliable in their analysis of the degree of fire damage when using the method, which support the use of standardized processes to decrease the variability in data collection and interpretation. © 2014 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

InSAR Detection and Field Evidence for Thermokarst after a Tundra Wildfire, Using ALOS-PALSAR

DOE PAGES

Iwahana, Go; Uchida, Masao; Liu, Lin; ...

2016-03-08

Thermokarst is the process of ground subsidence caused by either the thawing of ice-rich permafrost or the melting of massive ground ice. The consequences of permafrost degradation associated with thermokarst for surface ecology, landscape evolution, and hydrological processes have been of great scientific interest and social concern. Part of a tundra patch affected by wildfire in northern Alaska (27.5 km 2) was investigated here, using remote sensing and in situ surveys to quantify and understand permafrost thaw dynamics after surface disturbances. A two-pass differential InSAR technique using L-band ALOS-PALSAR has been shown capable of capturing thermokarst subsidence triggered by amore » tundra fire at a spatial resolution of tens of meters, with supporting evidence from field data and optical satellite images. We have introduced a calibration procedure, comparing burned and unburned areas for InSAR subsidence signals, to remove the noise due to seasonal surface movement. In the first year after the fire, an average subsidence rate of 6.2 cm/year (vertical) was measured. Subsidence in the burned area continued over the following two years, with decreased rates. The mean rate of subsidence observed in our interferograms (from 24 July 2008 to 14 September 2010) was 3.3 cm/year, a value comparable to that estimated from field surveys at two plots on average (2.2 cm/year) for the six years after the fire. These results suggest that this InSAR-measured ground subsidence is caused by the development of thermokarst, a thawing process supported by surface change observations from high-resolution optical images and in situ ground level surveys.« less

2007 Disruptive Technologies Conference - Disruptive Technologies: Turning Lists into Capabilities

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-09-05

Privilege management • Health care, benefits, finance , time and attendance, etc. • Military operations – “Combat Identification” • Friend, Foe, Neutral...Logistics Influence Force Support Corporate Mgt & Support N o im pl ie d pr io ri ti za ti on Movement & Maneuver Surface Warfare Joint Fires Undersea...Starter Generator MEMS Actuators / Valves Atomizer Nozzles Reclaimed Electrical Heat Engine UC Berkely Wankel Engine Exhaust Thermo Electric/Others

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

Hollingsworth, LaWen T.; Kurth, Laurie,; Parresol, Bernard, R.

Landscape-scale fire behavior analyses are important to inform decisions on resource management projects that meet land management objectives and protect values from adverse consequences of fire. Deterministic and probabilistic geospatial fire behavior analyses are conducted with various modeling systems including FARSITE, FlamMap, FSPro, and Large Fire Simulation System. The fundamental fire intensity algorithms in these systems require surface fire behavior fuel models and canopy cover to model surface fire behavior. Canopy base height, stand height, and canopy bulk density are required in addition to surface fire behavior fuel models and canopy cover to model crown fire activity. Several surface fuelmore » and canopy classification efforts have used various remote sensing and ecological relationships as core methods to develop the spatial layers. All of these methods depend upon consistent and temporally constant interpretations of crown attributes and their ecological conditions to estimate surface fuel conditions. This study evaluates modeled fire behavior for an 80,000 ha tract of land in the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the southeastern US using three different data sources. The Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) was used to build fuelbeds from intensive field sampling of 629 plots. Custom fire behavior fuel models were derived from these fuelbeds. LANDFIRE developed surface fire behavior fuel models and canopy attributes for the US using satellite imagery informed by field data. The Southern Wildfire Risk Assessment (SWRA) developed surface fire behavior fuel models and canopy cover for the southeastern US using satellite imagery. Differences in modeled fire behavior, data development, and data utility are summarized to assist in determining which data source may be most applicable for various land management activities and required analyses. Characterizing fire behavior under different fuel relationships provides insights for natural ecological processes, management strategies for fire mitigation, and positive and negative features of different modeling systems. A comparison of flame length, rate of spread, crown fire activity, and burn probabilities modeled with FlamMap shows some similar patterns across the landscape from all three data sources, but there are potentially important differences. All data sources showed an expected range of fire behavior. Average flame lengths ranged between 1 and 1.4 m. Rate of spread varied the greatest with a range of 2.4-5.7 m min{sup -1}. Passive crown fire was predicted for 5% of the study area using FCCS and LANDFIRE while passive crown fire was not predicted using SWRA data. No active crown fire was predicted regardless of the data source. Burn probability patterns across the landscape were similar but probability was highest using SWRA and lowest using FCCS.« less

Landscape variation in tree regeneration and snag fall drive fuel loads in 24-year old post-fire lodgepole pine forests.

PubMed

Nelson, Kellen N; Turner, Monica G; Romme, William H; Tinker, Daniel B

2016-12-01

Escalating wildfire in subalpine forests with stand-replacing fire regimes is increasing the extent of early-seral forests throughout the western USA. Post-fire succession generates the fuel for future fires, but little is known about fuel loads and their variability in young post-fire stands. We sampled fuel profiles in 24-year-old post-fire lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) stands (n = 82) that regenerated from the 1988 Yellowstone Fires to answer three questions. (1) How do canopy and surface fuel loads vary within and among young lodgepole pine stands? (2) How do canopy and surface fuels vary with pre- and post-fire lodgepole pine stand structure and environmental conditions? (3) How have surface fuels changed between eight and 24 years post-fire? Fuel complexes varied tremendously across the landscape despite having regenerated from the same fires. Available canopy fuel loads and canopy bulk density averaged 8.5 Mg/ha (range 0.0-46.6) and 0.24 kg/m 3 (range: 0.0-2.3), respectively, meeting or exceeding levels in mature lodgepole pine forests. Total surface-fuel loads averaged 123 Mg/ha (range: 43-207), and 88% was in the 1,000-h fuel class. Litter, 1-h, and 10-h surface fuel loads were lower than reported for mature lodgepole pine forests, and 1,000-h fuel loads were similar or greater. Among-plot variation was greater in canopy fuels than surface fuels, and within-plot variation was greater than among-plot variation for nearly all fuels. Post-fire lodgepole pine density was the strongest positive predictor of canopy and fine surface fuel loads. Pre-fire successional stage was the best predictor of 100-h and 1,000-h fuel loads in the post-fire stands and strongly influenced the size and proportion of sound logs (greater when late successional stands had burned) and rotten logs (greater when early successional stands had burned). Our data suggest that 76% of the young post-fire lodgepole pine forests have 1,000-h fuel loads that exceed levels associated with high-severity surface fire potential, and 63% exceed levels associated with active crown fire potential. Fire rotations in Yellowstone National Park are predicted to shorten to a few decades and this prediction cannot be ruled out by a lack of fuels to carry repeated fires. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

Fire Hazard Assessment in Supporting Fire Protection System Design of a Chemical Process Facility

DTIC Science & Technology

1996-08-01

CSDP/Studies/FireHaz –i– 3/28/97 FIRE HAZARD ASSESSMENT IN SUPPORTING FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM DESIGN OF A CHEMICAL PROCESS FACILITY Ali Pezeshk...Joseph Chang, Dwight Hunt, and Peter Jahn Parsons Infrastructure & Technology Group, Inc. Pasadena, California 91124 ABSTRACT Because fires in a chemical ...Assessment in Supporting Fire Protection System Design of a Chemical Process Facility 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6

33 CFR 334.200 - Chesapeake Bay, Point Lookout to Cedar Point; aerial and surface firing range and target area, U...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Cedar Point; aerial and surface firing range and target area, U.S. Naval Air Station, Patuxent River... Chesapeake Bay, Point Lookout to Cedar Point; aerial and surface firing range and target area, U.S. Naval Air Station, Patuxent River, Maryland, danger zones. (a) Aerial firing range—(1) The danger zone. The waters...

33 CFR 334.200 - Chesapeake Bay, Point Lookout to Cedar Point; aerial and surface firing range and target area, U...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Cedar Point; aerial and surface firing range and target area, U.S. Naval Air Station, Patuxent River... Chesapeake Bay, Point Lookout to Cedar Point; aerial and surface firing range and target area, U.S. Naval Air Station, Patuxent River, Maryland, danger zones. (a) Aerial firing range—(1) The danger zone. The waters...

33 CFR 334.200 - Chesapeake Bay, Point Lookout to Cedar Point; aerial and surface firing range and target area, U...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Cedar Point; aerial and surface firing range and target area, U.S. Naval Air Station, Patuxent River... Chesapeake Bay, Point Lookout to Cedar Point; aerial and surface firing range and target area, U.S. Naval Air Station, Patuxent River, Maryland, danger zones. (a) Aerial firing range—(1) The danger zone. The waters...

Ecological responses to el Niño-induced surface fires in central Brazilian Amazonia: management implications for flammable tropical forests.

PubMed Central

Barlow, Jos; Peres, Carlos A

2004-01-01

Over the past 20 years the combined effects of El Niño-induced droughts and land-use change have dramatically increased the frequency of fire in humid tropical forests. Despite the potential for rapid ecosystem alteration and the current prevalence of wildfire disturbance, the consequences of such fires for tropical forest biodiversity remain poorly understood. We provide a pan-tropical review of the current state of knowledge of these fires, and include data from a study in a seasonally dry terra firme forest of central Brazilian Amazonia. Overall, this study supports predictions that rates of tree mortality and changes in forest structure are strongly linked to burn severity. The potential consequences for biomass loss and carbon emissions are explored. Despite the paucity of data on faunal responses to tropical forest fires, some trends are becoming apparent; for example, large canopy frugivores and understorey insectivorous birds appear to be highly sensitive to changes in forest structure and composition during the first 3 years after fires. Finally, we appraise the management implications of fires and evaluate the viability of techniques and legislation that can be used to reduce forest flammability, prevent anthropogenic ignition sources from coming into contact with flammable forests and aid the post-fire recovery process. PMID:15212091

Developing the U.S. Wildland Fire Decision Support System

Treesearch

Erin Noonan-Wright; Tonja S. Opperman; Mark A. Finney; Tom Zimmerman; Robert C. Seli; Lisa M. Elenz; David E. Calkin; John R. Fiedler

2011-01-01

A new decision support tool, the Wildland Fire Decision Support System (WFDSS) has been developed to support risk-informed decision-making for individual fires in the United States. WFDSS accesses national weather data and forecasts, fire behavior prediction, economic assessment, smoke management assessment, and landscape databases to efficiently formulate and apply...

Madrean pine-oak forest in Arizona: altered fire regimes, altered communities

Treesearch

Andrew M. Barton

2005-01-01

In Madrean pine-oak forests in the Chiricahua Mountains, surface fire favors pines, which exhibit high top-survival, but resprouting allows oaks to rebound during inter-fire periods. These patterns plus age structure and radial growth data suggest that frequent presettlement surface fire maintained open stands, promoted a high pine:oak ratio, and excluded less fire...

High-resolution observations of combustion in heterogeneous surface fuels

Treesearch

E. Louise Loudermilk; Gary L. Achtemeier; Joseph J. O' Brien; J. Kevin Hiers; Benjamin S. Hornsby

2014-01-01

In ecosystems with frequent surface fires, fire and fuel heterogeneity at relevant scales have been largely ignored. This could be because complete burns give an impression of homogeneity, or due to the difficulty in capturing fine-scale variation in fuel characteristics and fire behaviour. Fire movement between patches of fuel can have implications for modelling fire...

Support Assistants for Fire Emergencies; Student Manual, Part A. Firefighting for Civil Defense Emergencies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

International Association of Fire Chiefs, New York, NY.

A manual intended to help fire departments and Civil Defense organizations train people to support regular fire forces during a national emergency is presented. It contains 11 chapters: Introduction, Modern Weapons and Radioactive Fallout, Role of Fire Service in Civil Defense, Local Fire Department Organization, Role of Support Assistants in…

Human versus lightning ignition of presettlement surface fires in costal pine forests of the upper Great Lakes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Loope, Walter L.; Anderton, John B.

1998-01-01

To recover direct evidence of surface fires before European settlement, we sectioned fire-scarred logging-era stumps and trees in 39 small, physically isolated sand patches along the Great Lakes coast of northern Michigan and northern Wisconsin. While much information was lost to postharvest fire and stump deterioration, 147 fire-free intervals revealed in cross-sections from 29 coastal sand patches document numerous close interval surface fires before 1910; only one post-1910 fire was documented. Cross-sections from the 10 sections with records spanning >150 yr suggest local fire occurrence rates before 1910 ca. 10 times the present rate of lightning-caused fire. Since fire spread between or into coastal sand patches is rare, and seasonal use of the patches by Native people before 1910 is well documented, both historically and ethnographically, ignition by humans probably accounts for more than half of the pre-1910 fires recorded in cross-sections.

The Effects of Fire on the Function of the 200-BP-1 Engineered Surface Barrier

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

Ward, Anderson L.; Link, Steven O.; Hasan, Nazmul

2009-09-01

A critical unknown in use of barrier technology for long-term waste isolation is performance after a major disturbance especially when institutional controls are intact, but there are no resources to implement corrective actions. The objective of this study was to quantify the effects of wild fire on alterations the function of an engineered barrier. A controlled burn September 26, 2008 was used to remove all the vegetation from the north side of the barrier. Flame heights exceeded 9 m and temperatures ranged from 250 oC at 1.5 cm below the surface to over 700 oC at 1 m above themore » surface. Post-fire analysis of soil properties show significant decreases in wettability, hydraulic conductivity, air entry pressure, organic matter, and porosity relative to pre-fire conditions whereas dry bulk density increased. Decreases in hydraulic conductivity and wettabilty immediately after the fire are implicated in a surface runoff event that occurred in January 2009, the first in 13 years. There was a significant increase in macro-nutrients, pH, and electrical conductivity. After one year, hydrophobicity has returned to pre-burn levels with only 16% of samples still showing signs of decreased wettability. Over the same period, hydraulic conductivity and air entry pressure returned to pre-burn levels at one third of the locations but remained identical to values recorded immediately after the fire at the other two thirds. Soil nutrients, pH, and electrical conductivity remain elevated after 1 year. Species composition on the burned surface changed markedly from prior years and relative to the unburned surface and two analog sites. An increase in the proportion of annuals and biennials is characteristic of burned surfaces that have become dominated by ruderal species. Greenhouse seedling emergence tests conducted to assess the seed bank of pre- and post-burn soils and of two analog sites at the McGee Ranch show no difference in the number of species emerging from soils collected before and after the fire. However, there were fewer species emerging from the seed bank on the side slopes and more species emerging from two analog sites. Leaf area index measures confirmed the substantial differences in plant communities after fire. Xylem pressure potential were considerably higher on the burned half of the barrier in September 2009 suggesting that not all the water in the soil profile will be removed before the fall rains begin. The results of this study are expected to contribute to a better understanding of barrier performance after major disturbances in a post-institutional control environment. Such an understanding is needed to enhance stakeholder acceptance regarding the long-term efficacy of engineered barriers. This study will also support improvements in the design of evapotranspiration (ET) and hybrid (ET + capacitive) barriers and the performance monitoring systems.« less

Fire Impact on Surface Fuels and Carbon Emissions in Scots pine Logged Sites of Siberia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanova, G. A.; Kukavskaya, E. A.; Bogorodskaya, A. V.; Ivanov, V. A.; Zhila, S. V.; Conard, S. G.

2012-04-01

Forest fire and large-scale forest harvesting are the two major disturbances in the Russian boreal forests. Non-recovered logged sites total about a million hectares. Logged sites are characterized by higher fire hazard than forest sites due great amounts of logging slash, which dries out much more rapidly compared to understory fuels. Moreover, most logging sites can be easily accessed by local population. Both legal and illegal logging are also increasing rapidly in many forest areas of Siberia. Fire effects on forest overstory, subcanopy woody layer, and ground vegetation biomass were estimated on logged vs. unlogged sites in the Central Siberia region in 2009-2012 as a part of the project "The Influence of Changing Forestry Practices on the Effects of Wildfire and on Interactions Between Fire and Changing Climate in Central Siberia" supported by NASA (NEESPI). Dead down woody fuels are significantly less at unburned/logged area of dry southern regions compared to more humid northern regions. Fuel consumption was typically less in spring fires than during summer fires. Fire-caused carbon emissions on logged sites appeared to be twice that on unlogged sites. Soil respiration is less at logged areas compared to undisturbed forest. After fire soil respiration decreases both at logged and unlogged areas. arbon emissions from fire and post-fire ecosystem damage on logged sites are expected to increase under changing climate conditions and as a result of anticipated increases in future forest harvesting in Siberia.

Joint Fire Support in 2020: Development of a Future Joint Fires Systems Architecture for Immediate, Unplanned Targets

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-12-01

Undersea Warfare Commander VHF Very High Frequency VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol WCS Weapons...USN surface and undersea warfare, USN and USA communications and networking operations, and USAF acquisition and aircraft maintenance projects. In...kin g 1 x x BN -R EG T- BD E Co or di na tio n 1 x x x x Pr ov id in g Ba tte ry Ta sk in g, E ng ag e, C oo rd in at io n 1 1 x x x Pr ov id in

Integrating climatic and fuels information into National Fire Risk Decision Support Tools

Treesearch

W. Cooke; V. Anantharaj; C. Wax; J. Choi; K. Grala; M. Jolly; G.P. Dixon; J. Dyer; D.L. Evans; G.B. Goodrich

2007-01-01

The Wildland Fire Assessment System (WFAS) is a component of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Decision Support Systems (DSS) that support fire potential modeling. Fire potential models for Mississippi and for Eastern fire environments have been developed as part of a National Aeronautic and Space Agency-funded study aimed at demonstrating the utility...

30 CFR 57.4330 - Surface firefighting, evacuation, and rescue procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... NONMETAL MINES Fire Prevention and Control Firefighting Procedures/alarms/drills § 57.4330 Surface... coordinated in advance with available firefighting organizations. (b) Fire alarm procedures or systems shall be established to promptly warn every person who could be endangered by a fire. (c) Fire alarm...

30 CFR 57.4330 - Surface firefighting, evacuation, and rescue procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... NONMETAL MINES Fire Prevention and Control Firefighting Procedures/alarms/drills § 57.4330 Surface... coordinated in advance with available firefighting organizations. (b) Fire alarm procedures or systems shall be established to promptly warn every person who could be endangered by a fire. (c) Fire alarm...

30 CFR 57.4330 - Surface firefighting, evacuation, and rescue procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... NONMETAL MINES Fire Prevention and Control Firefighting Procedures/alarms/drills § 57.4330 Surface... coordinated in advance with available firefighting organizations. (b) Fire alarm procedures or systems shall be established to promptly warn every person who could be endangered by a fire. (c) Fire alarm...

30 CFR 57.4330 - Surface firefighting, evacuation, and rescue procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... NONMETAL MINES Fire Prevention and Control Firefighting Procedures/alarms/drills § 57.4330 Surface... coordinated in advance with available firefighting organizations. (b) Fire alarm procedures or systems shall be established to promptly warn every person who could be endangered by a fire. (c) Fire alarm...

Changes to Cretaceous surface fire behaviour influenced the spread of the early angiosperms.

PubMed

Belcher, Claire M; Hudspith, Victoria A

2017-02-01

Angiosperms evolved and diversified during the Cretaceous period. Early angiosperms were short-stature weedy plants thought to have increased fire frequency and mortality in gymnosperm forest, aiding their own expansion. However, no explorations have considered whether the range of novel fuel types that diversified throughout the Cretaceous also altered fire behaviour, which should link more strongly to mortality than fire frequency alone. We measured ignitability and heat of combustion in analogue Cretaceous understorey fuels (conifer litter, ferns, weedy and shrubby angiosperms) and used these data to model palaeofire behaviour. Variations in ignition, driven by weedy angiosperms alone, were found to have been a less important feedback to changes in Cretaceous fire activity than previously estimated. Our model estimates suggest that fires in shrub and fern understories had significantly greater fireline intensities than those fuelled by conifer litter or weedy angiosperms, and whilst fern understories supported the most rapid fire spread, angiosperm shrubs delivered the largest amount of heat per unit area. The higher fireline intensities predicted by the models led to estimates of enhanced scorch of the gymnosperm canopy and a greater chance of transitioning to crown fires. Therefore, changes in fire behaviour driven by the addition of new Cretaceous fuel groups may have assisted the angiosperm expansion. © 2016 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2016 New Phytologist Trust.

Global trends in wildfire and its impacts: perceptions versus realities in a changing world

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Wildfire has been an important process affecting the Earth's surface and atmosphere for over 350 million years and human societies have coexisted with fire since their emergence. Yet many consider wildfire as an accelerating problem, with widely held perceptions both in the media and scientific papers of increasing fire occurrence, severity and resulting losses. However, important exceptions aside, the quantitative evidence available does not support these perceived overall trends. Instead, global area burned appears to have overall declined over past decades, and there is increasing evidence that there is less fire in the global landscape today than centuries ago. Regarding fire severity, limited data are available. For the western USA, they indicate little change overall, and also that area burned at high severity has overall declined compared to pre-European settlement. Direct fatalities from fire and economic losses also show no clear trends over the past three decades. Trends in indirect impacts, such as health problems from smoke or disruption to social functioning, remain insufficiently quantified to be examined. Global predictions for increased fire under a warming climate highlight the already urgent need for a more sustainable coexistence with fire. The data evaluation presented here aims to contribute to this by reducing misconceptions and facilitating a more informed understanding of the realities of global fire. This article is part of themed issue ‘The interaction of fire and mankind’. PMID:27216515

Global trends in wildfire and its impacts: perceptions versus realities in a changing world.

PubMed

Doerr, Stefan H; Santín, Cristina

2016-06-05

Wildfire has been an important process affecting the Earth's surface and atmosphere for over 350 million years and human societies have coexisted with fire since their emergence. Yet many consider wildfire as an accelerating problem, with widely held perceptions both in the media and scientific papers of increasing fire occurrence, severity and resulting losses. However, important exceptions aside, the quantitative evidence available does not support these perceived overall trends. Instead, global area burned appears to have overall declined over past decades, and there is increasing evidence that there is less fire in the global landscape today than centuries ago. Regarding fire severity, limited data are available. For the western USA, they indicate little change overall, and also that area burned at high severity has overall declined compared to pre-European settlement. Direct fatalities from fire and economic losses also show no clear trends over the past three decades. Trends in indirect impacts, such as health problems from smoke or disruption to social functioning, remain insufficiently quantified to be examined. Global predictions for increased fire under a warming climate highlight the already urgent need for a more sustainable coexistence with fire. The data evaluation presented here aims to contribute to this by reducing misconceptions and facilitating a more informed understanding of the realities of global fire.This article is part of themed issue 'The interaction of fire and mankind'. © 2016 The Author(s).

Impact of fire on macropore flow and the hydraulic conductivity of near-surface blanket peat

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holden, Joseph; Wearing, Catherine; Palmer, Sheila; Jackson, Benjamin; Johnston, Kerrylyn; Brown, Lee

2013-04-01

Peatlands can be subject to wildfire or deliberate burning in many locations. Wildfires are known to impact soil properties and runoff production in most soil types but relatively little work has been conducted on peatlands. Furthermore in large parts of the UK uplands prescribed vegetation burning on peat has taken place at regular intervals (e.g. every 8-25 years) on patches of around 300-900 sq. metres over the past century to support increased grouse populations for sport shooting. However, there have been few studies on how these prescribed fires influence near-surface hydrology. It is known that macropores transport a large proportion of flow in near-surface peat layers and we investigated their role in flow transport for fire sites using tension infiltrometers. Measurements were performed, at replicated hillslope positions to control for slope position effects, on unburnt peat (U) and where prescribed burning had taken place two years (P2), four years (P4) and >15 years (P15+) prior to sampling. For the prescribed burning plots, vegetation burning had also occurred at around a 15-20 year interval for most of the past century. We also sampled a nearby wildfire site (W) with the same sampling design where wildfire had occurred four months prior to sampling. Both the contribution of macropore flow to overall infiltration, and the saturated hydraulic conductivity, were significantly lower in the recently burnt sites (W, P2, P4), compared to P15+ and U. There was no significant difference in macropore flow contributions, effective macroporosity and saturated hydraulic conductivity between P15+ and U. The results suggest fire influences the near-surface hydrological functioning of peatlands but that 'recovery' for some hydrological processes to prescribed vegetation burning may be possible within two decades if there are no further fires.

Modeling the Hydrologic Response to Changes in Groundcover Conditions Caused by Fire Disturbances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kikinzon, E.; Atchley, A. L.; Coon, E.; Middleton, R. S.

2016-12-01

Climate change and fire suppression increase wildfire activity, which alters ecosystem functions and can significantly impact hydrological response. Both wildfire and prescribed burns reduce groundcover, affect top layers of subsurface, and change the structure of overland flow pathways. To understand respective effects on surface and subsurface hydrology, it is imperative to accurately represent surface-subsurface interface pre and post-fire, and to model physical processes in groundcover components. We show mechanistic models used to describe physics in two key types of groundcover, litter and duff, in Advanced Terrestrial Simulator (ATS). Litter is considered to be a part of vegetative canopy covering the surface. It has associated water storage capacity, which allows simulating interception and drainage, and its thickness is used to evaluate surface roughness with potential effect of slowing overland flow compared to bare soil. Duff on the other hand is incorporated into the subsurface, thus requiring meshing and discretization capability to support complex geometries including pinchouts, which is necessary both for achieving desired mesh resolution and portraying bare soil patches without adversely affecting the time scale. As part of the subsurface, duff has its own hydrologic and water retention properties used to resolve infiltration and saturation limited runoff generation, run on, and infiltration processes. This enables the use of ATS for fine scale modeling of integrated hydrology with adequate representation of groundcover influence. To isolate the impact of changing groundcover, we consider a simple hill slope and study the hydrological response to varying amount and geometries of groundcover. To cover landscape characteristics produced by a wide variety of fire conditions, from high intensity to low intensity fire impacts, we simulate hydrologic response to precipitation events over a number of typical geometries and with fine control over amounts of two described types of groundcover. We then analyze hydrological sensitivity to presence or absence of particular groundcover types, their respective patchiness, and possible changes in overland flow pathways.

Reconstructing satellite images to quantify spatially explicit land surface change caused by fires and succession: A demonstration in the Yukon River Basin of interior Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Huang, Shengli; Jin, Suming; Dahal, Devendra; Chen, Xuexia; Young, Claudia; Liu, Heping; Liu, Shuguang

2013-01-01

Land surface change caused by fires and succession is confounded by many site-specific factors and requires further study. The objective of this study was to reveal the spatially explicit land surface change by minimizing the confounding factors of weather variability, seasonal offset, topography, land cover, and drainage. In a pilot study of the Yukon River Basin of interior Alaska, we retrieved Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), albedo, and land surface temperature (LST) from a postfire Landsat image acquired on August 5th, 2004. With a Landsat reference image acquired on June 26th, 1986, we reconstructed NDVI, albedo, and LST of 1987–2004 fire scars for August 5th, 2004, assuming that these fires had not occurred. The difference between actual postfire and assuming-no-fire scenarios depicted the fires and succession impact. Our results demonstrated the following: (1) NDVI showed an immediate decrease after burning but gradually recovered to prefire levels in the following years, in which burn severity might play an important role during this process; (2) Albedo showed an immediate decrease after burning but then recovered and became higher than prefire levels; and (3) Most fires caused surface warming, but cooler surfaces did exist; time-since-fire affected the prefire and postfire LST difference but no absolute trend could be found. Our approach provided spatially explicit land surface change rather than average condition, enabling a better understanding of fires and succession impact on ecological consequences at the pixel level.

Pre-fire and post-fire surface fuel and cover measurements collected in the southeastern United States for model evaluation and development - RxCADRE 2008, 2011 and 2012

Treesearch

Roger D. Ottmar; Andrew T. Hudak; Susan J. Prichard; Clinton S. Wright; Joseph C. Restaino; Maureen C. Kennedy; Robert E. Vihnanek

2016-01-01

A lack of independent, quality-assured data prevents scientists from effectively evaluating predictions and uncertainties in fire models used by land managers. This paper presents a summary of pre-fire and post-fire fuel, fuel moisture and surface cover fraction data that can be used for fire model evaluation and development. The data were collected in the...

Modern fire regime resembles historical fire regime in a ponderosa pine forest on Native American land

Treesearch

Amanda B. Stan; Peter Z. Fule; Kathryn B. Ireland; Jamie S. Sanderlin

2014-01-01

Forests on tribal lands in the western United States have seen the return of low-intensity surface fires for several decades longer than forests on non-tribal lands. We examined the surface fire regime in a ponderosa pinedominated (Pinus ponderosa) forest on the Hualapai tribal lands in the south-western United States. Using fire-scarred trees, we inferred temporal (...

Relationship of post-fire ground cover to surface fuel loads and consumption in longleaf pine ecosystems

Treesearch

Andrew T. Hudak; Roger D. Ottmar; Robert E. Vihnanek; Clint S. Wright

2014-01-01

The RxCADRE research team collected multi-scale measurements of pre-, during, and post-fire variables on operational prescribed fires conducted in 2008, 2011, and 2012 in longleaf pine ecosystems in the southeastern USA. Pre- and post-fire surface fuel loads were characterized in alternating pre- and post-fire clip plots systematically established within burn units....

The Wildland Fire Decision Support System: Integrating science, technology, and fire management

Treesearch

Morgan Pence; Tom Zimmerman

2011-01-01

Federal agency policy requires documentation and analysis of all wildland fire response decisions. In the past, planning and decision documentation for fires were completed using multiple unconnected processes, yielding many limitations. In response, interagency fire management executives chartered the development of the Wildland Fire Decision Support System (WFDSS)....

Patterns of Canopy and Surface Layer Consumption in a Boreal Forest Fire from Repeat Airborne Lidar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alonzo, Michael; Morton, Douglas C.; Cook, Bruce D.; Andersen, Hans-Erik; Babcock, Chad; Pattison, Robert

2017-01-01

Fire in the boreal region is the dominant agent of forest disturbance with direct impacts on ecosystem structure, carbon cycling, and global climate. Global and biome-scale impacts are mediated by burn severity, measured as loss of forest canopy and consumption of the soil organic layer. To date, knowledge of the spatial variability in burn severity has been limited by sparse field sampling and moderate resolution satellite data. Here, we used pre- and post-fire airborne lidar data to directly estimate changes in canopy vertical structure and surface elevation for a 2005 boreal forest fire on Alaskas Kenai Peninsula. We found that both canopy and surface losses were strongly linked to pre-fire species composition and exhibited important fine-scale spatial variability at sub-30m resolution. The fractional reduction in canopy volume ranged from 0.61 in lowland black spruce stands to 0.27 in mixed white spruce and broad leaf forest. Residual structure largely reflects standing dead trees, highlighting the influence of pre-fire forest structure on delayed carbon losses from above ground biomass, post-fire albedo, and variability in understory light environments. Median loss of surface elevation was highest in lowland black spruce stands (0.18 m) but much lower in mixed stands (0.02 m), consistent with differences in pre-fire organic layer accumulation. Spatially continuous depth-of-burn estimates from repeat lidar measurements provide novel information to constrain carbon emissions from the surface organic layer and may inform related research on post-fire successional trajectories. Spectral measures of burn severity from Landsat were correlated with canopy (r = 0.76) and surface (r = -0.71) removal in black spruce stands but captured less of the spatial variability in fire effects for mixed stands (canopy r = 0.56, surface r = -0.26), underscoring the difficulty in capturing fire effects in heterogeneous boreal forest landscapes using proxy measures of burn severity from Landsat.

Patterns of canopy and surface layer consumption in a boreal forest fire from repeat airborne lidar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alonzo, Michael; Morton, Douglas C.; Cook, Bruce D.; Andersen, Hans-Erik; Babcock, Chad; Pattison, Robert

2017-05-01

Fire in the boreal region is the dominant agent of forest disturbance with direct impacts on ecosystem structure, carbon cycling, and global climate. Global and biome-scale impacts are mediated by burn severity, measured as loss of forest canopy and consumption of the soil organic layer. To date, knowledge of the spatial variability in burn severity has been limited by sparse field sampling and moderate resolution satellite data. Here, we used pre- and post-fire airborne lidar data to directly estimate changes in canopy vertical structure and surface elevation for a 2005 boreal forest fire on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. We found that both canopy and surface losses were strongly linked to pre-fire species composition and exhibited important fine-scale spatial variability at sub-30 m resolution. The fractional reduction in canopy volume ranged from 0.61 in lowland black spruce stands to 0.27 in mixed white spruce and broadleaf forest. Residual structure largely reflects standing dead trees, highlighting the influence of pre-fire forest structure on delayed carbon losses from aboveground biomass, post-fire albedo, and variability in understory light environments. Median loss of surface elevation was highest in lowland black spruce stands (0.18 m) but much lower in mixed stands (0.02 m), consistent with differences in pre-fire organic layer accumulation. Spatially continuous depth-of-burn estimates from repeat lidar measurements provide novel information to constrain carbon emissions from the surface organic layer and may inform related research on post-fire successional trajectories. Spectral measures of burn severity from Landsat were correlated with canopy (r = 0.76) and surface (r = -0.71) removal in black spruce stands but captured less of the spatial variability in fire effects for mixed stands (canopy r = 0.56, surface r = -0.26), underscoring the difficulty in capturing fire effects in heterogeneous boreal forest landscapes using proxy measures of burn severity from Landsat.

Characterization of post-fire surface cover, soils, and burn severity at the Cerro Grande Fire, New Mexico, using hyperspectral and multispectral remote sensing

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kokaly, R.F.; Rockwell, B.W.; Haire, S.L.; King, T.V.V.

2007-01-01

Forest fires leave behind a changed ecosystem with a patchwork of surface cover that includes ash, charred organic matter, soils and soil minerals, and dead, damaged, and living vegetation. The distributions of these materials affect post-fire processes of erosion, nutrient cycling, and vegetation regrowth. We analyzed high spatial resolution (2.4??m pixel size) Airborne Visible and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) data collected over the Cerro Grande fire, to map post-fire surface cover into 10 classes, including ash, soil minerals, scorched conifer trees, and green vegetation. The Cerro Grande fire occurred near Los Alamos, New Mexico, in May 2000. The AVIRIS data were collected September 3, 2000. The surface cover map revealed complex patterns of ash, iron oxide minerals, and clay minerals in areas of complete combustion. Scorched conifer trees, which retained dry needles heated by the fire but not fully combusted by the flames, were found to cover much of the post-fire landscape. These scorched trees were found in narrow zones at the edges of completely burned areas. A surface cover map was also made using Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus (ETM+) data, collected September 5, 2000, and a maximum likelihood, supervised classification. When compared to AVIRIS, the Landsat classification grossly overestimated cover by dry conifer and ash classes and severely underestimated soil and green vegetation cover. In a comparison of AVIRIS surface cover to the Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation (BAER) map of burn severity, the BAER high burn severity areas did not capture the variable patterns of post-fire surface cover by ash, soil, and scorched conifer trees seen in the AVIRIS map. The BAER map, derived from air photos, also did not capture the distribution of scorched trees that were observed in the AVIRIS map. Similarly, the moderate severity class of Landsat-derived burn severity maps generated from the differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR) calculation had low agreement with the AVIRIS classes of scorched conifer trees. Burn severity and surface cover images were found to contain complementary information, with the dNBR map presenting an image of degree of change caused by fire and the AVIRIS-derived map showing specific surface cover resulting from fire.

The Application of LANDSAT Multi-Temporal Thermal Infrared Data to Identify Coal Fire in the Khanh Hoa Coal Mine, Thai Nguyen province, Vietnam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trinh, Le Hung; Zablotskii, V. R.

2017-12-01

The Khanh Hoa coal mine is a surface coal mine in the Thai Nguyen province, which is one of the largest deposits of coal in the Vietnam. Numerous reasons such as improper mining techniques and policy, as well as unauthorized mining caused surface and subsurface coal fire in this area. Coal fire is a dangerous phenomenon which affects the environment seriously by releasing toxic fumes which causes forest fires, and subsidence of infrastructure surface. This article presents study on the application of LANDSAT multi-temporal thermal infrared images, which help to detect coal fire. The results obtained in this study can be used to monitor fire zones so as to give warnings and solutions to prevent coal fire.

33 CFR 334.200 - Chesapeake Bay, Point Lookout to Cedar Point; aerial and surface firing range and target area, U...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Cedar Point; aerial and surface firing range and target area, U.S. Naval Air Station, Patuxent River... Chesapeake Bay, Point Lookout to Cedar Point; aerial and surface firing range and target area, U.S. Naval Air...) The regulations. (i) Through navigation of surface craft outside the target areas will be permitted at...

PREFER: a European service providing forest fire management support products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eftychidis, George; Laneve, Giovanni; Ferrucci, Fabrizio; Sebastian Lopez, Ana; Lourenco, Louciano; Clandillon, Stephen; Tampellini, Lucia; Hirn, Barbara; Diagourtas, Dimitris; Leventakis, George

2015-06-01

PREFER is a Copernicus project of the EC-FP7 program which aims developing spatial information products that may support fire prevention and burned areas restoration decisions and establish a relevant web-based regional service for making these products available to fire management stakeholders. The service focuses to the Mediterranean region, where fire risk is high and damages from wildfires are quite important, and develop its products for pilot areas located in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France and Greece. PREFER aims to allow fire managers to have access to online resources, which shall facilitate fire prevention measures, fire hazard and risk assessment, estimation of fire impact and damages caused by wildfire as well as support monitoring of post-fire regeneration and vegetation recovery. It makes use of a variety of products delivered by space borne sensors and develop seasonal and daily products using multi-payload, multi-scale and multi-temporal analysis of EO data. The PREFER Service portfolio consists of two main suite of products. The first refers to mapping products for supporting decisions concerning the Preparedness/Prevention Phase (ISP Service). The service delivers Fuel, Hazard and Fire risk maps for this purpose. Furthermore the PREFER portfolio includes Post-fire vegetation recovery, burn scar maps, damage severity and 3D fire damage assessment products in order to support relative assessments required in context of the Recovery/Reconstruction Phase (ISR Service) of fire management.

Performance of fire behavior fuel models developed for the Rothermel Surface Fire Spread Model

Treesearch

Robert Ziel; W. Matt Jolly

2009-01-01

In 2005, 40 new fire behavior fuel models were published for use with the Rothermel Surface Fire Spread Model. These new models are intended to augment the original 13 developed in 1972 and 1976. As a compiled set of quantitative fuel descriptions that serve as input to the Rothermel model, the selected fire behavior fuel model has always been critical to the resulting...

Standard fire behavior fuel models: a comprehensive set for use with Rothermel's surface fire spread model

Treesearch

Joe H. Scott; Robert E. Burgan

2005-01-01

This report describes a new set of standard fire behavior fuel models for use with Rothermel's surface fire spread model and the relationship of the new set to the original set of 13 fire behavior fuel models. To assist with transition to using the new fuel models, a fuel model selection guide, fuel model crosswalk, and set of fuel model photos are provided.

Ignition and combustion of bulk metals in a microgravity environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Branch, Melvyn C.; Daily, J. W.; Abbud-Madrid, Angel

1994-01-01

Knowledge of the oxidation, ignition, and combustion of bulk metals is important for fire safety in the production, management, and utilization of liquid and gaseous oxygen for ground based and space applications. This report summarizes research under NASA support to investigate the ignition and combustion characteristics of bulk metals under varying gravity conditions. Metal ignition and combustion have not been studied previously under these conditions and the results are important not only for improved fire safety but also to increase knowledge of basic ignition and combustion mechanisms. The studies completed to date have led to the development of a clean and reproducible ignition source and diagnostic techniques for combustion measurements and have provided normal gravity combustion data on ten different pure metals. Metal specimens were ignited using a xenon short-arc lamp and measurements were made of the radiant energy flux, surface temperature history, spectroscopy of surface and gas products, and surface morphology and chemistry. Elevated gravity was provided by the University of Colorado Geotechnical Centrifuge.

Grid cells on steeply sloping terrain: evidence for planar rather than volumetric encoding

PubMed Central

Hayman, Robin M. A.; Casali, Giulio; Wilson, Jonathan J.; Jeffery, Kate J.

2015-01-01

Neural encoding of navigable space involves a network of structures centered on the hippocampus, whose neurons –place cells – encode current location. Input to the place cells includes afferents from the entorhinal cortex, which contains grid cells. These are neurons expressing spatially localized activity patches, or firing fields, that are evenly spaced across the floor in a hexagonal close-packed array called a grid. It is thought that grids function to enable the calculation of distances. The question arises as to whether this odometry process operates in three dimensions, and so we queried whether grids permeate three-dimensional (3D) space – that is, form a lattice – or whether they simply follow the environment surface. If grids form a 3D lattice then this lattice would ordinarily be aligned horizontally (to explain the usual hexagonal pattern observed). A tilted floor would transect several layers of this putative lattice, resulting in interruption of the hexagonal pattern. We model this prediction with simulated grid lattices, and show that the firing of a grid cell on a 40°-tilted surface should cover proportionally less of the surface, with smaller field size, fewer fields, and reduced hexagonal symmetry. However, recording of real grid cells as animals foraged on a 40°-tilted surface found that firing of grid cells was almost indistinguishable, in pattern or rate, from that on the horizontal surface, with if anything increased coverage and field number, and preserved field size. It thus appears unlikely that the sloping surface transected a lattice. However, grid cells on the slope displayed slightly degraded firing patterns, with reduced coherence and slightly reduced symmetry. These findings collectively suggest that the grid cell component of the metric representation of space is not fixed in absolute 3D space but is influenced both by the surface the animal is on and by the relationship of this surface to the horizontal, supporting the hypothesis that the neural map of space is “multi-planar” rather than fully volumetric. PMID:26236245

Predicting Fire Severity and Hydrogeomorphic Effects for Wildland Fire Decision Support

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hyde, K.; Woods, S. W.; Calkin, D.; Ryan, K.; Keane, R.

2007-12-01

The Wildland Fire Decision Support System (WFDSS) uses the Fire Spread Probability (FSPro) model to predict the spatial extent of fire, and to assess values-at-risk within probable spread zones. This information is used to support Appropriate Management Response (AMR), which involves decision making regarding fire-fighter deployment, fire suppression requirements, and identification of areas where fire may be safely permitted to take its course. Current WFDSS assessments are generally limited to a binary prediction of whether or not a fire will reach a given location and an assessment of the infrastructure which may be damaged or destroyed by fire. However, an emerging challenge is to expand the capabilities of WFDSS so that it also estimates the probable fire severity, and hence the effect on soil, vegetation and on hydrologic and geomorphic processes such as runoff and soil erosion. We present a conceptual framework within which derivatives of predictive fire modelling are used to predict impacts upon vegetation and soil, from which fire severity and probable post-fire watershed response can be inferred, before a fire actually occurs. Fire severity predictions are validated using Burned Area Reflectance Classification imagery. Recent tests indicate that satellite derived BARC images are a simple and effective means to predict post-fire erosion response based on relative vegetation disturbance. A fire severity prediction which reasonably approximates a BARC image may therefore be used to assess post-fire erosion and flood potential before fire reaches an area. This information may provide a new avenue of reliable support for fire management decisions.

A stand-replacing fire history in upper montane forests of the southern Rocky Mountains

USGS Publications Warehouse

Margolis, E.Q.; Swetnam, T.W.; Allen, Craig D.

2007-01-01

Dendroecological techniques were applied to reconstruct stand-replacing fire history in upper montane forests in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. Fourteen stand-replacing fires were dated to 8 unique fire years (1842–1901) using four lines of evidence at each of 12 sites within the upper Rio Grande Basin. The four lines of evidence were (i) quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) inner-ring dates, (ii) fire-killed conifer bark-ring dates, (iii) tree-ring width changes or other morphological indicators of injury, and (iv) fire scars. The annual precision of dating allowed the identification of synchronous stand-replacing fire years among the sites, and co-occurrence with regional surface fire events previously reconstructed from a network of fire scar collections in lower elevation pine forests across the southwestern United States. Nearly all of the synchronous stand-replacing and surface fire years coincided with severe droughts, because climate variability created regional conditions where stand-replacing fires and surface fires burned across ecosystems. Reconstructed stand-replacing fires that predate substantial Anglo-American settlement in this region provide direct evidence that stand-replacing fires were a feature of high-elevation forests before extensive and intensive land-use practices (e.g., logging, railroad, and mining) began in the late 19th century.

Broadleaf deciduous forest counterbalanced the direct effect of climate on Holocene fire regime in hemiboreal/boreal region (NE Europe)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feurdean, Angelica; Veski, Siim; Florescu, Gabriela; Vannière, Boris; Pfeiffer, Mirjam; O'Hara, Robert B.; Stivrins, Normunds; Amon, Leeli; Heinsalu, Atko; Vassiljev, Jüri; Hickler, Thomas

2017-08-01

Disturbances by fire are essential for the functioning of boreal/hemiboreal forests, but knowledge of long-term fire regime dynamics is limited. We analysed macrocharcoal morphologies and pollen of a sediment record from Lake Lielais Svētiņu (eastern Latvia), and in conjunction with fire traits analysis present the first record of Holocene variability in fire regime, fuel sources and fire types in boreal forests of the Baltic region. We found a phase of moderate to high fire activity during the cool and moist early (mean fire return interval; mFRI of ∼280 years; 11,700-7500 cal yr BP) and the late (mFRI of ∼190 years; 4500-0 cal yr BP) Holocene and low fire activity (mFRI of ∼630 years) during the Holocene Thermal Optimum (7500-4500 cal yr BP). Charcoal morphotypes and the pollen record show the predominance of frequent surface fires, occasionally transitioning to the crown during Pinus sylvestris-Betula boreal forests and less frequent surface fires during the dominance of temperate deciduous forests. In contrast to the prevailing opinion that fires in boreal forests are mostly low to moderate severity surface fires, we found evidence for common occurrence of stand-replacing crown fires in Picea abies canopy. Our results highlight that charcoal morphotypes analysis allows for distinguishing the fuel types and surface from crown fires, therefore significantly advancing our interpretation of fire regime. Future warmer temperatures and increase in the frequency of dry spells and abundant biomass accumulation can enhance the fire risk on the one hand, but will probably promote the expansion of broadleaf deciduous forests to higher latitudes, on the other hand. By highlighting the capability of broadleaf deciduous forests to act as fire-suppressing landscape elements, our results suggest that fire activity may not increase in the Baltic area under future climate change.

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.

Initial Test Firing Results for Solid CO/GOX Cryogenic Hybrid Rocket Engine for Mars ISRU Propulsion Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rice, Eric E.; St. Clair, Christopher P.; Chiaverini, Martin J.; Knuth, William H.; Gustafson, Robert J.; Gramer, Daniel J.

1999-01-01

ORBITEC is developing methods for producing, testing, and utilizing Mars-based ISRU fuel/oxidizer combinations to support low cost, planetary surface and flight propulsion and power systems. When humans explore Mars we will need to use in situ resources that are available, such as: energy (solar); gases or liquids for life support, ground transportation, and flight to and from other surface locations and Earth; and materials for shielding and building habitats and infrastructure. Probably the easiest use of Martian resources to reduce the cost of human exploration activities is the use of the carbon and oxygen readily available from the CO2 in the Mars atmosphere. ORBITEC has conducted preliminary R&D that will eventually allow us to reliably use these resources. ORBITEC is focusing on the innovative use of solid CO as a fuel. A new advanced cryogenic hybrid rocket propulsion system is suggested that will offer advantages over LCO/LOX propulsion, making it the best option for a Mars sample return vehicle and other flight vehicles. This technology could also greatly support logistics and base operations by providing a reliable and simple way to store solar or nuclear generated energy in the form of chemical energy that can be used for ground transportation (rovers/land vehicles) and planetary surface power generators. This paper describes the overall concept and the test results of the first ever solid carbon monoxide/oxygen rocket engine firing.

Prevention and suppression of metal packing fires.

PubMed

Roberts, Mark; Rogers, William J; Sam Mannan, M; Ostrowski, Scott W

2003-11-14

Structured packing has been widely used because of large surface area that makes possible columns with high capacity and efficiency. The large surface area also contributes to fire hazards because of hydrocarbon deposits that can easily combust and promote combustion of the thin metal packing materials. Materials of high surface area that can fuel fires include reactive metals, such as titanium, and materials that are not considered combustible, such as stainless steel. Column design and material selection for packing construction is discussed together with employee training and practices for safe column maintenance and operations. Presented also are methods and agents for suppression of metal fires. Guidance for prevention and suppression of metal fires is related to incidents involving packing fires in columns.

History of Fire Events in the U.S. Commercial Nuclear Industry

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

Bijan Najafi; Joglar-Biloch, Francisco; Kassawara, Robert P.

2002-07-01

Over the past decade, interest in performance-based fire protection has increased within the nuclear industry. In support of this growing interest, in 1997 the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) developed a long-range plan to develop/improve data and tools needed to support Risk-Informed/Performance-Based fire protection. This plan calls for continued improvement in collection and use of information obtained from fire events at nuclear plants. The data collection process has the objectives of improving the insights gained from such data and reducing the uncertainty in fire risk and fire modeling methods in order to make them a more reliable basis for performancemore » based fire protection programs. In keeping with these objectives, EPRI continues to collect, review and analyze fire events in support of the nuclear industry. EPRI collects these records in cooperation with the Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited (NEIL), by compiling public fire event reports and by direct solicitation of U.S. nuclear facilities. EPRI fire data collection project is based on the principle that the understanding of history is one of the cornerstones of improving fire protection technology and practice. Therefore, the goal has been to develop and maintain a comprehensive database of fire events with flexibility to support various aspects of fire protection engineering. With more than 1850 fire records over a period of three decades and 2400 reactor years, this is the most comprehensive database of nuclear power industry fire events in existence today. In general, the frequency of fires in the U.S. commercial nuclear industry remains constant. In few cases, e.g., transient fires and fires in BWR offgas/recombiner systems, where either increasing or decreasing trends are observed, these trends tend to slow after 1980. The key issues in improving quality of the data remain to be consistency of the recording and reporting of fire events and difficulties in collection of records. EPRI has made significant progress towards improving the quality of the fire events data through use of multiple collection methods as well as its review and verification. To date EPRI has used this data to develop a generic fire ignition frequency model for U.S. nuclear power industry (Ref. 1, 4 and 5) as well as to support other models in support of EPRI Fire Risk Methods such as a cable fire manual suppression model. EPRI will continue its effort to collect and analyze operating data to support risk informed/performance based fire safety engineering, including collection and analysis of impairment data for fire protection systems and features. This paper provides details on the collection and application of fire events to risk informed/performance based fire protection. The paper also provides valuable insights into improving both collection and use of fire events data. (authors)« less

The role of fire on soil mounds and surface roughness in the Mojave Desert

USGS Publications Warehouse

Soulard, Christopher E.; Esque, Todd C.; Bedford, David R.; Bond, Sandra

2013-01-01

A fundamental question in arid land management centers on understanding the long-term effects of fire on desert ecosystems. To assess the effects of fire on surface topography, soil roughness, and vegetation, we used terrestrial (ground-based) LiDAR to quantify the differences between burned and unburned surfaces by creating a series of high-resolution vegetation structure and bare-earth surface models for six sample plots in the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, Arizona. We find that 11 years following prescribed burns, mound volumes, plant heights, and soil-surface roughness were significantly lower on burned relative to unburned plots. Results also suggest a linkage between vegetation and soil mounds, either through accretion or erosion mechanisms such as wind and/or water erosion. The biogeomorphic implications of fire-induced changes are significant. Reduced plant cover and altered soil surfaces from fire likely influence seed residence times, inhibit seed germination and plant establishment, and affect other ecohydrological processes.

Advanced fire observation by the Intelligent Infrared Sensor prototype FOCUS on the International Space Station

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oertel, D.; Haschberger, P.; Tank, V.; Lanzl, F.; Zhukov, B.; Jahn, H.; Briess, K.; Lorenz, E.; Roeser, H.-P.; Ginati, A.; Tobehn, C.; Schulte in den Bäumen, J.; Christmann, U.

1999-01-01

Current and planned operational space-borne Earth observation systems provide spatially, radiometrically or temporally crude data for the detection and monitoring of high temperature phenomena on the surface of our planet. High Temperature Events (HTE) very often cause environmental disasters. Such HTE are forest and savannah fires, fires of open coal mines, volcanic activities and others (e.g. fires of oil wells, pipelines etc.). A simultaneous co-registration of a combination of infrared (IR) and visible (VIS) channels is the key for a reliable autonomous on-board detection of High Temperature Events (HTE) on Earth surface, such as vegetation fires and volcano eruptions. This is the main feature of the FOCUS experiment. Furthermore there are ecology-oriented objectives of the FOCUS experiment mainly related to spectrometric/imaging remote inspection and parameter extraction of selected HTEs, and to the assessment of some ecological consequences of HTEs, such as aerosol and gas emission. Based on own experimental work and supported by Co-Investigators from Italy, Greece, France, Spain, Russia and Germany, DLR proposed in 1997 to use the International Space Station (ISS) in its early utilization phase as a platform and test-bed for an Intelligent Infrared Sensor prototype FOCUS of a future Environmental Disaster Recognition Satellite System. FOCUS is considered by ESA as an important mission combining a number of proven technologies and observation techniques to provide the scientific and operational user community with key data for the classification and monitoring of forest fires. FOCUS was selected as one of five European ``Groupings'' to be flown as an externally mounted payload during the early utilisation phase of the ISS. The FOCUS Phase A Study will be performed by OHB-System, DLR and Zeiss from September 1998 until May 1999.

Crossdated fire histories (1650-1900) from ponderosa pine-dominated forests of Idaho and western Montana

Treesearch

Emily K. Heyerdahl; Penelope Morgan; James P. Riser

2008-01-01

For a broader study of the climate drivers of regional-fire years in the Northern Rockies, we reconstructed a history of surface fires at 21 sites in Idaho and western Montana. We targeted sites that historically sustained frequent surface fires and were dominated or codominated by ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa P. & C. Lawson). Our...

Effects of post-fire logging on forest surface air temperatures in the Siskiyou Mountains, Oregon, USA

Treesearch

Joseph B. Fontaine; Daniel C. Donato; John L. Campbell; Jonathan G. Martin; Beverley E. Law

2010-01-01

Following stand-replacing wildfire, post-fire (salvage) logging of fire-killed trees is a widely implemented management practice in many forest types. A common hypothesis is that removal of fire-killed trees increases surface temperatures due to loss of shade and increased solar radiation, thereby influencing vegetation establishment and possibly stand development. Six...

Climate Impacts of Fire-Induced Land-Surface Changes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Y.; Hao, X.; Qu, J. J.

2017-12-01

One of the consequences of wildfires is the changes in land-surface properties such as removal of vegetation. This will change local and regional climate through modifying the land-air heat and water fluxes. This study investigates mechanism by developing and a parameterization of fire-induced land-surface property changes and applying it to modeling of the climate impacts of large wildfires in the United States. Satellite remote sensing was used to quantitatively evaluate the land-surface changes from large fires provided from the Monitoring Trends in Burning Severity (MTBS) dataset. It was found that the changes in land-surface properties induced by fires are very complex, depending on vegetation type and coverage, climate type, season and time after fires. The changes in LAI are remarkable only if the actual values meet a threshold. Large albedo changes occur in winter for fires in cool climate regions. The signs are opposite between the first post-fire year and the following years. Summer day-time temperature increases after fires, while nigh-time temperature changes in various patterns. The changes are larger in forested lands than shrub / grassland lands. In the parameterization scheme, the detected post-fire changes are decomposed into trends using natural exponential functions and fluctuations of periodic variations with the amplitudes also determined by natural exponential functions. The final algorithm is a combination of the trends, periods, and amplitude functions. This scheme is used with Earth system models to simulate the local and regional climate effects of wildfires.

Impact of fire on global land carbon, water, and energy budgets and climate during the 20th century through changing ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, F.; Lawrence, D. M.; Bond-Lamberty, B. P.; Levis, S.

2016-12-01

Fire is an integral Earth system process and the primary form of terrestrial ecosystem disturbance on a global scale. Here we provide the first quantitative assessment and understanding on fire's impact on global land carbon, water, and energy budgets and climate through changing ecosystems. This is done by quantifying the difference between 20th century fire-on and fire-off simulations using the Community Earth System Model (CESM1.2). Results show that fire decreases the net carbon gain of global terrestrial ecosystems by 1.0 Pg C/yr averaged across the 20th century, as a result of biomass and peat burning (1.9 Pg C/yr) partly offset by changing gross primary productivity, respiration, and land-use carbon loss (-0.9 Pg C/yr). In addition, fire's effect on global carbon budget intensifies with time. Fire significantly reduces land evapotranspiration (ET) by 600 km3/yr and increases runoff, but has limited impact on precipitation. The impact on ET and runoff is most clearly seen in the tropical savannas, African rainforest, and some boreal and Southern Asian forests mainly due to fire-induced reduction in the vegetation canopy. It also weakens both the significant upward trend in global land ET prior to the 1950s and the downward trend from 1950 to 1985 by 35%. Fire-induced changes in land ecosystems affects global energy budgets by significantly reducing latent heating and surface net radiation. Fire changes surface radiative budget dominantly by raising surface upward longwave radiation and net longwave radiation. It also increases the global land average surface air temperature (Tas) by 0.04°C, and significantly increases wind speed and decreases surface relative humidity. The fire-induced change in wind speed, Tas, and relative humidity implies a positive feedback loop between fire and climate. Moreover, fire-induced changes in land ecosystems contribute 20% of strong global land warming during 1910-1940, which provides a new mechanism for the early 20th century global land warming. The results emphasize the importance of fire disturbance in the Earth's carbon, water, and energy cycles and climate by changing terrestrial ecosystems.

Fire treatment effects on vegetation structure, fuels, and potential fire severity in western U.S. forests

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stephens, S.L.; Moghaddas, J.J.; Edminster, C.; Fiedler, C.E.; Haase, S.; Harrington, M.; Keeley, J.E.; Knapp, E.E.; Mciver, J.D.; Metlen, K.; Skinner, C.N.; Youngblood, A.

2009-01-01

Abstract. Forest structure and species composition in many western U.S. coniferous forests have been altered through fire exclusion, past and ongoing harvesting practices, and livestock grazing over the 20th century. The effects of these activities have been most pronounced in seasonally dry, low and mid-elevation coniferous forests that once experienced frequent, low to moderate intensity, fire regimes. In this paper, we report the effects of Fire and Fire Surrogate (FFS) forest stand treatments on fuel load profiles, potential fire behavior, and fire severity under three weather scenarios from six western U.S. FFS sites. This replicated, multisite experiment provides a framework for drawing broad generalizations about the effectiveness of prescribed fire and mechanical treatments on surface fuel loads, forest structure, and potential fire severity. Mechanical treatments without fire resulted in combined 1-, 10-, and 100-hour surface fuel loads that were significantly greater than controls at three of five FFS sites. Canopy cover was significantly lower than controls at three of five FFS sites with mechanical-only treatments and at all five FFS sites with the mechanical plus burning treatment; fire-only treatments reduced canopy cover at only one site. For the combined treatment of mechanical plus fire, all five FFS sites with this treatment had a substantially lower likelihood of passive crown fire as indicated by the very high torching indices. FFS sites that experienced significant increases in 1-, 10-, and 100-hour combined surface fuel loads utilized harvest systems that left all activity fuels within experimental units. When mechanical treatments were followed by prescribed burning or pile burning, they were the most effective treatment for reducing crown fire potential and predicted tree mortality because of low surface fuel loads and increased vertical and horizontal canopy separation. Results indicate that mechanical plus fire, fire-only, and mechanical-only treatments using whole-tree harvest systems were all effective at reducing potential fire severity under severe fire weather conditions. Retaining the largest trees within stands also increased fire resistance. ?? 2009 by the Ecological Society of America.

Fluidized bed boiler having a segmented grate

DOEpatents

Waryasz, Richard E.

1984-01-01

A fluidized bed furnace (10) is provided having a perforate grate (9) within a housing which supports a bed of particulate material including some combustibles. The grate is divided into a plurality of segments (E2-E6, SH1-SH5, RH1-RH5), with the airflow to each segment being independently controlled. Some of the segments have evaporating surface imbedded in the particulate material above them, while other segments are below superheater surface or reheater surface. Some of the segments (E1, E7) have no surface above them, and there are ignitor combustors (32, 34) directed to fire into the segments, for fast startup of the furnace without causing damage to any heating surface.

Relationship of surface fuels to fire radiative energy as estimated from airborne lidar and thermal infrared imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hudak, A. T.; Dickinson, M. B.; Kremens, R.; Loudermilk, L.; O'Brien, J.; Satterberg, K.; Strand, E. K.; Ottmar, R. D.

2013-12-01

Longleaf pine stand structure and function are dependent on frequent fires, so fire managers maintain healthy longleaf pine ecosystems by frequently burning surface fuels with prescribed fires. Eglin Air Force Base (AFB) in the Florida panhandle boasts the largest remnant of longleaf pine forest, providing a productive setting for fire scientists to make multi-scale measurements of fuels, fire behavior, and fire effects in collaboration with Eglin AFB fire managers. Data considered in this analysis were collected in five prescribed burn units: two forested units burned in 2011 and a forested unit and two grassland units burned in 2012. Our objective was to demonstrate the linear relationship between biomass and fire energy that has been shown in the laboratory, but using two independent remotely sensed airborne datasets collected at the unit level: 1) airborne lidar flown over the burn units immediately prior to the burns, and 2) thermal infrared image time series flown over the burn units at 2-3 minute intervals. Airborne lidar point cloud data were reduced to 3 m raster metrics of surface vegetation height and cover, which were in turn used to map surface fuel loads at 3 m resolution. Plot-based measures of prefire surface fuels were used for calibration/validation. Preliminary results based on 2011 data indicate airborne lidar can explain ~30% of variation in surface fuel loads. Multi-temporal thermal infrared imagery (WASP) collected at 3 m resolution were calibrated to units of fire radiative power (FRP), using simultaneous FRP measures from ground-based radiometers, and then temporally integrated to estimate fire radiative energy (FRE) release at the unit level. Prior to AGU, FRP and FRE will be compared to estimates of the same variables derived from ground-based FLIR thermal infrared imaging cameras, each deployed with a nadir view from a tripod, at three sites per burn unit. A preliminary proof-of-concept, comparing FRE derived from a tripod-based FLIR (3.2 MW), to another FLIR deployed with an oblique view from atop a 36 m boom lift (2.1 MW), demonstrated reasonable agreement. Unit-level estimates of FRE will also be compared to estimates of surface fuel consumption (~5 Mg/ha) that were summarized at the unit level from pre- and post-fire clip plots of surface fuel biomass. At AGU, we will also compare predictions of surface fuel loads to estimates of energy release, as mapped at 3 m resolution from these independent remotely sensed data sources. These results will serve to demonstrate our ability to remotely measure and relate fuel loads to fire behavior at a landscape level.

Duration of fuels reduction following prescribed fire in coniferous forests of U.S. national parks in California and the Colorado Plateau

USGS Publications Warehouse

van Mantgem, Phillip J.; Lalemand, Laura; Keifer, MaryBeth; Kane, Jeffrey M.

2016-01-01

Prescribed fire is a widely used forest management tool, yet the long-term effectiveness of prescribed fire in reducing fuels and fire hazards in many vegetation types is not well documented. We assessed the magnitude and duration of reductions in surface fuels and modeled fire hazards in coniferous forests across nine U.S. national parks in California and the Colorado Plateau. We used observations from a prescribed fire effects monitoring program that feature standard forest and surface fuels inventories conducted pre-fire, immediately following an initial (first-entry) prescribed fire and at varying intervals up to >20 years post-fire. A subset of these plots was subjected to prescribed fire again (second-entry) with continued monitoring. Prescribed fire effects were highly variable among plots, but we found on average first-entry fires resulted in a significant post-fire reduction in surface fuels, with litter and duff fuels not returning to pre-fire levels over the length of our observations. Fine and coarse woody fuels often took a decade or longer to return to pre-fire levels. For second-entry fires we found continued fuels reductions, without strong evidence of fuel loads returning to levels observed immediately prior to second-entry fire. Following both first- and second-entry fire there were increases in estimated canopy base heights, along with reductions in estimated canopy bulk density and modeled flame lengths. We did not find evidence of return to pre-fire conditions during our observation intervals for these measures of fire hazard. Our results show that prescribed fire can be a valuable tool to reduce fire hazards and, depending on forest conditions and the measurement used, reductions in fire hazard can last for decades. Second-entry prescribed fire appeared to reinforce the reduction in fuels and fire hazard from first-entry fires.

Frame for a firearm

DOEpatents

Crandall, David L [Idaho Falls, ID; Watson, Richard W [Blackfoot, ID

2008-03-04

A firearm frame which is adapted to be disposed in operative relationship as a component part of a firearm, the firearm having disposed in operative relationships each with one or more of the others, a barrel, a receiver, and at least one firing mechanism; wherein the barrel and receiver form operative parts of a movable assembly and the at least one firing mechanism is disposed in a substantially stationary operative relationship therewith; the firearm frame including at least one elongated support structure discrete from the barrel and receiver, the elongated support structure being adapted to directly support the movable assembly in an operative movable relationship therewith; whereby at least one of the barrel and receiver is in direct contact with and movable on the elongated support structure; and, a firing mechanism support structure connected to the at least one elongated support structure, the firing mechanism support structure being adapted to have the firing mechanism connected thereto; the firearm frame also directly supporting the movable assembly and the firing mechanism in corresponding movable and stationary operative relationships each with the other.

36 CFR 228.108 - Surface use requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... authorized in an approved surface use plan of operations, protect such resources. (e) Fire prevention and control. To the extent practicable, the operator shall take measures to prevent uncontrolled fires on the area of operation and to suppress uncontrolled fires resulting from the operations. (f) Fisheries...

36 CFR 228.108 - Surface use requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... authorized in an approved surface use plan of operations, protect such resources. (e) Fire prevention and control. To the extent practicable, the operator shall take measures to prevent uncontrolled fires on the area of operation and to suppress uncontrolled fires resulting from the operations. (f) Fisheries...

36 CFR 228.108 - Surface use requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... authorized in an approved surface use plan of operations, protect such resources. (e) Fire prevention and control. To the extent practicable, the operator shall take measures to prevent uncontrolled fires on the area of operation and to suppress uncontrolled fires resulting from the operations. (f) Fisheries...

Contribution of forensic autopsy to scene reconstruction in mass fire casualties: a case of alleged arson on a floor consisting of small compartments in a building.

PubMed

Michiue, Tomomi; Ishikawa, Takaki; Oritani, Shigeki; Maeda, Hitoshi

2015-01-01

A fire is an important cause of mass disasters, involving various forensic issues. Before dawn on an early morning, 16 male visitors in their twenties to sixties were killed in a possibly incendiary fire at a 'private video parlor' consisting of small compartments in a building. The main causes of death as determined by forensic autopsy were acute carbon monoxide (CO) intoxication for all of the 15 found-dead victims, and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy following acute CO intoxication for a victim who died in hospital. Burns were mild (<20% of body surface) in most victims, except for three victims found between the entrance and the estimated fire-outbreak site; thus, identification was completed without difficulty, supported by DNA analysis. Blood carboxyhemoglobin saturation (COHb) was higher for victims found dead in the inner area. Blood cyanide levels were sublethal, moderately correlated to COHb, but were higher in victims found around the estimated fire-outbreak site. There was no evidence of thinner, alcohol or drug abuse, or an attack of disease as a possible cause of an accidental fire outbreak. These observations contribute to evidence-based reconstruction of the fire disaster, and suggest how deaths could have been prevented by appropriate disaster measures. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development and testing of dry chemicals in advanced extinguishing systems for jet engine nacelle fires

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Altman, R. L.; Ling, A. C. (Editor); Mayer, L. A.; Myronik, D. J.

1979-01-01

The effectiveness of dry chemical in extinguishing and delaying reignition of fires resulting from hydrocarbon fuel leaking onto heated surfaces such as can occur in jet engine nacelles is studied. The commercial fire extinguishant dry chemical tried are sodium and potassium bicarbonate, carbonate, chloride, carbamate (Monnex), metal halogen, and metal hydroxycarbonate compounds. Synthetic and preparative procedures for new materials developed, a new concept of fire control by dry chemical agents, descriptions of experiment assemblages to test dry chemical fire extinguishant efficiencies in controlling fuel fires initiated by hot surfaces, comparative testing data for more than 25 chemical systems in a 'static' assemblage with no air flow across the heated surface, and similar comparative data for more than ten compounds in a dynamic system with air flows up to 350 ft/sec are presented.

The effect of repeated firings on the color change of dental ceramics using different glazing methods

PubMed Central

Yılmaz, Kerem; Ozturk, Caner

2014-01-01

PURPOSE Surface color is one of the main criteria to obtain an ideal esthetic. Many factors such as the type of the material, surface specifications, number of firings, firing temperature and thickness of the porcelain are all important to provide an unchanged surface color in dental ceramics. The aim of this study was to evaluate the color changes in dental ceramics according to the material type and glazing methods, during the multiple firings. MATERIALS AND METHODS Three different types of dental ceramics (IPS Classical metal ceramic, Empress Esthetic and Empress 2 ceramics) were used in the study. Porcelains were evaluated under five main groups according to glaze and natural glaze methods. Color changes (ΔE) and changes in color parameters (ΔL, Δa, Δb) were determined using colorimeter during the control, the first, third, fifth, and seventh firings. The statistical analysis of the results was performed using ANOVA and Tukey test. RESULTS The color changes which occurred upon material-method-firing interaction were statistically significant (P<.05). ΔE, ΔL, Δa and Δb values also demonstrated a negative trend. The MC-G group was less affected in terms of color changes compared to other groups. In all-ceramic specimens, the surface color was significantly affected by multiple firings. CONCLUSION Firing detrimentally affected the structure of the porcelain surface and hence caused fading of the color and prominence of yellow and red characters. Compressible all-ceramics were remarkably affected by repeated firings due to their crystalline structure. PMID:25551001

Use of DoD Architectural Framework in Support of JFIIT Assessments

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-06-12

ACCA ASCA Div FSCA BCT/Regt FSCA Bn FSCA TACP TACP TACP JFO/Observer Friendly Forces Air RCA OV-1 for TA 3.2.2 Conduct Close Air Support OV-1 for TA...3.2.2 Conduct Close Air Support Ground RCA ISR FSCA/ ACCA CAS Aircraft FAC(A) Indirect Surface Fires Hostile Targets WOC TACP GLO Legend ACCA Air...FAC(A)/CAS Aircrew A3.1.4 Control CAS A3.2.1 Coordinate with WOC/ ACCA /ASCA/ACA A3.2.2 Coordinate with JTAC A3.2.3 Provide CAS A3.3.1 Coordinate with

Large, high-intensity fire events in southern California shrublands: debunking the fine-grain age patch model.

PubMed

Keeley, Jon E; Zedler, Paul H

2009-01-01

We evaluate the fine-grain age patch model of fire regimes in southern California shrublands. Proponents contend that the historical condition was characterized by frequent small to moderate size, slow-moving smoldering fires, and that this regime has been disrupted by fire suppression activities that have caused unnatural fuel accumulation and anomalously large and catastrophic wildfires. A review of more than 100 19th-century newspaper reports reveals that large, high-intensity wildfires predate modern fire suppression policy, and extensive newspaper coverage plus first-hand accounts support the conclusion that the 1889 Santiago Canyon Fire was the largest fire in California history. Proponents of the fine-grain age patch model contend that even the very earliest 20th-century fires were the result of fire suppression disrupting natural fuel structure. We tested that hypothesis and found that, within the fire perimeters of two of the largest early fire events in 1919 and 1932, prior fire suppression activities were insufficient to have altered the natural fuel structure. Over the last 130 years there has been no significant change in the incidence of large fires greater than 10,000 ha, consistent with the conclusion that fire suppression activities are not the cause of these fire events. Eight megafires (> or = 50,000 ha) are recorded for the region, and half have occurred in the last five years. These burned through a mosaic of age classes, which raises doubts that accumulation of old age classes explains these events. Extreme drought is a plausible explanation for this recent rash of such events, and it is hypothesized that these are due to droughts that led to increased dead fine fuels that promoted the incidence of firebrands and spot fires. A major shortcoming of the fine-grain age patch model is that it requires age-dependent flammability of shrubland fuels, but seral stage chaparral is dominated by short-lived species that create a dense surface layer of fine fuels. Results from the Behave Plus fire model with a custom fuel module for young chaparral shows that there is sufficient dead fuel to spread fire even under relatively little winds. Empirical studies of fuel ages burned in recent fires illustrate that young fuels often comprise a major portion of burned vegetation, and there is no difference between evergreen chaparral and semi-deciduous sage scrub. It has also been argued that the present-day fire size distribution in northern Baja California is a model of the historical patterns that were present on southern California landscapes. Applying this model with historical fire frequencies shows that the Baja model is inadequate to maintain these fire-prone ecosystems and further demonstrates that fire managers in southern California are not likely to learn much from studying modern Baja California fire regimes. Further supporting this conclusion are theoretical cellular automata models of fire spread, which show that, even in systems with age dependent flammability, landscapes evolve toward a complex age mosaic with a plausible age structure only when there is a severe stopping rule that constrains fire size, and only if ignitions are saturating.

Large, high-intensity fire events in Southern California shrublands: Debunking the fine-grain age patch model

USGS Publications Warehouse

Keeley, J.E.; Zedler, P.H.

2009-01-01

We evaluate the fine-grain age patch model of fire regimes in southern California shrublands. Proponents contend that the historical condition was characterized by frequent small to moderate size, slow-moving smoldering fires, and that this regime has been disrupted by fire suppression activities that have caused unnatural fuel accumulation and anomalously large and catastrophic wildfires. A review of more than 100 19th-century newspaper reports reveals that large, high-intensity wildfires predate modern fire suppression policy, and extensive newspaper coverage plus first-hand accounts support the conclusion that the 1889 Santiago Canyon Fire was the largest fire in California history. Proponents of the fine-grain age patch model contend that even the very earliest 20th-century fires were the result of fire suppression disrupting natural fuel structure. We tested that hypothesis and found that, within the fire perimeters of two of the largest early fire events in 1919 and 1932, prior fire suppression activities were insufficient to have altered the natural fuel structure. Over the last 130 years there has been no significant change in the incidence of large fires greater than 10000 ha, consistent with the conclusion that fire suppression activities are not the cause of these fire events. Eight megafires (???50 000 ha) are recorded for the region, and half have occurred in the last five years. These burned through a mosaic of age classes, which raises doubts that accumulation of old age classes explains these events. Extreme drought is a plausible explanation for this recent rash of such events, and it is hypothesized that these are due to droughts that led to increased dead fine fuels that promoted the incidence of firebrands and spot fires. A major shortcoming of the fine-grain age patch model is that it requires age-dependent flammability of shrubland fuels, but seral stage chaparral is dominated by short-lived species that create a dense surface layer of fine fuels. Results from the Behave Plus fire model with a custom fuel module for young chaparral shows that there is sufficient dead fuel to spread fire even under relatively little winds. Empirical studies of fuel ages burned in recent fires illustrate that young fuels often comprise a major portion of burned vegetation, and there is no difference between evergreen chaparral and semi-deciduous sage scrub. It has also been argued that the present-day fire size distribution in northern Baja California is a model of the historical patterns that were present on southern California landscapes. Applying this model with historical fire frequencies shows that the Baja model is inadequate to maintain these fire-prone ecosystems and further demonstrates that fire managers in southern California are not likely to learn much from studying modern Baja California fire regimes. Further supporting this conclusion are theoretical cellular automata models of fire spread, which show that, even in systems with age dependent flammability, landscapes evolve toward a complex age mosaic with a plausible age structure only when there is a severe stopping rule that constrains fire size, and only if ignitions are saturating. ?? 2009 by the Ecological Society of America.

The effectiveness and limitations of fuel modeling using the fire and fuels extension to the Forest Vegetation Simulator

Treesearch

Erin K. Noonan-Wright; Nicole M. Vaillant; Alicia L. Reiner

2014-01-01

Fuel treatment effectiveness is often evaluated with fire behavior modeling systems that use fuel models to generate fire behavior outputs. How surface fuels are assigned, either using one of the 53 stylized fuel models or developing custom fuel models, can affect predicted fire behavior. We collected surface and canopy fuels data before and 1, 2, 5, and 8 years after...

SURFACE FISSURE FORMATION ABOVE UNDERGROUND COALSEAM FIRES: DIMENSIONLESS RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SURFACE FISSURES AND SUBSURFACE SUBSIDENCE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ide, T. S.; Pollard, D. D.; Orr, F. M.

2009-12-01

Coalbed fires are uncontrolled subsurface fires that occur around the world. These fires are believed to be significant contributors to annual CO2 emissions. Although many of these fires have been burning for decades, researchers have only recently begun to investigate physical mechanisms that control fire behavior. One aspect that is poorly characterized is the relationship between subsurface combustion and surface fissures. At the surface above many fires, long, wide fissures are observed. At a coalbed fire near Durango, Colorado, these fissures form systematic orthogonal patterns that align with regional joints in the Upper Cretaceous Fruitland Formation. Understanding the mechanisms that form and widen these fissures is important, as the fissures are believed to play vital roles in sustaining the combustion in the subsurface by acting as chimneys for the escaping gases and conduits for incoming oxygen. In some of the coalbed fire simulation models available today, these fissures are treated as fixed boundary conditions, but we argue, using field observations and simulation results, that there exists a relationship between the location and magnitude of subsidence caused by the fire and the opening of fissures. Four distinct types of fissures are observed over the coalbed fire near Durango, CO. These fissures are termed ‘molehill’, ‘plateau’, ‘gaping’, and ‘narrow’ based on their surface appearances. Molehill fissures are marked by surface depressions on either side, causing the strata around the opening to form an apex towards the center of the fissure. Plateau fissures show a steep vertical offset on only one side with minimal horizontal displacement. Gaping fissures and narrow fissures are predominantly opening with little evidence for vertical displacements. Gaping fissures are defined as fissures with wide apertures (0.3 ~ 1.5m), while narrow fissures have apertures on the order of centimeters. A boundary element method code was used to show that relationships exist between the surface displacement magnitudes and directions, and the subsurface subsidence due to coal combustion. Subsidence variables include the length, magnitude, depth and location of subsidence, as well as the weight of the overburden. Each of the four types of surface features was related to these subsurface subsidence variables using a set of dimensionless curves. The simulation results were validated with field measurements from a nearby outcrop and borehole drilling. The possibility of using InSAR data to further constrain these model results is being investigated. The simulated dimensionless curves establish a useful rules of thumb to aid the interpretation and mitigation of coal fires, since these curves can be used to relate a surface fissures aperture, an easily measurable parameter, to variables such as the magnitude of subsurface subsidence that are harder to observe

An Assessment of Land Surface and Lightning Characteristics Associated with Lightning-Initiated Wildfires

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coy, James; Schultz, Christopher J.; Case, Jonathan L.

2017-01-01

Can we use modeled information of the land surface and characteristics of lightning beyond flash occurrence to increase the identification and prediction of wildfires? Combine observed cloud-to-ground (CG) flashes with real-time land surface model output, and Compare data with areas where lightning did not start a wildfire to determine what land surface conditions and lightning characteristics were responsible for causing wildfires. Statistical differences between suspected fire-starters and non-fire-starters were peak-current dependent 0-10 cm Volumetric and Relative Soil Moisture comparisons were statistically dependent to at least the p = 0.05 independence level for both polarity flash types Suspected fire-starters typically occurred in areas of lower soil moisture than non-fire-starters. GVF value comparisons were only found to be statistically dependent for -CG flashes. However, random sampling of the -CG non-fire starter dataset revealed that this relationship may not always hold.

An algorithm of the wildfire classification by its acoustic emission spectrum using Wireless Sensor Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khamukhin, A. A.; Demin, A. Y.; Sonkin, D. M.; Bertoldo, S.; Perona, G.; Kretova, V.

2017-01-01

Crown fires are extremely dangerous as the speed of their distribution is dozen times higher compared to surface fires. Therefore, it is important to classify the fire type as early as possible. A method for forest fires classification exploits their computed acoustic emission spectrum compared with a set of samples of the typical fire acoustic emission spectrum stored in the database. This method implies acquisition acoustic data using Wireless Sensors Networks (WSNs) and their analysis in a central processing and a control center. The paper deals with an algorithm which can be directly implemented on a sensor network node that will allow reducing considerably the network traffic and increasing its efficiency. It is hereby suggested to use the sum of the squares ratio, with regard to amplitudes of low and high frequencies of the wildfire acoustic emission spectrum, as the indicator of a forest fire type. It is shown that the value of the crown fires indicator is several times higher than that of the surface ones. This allows classifying the fire types (crown, surface) in a short time interval and transmitting a fire type indicator code alongside with an alarm signal through the network.

Stem mortality in surface fires: Part II, experimental methods for characterizing the thermal response of tree stems to heating by fires

Treesearch

D. M. Jimenez; B. W. Butler; J. Reardon

2003-01-01

Current methods for predicting fire-induced plant mortality in shrubs and trees are largely empirical. These methods are not readily linked to duff burning, soil heating, and surface fire behavior models. In response to the need for a physics-based model of this process, a detailed model for predicting the temperature distribution through a tree stem as a function of...

Effect of surface polishing and vacuum firing on electron stimulated desorption from 316LN stainless steel

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

Malyshev, Oleg B., E-mail: oleg.malyshev@stfc.ac.uk; Hogan, Benjamin T.; Pendleton, Mark

2014-09-01

The reduction of thermal outgassing from stainless steel by surface polishing or vacuum firing is well-known in vacuum technology, and the consequent use of both techniques allows an even further reduction of outgassing. The aim of this study was to identify the effectiveness of surface polishing and vacuum firing for reducing electron-stimulated desorption (ESD) from 316LN stainless steel, which is a frequently used material for particle accelerator vacuum chambers and components. It was found that, unlike for thermal outgassing, surface polishing does not reduce the ESD yield and may even increase it, while vacuum firing of nonpolished sample reduces onlymore » the H{sub 2} ESD yield by a factor 2.« less

Water immersion for post incident cooling of firefighters; a review of practical fire ground cooling modalities.

PubMed

Brearley, Matt; Walker, Anthony

2015-01-01

Rapidly cooling firefighters post emergency response is likely to increase the operational effectiveness of fire services during prolonged incidents. A variety of techniques have therefore been examined to return firefighters core body temperature to safe levels prior to fire scene re-entry or redeployment. The recommendation of forearm immersion (HFI) in cold water by the National Fire and Protection Association preceded implementation of this active cooling modality by a number of fire services in North America, South East Asia and Australia. The vascularity of the hands and forearms may expedite body heat removal, however, immersion of the torso, pelvis and/or lower body, otherwise known as multi-segment immersion (MSI), exposes a greater proportion of the body surface to water than HFI, potentially increasing the rates of cooling conferred. Therefore, this review sought to establish the efficacy of HFI and MSI to rapidly reduce firefighters core body temperature to safe working levels during rest periods. A total of 38 studies with 55 treatments (43 MSI, 12 HFI) were reviewed. The core body temperature cooling rates conferred by MSI were generally classified as ideal (n = 23) with a range of ~0.01 to 0.35 °C min(-1). In contrast, all HFI treatments resulted in unacceptably slow core body temperature cooling rates (~0.01 to 0.05 °C min(-1)). Based upon the extensive field of research supporting immersion of large body surface areas and comparable logistics of establishing HFI or MSI, it is recommended that fire and rescue management reassess their approach to fireground rehabilitation of responders. Specifically, we question the use of HFI to rapidly lower firefighter core body temperature during rest periods. By utilising MSI to restore firefighter Tc to safe working levels, fire and rescue services would adopt an evidence based approach to maintaining operational capability during arduous, sustained responses. While the optimal MSI protocol will be determined by the specifics of an individual response, maximising the body surface area immersed in circulated water of up to 26 °C for 15 min is likely to return firefighter Tc to safe working levels during rest periods. Utilising cooler water temperatures will expedite Tc cooling and minimise immersion duration.

30 CFR 57.4531 - Surface flammable or combustible liquid storage buildings or rooms.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF LABOR METAL AND NONMETAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS-UNDERGROUND METAL AND NONMETAL MINES Fire Prevention and Control Installation/construction/maintenance § 57.4531 Surface... fire resistance rating of at least one hour; or (2) Equipped with an automatic fire supression system...

Burn Education Awareness Recognition and Support (BEARS): a community-based juvenile firesetters assessment and treatment program.

PubMed

Bennett, B K; Gamelli, R L; Duchene, R C; Atkocaitis, D; Plunkett, J A

2004-01-01

In response to the continued staggering statistics of fires set by juveniles and the devastating personal and property costs that are associated with these fires, the Burn and Shock Trauma Institute of Loyola University Medical Center, in collaboration with the State Fire Marshal's Office; the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance; and representatives from the firefighting community, law enforcement, emergency medicine and mental health, came together to create the Burn Education Awareness Recognition and Support Program. Through financial grant support from the International Association of Firefighters, the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance, and other private donations, the Burn Education Awareness Recognition and Support Program is able to provide a free resource to anyone who is concerned about a child playing with fire. Specially trained firefighters assess each child using the tool developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In 2002, we assessed 42 children; 29 of those children were referred through the courts. So far, none of the children treated in our program have returned to fire-setting behaviors.

Fire characteristics charts for fire behavior and U.S. fire danger rating

Treesearch

Faith Ann Heinsch; Pat Andrews

2010-01-01

The fire characteristics chart is a graphical method of presenting U.S. National Fire Danger Rating indices or primary surface or crown fire behavior characteristics. A desktop computer application has been developed to produce fire characteristics charts in a format suitable for inclusion in reports and presentations. Many options include change of scales, colors,...

Forwardly-placed firearm fire control assembly

DOEpatents

Frickey, Steven J.

2001-12-22

A firearm fire control assembly for disposition in a forwardly placed support-hand operative relationship within a firearm having a combination of a firing pin and a firearm hammer adapted to engage and fire a cartridge, a sear assembly to alternately engage and disengage the combination of the firearm hammer and firing pin, and a trigger assembly including a movable trigger mechanism that is operable to engage the sear assembly to cause the firearm hammer firing pin combination to fire the firearm, a fire control assembly including a fire control depression member and a fire control rod operably connected to the depression member, and being positioned in a forward disposition disposed within a forestock of the firearm, and the depression member adapted to be operably engaged and depressed by the user's conventional forwardly placed support hand to maneuver the fire control rod to provide firing control of the firing of the firearm.

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.

How to generate and interpret fire characteristics charts for the U.S. fire danger rating system

Treesearch

Faith Ann Heinsch; Patricia L. Andrews; Deb Tirmenstein

2017-01-01

The fire characteristics chart is a graphical method of presenting U.S. National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS) indexes and components as well as primary surface or crown fire behavior characteristics. Computer software has been developed to produce fire characteristics charts for both fire danger and fire behavior in a format suitable for inclusion in reports and...

Development and testing of advanced fire-resistant photovoltaic modules

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sugimura, R. S.; Otth, D. H.; Ross, R. G., Jr.

1985-01-01

The evaluation of back-surface materials flammability in order to identify fire resistant module designs is examined. The fire test apparatus, burning-brand test sequence, and spread-of-flame test sequence are described. Video recordings and time-temperature profiles of module back surfaces are utilized to study the flammability failure mechanism and identify high-temperature materials. A table of flammability test results for various module designs is provided. The data reveals that 2-mil kapton, fiberglass cloth coated or impregnated with a material to plug pores, and metal foil back-surface materials achieve class A and B fire-resistance levels, and are applicable for photovoltaic module designs.

Examination of Poststroke Alteration in Motor Unit Firing Behavior Using High-Density Surface EMG Decomposition.

PubMed

Li, Xiaoyan; Holobar, Ales; Gazzoni, Marco; Merletti, Roberto; Rymer, William Zev; Zhou, Ping

2015-05-01

Recent advances in high-density surface electromyogram (EMG) decomposition have made it a feasible task to discriminate single motor unit activity from surface EMG interference patterns, thus providing a noninvasive approach for examination of motor unit control properties. In the current study, we applied high-density surface EMG recording and decomposition techniques to assess motor unit firing behavior alterations poststroke. Surface EMG signals were collected using a 64-channel 2-D electrode array from the paretic and contralateral first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscles of nine hemiparetic stroke subjects at different isometric discrete contraction levels between 2 to 10 N with a 2 N increment step. Motor unit firing rates were extracted through decomposition of the high-density surface EMG signals and compared between paretic and contralateral muscles. Across the nine tested subjects, paretic FDI muscles showed decreased motor unit firing rates compared with contralateral muscles at different contraction levels. Regression analysis indicated a linear relation between the mean motor unit firing rate and the muscle contraction level for both paretic and contralateral muscles (p < 0.001), with the former demonstrating a lower increment rate (0.32 pulses per second (pps)/N) compared with the latter (0.67 pps/N). The coefficient of variation (averaged over the contraction levels) of the motor unit firing rates for the paretic muscles (0.21 ± 0.012) was significantly higher than for the contralateral muscles (0.17 ± 0.014) (p < 0.05). This study provides direct evidence of motor unit firing behavior alterations poststroke using surface EMG, which can be an important factor contributing to hemiparetic muscle weakness.

Examination of Post-stroke Alteration in Motor Unit Firing Behavior Using High Density Surface EMG Decomposition

PubMed Central

Li, Xiaoyan; Holobar, Aleš; Gazzoni, Marco; Merletti, Roberto; Rymer, William Z.; Zhou, Ping

2014-01-01

Recent advances in high density surface electromyogram (EMG) decomposition have made it a feasible task to discriminate single motor unit activity from surface EMG interference patterns, thus providing a noninvasive approach for examination of motor unit control properties. In the current study we applied high density surface EMG recording and decomposition techniques to assess motor unit firing behavior alterations post-stroke. Surface EMG signals were collected using a 64-channel 2-dimensional electrode array from the paretic and contralateral first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscles of nine hemiparetic stroke subjects at different isometric discrete contraction levels between 2 N to 10 N with a 2 N increment step. Motor unit firing rates were extracted through decomposition of the high density surface EMG signals, and compared between paretic and contralateral muscles. Across the nine tested subjects, paretic FDI muscles showed decreased motor unit firing rates compared with contralateral muscles at different contraction levels. Regression analysis indicated a linear relation between the mean motor unit firing rate and the muscle contraction level for both paretic and contralateral muscles (p < 0.001), with the former demonstrating a lower increment rate (0.32 pulses per second (pps)/N) compared with the latter (0.67 pps/N). The coefficient of variation (CoV, averaged over the contraction levels) of the motor unit firing rates for the paretic muscles (0.21 ± 0.012) was significantly higher than for the contralateral muscles (0.17 ± 0.014) (p < 0.05). This study provides direct evidence of motor unit firing behavior alterations post-stroke using surface EMG, which can be an important factor contributing to hemiparetic muscle weakness. PMID:25389239

Influence of climate and land use on historical surface fires in pine-oak forests, Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico

Treesearch

Emily K. Heyerdahl; Ernesto Alvarado

2003-01-01

The rugged mountains of the Sierra Madre Occidental, in north-central Mexico, support a mosaic of diverse ecosystems. Of these, the high-elevation, temperate pine-oak forests are ecologically significant for their extensiveness and biodiversity. They cover nearly half the land area in the states of Durango and Chihuahua (42%), and comprise a similar percentage of the...

Predicting fire severity using surface fuels and moisture

Treesearch

Pamela G. Sikkink; Robert E. Keane

2012-01-01

Fire severity classifications have been used extensively in fire management over the last 30 years to describe specific environmental or ecological impacts of fire on fuels, vegetation, wildlife, and soils in recently burned areas. New fire severity classifications need to be more objective, predictive, and ultimately more useful to fire management and planning. Our...

Latent resilience in ponderosa pine forest: effects of resumed frequent fire.

PubMed

Larson, Andrew J; Belote, R Travis; Cansler, C Alina; Parks, Sean A; Dietz, Matthew S

2013-09-01

Ecological systems often exhibit resilient states that are maintained through negative feedbacks. In ponderosa pine forests, fire historically represented the negative feedback mechanism that maintained ecosystem resilience; fire exclusion reduced that resilience, predisposing the transition to an alternative ecosystem state upon reintroduction of fire. We evaluated the effects of reintroduced frequent wildfire in unlogged, fire-excluded, ponderosa pine forest in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, Montana, USA. Initial reintroduction of fire in 2003 reduced tree density and consumed surface fuels, but also stimulated establishment of a dense cohort of lodgepole pine, maintaining a trajectory toward an alternative state. Resumption of a frequent fire regime by a second fire in 2011 restored a low-density forest dominated by large-diameter ponderosa pine by eliminating many regenerating lodgepole pines and by continuing to remove surface fuels and small-diameter lodgepole pine and Douglas-fir that established during the fire suppression era. Our data demonstrate that some unlogged, fire-excluded, ponderosa pine forests possess latent resilience to reintroduced fire. A passive model of simply allowing lightning-ignited fires to burn appears to be a viable approach to restoration of such forests.

Ultrafine and respirable particle exposure during vehicle fire suppression

PubMed Central

Fent, Kenneth W.

2015-01-01

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

Ultrafine and respirable particle exposure during vehicle fire suppression.

PubMed

Evans, Douglas E; Fent, Kenneth W

2015-10-01

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

Dirty Snow, Atmospheric Warming, and Climate Feedbacks from Boreal Black Carbon Emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flanner, M. G.; Zender, C. S.; Randerson, J. T.; Jin, Y.

2005-12-01

Black carbon (BC) emitted from boreal fires darkens snow and sea-ice surfaces, increases solar absorption in the atmosphere, and decreases the incident flux at the surface. Although global surface forcing of darkened snow/ice is small relative to atmospheric forcing, the former directly triggers ice-albedo feedback, whereas the latter directly alters the atmospheric lapse rate. This highlights the importance of examining climate feedback strength as well as instantaneous forcings. We used a coupled land-atmosphere GCM (NCAR CAM3) to compare the relative forcings and climate feedbacks of BC emitted from a suite of boreal forest fires over the last decade, accounting for both enhanced snow/ice and atmospheric absorption by BC. The net change in absorbed energy at the surface was about three times greater than the instantaneous surface forcing when BC interactively heated the snow. Timing and location of fires determined the magnitude of darkened snow/ice feedback potential. We also assessed climate feedback strength from BC emitted globally during extreme high and low fire years, including the 1998 fire season.

Assessing crown fire potential by linking models of surface and crown fire behavior

Treesearch

Joe H. Scott; Elizabeth D. Reinhardt

2001-01-01

Fire managers are increasingly concerned about the threat of crown fires, yet only now are quantitative methods for assessing crown fire hazard being developed. Links among existing mathematical models of fire behavior are used to develop two indices of crown fire hazard-the Torching Index and Crowning Index. These indices can be used to ordinate different forest...

How to generate and interpret fire characteristics charts for surface and crown fire behavior

Treesearch

Patricia L. Andrews; Faith Ann Heinsch; Luke Schelvan

2011-01-01

A fire characteristics chart is a graph that presents primary related fire behavior characteristics-rate of spread, flame length, fireline intensity, and heat per unit area. It helps communicate and interpret modeled or observed fire behavior. The Fire Characteristics Chart computer program plots either observed fire behavior or values that have been calculated by...

Wind tunnel experiments to study chaparral crown fires

Treesearch

Jeanette Cobian-Iñiguez; AmirHessam Aminfar; Joey Chong; Gloria Burke; Albertina Zuniga; David R. Weise; Marko Princevac

2017-01-01

The present protocol presents a laboratory technique designed to study chaparral crown fire ignition and spread. Experiments were conducted in a low velocity fire wind tunnel where two distinct layers of fuel were constructed to represent surface and crown fuels in chaparral. Chamise, a common chaparral shrub, comprised the live crown layer. The dead fuel surface layer...

Surface ozone at the Devils Postpile National Monument receptor site during low and high wildland fire years

Treesearch

Andrzej Bytnerowicz; Joel D. Burley; Ricardo Cisneros; Haiganoush K. Preisler; Susan Schilling; Donald Schweizer; John Ray; Deanna Dulen; Christopher Beck; Bianca Auble

2013-01-01

Surface ozone (O3) was measured at the Devils Postpile National Monument (DEPO), eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, California, during the 2007 (low-fire) and 2008 (high-fire) summer seasons. While mean and median values of O3 concentrations for the 2007 and 2008 summer seasons were similar, maximum O3...

Fire spread probabilities for experimental beds composed of mixedwood boreal forest fuels

Treesearch

M.B. Dickinson; E.A. Johnson; R. Artiaga

2013-01-01

Although fuel characteristics are assumed to have an important impact on fire regimes through their effects on extinction dynamics, limited capabilities exist for predicting whether a fire will spread in mixedwood boreal forest surface fuels. To improve predictive capabilities, we conducted 347 no-wind, laboratory test burns in surface fuels collected from the mixed-...

Nomographs for estimating surface fire behavior characteristics

Treesearch

Joe H. Scott

2007-01-01

A complete set of nomographs for estimating surface fire rate of spread and flame length for the original 13 and new 40 fire behavior fuel models is presented. The nomographs allow calculation of spread rate and flame length for wind in any direction with respect to slope and allow for nonheading spread directions. Basic instructions for use are included.

Duff reduction by prescribed underburning in Douglas-fir.

Treesearch

David V. Sandberg

1980-01-01

Predictive equations for duff reduction and mineral soil exposure by prescribed fire are presented. An explanation is suggested for the dependence of duff combustion on surface fuel combustion. Surface fire duration and fuel moisture estimates of the National Fire-Danger Rating 1,000-hour timelag are the best predictors for reduction in moist duff. Duff layers with...

Atmospheric moisture's influence on fire behavior: surface moisture and plume dynamics.

Treesearch

Brian E. Potter; Joseph J. Charney; Lesley A. Fusina

2006-01-01

Nine measures of atmospheric surface moisture are tested for statistical relationships with fire size and number of fires using data from the Great Lakes region of the United States. The measures include relative humidity, water vapor mixing ratio, mixing ratio deficit, vapor pressure, vapor pressure deficit, dew point temperature, dew point depression, wet bulb...

Holocene Vegetation and Fire Dynamics on the Chilcotin Plateau, BC, Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, K. J.; Hebda, R.; Hawkes, B.

2014-12-01

The Chilcotin Plateau is a high elevation plateau in the west central interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is characterised by a continental climate and located in a rainshadow setting. Pine-dominated forests dominate. The region is prone to frequent fires and mountain pine beetle outbreaks. Several surface sediment cores and an overlapping Livingstone sediment core were collected from centrally-located Scum Lake and analysed for pollen, charcoal and insect remains. During the early-Holocene warm-dry interval, a non-arboreal vegetation community dominated by grass and sage dominated and surface fire disturbance was frequent. Model predictions suggest that non-arboreal vegetation may expand in this region in the future, suggesting that the fire regime will likewise change as in the early-Holocene. In the mid-Holocene, pine, possibly Pinus ponderosa, increased in abundance, suggesting that a surface fire regime persisted at that time. Pinus contorta pollen increased in the late-Holocene, representing the establishment of the modern forest and mixed/crown fire regime. Fire return intervals typically ranged between 20-100 years, consistent with tree-ring based observation (40-70 years). Analyses of the surface cores revealed that identifiable mountain pine beetle remains were rare, suggesting that alternative approaches may be required to assess to insect disturbance through time.

Large-scale, thick, self-assembled, nacre-mimetic brick-walls as fire barrier coatings on textiles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, Paramita; Thomas, Helga; Moeller, Martin; Walther, Andreas

2017-01-01

Highly loaded polymer/clay nanocomposites with layered structures are emerging as robust fire retardant surface coatings. However, time-intensive sequential deposition processes, e.g. layer-by-layer strategies, hinders obtaining large coating thicknesses and complicates an implementation into existing technologies. Here, we demonstrate a single-step, water-borne approach to prepare thick, self-assembling, hybrid fire barrier coatings of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)/montmorillonite (MTM) with well-defined, bioinspired brick-wall nanostructure, and showcase their application on textile. The coating thickness on the textile is tailored using different concentrations of CMC/MTM (1-5 wt%) in the coating bath. While lower concentrations impart conformal coatings of fibers, thicker continuous coatings are obtained on the textile surface from highest concentration. Comprehensive fire barrier and fire retardancy tests elucidate the increasing fire barrier and retardancy properties with increasing coating thickness. The materials are free of halogen and heavy metal atoms, and are sourced from sustainable and partly even renewable building blocks. We further introduce an amphiphobic surface modification on the coating to impart oil and water repellency, as well as self-cleaning features. Hence, our study presents a generic, environmentally friendly, scalable, and one-pot coating approach that can be introduced into existing technologies to prepare bioinspired, thick, fire barrier nanocomposite coatings on diverse surfaces.

Spatial Investigation of Columnar AOD and Near-Surface PM2.5 Concentrations During the 2013 American and Yosemite Rim Fires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loria Salazar, S. M.; Holmes, H.; Arnott, W. P.; Moosmuller, H.; Liming, A.; Echevarria, B.

2014-12-01

The study of aerosol pollution transport and optical properties in the western U.S. is a challenge due to the complex terrain, bright surfaces, presence of anthropogenic and biogenic emissions, secondary organic aerosol formation, and smoke from wild fires. In addition, the complex terrain influences transport phenomena by recirculating mountain air from California to Nevada, where air pollution from the Sierra Nevada Mountains (SNM) is mixed with urban air from the Central Valley in California. Previous studies in Reno hypothesize that elevated aerosol concentrations aloft, above the convective boundary layer height, make air quality monitoring in Reno challenging with MODIS products. Here, we analyze data from August 2013 as a case study for wildfire smoke plumes in California and Nevada. During this time period, northern California was impacted by large wild fires known as the American and Yosemite Rim fires. Thousands of acres burned, generating large quantities of aerosol pollutants that were transported downwind. The aim of the present work is to investigate the fire plume behavior and transport phenomena using ground level PM2.5 concentrations from routine monitoring networks and aerosol optical properties from AERONET, both at multiple locations in California and Nevada. In addition, the accuracy of MODIS (Collection 6) and VIIRS aerosol satellite products will be evaluated. The multispectral photoacoustic instruments and reciprocal nephelometers located in Reno support the estimation of approximated aerosol height. The objectives are to investigate the impact of the vertical distribution of PM concentrations on satellite aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrievals; assess the ability to estimate ground level PM2.5 mass concentrations for wildfire smoke plumes from satellite remote sensing; and investigate the influence of complex terrain on the transport of pollutants, convective boundary layer depth, and aerosol optical height.

Forecasting Fire Season Severity in South America Using Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Yang; Randerson, James T.; Morton, Douglas C.; DeFries, Ruth S.; Collatz, G. James; Kasibhatla, Prasad S.; Giglio, Louis; Jin, Yufang; Marlier, Miriam E.

2011-01-01

Fires in South America cause forest degradation and contribute to carbon emissions associated with land use change. We investigated the relationship between year-to-year changes in fire activity in South America and sea surface temperatures. We found that the Oceanic Ni o Index was correlated with interannual fire activity in the eastern Amazon, whereas the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation index was more closely linked with fires in the southern and southwestern Amazon. Combining these two climate indices, we developed an empirical model to forecast regional fire season severity with lead times of 3 to 5 months. Our approach may contribute to the development of an early warning system for anticipating the vulnerability of Amazon forests to fires, thus enabling more effective management with benefits for climate and air quality.

Interactions among Amazon land use, forests and climate: prospects for a near-term forest tipping point.

PubMed

Nepstad, Daniel C; Stickler, Claudia M; Filho, Britaldo Soares-; Merry, Frank

2008-05-27

Some model experiments predict a large-scale substitution of Amazon forest by savannah-like vegetation by the end of the twenty-first century. Expanding global demands for biofuels and grains, positive feedbacks in the Amazon forest fire regime and drought may drive a faster process of forest degradation that could lead to a near-term forest dieback. Rising worldwide demands for biofuel and meat are creating powerful new incentives for agro-industrial expansion into Amazon forest regions. Forest fires, drought and logging increase susceptibility to further burning while deforestation and smoke can inhibit rainfall, exacerbating fire risk. If sea surface temperature anomalies (such as El Niño episodes) and associated Amazon droughts of the last decade continue into the future, approximately 55% of the forests of the Amazon will be cleared, logged, damaged by drought or burned over the next 20 years, emitting 15-26Pg of carbon to the atmosphere. Several important trends could prevent a near-term dieback. As fire-sensitive investments accumulate in the landscape, property holders use less fire and invest more in fire control. Commodity markets are demanding higher environmental performance from farmers and cattle ranchers. Protected areas have been established in the pathway of expanding agricultural frontiers. Finally, emerging carbon market incentives for reductions in deforestation could support these trends.

A new website with real-time dissemination of information on fire activity and meteorological fire danger in Portugal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DaCamara, Carlos; Trigo, Ricardo; Nunes, Sílvia; Pinto, Miguel; Oliveira, Tiago; Almeida, Rui

2017-04-01

In Portugal, like in Mediterranean Europe, fire activity is a natural phenomenon linking climate, humans and vegetation and is therefore conditioned by natural and anthropogenic factors. Natural factors include topography, vegetation cover and prevailing weather conditions whereas anthropogenic factors encompass land management practices and fire prevention policies. Land management practices, in particular the inadequate use of fire, is a crucial anthropogenic factor that accounts for about 90% of fire ignitions. Fire prevention policies require adequate and timely information about wildfire potential assessment, which is usually based on fire danger rating systems that provide indices to be used on an operational and tactical basis in decision support systems. We present a new website designed to provide the user community with relevant real-time information on fire activity and meteorological fire danger that will allow adopting the adequate measures to mitigate fire damage. The fire danger product consists of forecasts of fire danger over Portugal based on a statistical procedure that combines information about fire history derived from the Fire Radiative Power product disseminated by the Land Surface Analysis Satellite Application Facility (LSA SAF) with daily meteorological forecasts provided by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). The aim of the website is fourfold; 1) to concentrate all information available (databases and maps) relevant to fire management in a unique platform so that access by end users becomes easier, faster and friendlier; 2) to supervise the access of users to the different products available; 3) to control and assist the access to the platform and obtain feedbacks from users for further improvements; 4) to outreach the operational community and foster the use of better information that increase efficiency in risk management. The website is sponsored by The Navigator Company, a leading force in the global pulp and paper market. Since the operational start of the website, the number of registered users has been steadily increasing up to a total of 300 users from a wide community that encompasses forest managers, firemen and civil protection officers, personnel from municipalities, academic researchers and private owners.

Development of a model to predict ash transport and water pollution risk in fire-affected environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neris, Jonay; Elliot, William J.; Doerr, Stefan H.; Robichaud, Peter R.

2017-04-01

An estimated that 15% of the world's population lives in volcanic areas. Recent catastrophic erosion events following wildfires in volcanic terrain have highlighted the geomorphological instability of this soil type under disturbed conditions and steep slopes. Predicting the hydrological and erosional response of this soils in the post-fire period is the first step to design and develop adequate actions to minimize risks in the post-fire period. In this work we apply, for the first time, the Water Erosion Prediction Project model for predicting erosion and runoff events in fire-affected volcanic soils in Europe. Two areas affected by wildfires in 2015 were selected in Tenerife (Spain) representative of different fire behaviour (downhill surface fire with long residence time vs uphill crown fire with short residence time), severity (moderate soil burn severity vs light soil burn severity) and climatic conditions (average annual precipitation of 750 and 210 mm respectively). The actual erosion processes were monitored in the field using silt fences. Rainfall and rill simulations were conducted to determine hydrologic, interrill and rill erosion parameters. The soils were sampled and key properties used as model input, evaluated. During the first 18 months after the fire 7 storms produced runoff and erosion in the selected areas. Sediment delivery reached 5.4 and 2.5 Mg ha-1 respectively in the first rainfall event monitored after the fire, figures comparable to those reported for fire-affected areas of the western USA with similar climatic conditions but lower than those showed by wetter environments. The validation of the WEPP model using field data showed reasonable estimates of hillslope sediment delivery in the post-fire period and, therefore, it is suggested that this model can support land managers in volcanic areas in Europe in predicting post-fire hydrological and erosional risks and designing suitable mitigation treatments.

First application of the WEPP model to predict runoff and erosion risk in fire-affected volcanic areas in Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neris, Jonay; Robichaud, Peter R.; Elliot, William J.; Doerr, Stefan H.; Notario del Pino, Jesús S.; Lado, Marcos

2017-04-01

An estimated that 15% of the world's population lives in volcanic areas. Recent catastrophic erosion events following wildfires in volcanic terrain have highlighted the geomorphological instability of this soil type under disturbed conditions and steep slopes. Predicting the hydrological and erosional response of this soils in the post-fire period is the first step to design and develop adequate actions to minimize risks in the post-fire period. In this work we apply, for the first time, the Water Erosion Prediction Project model for predicting erosion and runoff events in fire-affected volcanic soils in Europe. Two areas affected by wildfires in 2015 were selected in Tenerife (Spain) representative of different fire behaviour (downhill surface fire with long residence time vs uphill crown fire with short residence time), severity (moderate soil burn severity vs light soil burn severity) and climatic conditions (average annual precipitation of 750 and 210 mm respectively). The actual erosion processes were monitored in the field using silt fences. Rainfall and rill simulations were conducted to determine hydrologic, interrill and rill erosion parameters. The soils were sampled and key properties used as model input, evaluated. During the first 18 months after the fire 7 storms produced runoff and erosion in the selected areas. Sediment delivery reached 5.4 and 2.5 Mg ha-1 respectively in the first rainfall event monitored after the fire, figures comparable to those reported for fire-affected areas of the western USA with similar climatic conditions but lower than those showed by wetter environments. The validation of the WEPP model using field data showed reasonable estimates of hillslope sediment delivery in the post-fire period and, therefore, it is suggested that this model can support land managers in volcanic areas in Europe in predicting post-fire hydrological and erosional risks and designing suitable mitigation treatments.

Quantifying the influence of agricultural fires in northwest India on urban air pollution in Delhi, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cusworth, Daniel H.; Mickley, Loretta J.; Sulprizio, Melissa P.; Liu, Tianjia; Marlier, Miriam E.; DeFries, Ruth S.; Guttikunda, Sarath K.; Gupta, Pawan

2018-04-01

Since at least the 1980s, many farmers in northwest India have switched to mechanized combine harvesting to boost efficiency. This harvesting technique leaves abundant crop residue on the fields, which farmers typically burn to prepare their fields for subsequent planting. A key question is to what extent the large quantity of smoke emitted by these fires contributes to the already severe pollution in Delhi and across other parts of the heavily populated Indo-Gangetic Plain located downwind of the fires. Using a combination of observed and modeled variables, including surface measurements of PM2.5, we quantify the magnitude of the influence of agricultural fire emissions on surface air pollution in Delhi. With surface measurements, we first derive the signal of regional PM2.5 enhancements (i.e. the pollution above an anthropogenic baseline) during each post-monsoon burning season for 2012–2016. We next use the Stochastic Time-Inverted Lagrangian Transport model (STILT) to simulate surface PM2.5 using five fire emission inventories. We reproduce up to 25% of the weekly variability in total observed PM2.5 using STILT. Depending on year and emission inventory, our method attributes 7.0%–78% of the maximum observed PM2.5 enhancements in Delhi to fires. The large range in these attribution estimates points to the uncertainties in fire emission parameterizations, especially in regions where thick smoke may interfere with hotspots of fire radiative power. Although our model can generally reproduce the largest PM2.5 enhancements in Delhi air quality for 1–3 consecutive days each fire season, it fails to capture many smaller daily enhancements, which we attribute to the challenge of detecting small fires in the satellite retrieval. By quantifying the influence of upwind agricultural fire emissions on Delhi air pollution, our work underscores the potential health benefits of changes in farming practices to reduce fires.

The effect of heat treatments applied to superstructure porcelain on the mechanical properties and microstructure of lithium disilicate glass ceramics.

PubMed

Özdemir, Hatice; Özdoğan, Alper

2018-01-30

The aim of this study was to investigate that heat treatments with different numbers applied to superstructure porcelain whether effects microstructure and mechanical properties of lithium disilicate ceramic (LDC). Eighty disc-shaped specimens were fabricated from IPS e.max Press. Specimens were fired at heating values of porcelain in different numbers and divided four groups (n=5). Initial Vickers hardness were measured and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was performed. Different surface treatment were applied and then Vickers hardness, surface roughness and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) analysis were performed. Data were analyzed with Varyans analysis and Tukey HSD test (α=0.05). Initial hardness among groups was no significant different (p>0.05), but hardness and surface roughness after surface treatments were significant different (p<0.05). Lithium disilicate (LD) peaks decrease depended on firing numbers. ESEM observations showed that firing number and surface treatments effect microstructure of LDC. Increasing firing numbers and surface treatments effect the microstructure of LDC.

Effects of prescribed fire on wintering, bark-foraging birds in northern Arizona

Treesearch

Theresa L. Pope

2006-01-01

Forest management practices of the past century have led to an increase in unnatural and destructive crown fires in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests of the southwest. To combat large fires, forest managers are attempting to simulate past fire regimes of low-intensity surface fires using prescribed fire. While there have been many studies...

Atmospheric turbulence observations in the vicinity of surface fires in forested environments

Treesearch

Warren E. Heilman; Xindi Bian; Kenneth L. Clark; Nicholas S. Skowronski; John L. Hom; Michael R. Gallagher

2017-01-01

Ambient and fire-induced atmospheric turbulence in the vicinity of wildland fires can affect the behavior of those fires and the dispersion of smoke. The presence of forest overstory vegetation can further complicate the evolution of local turbulence regimes and their interaction with spreading fires and smoke plumes. Previous observational studies of wildland fire...

A multidisciplinary decision support system for forest fire crisis management.

PubMed

Keramitsoglou, Iphigenia; Kiranoudis, Chris T; Sarimveis, Haralambos; Sifakis, Nicolaos

2004-02-01

A wildland fire is a serious threat for forest ecosystems in Southern Europe affecting severely and irreversibly regions of significant ecological value as well as human communities. To support decision makers during large-scale forest fire incidents, a multidisciplinary system has been developed that provides rational and quantitative information based on the site-specific circumstances and the possible consequences. The system's architecture consists of several distinct supplementary modules of near real-time satellite monitoring and fire forecast using an integrated framework of satellite Remote Sensing, GIS, and RDBMS technologies equipped with interactive communication capabilities. The system may handle multiple fire ignitions and support decisions regarding dispatching of utilities, equipment, and personnel that would appropriately attack the fire front. The operational system was developed for the region of Penteli Mountain in Attika, Greece, one of the mountain areas in the country most hit by fires. Starting from a real fire incident in August 2000, a scenario is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

BehavePlus fire modeling system: Past, present, and future

Treesearch

Patricia L. Andrews

2007-01-01

Use of mathematical fire models to predict fire behavior and fire effects plays an important supporting role in wildland fire management. When used in conjunction with personal fire experience and a basic understanding of the fire models, predictions can be successfully applied to a range of fire management activities including wildfire behavior prediction, prescribed...

FireStem2D – A Two-Dimensional Heat Transfer Model for Simulating Tree Stem Injury in Fires

PubMed Central

Chatziefstratiou, Efthalia K.; Bohrer, Gil; Bova, Anthony S.; Subramanian, Ravishankar; Frasson, Renato P. M.; Scherzer, Amy; Butler, Bret W.; Dickinson, Matthew B.

2013-01-01

FireStem2D, a software tool for predicting tree stem heating and injury in forest fires, is a physically-based, two-dimensional model of stem thermodynamics that results from heating at the bark surface. It builds on an earlier one-dimensional model (FireStem) and provides improved capabilities for predicting fire-induced mortality and injury before a fire occurs by resolving stem moisture loss, temperatures through the stem, degree of bark charring, and necrotic depth around the stem. We present the results of numerical parameterization and model evaluation experiments for FireStem2D that simulate laboratory stem-heating experiments of 52 tree sections from 25 trees. We also conducted a set of virtual sensitivity analysis experiments to test the effects of unevenness of heating around the stem and with aboveground height using data from two studies: a low-intensity surface fire and a more intense crown fire. The model allows for improved understanding and prediction of the effects of wildland fire on injury and mortality of trees of different species and sizes. PMID:23894599

Fire and forest history at Mount Rushmore.

PubMed

Brown, Peter M; Wienk, Cody L; Symstad, Amy J

2008-12-01

Mount Rushmore National Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota is known worldwide for its massive sculpture of four of the United States' most respected presidents. The Memorial landscape also is covered by extensive ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forest that has not burned in over a century. We compiled dendroecological and forest structural data from 29 plots across the 517-ha Memorial and used fire behavior modeling to reconstruct the historical fire regime and forest structure and compare them to current conditions. The historical fire regime is best characterized as one of low-severity surface fires with occasional (> 100 years) patches (< 100 ha) of passive crown fire. We estimate that only approximately 3.3% of the landscape burned as crown fire during 22 landscape fire years (recorded at > or = 25% of plots) between 1529 and 1893. The last landscape fire was in 1893. Mean fire intervals before 1893 varied depending on spatial scale, from 34 years based on scar-to-scar intervals on individual trees to 16 years between landscape fire years. Modal fire intervals were 11-15 years and did not vary with scale. Fire rotation (the time to burn an area the size of the study area) was estimated to be 30 years for surface fire and 800+ years for crown fire. The current forest is denser and contains more small trees, fewer large trees, lower canopy base heights, and greater canopy bulk density than a reconstructed historical (1870) forest. Fire behavior modeling using the NEXUS program suggests that surface fires would have dominated fire behavior in the 1870 forest during both moderate and severe weather conditions, while crown fire would dominate in the current forest especially under severe weather. Changes in the fire regime and forest structure at Mount Rushmore parallel those seen in ponderosa pine forests from the southwestern United States. Shifts from historical to current forest structure and the increased likelihood of crown fire justify the need for forest restoration before a catastrophic wildfire occurs and adversely impacts the ecological and aesthetic setting of the Mount Rushmore sculpture.

Marine Corps Close Air Support Development from Guadalcanal to Okinawa

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-03-05

air support (CAS) of troops in contact with the enemy came of age . While the capability clearly had potential, issues of coordination, accurate...including the first use of an Air Support Control Unit ( ASCU ), predecessor of the Fire S.upport Coordination Center.71 The Command Ship initially...which artillery had to cease fire for low- level napalm air strikes. When two or more battalions fired on the same location, the ASCU used maximum

Fuels planning: science synthesis and integration; forest structure and fire hazard fact sheet 02: fire hazard

Treesearch

Rocky Mountain Research Station USDA Forest Service

2004-01-01

Fire hazard reflects the potential fire behavior and magnitude of effects as a function of fuel conditions. This fact sheet discusses crown fuels, surface fuels, and ground fuels and their contribution and involvement in wildland fire.Other publications in this series...

FARSITE: Fire Area Simulator-model development and evaluation

Treesearch

Mark A. Finney

1998-01-01

A computer simulation model, FARSITE, includes existing fire behavior models for surface, crown, spotting, point-source fire acceleration, and fuel moisture. The model's components and assumptions are documented. Simulations were run for simple conditions that illustrate the effect of individual fire behavior models on two-dimensional fire growth.

14 CFR 121.417 - Crewmember emergency training.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... fire extinguishers, with emphasis on type of extinguisher to be used on different classes of fires; and... handling of emergency situations including— (i) Rapid decompression; (ii) Fire in flight or on the surface... crewmember combats an actual or simulated fire using at least one type of installed hand fire extinguisher or...

14 CFR 121.417 - Crewmember emergency training.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... fire extinguishers, with emphasis on type of extinguisher to be used on different classes of fires; and... handling of emergency situations including— (i) Rapid decompression; (ii) Fire in flight or on the surface... crewmember combats an actual or simulated fire using at least one type of installed hand fire extinguisher or...

14 CFR 121.417 - Crewmember emergency training.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... fire extinguishers, with emphasis on type of extinguisher to be used on different classes of fires; and... handling of emergency situations including— (i) Rapid decompression; (ii) Fire in flight or on the surface... crewmember combats an actual or simulated fire using at least one type of installed hand fire extinguisher or...

Combustion Of Poultry-Derived Fuel in a CFBC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Lufei; Anthony, Edward J.

Poultry farming generates large quantities of waste. Current disposal practice is to spread the poultry wastes onto farmland as fertilizer. However, as the factory farms for poultry grow both in numbers and size, the amount of poultry wastes generated has increased significandy in recent years. In consequence, excessive application of poultry wastes on farmland is resulting in more and more contaminants entering the surface water. One of the options being considered is the use of poultry waste as power plant fuel. Since poultry-derived fuel (PDF) is biomass, its co-firing will have the added advantage of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from power generation. To evaluate the combustion characteristics of co-firing PDF with coal, combustion tests of mixtures of coal and PDF were conducted in CanmetENERGY's pilot-scale CFBC. The goal of the tests was to verify that PDF can be co-fired with coal and, more importantly, that emissions from the combustion process are not adversely affected by the presence of PDF in the fuel feed. The test results were very promising and support the view that co-firing in an existing coal-fired CFBC is an effective method of utilizing this potential fuel, both resolving a potential waste disposal problem and reducing the amount of CO2 released by the boiler.

A simplified test for adhesive behavior in wood sections exposed to fire

Treesearch

E. L. Schaffer

1968-01-01

A relatively simple test procedure was developed to evaluate the behavior of various adhesives near fire-exposed surfaces in laminated constructions. A number of sections cut from laminated blocks were exposed to fire on one surface. After this exposure, the sections were transversely cut, and the gluelines were examined for separation depth. In addition, the cool...

Experimental and numerical modeling of shrub crown fire initiation

Treesearch

Watcharapong Tachajapong; Jesse Lozano; Shakar Mahalingam; Xiangyang Zhou; David Weise

2009-01-01

The transition of fire from dry surface fuels to wet shrub crown fuels was studied using laboratory experiments and a simple physical model to gain a better understanding of the transition process. In the experiments, we investigated the effects of varying vertical distances between surface and crown fuels (crown base height), and of the wind speed on crown fire...

Station set requirements document. Volume 82: Fire support. Book 2: Preliminary functional fire plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gray, N. C.

1974-01-01

The fire prevention/protection requirements for all shuttle facility and ground support equipment are presented for the hazardous operations. These include: preparing the orbiter for launch, launch operations, landing operations, safing operations, and associated off-line activities.

Modeling the Impact of Forest and Peat Fires on Carbon-Isotopic Compositions of Cretaceous Atmosphere and Vegetation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Finkelstein, D. B.; Pratt, L. M.

2004-12-01

Prevalence of wildfires or peat fires associated with seasonally dry conditions in the Cretaceous is supported by recent studies documenting the widespread presence of pyrolytic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and fusinite. Potential roles of CO2 emissions from fire have been overlooked in many discussions of Cretaceous carbon-isotope excursions (excluding K-P boundary discussions). Enhanced atmospheric CO2 levels could increase fire frequency through elevated lightning activity. When biomass or peat is combusted, emissions of CO2 are more negative than atmospheric CO2. Five reservoirs (atmosphere, vegetation, soil, and shallow and deep oceans), and five fluxes (productivity, respiration, litter fall, atmosphere-ocean exchange, and surface-deep ocean exchange) were modeled as a closed system. The size of the Cretaceous peat reservoir was estimated by compilation of published early Cretaceous coal resources. Initial pCO2 was assumed to be 2x pre-industrial atmospheric levels (P.A.L.). Critical variables in the model are burning efficiency and post-fire growth rates. Assuming 1% of standing terrestrial biomass is consumed by wildfires each year for ten years (without combustion of peat), an increase of atmospheric CO2 (from 2.0 to 2.2x P.A.L.) and a negative carbon isotope excursion (-1.2 ‰ ) are recorded by both atmosphere and new growth. Net primary productivity linked to the residence time of the vegetation and soil reservoirs results in a negative isotope shift followed by a broad positive isotope excursion. Decreasing the rate of re-growth dampens this trailing positive shift and increases the duration of the excursion. Post-fire pCO2 and new growth returned to initial values after 72 years. Both negative and positive isotope excursions are recorded in the model in surface ocean waters. Exchange of CO2 with the surface- and deep-ocean dampens the isotopic shift of the atmosphere. Excursions are first recorded in the atmosphere (and new growth), followed by the ocean, vegetation, and soil reservoirs. Ten to twenty five-year cycles of drought and fire are not recorded as individual excursions in the soil reservoir as the rate of transfer between the vegetation and soil reservoirs homogenizes the signal. A wildfire-modeled excursion does not propagate a geologically significant excursion through time. Combustion of a peat reservoir is necessary to drive and validate a geologically and isotopically significant excursion. Assuming 0.5% of the standing early Cretaceous peat reservoir is consumed by fire for each year for ten years coupled with the earlier scenario, the atmospheric CO2 increases from 2.0 to 3.1x P.A.L., atmosphere, vegetation, and the surface ocean record a negative carbon isotope excursion of -5.1 ‰ , -3.8 ‰ and -1.8 ‰ respectively, with a duration of 741 years. Increasing the size of the vegetation reservoir translates the excursions from the centennial to millennial scale. For example, doubling the vegetation reservoir (from 1.4 to 2.8E+16 gC) for a 25 year global peat conflagration (0.5% combusted each year) results in a CO2 increase from 2.0 to 4.0x P.A.L., and the atmosphere, vegetation, and the surface ocean reservoirs with a negative carbon isotope excursion of -5.7 ‰ , -8.7 ‰ and -2.3 ‰ respectively. Addition of carbonaceous aerosols (black carbon and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) to pelagic marine sediments could potentially serve as a high-resolution record of ancient fires and firmly tie isotopic shifts to paleofires.

Hydrogeological controls on post-fire moss recovery in peatlands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lukenbach, M. C.; Devito, K. J.; Kettridge, N.; Petrone, R. M.; Waddington, J. M.

2015-11-01

Wildfire is the largest disturbance affecting boreal peatlands, however, little is known about the controls on post-fire peatland vegetation recovery. While small-scale variation in burn severity can reduce post-fire moss water availability, high water table (WT) positions following wildfire are also critical to enable the re-establishment of keystone peatland mosses (i.e. Sphagnum). Thus, post-fire moss water availability is also likely a function of landscape-scale controls on peatland WT dynamics, specifically, connectivity to groundwater flow systems (i.e. hydrogeological setting). For this reason, we assessed the interacting controls of hydrogeological setting and burn severity on post-fire moss water availability in three burned, Sphagnum-dominated peatlands in Alberta's Boreal Plains. At all sites, variation in burn severity resulted in a dichotomy between post-fire surface covers that: (1) exhibited low water availability, regardless of WT position, and had minimal (<5%) moss re-establishment (i.e. lightly burned feather mosses and severely burned Sphagnum fuscum) or (2) exhibited high water availability, depending on WT position, and had substantial (>50%) moss re-establishment (i.e. lightly burned S. fuscum and where depth of burn was >0.05 m). Notably, hydrogeological setting influenced the spatial coverage of these post-fire surface covers by influencing pre-fire WTs and stand characteristics (e.g., shading). Because feather moss cover is controlled by tree shading, lightly burned feather mosses were ubiquitous (>25%) in drier peatlands (deeper pre-fire WTs) that were densely treed and had little connection to large groundwater flow systems. Moreover, hydrogeological setting also controlled post-fire WT positions, thereby affecting moss re-establishment in post-fire surface covers that were dependent on WT position (e.g., lightly burned S. fuscum). Accordingly, higher recolonization rates were observed in a peatland located in a groundwater flow through system that had a shallow post-fire WT. Therefore, we argue that hydrogeological setting influences post-fire recovery in two ways: (1) by influencing vegetation structure prior to wildfire, thereby controlling the coverage of post-fire surface covers and (2) by influencing post-fire WT positions. These results suggest that post-fire moss recovery in peatlands isolated from groundwater flow systems may be particularly susceptible to droughts and future climate change.

The impact of boreal forest fire on climate warming

USGS Publications Warehouse

Randerson, J.T.; Liu, H.; Flanner, M.G.; Chambers, S.D.; Jin, Y.; Hess, P.G.; Pfister, G.; Mack, M.C.; Treseder, K.K.; Welp, L.R.; Chapin, F.S.; Harden, J.W.; Goulden, M.L.; Lyons, E.; Neff, J.C.; Schuur, E.A.G.; Zender, C.S.

2006-01-01

We report measurements and analysis of a boreal forest fire, integrating the effects of greenhouse gases, aerosols, black carbon deposition on snow and sea ice, and postfire changes in surface albedo. The net effect of all agents was to increase radiative forcing during the first year (34 ?? 31 Watts per square meter of burned area), but to decrease radiative forcing when averaged over an 80-year fire cycle (-2.3 ?? 2.2 Watts per square meter) because multidecadal increases in surface albedo had a larger impact than fire-emitted greenhouse gases. This result implies that future increases in boreal fire may not accelerate climate warming.

The impact of boreal forest fire on climate warming.

PubMed

Randerson, J T; Liu, H; Flanner, M G; Chambers, S D; Jin, Y; Hess, P G; Pfister, G; Mack, M C; Treseder, K K; Welp, L R; Chapin, F S; Harden, J W; Goulden, M L; Lyons, E; Neff, J C; Schuur, E A G; Zender, C S

2006-11-17

We report measurements and analysis of a boreal forest fire, integrating the effects of greenhouse gases, aerosols, black carbon deposition on snow and sea ice, and postfire changes in surface albedo. The net effect of all agents was to increase radiative forcing during the first year (34 +/- 31 Watts per square meter of burned area), but to decrease radiative forcing when averaged over an 80-year fire cycle (-2.3 +/- 2.2 Watts per square meter) because multidecadal increases in surface albedo had a larger impact than fire-emitted greenhouse gases. This result implies that future increases in boreal fire may not accelerate climate warming.

Bridging EOS remote sensing measurements and fire emissions, smoke dispersion, and air quality DSS in the Eastern US

Treesearch

John J. Qu; Xianjun Hao; Ruixin Yang; Swarvanu Dasgupta; Sanjeeb Bhoi; Menas Kafatos

1999-01-01

Fire eniissions, smoke dispersiotl. ancl air quality are very important for fire fighting and planing of prescribed burning. BlueskyRATNS (BSR) is a comprehenisive and state-of-the-art Decision Support System (DSS) for fire managers and air quality managers to plan fiiels treatments and support state air qiiality smoke regulatory actions, especially related to...

A summary of the scientific literature on the effects of fire on the concentration of nutrients in surface waters

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ranalli, Anthony J.

2004-01-01

This paper provides a detailed review of the chemical changes that occur in soil during a fire, the pathways by which nutrients are transferred from soil to surface-water bodies following a fire, and the temporal and spatial effects of fires on the concentration of nutrients in surface-water bodies during and following a fire that have been reported in the scientific literature. Thirty-nine papers from the scientific literature that represent studies that (1) were done in a variety of environments (savannas, grasslands, temperate forests, alpine forests, and so forth); (2) had a range of sampling frequency and duration, such as during and immediately following a fire (from the start of fire to 1 year later), short-term sampling (from end of fire to 3 years later), and long term-sampling (sampling for greater than 3 years following a fire); and (3) incorporated watersheds with various burn intensities, severities, and histories were reviewed and summarized. The review of the scientific literature has revealed that measurable effects of fires on streamwater quality are most likely to occur if the fire was severe enough to burn large amounts of organic matter, if windy conditions were present during the fire, if heavy rain occurred following the fire, and if the fire occurred in a watershed with steep slopes and soils with little cation-exchange capacity. Measurable effects of fires on lake- and reservoir-water quality are most likely to occur if, in addition to the factors listed for streams, the lake or reservoir is oligotrophic or mesotrophic and the residence time of water in the lake or reservoir is short relative to the length of time elevated concentrations of nutrients occur in runoff. Knowledge of whether a lake or reservoir is nitrogen or phosphorus limited is important because eutrophication of nitrogen-limited lakes may occur following a fire due to increasing nitrogen:phosphorus ratios caused by prolonged increases of nitrogen concentrations, especially nitrate.

Implementing watershed investment programs to restore fire-adapted forests for watershed services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Springer, A. E.

2013-12-01

Payments for ecosystems services and watershed investment programs have created new solutions for restoring upland fire-adapted forests to support downstream surface-water and groundwater uses. Water from upland forests supports not only a significant percentage of the public water supplies in the U.S., but also extensive riparian, aquatic, and groundwater dependent ecosystems. Many rare, endemic, threatened, and endangered species are supported by the surface-water and groundwater generated from the forested uplands. In the Ponderosa pine forests of the Southwestern U.S., post Euro-American settlement forest management practices, coupled with climate change, has significantly impacted watershed functionality by increasing vegetation cover and associated evapotranspiration and decreasing runoff and groundwater recharge. A large Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program project known as the Four Forests Restoration Initiative is developing landscape scale processes to make the forests connected to these watersheds more resilient. However, there are challenges in financing the initial forest treatments and subsequent maintenance treatments while garnering supportive public opinion to forest thinning projects. A solution called the Flagstaff Watershed Protection Project is utilizing City tax dollars collected through a public bond to finance forest treatments. Exit polling from the bond election documented the reasons for the 73 % affirmative vote on the bond measure. These forest treatments have included in their actions restoration of associated ephemeral stream channels and spring ecosystems, but resources still need to be identified for these actions. A statewide strategy for developing additional forest restoration resources outside of the federal financing is being explored by state and local business and governmental leaders. Coordination, synthesis, and modeling supported by a NSF Water Sustainability and Climate project has been instrumental in facilitating the forest restoration and watershed health decision making processes.

EPS (Electric Particulate Suspension) Microgravity Technology Provides NASA with New Tools

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Colver, Gerald M.; Greene, Nate; Xu, Hua

2004-01-01

The Electric Particulate Suspension is a fire safety ignition test system being developed at Iowa State University with NASA support for evaluating combustion properties of powders, powder-gas mixtures, and pure gases in microgravity and gravitational atmospheres (quenching distance, ignition energy, flammability limits). A separate application is the use of EPS technology to control heat transfer in vacuum and space environment enclosures. In combustion testing, ignitable powders (aluminum, magnesium) are introduced in the EPS test cell and ignited by spark, while the addition of inert particles act as quenching media. As a combustion research tool, the EPS method has potential as a benchmark design for quenching powder flames that would provide NASA with a new fire safety standard for powder ignition testing. The EPS method also supports combustion modeling by providing accurate measurement of flame-quenching distance as an important parameter in laminar flame theory since it is closely related to characteristic flame thickness and flame structure. In heat transfer applications, inert powder suspensions (copper, steel) driven by electric fields regulate heat flow between adjacent surfaces enclosures both in vacuum (or gas) and microgravity. This simple E-field control can be particularly useful in space environments where physical separation is a requirement between heat exchange surfaces.

Variability of fire behavior, fire effects, and emissions in Scotch pine forests of central Siberia

Treesearch

D. J. McRae; Susan Conard; G. A. Ivanova; A. I. Sukhinin; Steve Baker; Y. N. Samsonov; T. W. Blake; V. A. Ivanov; A. V. Ivanov; T. V. Churkina; WeiMin Hao; K. P. Koutzenogij; Nataly Kovaleva

2006-01-01

As part of the Russian FIRE BEAR (Fire Effects in the Boreal Eurasia Region) Project, replicated 4-ha experimental fires were conducted on a dry Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris)/lichen (Cladonia sp.)/feathermoss (Pleurozeum schreberi) forest site in central Siberia. Observations from the initial seven surface fires (2000-2001) ignited under a range of burning...

Restoring surface fire stabilizes forest carbon under extreme fire weather in the Sierra Nevada

Treesearch

Daniel J. Krofcheck; Matthew D. Hurteau; Robert M. Scheller; E. Louise Loudermilk

2017-01-01

Climate change in the western United States has increased the frequency of extreme fire weather events and is projected to increase the area burned by wildfire in the coming decades. This changing fire regime, coupled with increased high-severity fire risk from a legacy of fire exclusion, could destabilize forest carbon (C), decrease net ecosystem exchange (...

Measurements relating fire radiative energy density and surface fuel consumption - RxCADRE 2011 and 2012

Treesearch

Andrew T. Hudak; Matthew B. Dickinson; Benjamin C. Bright; Robert L. Kremens; E. Louise Loudermilk; Joseph J. O' Brien; Benjamin S. Hornsby; Roger D. Ottmar

2016-01-01

Small-scale experiments have demonstrated that fire radiative energy is linearly related to fuel combusted but such a relationship has not been shown at the landscape level of prescribed fires. This paper presents field and remotely sensed measures of pre-fire fuel loads, consumption, fire radiative energy density (FRED) and fire radiative power flux density (FRFD),...

Radiant flux density, energy density, and fuel consumption in mixed-oak forest surface fires

Treesearch

R.L. Kremens; M.B. Dickinson; A.S. Bova

2012-01-01

Closing the wildland fire heat budget involves characterising the heat source and energy dissipation across the range of variability in fuels and fire behaviour. Meeting this challenge will lay the foundation for predicting direct ecological effects of fires and fire-atmosphere coupling. In this paper, we focus on the relationships between the fire radiation field, as...

FireStem2D — A two-dimensional heat transfer model for simulating tree stem injury in fires

Treesearch

Efthalia K. Chatziefstratiou; Gil Bohrer; Anthony S. Bova; Ravishankar Subramanian; Renato P.M. Frasson; Amy Scherzer; Bret W. Butler; Matthew B. Dickinson

2013-01-01

FireStem2D, a software tool for predicting tree stem heating and injury in forest fires, is a physically-based, two-dimensional model of stem thermodynamics that results from heating at the bark surface. It builds on an earlier one-dimensional model (FireStem) and provides improved capabilities for predicting fire-induced mortality and injury before a fire occurs by...

30 CFR 57.4230 - Surface self-propelled equipment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Prevention and Control Firefighting Equipment § 57.4230 Surface self-propelled equipment. (a)(1) Whenever a fire or its effects could impede escape from self-propelled equipment, a fire extinguisher shall be on... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Surface self-propelled equipment. 57.4230...

Meteosat SEVIRI Fire Radiative Power (FRP) products from the Land Surface Analysis Satellite Applications Facility (LSA SAF) - Part 1: Algorithms, product contents and analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wooster, M. J.; Roberts, G.; Freeborn, P. H.; Xu, W.; Govaerts, Y.; Beeby, R.; He, J.; Lattanzio, A.; Mullen, R.

2015-06-01

Characterising changes in landscape scale fire activity at very high temporal resolution is best achieved using thermal observations of actively burning fires made from geostationary Earth observation (EO) satellites. Over the last decade or more, a series of research and/or operational "active fire" products have been developed from these types of geostationary observations, often with the aim of supporting the generation of data related to biomass burning fuel consumption and trace gas and aerosol emission fields. The Fire Radiative Power (FRP) products generated by the Land Surface Analysis Satellite Applications Facility (LSA SAF) from data collected by the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) are one such set of products, and are freely available in both near real-time and archived form. Every 15 min, the algorithms used to generate these products identify and map the location of new SEVIRI observations containing actively burning fires, and characterise their individual rates of radiative energy release (fire radiative power; FRP) that is believed proportional to rates of biomass consumption and smoke emission. The FRP-PIXEL product contains the highest spatial resolution FRP dataset, delivered for all of Europe, northern and southern Africa, and part of South America at a spatial resolution of 3 km (decreasing away from the west African sub-satellite point) at the full 15 min temporal resolution. The FRP-GRID product is an hourly summary of the FRP-PIXEL data, produced at a 5° grid cell size and including simple bias adjustments for meteorological cloud cover and for the regional underestimation of FRP caused, primarily, by the non-detection of low FRP fire pixels at SEVIRI's relatively coarse pixel size. Here we describe the enhanced geostationary Fire Thermal Anomaly (FTA) algorithm used to detect the SEVIRI active fire pixels, and detail methods used to deliver atmospherically corrected FRP information together with the per-pixel uncertainty metrics. Using scene simulations and analysis of real SEVIRI data, including from a period of Meteosat-8 "special operations", we describe some of the sensor and data pre-processing characteristics influencing fire detection and FRP uncertainty. We show that the FTA algorithm is able to discriminate actively burning fires covering down to 10-4 of a pixel, and is more sensitive to fire than algorithms used within many other widely exploited active fire products. We also find that artefacts arising from the digital filtering and geometric resampling strategies used to generate level 1.5 SEVIRI data can significantly increase FRP uncertainties in the SEVIRI active fire products, and recommend that the processing chains used for the forthcoming Meteosat Third Generation attempt to minimise the impact of these types of operations. Finally, we illustrate the information contained within the current Meteosat FRP-PIXEL and FRP-GRID products, providing example analyses for both individual fires and multi-year regional-scale fire activity. A companion paper (Roberts et al., 2015) provides a full product performance evaluation for both products, along with examples of their use for prescribing fire smoke emissions within atmospheric modelling components of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS).

Exploring Early Angiosperm Fire Feedbacks using Coupled Experiments and Modelling Approaches to Estimate Cretaceous Palaeofire Behaviour

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belcher, Claire; Hudpsith, Victoria

2016-04-01

Using the fossil record we are typically limited to exploring linkages between palaeoecological changes and palaeofire activity by assessing the abundance of charcoals preserved in sediments. However, it is the behaviour of fires that primarily governs their ecological effects. Therefore, the ability to estimate variations in aspects of palaeofire behaviour such as palaeofire intensity and rate of spread would be of key benefit toward understanding the coupled evolutionary history of ecosystems and fire. The Cretaceous Period saw major diversification in land plants. Previously, conifers (gymnosperms) and ferns (pteridophytes) dominated Earth's ecosystems until flowering plants (angiosperms) appear in the fossil record of the Early Cretaceous (~135Ma). We have created surface fire behaviour estimates for a variety of angiosperm invasion scenarios and explored the influence of Cretaceous superambient atmospheric oxygen levels on the fire behaviour occurring in these new Cretaceous ecosystems. These estimates are then used to explore the hypothesis that the early spread of the angiosperms was promoted by the novel fire regimes that they created. In order to achieve this we tested the flammability of Mesozoic analogue fuel types in controlled laboratory experiments using an iCone calorimeter, which measured the ignitability as well as the effective heat of combustion of the fuels. We then used the BehavePlus fire behaviour modelling system to scale up our laboratory results to the ecosystem scale. Our results suggest that fire-angiosperm feedbacks may have occurred in two phases: The first phase being a result of weedy angiosperms providing an additional easily ignitable fuel that enhanced both the seasonality and frequency of surface fires. In the second phase, the addition of shrubby understory fuels likely expanded the number of ecosystems experiencing more intense surface fires, resulting in enhanced mortality and suppressed post-fire recruitment of gymnosperms trees. Both of these were assisted by rising levels of atmospheric oxygen that increased ignitability, surface fire spread rates and fire intensity. Therefore, the expansion and ecological success of the angiosperms appears to have been tied to the coupled influences of the prevailing superambient oxygen levels in the atmosphere and to fuel driven changes in palaeofire behaviour.

The impact of fire on sand dune stability: Surface coverage and biomass recovery after fires on Western Australian coastal dune systems from 1988 to 2016

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shumack, Samuel; Hesse, Paul; Turner, Liam

2017-12-01

This study aims to determine the common response of coastal sand dunes in Western Australia (WA) to fire on decadal time-scales, in terms of ecological-geomorphic-climatic interactions to test the hypothesis that fire plays a role in coastal dune destabilisation. Fires are commonly suggested to have contributed to widespread dune reactivation in Australia and globally, a hypothesis that is relatively untested. We used data from the Landsat Thematic Mapper, Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus, and Operational Land Imager missions to monitor changes in surface coverage on coastal sand dunes in south-west WA after fires. We analysed 31 fire scars from 1988 to 2016 in two Landsat scenes on the west and south coast of WA. Recovery ratios derived from the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were used to monitor patterns in post-fire biomass and surface cover. Recovery ratios are correlated with indices of burn severity, and meteorological data to investigate relationships. We also used Maximum Likelihood Classification to monitor changes in bare sand area. Results suggest that recovery followed a strongly consistent pattern, and is characterised by rapid vegetation cover re-establishment within six to twelve months. Prior to this, some aeolian activity may have occurred but without substantial surface changes. Initial germination and/or resprouting were followed by steady growth up to seven years, where NDVI typically neared pre-fire values. Some variation in early recovery occurred between the west and south coast, possibly owing to relative proportions of reseeding and resprouting plants. A log regression explained 75% of the recovery pattern (79% on the south coast). Precipitation had some ability to explain recovery up to nine months post-fire (r2 = 0.29 to 0.54). No relationships were observed between estimates of burn severity and recovery. After nine months, the biggest cause of spatial variation in recovery was the pre-fire community composition and related seedbank or resprouting density. Image classification did not identify any new blowout features except where fires were not the primary cause. Results suggest that fires are not presently contributing to the destabilisation of coastal dunes in south-west WA.

Large-scale, thick, self-assembled, nacre-mimetic brick-walls as fire barrier coatings on textiles

PubMed Central

Das, Paramita; Thomas, Helga; Moeller, Martin; Walther, Andreas

2017-01-01

Highly loaded polymer/clay nanocomposites with layered structures are emerging as robust fire retardant surface coatings. However, time-intensive sequential deposition processes, e.g. layer-by-layer strategies, hinders obtaining large coating thicknesses and complicates an implementation into existing technologies. Here, we demonstrate a single-step, water-borne approach to prepare thick, self-assembling, hybrid fire barrier coatings of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)/montmorillonite (MTM) with well-defined, bioinspired brick-wall nanostructure, and showcase their application on textile. The coating thickness on the textile is tailored using different concentrations of CMC/MTM (1–5 wt%) in the coating bath. While lower concentrations impart conformal coatings of fibers, thicker continuous coatings are obtained on the textile surface from highest concentration. Comprehensive fire barrier and fire retardancy tests elucidate the increasing fire barrier and retardancy properties with increasing coating thickness. The materials are free of halogen and heavy metal atoms, and are sourced from sustainable and partly even renewable building blocks. We further introduce an amphiphobic surface modification on the coating to impart oil and water repellency, as well as self-cleaning features. Hence, our study presents a generic, environmentally friendly, scalable, and one-pot coating approach that can be introduced into existing technologies to prepare bioinspired, thick, fire barrier nanocomposite coatings on diverse surfaces. PMID:28054589

InSAR detects increase in surface subsidence caused by an Arctic tundra fire

USGS Publications Warehouse

Liu, Lin; Jafarov, Elchin E.; Schaefer, Kevin M.; Jones, Benjamin M.; Zebker, Howard A.; Williams, Christopher A.; Rogan, John; Zhang, Tingjun

2014-01-01

Wildfire is a major disturbance in the Arctic tundra and boreal forests, having a significant impact on soil hydrology, carbon cycling, and permafrost dynamics. This study explores the use of the microwave Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) technique to map and quantify ground surface subsidence caused by the Anaktuvuk River fire on the North Slope of Alaska. We detected an increase of up to 8 cm of thaw-season ground subsidence after the fire, which is due to a combination of thickened active layer and permafrost thaw subsidence. Our results illustrate the effectiveness and potential of using InSAR to quantify fire impacts on the Arctic tundra, especially in regions underlain by ice-rich permafrost. Our study also suggests that surface subsidence is a more comprehensive indicator of fire impacts on ice-rich permafrost terrain than changes in active layer thickness alone.

Photochemical model evaluation of 2013 California wild fire air quality impacts using surface, aircraft, and satellite data.

PubMed

Baker, K R; Woody, M C; Valin, L; Szykman, J; Yates, E L; Iraci, L T; Choi, H D; Soja, A J; Koplitz, S N; Zhou, L; Campuzano-Jost, Pedro; Jimenez, Jose L; Hair, J W

2018-10-01

The Rim Fire was one of the largest wildfires in California history, burning over 250,000 acres during August and September 2013 affecting air quality locally and regionally in the western U.S. Routine surface monitors, remotely sensed data, and aircraft based measurements were used to assess how well the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) photochemical grid model applied at 4 and 12 km resolution represented regional plume transport and chemical evolution during this extreme wildland fire episode. Impacts were generally similar at both grid resolutions although notable differences were seen in some secondary pollutants (e.g., formaldehyde and peroxyacyl nitrate) near the Rim fire. The modeling system does well at capturing near-fire to regional scale smoke plume transport compared to remotely sensed aerosol optical depth (AOD) and aircraft transect measurements. Plume rise for the Rim fire was well characterized as the modeled plume top was consistent with remotely sensed data and the altitude of aircraft measurements, which were typically made at the top edge of the plume. Aircraft-based lidar suggests O 3 downwind in the Rim fire plume was vertically stratified and tended to be higher at the plume top, while CMAQ estimated a more uniformly mixed column of O 3 . Predicted wildfire ozone (O 3 ) was overestimated both at the plume top and at nearby rural and urban surface monitors. Photolysis rates were well characterized by the model compared with aircraft measurements meaning aerosol attenuation was reasonably estimated and unlikely contributing to O 3 overestimates at the top of the plume. Organic carbon was underestimated close to the Rim fire compared to aircraft data, but was consistent with nearby surface measurements. Periods of elevated surface PM 2.5 at rural monitors near the Rim fire were not usually coincident with elevated O 3 . Published by Elsevier B.V.

A neutral model of low-severity fire regimes

Treesearch

Don McKenzie; Amy E. Hessl

2008-01-01

Climate, topography, fuel loadings, and human activities all affect spatial and temporal patterns of fire occurrence. Because fire occurrence is a stochastic process, an understanding of baseline variability is necessary in order to identify constraints on surface fire regimes. With a suitable null, or neutral, model, characteristics of natural fire regimes estimated...

The Rothermel surface fire spread model and associated developments: A comprehensive explanation

Treesearch

Patricia L. Andrews

2018-01-01

The Rothermel surface fire spread model, with some adjustments by Frank A. Albini in 1976, has been used in fire and fuels management systems since 1972. It is generally used with other models including fireline intensity and flame length. Fuel models are often used to define fuel input parameters. Dynamic fuel models use equations for live fuel curing. Models have...

Comparison of a low-tech vs. a high-tech method to evaluate surface fire temperatures

Treesearch

Daniel Yaussy; Joanne Rebbeck; Louis Iverson; Todd Hutchinson; Robert Long

2003-01-01

Prescribed surface fires were conducted in late March-early April 2001, at the Raccoon Ecological Management Area (two ~20 ha areas), and the Tar Hollow (~40 ha) and Zaleski (~40 ha) State Forests in thinned and unthinned mixed-oak forests of southeastern Ohio. Fires are being investigated as a silvicultural tool to aid in regenerating oaks, by removing understory...

Overstory structure and surface cover dynamics in the decade following the Hayman Fire, Colorado

Treesearch

Paula J. Fornwalt; Camille S. Stevens-Rumann; Byron J. Collins

2018-01-01

The 2002 Hayman Fire burned with mixed-severity across a 400-ha dry conifer study site in Colorado, USA, where overstory tree and surface cover attributes had been recently measured on 20 0.1-ha permanent plots. We remeasured these plots repeatedly during the first post-fire decade to examine how the attributes changed through time and whether changes were influenced...

12,000-Years of fire regime drivers in the lowlands of Transylvania (Central-Eastern Europe): a data-model approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feurdean, A.; Liakka, J.; Vannière, B.; Marinova, E.; Hutchinson, S. M.; Mosburgger, V.; Hickler, T.

2013-12-01

The usefulness of sedimentary charcoal records to document centennial to millennial scale trends in aspects of fire regimes (frequency, severity) is widely acknowledged, yet the long-term variability in these regimes is poorly understood. Here, we use a high-resolution, multi-proxy analysis of a lacustrine sequence located in the lowlands of Transylvania (NW Romania), alongside global climate simulations in order to disentangle the drivers of fire regimes in this dry climatic region of Central-Eastern Europe. Periods of greater fire activity and frequency occurred between 10,700 and 7100 cal yr BP (mean Fire Interval = mFI 112 yr), and between 3300 and 700 cal yr BP (mFI 150 yr), whereas intervals of lower fire activity were recorded between 12,000 and 10,700 cal yr BP (mFI 217 yr), 7100 and 3300 cal yr BP (mFI 317 yr), and over last 700 years (no fire events detected). We found good correlations between simulated early summer (June, July) soil moisture content and near-surface air temperature with fire activity, particularly for the early to mid Holocene. A climate-fire relationship is further supported by local hydrological changes, i.e., lake level and runoff fluctuations. Fuel limitation, as a result of arid and strongly seasonal climatic conditions, led to low fire activity before 10,700 cal yr BP. However, fires were most frequent during climatically drier phases for the remaining, fuel-sufficient, part of the Holocene. Our results also suggest that the occurrence of more frequent fires in the early Holocene has kept woodlands open, promoted grassland abundance and sustained a more flammable ecosystem (mFI < 150 years) whereas the decline in fire risk under cooler and wetter climate conditions (mFI = 317 years) favoured woodland development. From 3300 cal yr BP, human impacts clearly were partly responsible for changes in fire activity, first increasing fire frequency and severity in periods with fire-favourable climatic conditions (halving the mFI from 300 years to about 150 years), then effectively suppressing fires over the last several centuries. Given the projected future temperature increase and moisture decline and the biomass accumulation due to the agricultural land abandonment in the region, natural fire frequency would be expected to return to <150 years.

A Numerical Study of Atmospheric Perturbations Induced by Heat From a Wildland Fire: Sensitivity to Vertical Canopy Structure and Heat Source Strength

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiefer, Michael T.; Zhong, Shiyuan; Heilman, Warren E.; Charney, Joseph J.; Bian, Xindi

2018-03-01

An improved understanding of atmospheric perturbations within and above a forest during a wildland fire has relevance to many aspects of wildland fires including fire spread, smoke transport and dispersion, and tree mortality. In this study, the ARPS-CANOPY model, a version of the Advanced Regional Prediction System (ARPS) model with a canopy parameterization, is utilized in a series of idealized numerical experiments to investigate the influence of vertical canopy structure on the atmospheric response to a stationary sensible heat flux at the ground ("fire heat flux"), broadly consistent in magnitude with the sensible heat flux from a low-intensity surface fire. Five vertical canopy structures are combined with five fire heat flux magnitudes to yield a matrix of 25 simulations. Analyses of the fire-heat-flux-perturbed u component of the wind, vertical velocity, kinetic energy, and temperature show that the spatial pattern and magnitude of the perturbations are sensitive to vertical canopy structure. Both vertical velocity and kinetic energy exhibit an increasing trend with increasing fire heat flux that is stronger for cases with some amount of overstory vegetation than cases with exclusively understory vegetation. A weaker trend in cases with exclusively understory vegetation indicates a damping of the atmospheric response to the sensible heat from a surface fire when vegetation is most concentrated near the surface. More generally, the results presented in this study suggest that canopy morphology should be considered when applying the results of a fire-atmosphere interaction study conducted in one type of forest to other forests with different canopy structures.

Chapter 4. Predicting post-fire erosion and sedimentation risk on a landscape scale

USGS Publications Warehouse

MacDonald, L.H.; Sampson, R.; Brady, D.; Juarros, L.; Martin, Deborah

2000-01-01

Historic fire suppression efforts have increased the likelihood of large wildfires in much of the western U.S. Post-fire soil erosion and sedimentation risks are important concerns to resource managers. In this paper we develop and apply procedures to predict post-fire erosion and sedimentation risks on a pixel-, catchment-, and landscape-scale in central and western Colorado.Our model for predicting post-fire surface erosion risk is conceptually similar to the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). One key addition is the incorporation of a hydrophobicity risk index (HY-RISK) based on vegetation type, predicted fire severity, and soil texture. Post-fire surface erosion risk was assessed for each 90-m pixel by combining HYRISK, slope, soil erodibility, and a factor representing the likely increase in soil wetness due to removal of the vegetation. Sedimentation risk was a simple function of stream gradient. Composite surface erosion and sedimentation risk indices were calculated and compared across the 72 catchments in the study area.When evaluated on a catchment scale, two-thirds of the catchments had relatively little post-fire erosion risk. Steeper catchments with higher fuel loadings typically had the highest post-fire surface erosion risk. These were generally located along the major north-south mountain chains and, to a lesser extent, in west-central Colorado. Sedimentation risks were usually highest in the eastern part of the study area where a higher proportion of streams had lower gradients. While data to validate the predicted erosion and sedimentation risks are lacking, the results appear reasonable and are consistent with our limited field observations. The models and analytic procedures can be readily adapted to other locations and should provide useful tools for planning and management at both the catchment and landscape scale.

Fire endurance research at the Forest Products Laboratory

Treesearch

R. H. White

1990-01-01

Fire endurance research activities and facilities at the FPL concern the ability of a wood member or assembly to withstand the effects of fire while acting as a fire barrier and supporting a load. Fire endurance is generally concerned with the post-flashover portion of the fire. The importance of fire endurance in fire safety is reflected in building code requirements...

Reusable Surface Insulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

Advanced Flexible Reusable Surface Insulation, developed by Ames Research Center, protects the Space Shuttle from the searing heat that engulfs it on reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. Initially integrated into the Space Shuttle by Rockwell International, production was transferred to Hi-Temp Insulation Inc. in 1974. Over the years, Hi-Temp has created many new technologies to meet the requirements of the Space Shuttle program. This expertise is also used commercially, including insulation blankets to cover aircrafts parts, fire barrier material to protect aircraft engine cowlings and aircraft rescue fire fighter suits. A Fire Protection Division has also been established, offering the first suit designed exclusively by and for aircraft rescue fire fighters. Hi-Temp is a supplier to the Los Angeles City Fire Department as well as other major U.S. civil and military fire departments.

Fossils and fire: a study on the effects of fire on paleontological resources at Badlands National Park

Treesearch

Rachel Benton; James Reardon

2006-01-01

National Park Service policies stipulate that each park with vegetation capable of burning will prepare a fire management plan. Badlands National Park completed its fire management plan in 2004. Fossils are a principle resource of the park and the fire sensitivity of fossils is the focus of this study. The surface temperatures of fossil specimens and fire behavior...

The national Fire and Fire Surrogate study: effects of fuel reduction methods on forest vegetation structure and fuels

Treesearch

Dylan W. Schwilk; Jon E. Keeley; Eric E. Knapp; James Mciver; John D. Bailey; Christopher J. Fettig; Carl E. Fiedler; Richy J. Harrod; Jason J. Moghaddas; Kenneth W. Outcalt; Carl N. Skinner; Scott L. Stephens; Thomas A. Waldrop; Daniel A. Yaussy; Andrew Youngblood

2009-01-01

Changes in vegetation and fuels were evaluated from measurements taken before and after fuel reduction treatments (prescribed fire, mechanical treatments, and the combination of the two) at 12 Fire and Fire Surrogate (FFS) sites located in forests with a surface fire regime across the conterminous United States. To test the relative effectiveness of fuel reduction...

Predicting Fire Season Severity in South America Using Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Yang; Randerson, James T.; Morton, Douglas C.; Jin, Yufang; DeFries, Ruth S.; Collatz, George J.; Kasibhatla, Prasad S.; Giglio, Louis; Jin, Yufang; Marlier, Miriam

2011-01-01

Fires in South America cause forest degradation and contribute to carbon emissions associated with land use change. Here we investigated the relationship between year-to-year changes in satellite-derived estimates of fire activity in South America and sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies. We found that the Oceanic Ni o Index (ONI) was correlated with interannual fire activity in the eastern Amazon whereas the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) index was more closely linked with fires in the southern and southwestern Amazon. Combining these two climate indices, we developed an empirical model that predicted regional annual fire season severity (FSS) with 3-5 month lead times. Our approach provides the foundation for an early warning system for forecasting the vulnerability of Amazon forests to fires, thus enabling more effective management with benefits for mitigation of greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions.

Modelling public support for wildland fire policy

Treesearch

J.D. Absher; J.J. Vaske

2007-01-01

Theoretically grounded explanations of wildland fire policy can be improved by empirically documenting the causal influences of support for (or opposition to) management alternatives. This chapter proposes a model based on the specificity principle (i.e. correspondence between measured variables to empirically examine four common wildland fire policies in relation to...

Evaluation of a technique for satellite-derived area estimation of forest fires

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cahoon, Donald R., Jr.; Stocks, Brian J.; Levine, Joel S.; Cofer, Wesley R., III; Chung, Charles C.

1992-01-01

The advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR), has been found useful for the location and monitoring of both smoke and fires because of the daily observations, the large geographical coverage of the imagery, the spectral characteristics of the instrument, and the spatial resolution of the instrument. This paper will discuss the application of AVHRR data to assess the geographical extent of burning. Methods have been developed to estimate the surface area of burning by analyzing the surface area effected by fire with AVHRR imagery. Characteristics of the AVHRR instrument, its orbit, field of view, and archived data sets are discussed relative to the unique surface area of each pixel. The errors associated with this surface area estimation technique are determined using AVHRR-derived area estimates of target regions with known sizes. This technique is used to evaluate the area burned during the Yellowstone fires of 1988.

The Cooney Ridge Fire Experiment: An early operation to relate pre-, active, and post-fire field and remotely sensed measurements

Treesearch

Andrew T. Hudak; Patrick H. Freeborn; Sarah A. Lewis; Sharon M. Hood; Helen Y. Smith; Colin C. Hardy; Robert J. Kremens; Bret W. Butler; Casey Teske; Robert G. Tissell; Lloyd P. Queen; Bryce L. Nordgren; Benjamin C. Bright; Penelope Morgan; Philip J. Riggan; Lee Macholz; Leigh B. Lentile; James P. Riddering; Edward E. Mathews

2018-01-01

The Cooney Ridge Fire Experiment conducted by fire scientists in 2003 was a burnout operation supported by a fire suppression crew on the active Cooney Ridge wildfire incident. The fire experiment included measurements of pre-fire fuels, active fire behavior, and immediate post-fire effects. Heat flux measurements collected at multiple scales with multiple ground and...

Effects of barbell deadlift training on submaximal motor unit firing rates for the vastus lateralis and rectus femoris.

PubMed

Stock, Matt S; Thompson, Brennan J

2014-01-01

Previous investigations that have studied motor unit firing rates following strength training have been limited to small muscles, isometric training, or interventions involving exercise machines. We examined the effects of ten weeks of supervised barbell deadlift training on motor unit firing rates for the vastus lateralis and rectus femoris during a 50% maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) assessment. Twenty-four previously untrained men (mean age  = 24 years) were randomly assigned to training (n = 15) or control (n = 9) groups. Before and following the intervention, the subjects performed isometric testing of the right knee extensors while bipolar surface electromyographic signals were detected from the two muscles. The signals were decomposed into their constituent motor unit action potential trains, and motor units that demonstrated accuracy levels less than 92.0% were not considered for analysis. One thousand eight hundred ninety-two and 2,013 motor units were examined for the vastus lateralis and rectus femoris, respectively. Regression analyses were used to determine the linear slope coefficients (pulses per second [pps]/% MVC) and y-intercepts (pps) of the mean firing rate and firing rate at recruitment versus recruitment threshold relationships. Deadlift training significantly improved knee extensor MVC force (Cohen's d = .70), but did not influence force steadiness. Training had no influence on the slopes and y-intercepts for the mean firing rate and firing rate at recruitment versus recruitment threshold relationships. In agreement with previous cross-sectional comparisons and randomized control trials, our findings do not support the notion that strength training affects the submaximal control of motor units.

Surface Albedo Darkening from wildfires in Northern Sub-Saharan Africa

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gatebe, C. K.; Ichoku, C. M.; Poudal, R.; Roman, M. O.; Wilcox, E.

2014-01-01

Wildfires are recognized as a key physical disturbance of terrestrial ecosystems and a major source of atmospheric trace gases and aerosols. They are known to produce changes in landscape patterns and lead to changes in surface albedo that can persist for long periods. Here, we estimate the darkening of surface albedo due to wildfires in different land cover ecosystems in the Northern Sub-Saharan Africa using data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). We determined a decrease in albedo after fires over most land cover types (e.g. woody savannas: (-0.00352 0.00003) and savannas: (- 0.003910.00003), which together accounted for >86% of the total MODIS fire count between 2003 and 2011). Grasslands had a higher value (-0.00454 0.00003) than the savannas, but accounted for only about 5% of the total fire count. A few other land cover types (e.g. Deciduous broad leaf: (0.00062 0.00015), and barren: 0.00027 0.00019), showed an increase in albedo after fires, but accounted for less than 1% of the total fires. Albedo change due to wildfires is more important during the fire season (October-February). The albedo recovery progresses rapidly during the first year after fires, where savannas show the greatest recovery (>77%) within one year, while deciduous broadleaf, permanent wetlands and barren lands show the least one-year recovery (56%). The persistence of surface albedo darkening in most land cover types is limited to about six to seven years, after which at least 98% of the burnt pixels recover to their pre-fire albedo.

The use of fuel breaks in landscape fire management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Agee, James K.; Bahro, Berni; Finney, Mark A.; Omi, Philip N.; Sapsis, David B.; Skinner, Carl N.; Van Wagtendonk, Jan W.; Weatherspoon, C. Phillip

2000-01-01

Shaded fuelbreaks and larger landscape fuel treatments, such as prescribed fire, are receiving renewed interest as forest protection strategies in the western United States. The effectiveness of fuelbreaks remains a subject of debate because of differing fuelbreak objectives, prescriptions for creation and maintenance, and their placement in landscapes with differing fire regimes. A well-designed fuelbreak will alter the behavior of wildland fire entering the fuel-altered zone. Both surface and crown fire behavior may be reduced. Shaded fuelbreaks must be created in the context of the landscape within which they are placed. No absolute standards for fuelbreak width or fuel reduction are possible, although recent proposals for forested fuelbreaks suggest 400 m wide bands where surface fuels are reduced and crown fuels are thinned. Landscape-level treatments such as prescribed fire can use shaded fuelbreaks as anchor points, and extend the zone of altered fire behavior to larger proportions of the landscape. Coupling fuelbreaks with area-wide fuel treatments can reduce the size, intensity, and effects of wildland fires.

Beyond "fire temperatures": calibrating thermocouple probes and modeling their response to surface fires in hardwood fuels

Treesearch

Anthony S. Bova; Matthew B. Dickinson

2008-01-01

The maximum temperatures of thermocouples, temperature-sensitive paints, and calorimeters exposed to flames in wildland fires are often called "fire temperatures" but are determined as much by the properties and deployment of the measurement devices as by the fires themselves. Rather than report device temperatures that are not generally comparable among...

Reintroducing fire in regenerated dry forests following stand-replacing wildfire.

Treesearch

David W. Peterson; Paul F. Hessburg; Brion Salter; Kevin M. James; Matthew C. Dahlgreen; John A. Barnes

2007-01-01

Prescribed fire use may be effective for increasing fire resilience in young coniferous forests by reducing surface fuels, modifying overstory stand structure, and promoting development of large trees of fire resistant species. Questions remain, however, about when and how to reintroduce fire in regenerated forests, and to what end. We studied the effects of spring...

Keynote address: the role of silviculture in restoring fire-adapted ecosystems

Treesearch

James K. Agee

2007-01-01

Across the drier forests of the western United States, historical fire was a natural silvicultural process--thinning stands from below, cleaning surface fuels, and maintaining fire-resilient conditions. The 20th century fire exclusion policy, although initiated with the best of intentions, has been a disaster in dry forests, converting them to high-severity fire...

Modeling impacts of fire severity on successional trajectories and future fire behavior in Alaskan boreal forests

Treesearch

Jill F. Johnstone; T. Scott Rupp; Mark Olson; David. Verbyla

2011-01-01

Much of the boreal forest in western North America and Alaska experiences frequent, stand-replacing wildfires. Secondary succession after fire initiates most forest stands and variations in fire characteristics can have strong effects on pathways of succession. Variations in surface fire severity that influence whether regenerating forests are dominated by coniferous...

XANES Identification of Plutonium Speciation in RFETS Samples

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

LoPresti, V.; Conradson, S.D.; Clark, D.L.

2009-06-03

Using primarily X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) with standards run in tandem with samples, probable plutonium speciation was determined for 13 samples from contaminated soil, acid-splash or fire-deposition building interior surfaces, or asphalt pads from the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (RFETS). Save for extreme oxidizing situations, all other samples were found to be of Pu(IV) speciation, supporting the supposition that such contamination is less likely to show mobility off site. EXAFS analysis conducted on two of the 13 samples supported the validity of the XANES features employed as determinants of the plutonium valence.

Dual protection of wood surface treated with melamine-modified urea-formaldehyde resin mixed with ammonium polyphosphate against both fire and decay

Treesearch

Xing-xia Ma; Grant T. Kirker; Ming-liang Jiang; Yu-zhang Wu

2016-01-01

Surface coatings of melamine-modified urea-formaldehyde resins (MUFs) containing ammonium polyphosphate (APP) have been shown to significantly improve the fire retardancy of wood by prolonging the ignition time and reducing the heat release rate, total heat released, and mass loss rate. Dual protection of wood against both decay and fire has been proposed for remedial...

An investigation of crown fuel bulk density effects on the dynamics of crown fire initiation in shrublands

Treesearch

Watcharapong Tachajapong; Jesse Lozano; Shankar Mahalingam; Xiangyang Zhou; David R. Weise

2008-01-01

Crown fire initiation is studied by using a simple experimental and detailed physical modeling based on Large Eddy Simulation (LES). Experiments conducted thus far reveal that crown fuel ignition via surface fire occurs when the crown base is within the continuous flame region and does not occur when the crown base is located in the hot plume gas region of the surface...

Projected changes in atmospheric heating due to changes in fire disturbance and the snow season in the western Arctic, 2003-2100

Treesearch

E.S. Euskirchen; A.D. McGuire; T.S. Rupp; F.S. Chapin; J.E. Walsh

2009-01-01

In high latitudes, changes in climate impact fire regimes and snow cover duration, altering the surface albedo and the heating of the regional atmosphere. In the western Arctic, under four scenarios of future climate change and future fire regimes (2003-2100), we examined changes in surface albedo and the related changes in regional atmospheric heating due to: (1)...

Flammability across the gymnosperm phylogeny: the importance of litter particle size.

PubMed

Cornwell, William K; Elvira, Alba; van Kempen, Lute; van Logtestijn, Richard S P; Aptroot, André; Cornelissen, J Hans C

2015-04-01

Fire is important to climate, element cycles and plant communities, with many fires spreading via surface litter. The influence of species on the spread of surface fire is mediated by their traits which, after senescence and abscission, have 'afterlife' effects on litter flammability. We hypothesized that differences in litter flammability among gymnosperms are determined by litter particle size effects on litterbed packing. We performed a mesocosm fire experiment comparing 39 phylogenetically wide-ranging gymnosperms, followed by litter size and shape manipulations on two chemically contrasting species, to isolate the underlying mechanism. The first-order control on litter flammability was, indeed, litter particle size in both experiments. Most gymnosperms were highly flammable, but a prominent exception was the non-Pinus Pinaceae, in which small leaves abscised singly produced dense, non-flammable litterbeds. There are two important implications: first, ecosystems dominated by gymnosperms that drop small leaves separately will develop dense litter layers, which will be less prone to and inhibit the spread of surface litter fire. Second, some of the needle-leaved species previously considered to be flammable in single-leaf experiments were among the least flammable in litter fuel beds, highlighting the role of the litter traits of species in affecting surface fire regimes. © 2015 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2015 New Phytologist Trust.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2012-04-01

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

Long-term Radiation Budget Variability in the Northern Eurasian Region: Assessing the Interaction with Fire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stackhouse, P. W.; Soja, A. J.; Zhang, T.; Mikovitz, J. C.

2013-12-01

In terms of global change, boreal regions are particularly important, because significant warming and change are already evident and significant future warming is predicted. Mean global air temperature has increased by 0.74°C in the last century, and temperatures are predicted to increase by 1.8°C to 4°C by 2090, depending on the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scenario. Some of the greatest temperature increases are currently found in the Northern Eurasian winter and spring, which has led to longer growing seasons, increased potential evapotranspiration and extreme fire weather [Groisman et al., 2007]. In the Siberian Sayan, winter temperatures have already exceeded a 2090 Hadley Centre scenario (HadCM3GGa1) [Soja et al., 2007]. There is evidence of climate-induced change across the circumboreal in terms of increased infestations, alterations in vegetation and increased fire regimes (area burned, fire frequency, severity and number of extreme fire seasons). In this paper, we analyzed long-term surface radiation data sets from the NASA/GEWEX (Global Energy and Water Exchanges) Surface Radiation Budget data products, CERES Surface EBAF and SYN data products and also the available surface radiation measurements in the region. First, we show that during overlap years SRB and CERES data products agree very well in terms of anomalies and we'll use this fact to evaluate 30 years of satellite based estimates of the variability of downwelling SW parameters first corresponding to locations of surface measurements and then for the region as a whole. We also show the observed variability of other SW components such as the net SW and the albedo. Next we assess the variability of the downward and LW fluxes over time and compare these to variability observed in the surface temperature and other meteorological measurements. We assess anomalies on various spatial scales. Finally, we assess the correlation of this variability in specific locations to known fire events. Extreme fires burned in Sakha and Tuva in 2002 and 2004, respectively, and in contrast, a normal fire season burned in Sakha and Tuva in 1999 and 2002, respectively. For this reason, we focus on the fire season (April - September) for 1999, 2002, and 2004. We assess these data sets for evidence of relationships between the net radiative fluxes and fire onset as well as evidence for residual influence of the fires upon the radiative budgets.

Fires Readiness: The State of US Army Fires in Support of Combined Arms Maneuver at the Division Level

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-10

proficiency in their core competencies. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Fires, Fire Support, DIVARTY, FAB , Combined Arms Maneuver, DOTMLPF 16. SECURITY...FAA Functional Area Analysis FAB Field Artillery Brigade FER Final Exercise Report FFA HQ Force Field Artillery Headquarters FM Field Manual FNA...function. This provided me the opportunity to work with several Division Artillerys (DIVARTYs) and Field Artillery Brigades ( FABs ). During this time

Thermal Imaging of Subsurface Coal Fires by means of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in the Autonomous Province Xinjiang, PRC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vasterling, Margarete; Schloemer, Stefan; Fischer, Christian; Ehrler, Christoph

2010-05-01

Spontaneous combustion of coal and resulting coal fires lead to very high temperatures in the subsurface. To a large amount the heat is transferred to the surface by convective and conductive transport inducing a more or less pronounced thermal anomaly. During the past decade satellite-based infrared-imaging (ASTER, MODIS) was the method of choice for coal fire detection on a local and regional scale. However, the resolution is by far too low for a detailed analysis of single coal fires which is essential prerequisite for corrective measures (i.e. fire fighting) and calculation of carbon dioxide emission based on a complex correlation between energy release and CO2 generation. Consequently, within the framework of the Sino-German research project "Innovative Technologies for Exploration, Extinction and Monitoring of Coal Fires in Northern China", a new concept was developed and successfully tested. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was equipped with a lightweight camera for thermografic (resolution 160 by 120 pixel, dynamic range -20 to 250°C) and for visual imaging. The UAV designed as an octocopter is able to hover at GPS controlled waypoints during predefined flight missions. The application of a UAV has several advantages. Compared to point measurements on the ground the thermal imagery quickly provides the spatial distribution of the temperature anomaly with a much better resolution. Areas otherwise not accessible (due to topography, fire induced cracks, etc.) can easily be investigated. The results of areal surveys on two coal fires in Xinjiang are presented. Georeferenced thermal and visual images were mosaicked together and analyzed. UAV-born data do well compared to temperatures measured directly on the ground and cover large areas in detail. However, measuring surface temperature alone is not sufficient. Simultaneous measurements made at the surface and in roughly 15cm depth proved substantial temperature gradients in the upper soil. Thus the temperature measured at the surface underestimates the energy emitted by the subsurface coal fire. In addition, surface temperature is strongly influenced by solar radiation and the prevailing ambient conditions (wind, temperature, humidity). As a consequence there is no simple correlation between surface and subsurface soil temperature. Efforts have been made to set up a coupled energy transport and energy balance model for the near surface considering thermal conduction, solar irradiation, thermal radiative energy and ambient temperature so far. The model can help to validate space-born and UAV-born thermal imagery and link surface to subsurface temperature but depends on in-situ measurements for input parameter determination and calibration. Results obtained so far strongly necessitate the integration of different data sources (in-situ / remote; point / area; local / medium scale) to obtain a reliable energy release estimation which is then used for coal fire characterization.

Evapotranspiration and water balance of an anthropogenic coastal desert wetland: responses to fire, inflows and salinities

USGS Publications Warehouse

Glenn, Edward P.; Mexicano, Lourdes; Garcia-Hernandez, Jaqueline; Nagler, Pamela L.; Gomez-Sapiens, Martha M.; Tang, Dawei; Lomeli, Marcelo A.; Ramírez-Hernández, Jorge; Zamora-Arroyo, Francisco

2013-01-01

Evapotranspiration (ET) and other water balance components were estimated for Cienega de Santa Clara, an anthropogenic brackish wetland in the delta of the Colorado River in Mexico. The marsh is in the Biosphere Reserve of the Upper Gulf of California and Delta of the Colorado River, and supports a high abundance and diversity of wildlife. Over 95% of its water supply originates as agricultural drain water from the USA, sent for disposal in Mexico. This study was conducted from 2009 to 2011, before, during and after a trial run of the Yuma Desalting Plant in the USA, which will divert water from the wetland and replace it with brine from the desalting operation. The goal was to estimate the main components in the water budget to be used in creating management scenarios for this marsh. We used a remote sensing algorithm to estimate ET from meteorological data and Enhanced Vegetation Index values from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) sensors on the Terra satellite. ET estimates from the MODIS method were then compared to results from a mass balance of water and salt inflows and outflows over the study period. By both methods, mean annual ET estimates ranged from 2.6 to 3.0 mm d−1, or 50 to 60% of reference ET (ETo). Water entered at a mean salinity of 2.6 g L−1 TDS and mean salinity in the wetland was 3.73 g L−1 TDS over the 33 month study period. Over an annual cycle, 54% of inflows supported ET while the rest exited the marsh as outflows; however, in winter when ET was low, up to 90% of the inflows exited the marsh. An analysis of ET estimates over the years 2000–2011 showed that annual ET was proportional to the volume of inflows, but was also markedly stimulated by fires. Spring fires in 2006 and 2011 burned off accumulated thatch, resulting in vigorous growth of new leaves and a 30% increase in peak summer ET compared to non-fire years. Following fires, peak summer ET estimates were equal to ETo, while in non-fire years peak ET was equal to only one-half to two-thirds of ETo. Over annual cycles, estimated ET was always lower than ETo, because T. domingensis is dormant in winter and shades the water surface, reducing direct evaporation. Thus, ET of a Typha marsh is likely to be less than an open water surface under most conditions.

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.

First Approximations of Prescribed Fire Risks Relative to Other Management Techniques Used on Private Lands.

PubMed

Twidwell, Dirac; Wonkka, Carissa L; Sindelar, Michael T; Weir, John R

2015-01-01

Fire is widely recognized as a critical ecological and evolutionary driver that needs to be at the forefront of land management actions if conservation targets are to be met. However, the prevailing view is that prescribed fire is riskier than other land management techniques. Perceived risks associated with the application of fire limits its use and reduces agency support for prescribed burning in the private sector. As a result, considerably less cost-share support is given for prescribed fire compared to mechanical techniques. This study tests the general perception that fire is a riskier technique relative to other land management options. Due to the lack of data available to directly test this notion, we use a combination of approaches including 1) a comparison of fatalities resulting from different occupations that are proxies for techniques employed in land management, 2) a comparison of fatalities resulting from wildland fire versus prescribed fire, and 3) an exploration of causal factors responsible for wildland fire-related fatalities. This approach establishes a first approximation of the relative risk of fatality to private citizens using prescribed fire compared to other management techniques that are readily used in ecosystem management. Our data do not support using risks of landowner fatalities as justification for the use of alternative land management techniques, such as mechanical (machine-related) equipment, over prescribed fire. Vehicles and heavy machinery are consistently leading reasons for fatalities within occupations selected as proxies for management techniques employed by ranchers and agricultural producers, and also constitute a large proportion of fatalities among firefighters. Our study provides the foundation for agencies to establish data-driven decisions regarding the degree of support they provide for prescribed burning on private lands.

First Approximations of Prescribed Fire Risks Relative to Other Management Techniques Used on Private Lands

PubMed Central

Twidwell, Dirac; Wonkka, Carissa L.; Sindelar, Michael T.; Weir, John R.

2015-01-01

Fire is widely recognized as a critical ecological and evolutionary driver that needs to be at the forefront of land management actions if conservation targets are to be met. However, the prevailing view is that prescribed fire is riskier than other land management techniques. Perceived risks associated with the application of fire limits its use and reduces agency support for prescribed burning in the private sector. As a result, considerably less cost-share support is given for prescribed fire compared to mechanical techniques. This study tests the general perception that fire is a riskier technique relative to other land management options. Due to the lack of data available to directly test this notion, we use a combination of approaches including 1) a comparison of fatalities resulting from different occupations that are proxies for techniques employed in land management, 2) a comparison of fatalities resulting from wildland fire versus prescribed fire, and 3) an exploration of causal factors responsible for wildland fire-related fatalities. This approach establishes a first approximation of the relative risk of fatality to private citizens using prescribed fire compared to other management techniques that are readily used in ecosystem management. Our data do not support using risks of landowner fatalities as justification for the use of alternative land management techniques, such as mechanical (machine-related) equipment, over prescribed fire. Vehicles and heavy machinery are consistently leading reasons for fatalities within occupations selected as proxies for management techniques employed by ranchers and agricultural producers, and also constitute a large proportion of fatalities among firefighters. Our study provides the foundation for agencies to establish data-driven decisions regarding the degree of support they provide for prescribed burning on private lands. PMID:26465329

Paleolandscape Modeling of Climatic vs Anthropogenic Fires Regimes in the southern Sierra Nevada, California using LANDIS-II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klimaszewski-Patterson, A.; Mensing, S. A.; Weisberg, P.; Scheller, R. M.

2016-12-01

Humans have altered landscapes across North America for millennia. Ethnographic accounts record regular Native Californian use of fire, but not the exact quantity, frequency, or range to which fire use and management were employed. Previous paleoecological work at Holey Meadow (HLY), Sequoia National Forest, California (Klimaszewski-Patterson and Mensing, 2015) indicated two anomolous periods of forest composition (1550-1000 and 750-100 cal yr BP) over the 2000 years that were inconsistent climatic expections. This research uses the forest succession landscape model LANDIS-II to investigate whether the observed changes in forest composition at HLY can be explained by climatic fires, or whether the addition of Native American-set surface fires is necessary. Simulated outputs of vegetation from LANDS-II were compared to the pollen record at HLY. Results suggest that Native American-set surface fires (anthropogenic fire regime) are most consistent both the pollen and charcoal records from HLY, as well as nearby and regional fire scar records. Climatic fires alone do not seem to explain the paleorecord, and this indicate that HLY may represent an anthropogenically-modified landscape.

Fire Safety in Extraterrestrial Environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Friedman, Robert

1998-01-01

Despite rigorous fire-safety policies and practices, fire incidents are possible during lunar and Martian missions. Fire behavior and hence preventive and responsive safety actions in the missions are strongly influenced by the low-gravity environments in flight and on the planetary surfaces. This paper reviews the understanding and key issues of fire safety in the missions, stressing flame spread, fire detection, suppression, and combustion performance of propellants produced from Martian resources.

Biological and geophysical feedbacks with fire in the Earth system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Archibald, S.; Lehmann, C. E. R.; Belcher, C. M.; Bond, W. J.; Bradstock, R. A.; Daniau, A.-L.; Dexter, K. G.; Forrestel, E. J.; Greve, M.; He, T.; Higgins, S. I.; Hoffmann, W. A.; Lamont, B. B.; McGlinn, D. J.; Moncrieff, G. R.; Osborne, C. P.; Pausas, J. G.; Price, O.; Ripley, B. S.; Rogers, B. M.; Schwilk, D. W.; Simon, M. F.; Turetsky, M. R.; Van der Werf, G. R.; Zanne, A. E.

2018-03-01

Roughly 3% of the Earth’s land surface burns annually, representing a critical exchange of energy and matter between the land and atmosphere via combustion. Fires range from slow smouldering peat fires, to low-intensity surface fires, to intense crown fires, depending on vegetation structure, fuel moisture, prevailing climate, and weather conditions. While the links between biogeochemistry, climate and fire are widely studied within Earth system science, these relationships are also mediated by fuels—namely plants and their litter—that are the product of evolutionary and ecological processes. Fire is a powerful selective force and, over their evolutionary history, plants have evolved traits that both tolerate and promote fire numerous times and across diverse clades. Here we outline a conceptual framework of how plant traits determine the flammability of ecosystems and interact with climate and weather to influence fire regimes. We explore how these evolutionary and ecological processes scale to impact biogeochemical and Earth system processes. Finally, we outline several research challenges that, when resolved, will improve our understanding of the role of plant evolution in mediating the fire feedbacks driving Earth system processes. Understanding current patterns of fire and vegetation, as well as patterns of fire over geological time, requires research that incorporates evolutionary biology, ecology, biogeography, and the biogeosciences.

Ecosystem Dynamics and Fate of Warm Permafrost after Tundra Wildfire on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frost, G. V., Jr.; Macander, M. J.; Saperstein, L. B.; Loehman, R.; Nelson, P.; Bhatt, U. S.; Bieniek, P.; Hendricks, A.

2017-12-01

The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (YKD) encompasses the southernmost, warmest parts of the arctic tundra biome. Ice-rich permafrost currently is widespread and strongly influences terrestrial and aquatic environments. In 2015, the YKD experienced large wildfires across >1,200 km2 of permafrost-affected upland tundra. Although the 2015 fire season was exceptional, tundra fire is common in this region with episodes of historical fire circa 2005, 1985, and 1971, offering a natural laboratory for understanding the ecosystem impacts of tundra fire in a discontinuous permafrost region during a period of warming air and ground temperatures. In 2017, we collected field data on vegetation, soils, and burn severity within recent and historical burns and unburned tundra. Using these data we mapped the cover of plant functional types (PFTs) using Landsat imagery and analyzed patterns of correspondence between vegetation species-composition and structure; soil properties; fire history; and long-term changes associated with pond drainage. We also tested for differences in biophysical properties among the tundra fire epochs and unburned tundra. Vegetation in unburned tundra was dominated by lichens, whereas burned areas support enhanced cover of shrubs and mosses; however, post-fire shrub cover was composed of the same low-statured species common to unburned tundra and we seldom observed sites colonized by taller, canopy-forming species. Geomorphology and soils were similar between 1971 and 1985 burn areas and unburned tundra, likely because thick peat layers protected ice-rich permafrost and conferred ecosystem resilience after fire. While this historical perspective suggests that peaty soils will moderate the impact of the 2015 fires, we observed secondary impacts related to permafrost degradation in circa 2005 fires that were not evident in older burns, such as thaw-settlement, increased surface wetness, complex microtopography, and progressive mortality of shrubs. These contrasts represent persistent, rather than successional shifts and suggest that upland ecosystems of the YKD may be less resilient to wildfire disturbance than they were in the past.

Cork Oak Vulnerability to Fire: The Role of Bark Harvesting, Tree Characteristics and Abiotic Factors

PubMed Central

Catry, Filipe X.; Moreira, Francisco; Pausas, Juli G.; Fernandes, Paulo M.; Rego, Francisco; Cardillo, Enrique; Curt, Thomas

2012-01-01

Forest ecosystems where periodical tree bark harvesting is a major economic activity may be particularly vulnerable to disturbances such as fire, since debarking usually reduces tree vigour and protection against external agents. In this paper we asked how cork oak Quercus suber trees respond after wildfires and, in particular, how bark harvesting affects post-fire tree survival and resprouting. We gathered data from 22 wildfires (4585 trees) that occurred in three southern European countries (Portugal, Spain and France), covering a wide range of conditions characteristic of Q. suber ecosystems. Post-fire tree responses (tree mortality, stem mortality and crown resprouting) were examined in relation to management and ecological factors using generalized linear mixed-effects models. Results showed that bark thickness and bark harvesting are major factors affecting resistance of Q. suber to fire. Fire vulnerability was higher for trees with thin bark (young or recently debarked individuals) and decreased with increasing bark thickness until cork was 3–4 cm thick. This bark thickness corresponds to the moment when exploited trees are debarked again, meaning that exploited trees are vulnerable to fire during a longer period. Exploited trees were also more likely to be top-killed than unexploited trees, even for the same bark thickness. Additionally, vulnerability to fire increased with burn severity and with tree diameter, and was higher in trees burned in early summer or located in drier south-facing aspects. We provided tree response models useful to help estimating the impact of fire and to support management decisions. The results suggested that an appropriate management of surface fuels and changes in the bark harvesting regime (e.g. debarking coexisting trees in different years or increasing the harvesting cycle) would decrease vulnerability to fire and contribute to the conservation of cork oak ecosystems. PMID:22787521

Impact of Wildfire on Solute Release in Forested Catchments, Jemez River, New Mexico, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanchez, R. A.; Meixner, T.; McIntosh, J. C.; Chorover, J.

2017-12-01

Wildfires represent a large disturbance to the hydrology and biogeochemistry of forested catchments. The number, size and severity of wildfires have significantly increased in the western United States since 1990. Nutrients and other elements (e.g. Ca) that were taken up and stored by biomass are released from burned vegetation during forest fires and transported downgradient via overland flow, shallow subsurface flow, and/or deep groundwater flow. Ash accumulations on hillslopes may also store particulate carbon and contain elevated concentrations of elements that maybe leached into surface and ground water over extended periods of time. In 2013, the Thompson Ridge wildfire burned headwater catchments in the Jemez River Basin Critical Zone Observatory (JRB-CZO) within the Valles Caldera National Preserve, New Mexico USA. The burn severity and area impacted were different in the three headwater catchments. This study investigated the impact of the wildfire on surface water quality, including how the fire-induced impacts evolved with time, and how biogeochemical processes controlled post-fire solute concentrations in the surface water. Comparison of pre- and post-fire surface water solute chemistry shows increases in major cations and anions following fire. Increases in nitrate and sulfate concentrations in streams after the wildfire were likely from leaching of burned biomass. The elevated NO3- and SO42- concentrations persisted for over two years, and were even higher during spring snowmelt. Meanwhile, base cation concentrations increased immediately, within a few weeks after the fire, likely related to leaching from combusted organic matter; and, over a period of approximately two months, base cation concentrations returned to pre-fire levels. Trace element behavior was also altered by fire. For example, while pre-fire aluminum concentrations in stream flow increased significantly during the wet seasons (snowmelt and monsoons), the post-fire observations do not show significant changes with increase in discharge.

A GIS-based decision support system for determining the shortest and safest route to forest fires: a case study in Mediterranean Region of Turkey.

PubMed

Akay, Abdullah E; Wing, Michael G; Sivrikaya, Fatih; Sakar, Dursun

2012-03-01

The ability of firefighting vehicles and staff to reach a fire area as quickly as possible is critical in fighting against forest fires. In this study, a Geographical Information System-based decision support system was developed to assist fire managers in determining the fastest and the safest or more reliable access routes from firefighting headquarters to fire areas. The decision support system was tested in the Kahramanmaras Forestry Regional Directoratein the Mediterranean region of Turkey. The study area consisted of forested lands which had been classified according to fire sensitivity. The fire response routing simulations considered firefighting teams located in 20 firefighting headquarter locations. The road network, the locations of the firefighting headquarters, and possible fire locations were mapped for simulation analysis. In alternative application simulations, inaccessible roads which might be closed due to fire or other reasons were indicated in the network analysis so that the optimum route was not only the fastest but also the safest and most reliable path. The selection of which firefighting headquarters to use was evaluated by considering critical response time to potential fire areas based on fire sensitivity levels. Results indicated that new firefighting headquarters should be established in the region in order to provide sufficient firefighting response to all forested lands. In addition, building new fire access roads and increasing the design speed on current roads could also increase firefighting response capabilities within the study area.

Fire, Fuel, and Smoke Science Program 2015 Research Accomplishments

Treesearch

Faith Ann Heinsch; Charles W. McHugh; Colin C. Hardy

2016-01-01

The Fire, Fuel, and Smoke Science Program (FFS) of the U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station focuses on fundamental and applied research in wildland fire, from fire physics and fire ecology to fuels management and smoke emissions. Located at the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory in Montana, the scientists, engineers, technicians, and support...

Changing research needs in wilderness fire

Treesearch

Carol Miller

2008-01-01

Wilderness policies of the four agencies that manage wilderness in the United States recognize the importance of fire as a natural process and federal fire policy supports allowing lightning-caused fires to burn. However, a complex suite of challenges has limited the restoration and maintenance of natural fire regimes in wilderness (Parsons 2000). As a result, fire...

Field Artillery And Fire Support At The Operational Level: An Analysis Of Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-05-25

Field Artillery and Fire Support at the Operational Level: An Analysis of Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom A Monograph...Defense, Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports (0704-0188), 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204...AND SUBTITLE Field Artillery and Fire Support at the Operational Level: An Analysis of Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom 5a

41 CFR 102-80.120 - What analytical and empirical tools should be used to support the life safety equivalency...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

...) FEDERAL MANAGEMENT REGULATION REAL PROPERTY 80-SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT Accident and Fire... used to support the life safety equivalency evaluation? Analytical and empirical tools, including fire models and grading schedules such as the Fire Safety Evaluation System (Alternative Approaches to Life...

41 CFR 102-80.120 - What analytical and empirical tools should be used to support the life safety equivalency...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

...) FEDERAL MANAGEMENT REGULATION REAL PROPERTY 80-SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT Accident and Fire... used to support the life safety equivalency evaluation? Analytical and empirical tools, including fire models and grading schedules such as the Fire Safety Evaluation System (Alternative Approaches to Life...

41 CFR 102-80.120 - What analytical and empirical tools should be used to support the life safety equivalency...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

...) FEDERAL MANAGEMENT REGULATION REAL PROPERTY 80-SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT Accident and Fire... used to support the life safety equivalency evaluation? Analytical and empirical tools, including fire models and grading schedules such as the Fire Safety Evaluation System (Alternative Approaches to Life...

Guidance on spatial wildland fire analysis: models, tools, and techniques

Treesearch

Richard D. Stratton

2006-01-01

There is an increasing need for spatial wildland fire analysis in support of incident management, fuel treatment planning, wildland-urban assessment, and land management plan development. However, little guidance has been provided to the field in the form of training, support, or research examples. This paper provides guidance to fire managers, planners, specialists,...

Fire, climate change, and forest resilience in interior Alaska

Treesearch

Jill F. Johnstone; F. Stuart Chapin; Teresa N. Hollingsworth; Michelle C. Mack; Vladimir Romanovsky; Merritt Turetsky

2010-01-01

In the boreal forests of interior Alaska, feedbacks that link forest soils, fire characteristics, and plant traits have supported stable cycles of forest succession for the past 6000 years. This high resilience of forest stands to fire disturbance is supported by two interrelated feedback cycles: (i) interactions among disturbance regime and plant-soil-microbial...

EPRI/NRC-RES fire human reliability analysis guidelines.

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

Lewis, Stuart R.; Cooper, Susan E.; Najafi, Bijan

2010-03-01

During the 1990s, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) developed methods for fire risk analysis to support its utility members in the preparation of responses to Generic Letter 88-20, Supplement 4, 'Individual Plant Examination - External Events' (IPEEE). This effort produced a Fire Risk Assessment methodology for operations at power that was used by the majority of U.S. nuclear power plants (NPPs) in support of the IPEEE program and several NPPs overseas. Although these methods were acceptable for accomplishing the objectives of the IPEEE, EPRI and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recognized that they required upgrades to support currentmore » requirements for risk-informed, performance-based (RI/PB) applications. In 2001, EPRI and the USNRC's Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) embarked on a cooperative project to improve the state-of-the-art in fire risk assessment to support a new risk-informed environment in fire protection. This project produced a consensus document, NUREG/CR-6850 (EPRI 1011989), entitled 'Fire PRA Methodology for Nuclear Power Facilities' which addressed fire risk for at power operations. NUREG/CR-6850 developed high level guidance on the process for identification and inclusion of human failure events (HFEs) into the fire PRA (FPRA), and a methodology for assigning quantitative screening values to these HFEs. It outlined the initial considerations of performance shaping factors (PSFs) and related fire effects that may need to be addressed in developing best-estimate human error probabilities (HEPs). However, NUREG/CR-6850 did not describe a methodology to develop best-estimate HEPs given the PSFs and the fire-related effects. In 2007, EPRI and RES embarked on another cooperative project to develop explicit guidance for estimating HEPs for human failure events under fire generated conditions, building upon existing human reliability analysis (HRA) methods. This document provides a methodology and guidance for conducting a fire HRA. This process includes identification and definition of post-fire human failure events, qualitative analysis, quantification, recovery, dependency, and uncertainty. This document provides three approaches to quantification: screening, scoping, and detailed HRA. Screening is based on the guidance in NUREG/CR-6850, with some additional guidance for scenarios with long time windows. Scoping is a new approach to quantification developed specifically to support the iterative nature of fire PRA quantification. Scoping is intended to provide less conservative HEPs than screening, but requires fewer resources than a detailed HRA analysis. For detailed HRA quantification, guidance has been developed on how to apply existing methods to assess post-fire fire HEPs.« less

Climatic variability of near-surface turbulent kinetic energy over the United States: implications for fire-weather predications

Treesearch

Warren E. Heilman; Xindi Bain

2013-01-01

Recent research suggests that high levels of ambient near-surface atmospheric turbulence are often associated with rapid and sometimes erratic wildland fire spread that may eventually lead to large burn areas. Previous research has also examined the feasibility of using near-surface atmospheric turbulent kinetic energy (TKEs) alone or in...

Performance of high temperature heat flux plates and soil moisture probes during controlled surface fires

Treesearch

W. J. Massman; J. M. Frank; S. M. Massman; W. D. Shepperd

2003-01-01

Natural and prescribed fires play an important role in managing and maintaining most ecosystems in the western United States. The high soil temperatures associated with fire influence forests and their ability to regenerate after a fire by altering soil properties and soil chemistry and by killing microbes, plant roots, and seeds. Because prescribed fire is frequently...

Testing the potential of multi-spectral remote sensing for retrospectively estimating fire severity in African savannahs

Treesearch

Alistair M.S. Smith; Martin J. Wooster; Nick A. Drake; Frederick M. Dipotso; Michael J. Falkowski; Andrew T. Hudak

2005-01-01

The remote sensing of fire severity is a noted goal in studies of forest and grassland wildfires. Experiments were conducted to discover and evaluate potential relationships between the characteristics of African savannah fires and post-fire surface spectral reflectance in the visible to shortwave infrared spectral region. Nine instrumented experimental fires were...

Towards improving wildland firefighter situational awareness through daily fire behaviour risk assessments in the US Northern Rockies and Northern Great Basin

Treesearch

W. Matt Jolly; Patrick H. Freeborn

2017-01-01

Wildland firefighters must assess potential fire behaviour in order to develop appropriate strategies and tactics that will safely meet objectives. Fire danger indices integrate surface weather conditions to quantify potential variations in fire spread rates and intensities and therefore should closely relate to observed fire behaviour. These indices could better...

Developing custom fire behavior fuel models from ecologically complex fuel structures for upper Atlantic Coastal Plain forests

Treesearch

Bernard R. Parresol; Joe H. Scott; Anne Andreu; Susan Prichard; Laurie Kurth

2012-01-01

Currently geospatial fire behavior analyses are performed with an array of fire behavior modeling systems such as FARSITE, FlamMap, and the Large Fire Simulation System. These systems currently require standard or customized surface fire behavior fuel models as inputs that are often assigned through remote sensing information. The ability to handle hundreds or...

Climate drivers of regionally synchronous fires in the inland northwest (1651-1900)

Treesearch

Emily K. Heyerdahl; Donald McKenzie; Lori D. Daniels; Amy E. Hessl; Jeremy S. Littell; Nathan J. Mantua

2008-01-01

We inferred climate drivers of regionally synchronous surface fires from 1651 to 1900 at 15 sites with existing annually accurate fire-scar chronologies from forests dominated by ponderosa pine or Douglas-fir in the inland Northwest (interior Oregon,Washington and southern British Columbia).Years with widespread fires (35 years with fire at 7 to 11 sites) had warm...

Estimating canopy fuels in conifer forests

Treesearch

Joe H. Scott; Elizabeth D. Reinhardt

2002-01-01

Crown fires occur in a variety of coniferous forest types (Agee 1993), including some that are not historically prone to crown fire, such as ponderosa pine (Mutch and others 1993). The head fire spread rate of a crown fire is usually several times faster than that of a surface fire burning under the same conditions, which leads to a significant increase in the number...

From fire whirls to blue whirls and combustion with reduced pollution.

PubMed

Xiao, Huahua; Gollner, Michael J; Oran, Elaine S

2016-08-23

Fire whirls are powerful, spinning disasters for people and surroundings when they occur in large urban and wildland fires. Whereas fire whirls have been studied for fire-safety applications, previous research has yet to harness their potential burning efficiency for enhanced combustion. This article presents laboratory studies of fire whirls initiated as pool fires, but where the fuel sits on a water surface, suggesting the idea of exploiting the high efficiency of fire whirls for oil-spill remediation. We show the transition from a pool fire, to a fire whirl, and then to a previously unobserved state, a "blue whirl." A blue whirl is smaller, very stable, and burns completely blue as a hydrocarbon flame, indicating soot-free burning. The combination of fast mixing, intense swirl, and the water-surface boundary creates the conditions leading to nearly soot-free combustion. With the worldwide need to reduce emissions from both wanted and unwanted combustion, discovery of this state points to possible new pathways for reduced-emission combustion and fuel-spill cleanup. Because current methods to generate a stable vortex are difficult, we also propose that the blue whirl may serve as a research platform for fundamental studies of vortices and vortex breakdown in fluid mechanics.

Fire Alters Emergence of Invasive Plant Species from Soil Surface-Deposited Seeds

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

1. Fire is recognized as an important process controlling ecosystem structure and function. Restoration of fire regimes is complicated by global concerns about exotic plants invasions, yet little is known of how the two may interact. Characterizing relationships between fire conditions and the vi...

Fire Support Requirements Methodology Study, Phase 2 Proceedings of the Fire Support Methodology Workshop

DTIC Science & Technology

1975-12-18

It was not immediatei- clear that the -approach- would- succeed in overcoming the deficiencies of present fire support methodologies which demand- an...support require analysis up to Level 6. They also felt that deficiencies in f technique were most serious at Levels 3, 4 and 5. It was accepted that...defined as: Tk2 = _Tkl ilk2 kl (2) Tkt = Tk,t-l - ’lMktMk,t-l + 𔃼kt ,t-2 I t > (3. where Mt refers to the-number of type k targets killed in time

Surface forcing of non-stand-replacing fires in Siberian larch forests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Dong; Loboda, Tatiana V.

2018-04-01

Wildfires are the dominant disturbance agent in the Siberian larch forests. Extensive low- to mediate-intensity non-stand-replacing fires are a notable property of fire regime in these forests. Recent large scale studies of these fires have focused mostly on their impacts on carbon budget; however, their potential impacts on energy budget through post-fire albedo changes have not been considered. This study quantifies the post-fire surface forcing for Siberian larch forests that experienced non-stand-replacing fires between 2001 and 2012 using the full record of MODIS MCD43A3 albedo product and a burned area product developed specifically for the Russian forests. Despite a large variability, the mean effect of non-stand-replacing fires imposed through albedo is a negative forcing which lasts for at least 14 years. However, the magnitude of the forcing is much smaller than that imposed by stand-replacing fires, highlighting the importance of differentiating between the two fire types in the studies involving the fire impacts in the region. The results of this study also show that MODIS-based summer differenced normalized burn ratio (dNBR) provides a reliable metric for differentiating non-stand-replacing from stand-replacing fires with an overall accuracy of 88%, which is of considerable importance for future work on modeling post-fire energy budget and carbon budget in the region.

Estimating the impact of the 2004 Alaskan forest fires on episodic particulate matter pollution over the eastern United States through assimilation of satellite-derived aerosol optical depths in a regional air quality model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mathur, Rohit

2008-09-01

During the summer of 2004, extensive wildfires burned in Alaska and western Canada; the fires were the largest on record for Alaska. Smoke from these fires was observed over the continental United States in satellite images, and a variety of chemical tracers associated with the fires were sampled by aircrafts deployed during the International Consortium for Atmospheric Research on Transport and Transformation field experiment. Several recent studies have quantified the impacts of the long-range transport of pollution associated with these fires on tropospheric CO and O3 levels over the eastern United States. This study quantifies the episodic impact of this pollution transport event on surface-level fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations over the eastern United States during mid-July 2004, through the complementary use of remotely sensed, aloft, and surface measurements, in conjunction with a comprehensive regional atmospheric chemistry-transport model. A methodology is developed to assimilate MODIS aerosol optical depths in the model to represent the impacts of the fires. The resultant model predictions of CO and PM2.5 distributions are compared extensively with corresponding surface and aloft measurements. On the basis of the model calculations, a 0.12Tg enhancement in tropospheric PM2.5 mass loading over the eastern United States is estimated on 19 July 2004 due to the fires. This amount is significantly larger (approximately a factor of 8) than the total daily anthropogenic fine particulate matter emissions for the continental United States. Analysis of measured and modeled PM2.5 surface-level concentrations suggests that the transport of particulate matter pollution associated with the fires resulted in a 24-42 % enhancement in median surface-level PM2.5 concentrations across the eastern United States during 19-23 July 2004.

Can the physical properties associated with uncertainties in the NASA MODIS AOD retrievals in the western U.S. be determined?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loria Salazar, S. M.; Holmes, H.; Panorska, A. K.; Arnott, W. P.; Barnard, J.

2016-12-01

Previous investigations have used satellite remote sensing to estimate surface air pollution concentrations. While most of these studies rely on models developed for the dark-vegetated eastern U.S., they are being used in the semi-arid western U.S without modifications. These models are not robust in the western U.S. due to: 1. Irregular topography that leads to complicated boundary layer physics, 2. Pollutant mixtures, 3. Heterogeneous vertical profile of aerosol concentrations, and 4. High surface reflectance. Here, results from Nevada and California demonstrate poor AOD correlation between AERONET MODIS retrievals. Smoke from wildfires strengthened the aerosol signal, but the MODIS versus AERONET AOD correlation did not improve significantly during fire events [r2 0.17 (non-fire), r2 0.2 (fire)]. Furthermore, aerosol from fires increased the normalized mean bias (NMB) of MODIS retrievals of AOD[NMB 82% (non-fire), NMB 146% (fire)]. Additional results of this investigation found that aerosol plumes confined with the boundary layer improves MODIS AOD retrievals. However, when this condition is not met (i.e., 70% of the time downwind of mountains regions) MODIS AOD has a poor correlation and high bias with respect to AERONET AOD. Fire injection height, complicated boundary layer mixing, and entrainment disperse smoke plumes into the free atmosphere. Therefore, smoke plumes exacerbate the complex aerosol transport typical in the western U.S. and the non-linear relationship between surface pollutant concentrations and conditions aloft. This work uses stochastic methods, including regression to investigate the influence of each of these physical behaviors on the MODIS, AERONET AOD discrepancy using surrogates for each physical phenomenon, e.g., surface albedo for surface reflectance, boundary layer height and elevation for complex mixing, aerosol optical height for vertical aerosol concentrations, and fire radiative power for smoke plume injection height.

Effects of Mountain Pine Beetle on Fuels and Expected Fire Behavior in Lodgepole Pine Forests, Colorado, USA

PubMed Central

Schoennagel, Tania; Veblen, Thomas T.; Negron, José F.; Smith, Jeremy M.

2012-01-01

In Colorado and southern Wyoming, mountain pine beetle (MPB) has affected over 1.6 million ha of predominantly lodgepole pine forests, raising concerns about effects of MPB-caused mortality on subsequent wildfire risk and behavior. Using empirical data we modeled potential fire behavior across a gradient of wind speeds and moisture scenarios in Green stands compared three stages since MPB attack (Red [1–3 yrs], Grey [4–10 yrs], and Old-MPB [∼30 yrs]). MPB killed 50% of the trees and 70% of the basal area in Red and Grey stages. Across moisture scenarios, canopy fuel moisture was one-third lower in Red and Grey stages compared to the Green stage, making active crown fire possible at lower wind speeds and less extreme moisture conditions. More-open canopies and high loads of large surface fuels due to treefall in Grey and Old-MPB stages significantly increased surface fireline intensities, facilitating active crown fire at lower wind speeds (>30–55 km/hr) across all moisture scenarios. Not accounting for low foliar moistures in Red and Grey stages, and large surface fuels in Grey and Old-MPB stages, underestimates the occurrence of active crown fire. Under extreme burning conditions, minimum wind speeds for active crown fire were 25–35 km/hr lower for Red, Grey and Old-MPB stands compared to Green. However, if transition to crown fire occurs (outside the stand, or within the stand via ladder fuels or wind gusts >65 km/hr), active crown fire would be sustained at similar wind speeds, suggesting observed fire behavior may not be qualitatively different among MPB stages under extreme burning conditions. Overall, the risk (probability) of active crown fire appears elevated in MPB-affected stands, but the predominant fire hazard (crown fire) is similar across MPB stages and is characteristic of lodgepole pine forests where extremely dry, gusty weather conditions are key factors in determining fire behavior. PMID:22272268

Characterization of potential fire regimes: applying landscape ecology to fire management in Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jardel, E.; Alvarado, E.; Perez-Salicrup, D.; Morfín-Rios, J.

2013-05-01

Knowledge and understanding of fire regimes is fundamental to design sound fire management practices. The high ecosystem diversity of Mexico offers a great challenge to characterize the fire regime variation at the landscape level. A conceptual model was developed considering the main factors controlling fire regimes: climate and vegetation cover. We classified landscape units combining bioclimatic zones from the Holdridge life-zone system and actual vegetation cover. Since bioclimatic conditions control primary productivity and biomass accumulation (potential fuel), each landscape unit was considered as a fuel bed with a particular fire intensity and behavior potential. Climate is also a determinant factor of post-fire recovery rates of fuel beds, and climate seasonality (length of the dry and wet seasons) influences fire probability (available fuel and ignition efficiency). These two factors influence potential fire frequency. Potential fire severity can be inferred from fire frequency, fire intensity and behavior, and vegetation composition and structure. Based in the conceptual model, an exhaustive literature review and expert opinion, we developed rules to assign a potential fire regime (PFR) defined by frequency, intensity and severity (i.e. fire regime) to each bioclimatic-vegetation landscape unit. Three groups and eight types of potential fire regimes were identified. In Group A are fire-prone ecosystems with frequent low severity surface fires in grasslands (PFR type I) or forests with long dry season (II) and infrequent high-severity fires in chaparral (III), wet temperate forests (IV, fire restricted by humidity), and dry temperate forests (V, fire restricted by fuel recovery rate). Group B includes fire-reluctant ecosystems with very infrequent or occasional mixed severity surface fires limited by moisture in tropical rain forests (VI) or fuel availability in seasonally dry tropical forests (VII). Group C and PFR VIII include fire-free environments that correspond to deserts. Application of PFR model to fire management is discussed.

Simulation of the consequences of different fire regimes to support wildland fire use decisions

Treesearch

Carol Miller

2007-01-01

The strategy known as wildland fire use, in which lightning-ignited fires are allowed to burn, is rapidly gaining momentum in the fire management community. Managers need to know the consequences of an increase in area burned that might result from an increase in wildland fire use. One concern of land managers as they consider implementing wildland fire use is whether...

Influence of logging on the effects of wildfire in Siberia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kukavskaya, E. A.; Buryak, L. V.; Ivanova, G. A.; Conard, S. G.; Kalenskaya, O. P.; Zhila, S. V.; McRae, D. J.

2013-12-01

The Russian boreal zone supports a huge terrestrial carbon pool. Moreover, it is a tremendous reservoir of wood products concentrated mainly in Siberia. The main natural disturbance in these forests is wildfire, which modifies the carbon budget and has potentially important climate feedbacks. In addition, both legal and illegal logging increase landscape complexity and affect burning conditions and fuel consumption. We investigated 100 individual sites with different histories of logging and fire on a total of 23 study areas in three different regions of Siberia to evaluate the impacts of fire and logging on fuel loads, carbon emissions, and tree regeneration in pine and larch forests. We found large variations of fire and logging effects among regions depending on growing conditions and type of logging activity. Logged areas in the Angara region had the highest surface and ground fuel loads (up to 135 t ha-1), mainly due to logging debris. This resulted in high carbon emissions where fires occurred on logged sites (up to 41 tC ha-1). The Shushenskoe/Minusinsk and Zabaikal regions are characterized by better slash removal and a smaller amount of carbon emitted to the atmosphere during fires. Illegal logging, which is widespread in the Zabaikal region, resulted in an increase in fire hazard and higher carbon emissions than legal logging. The highest fuel loads (on average 108 t ha-1) and carbon emissions (18-28 tC ha-1) in the Zabaikal region are on repeatedly burned unlogged sites where trees fell on the ground following the first fire event. Partial logging in the Shushenskoe/Minusinsk region has insufficient impact on stand density, tree mortality, and other forest conditions to substantially increase fire hazard or affect carbon stocks. Repeated fires on logged sites resulted in insufficient tree regeneration and transformation of forest to grasslands. We conclude that negative impacts of fire and logging on air quality, the carbon cycle, and ecosystem sustainability could be decreased by better slash removal in the Angara region, removal of trees killed by fire in the Zabaikal region, and tree planting after fires in drier conditions where natural regeneration is hampered by soil overheating and grass proliferation.

Fire, Fuel, and Smoke Program: 2014 Research Accomplishments

Treesearch

Faith Ann Heinsch; Robin J. Innes; Colin C. Hardy; Kristine M. Lee

2015-01-01

The Fire, Fuel, and Smoke Science Program (FFS) of the U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station focuses on fundamental and applied research in wildland fire, from fire physics and fire ecology to fuels management and smoke emissions. Located at the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory in Montana, the scientists, engineers, technicians, and support staff in FFS...

Fire, Fuel, and Smoke Science Program: 2013 Research accomplishments

Treesearch

Faith Ann Heinsch; Robin J. Innes; Colin C. Hardy; Kristine M. Lee

2014-01-01

The Fire, Fuel, and Smoke Science Program (FFS) of the U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, focuses on fundamental and applied research in wildland fire, from fire physics and fire ecology to fuels management and smoke emissions. Located at the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory in Montana, the scientists, engineers, technicians, and support staff in...

Decision making under uncertainty: Recommendations for the Wildland Fire Decision Support System (WFDSS)

Treesearch

Matthew P. Thompson

2015-01-01

The management of wildfire is a dynamic, complex, and fundamentally uncertain enterprise. Fire managers face uncertainties regarding fire weather and subsequent influence on fire behavior, the effects of fire on socioeconomic and ecological resources, and the efficacy of alternative suppression actions on fire outcomes. In these types of difficult decision environments...

Bark flammability as a fire-response trait for subalpine trees

PubMed Central

Frejaville, Thibaut; Curt, Thomas; Carcaillet, Christopher

2013-01-01

Relationships between the flammability properties of a given plant and its chances of survival after a fire still remain unknown. We hypothesize that the bark flammability of a tree reduces the potential for tree survival following surface fires, and that if tree resistance to fire is provided by a thick insulating bark, the latter must be few flammable. We test, on subalpine tree species, the relationship between the flammability of bark and its insulating ability, identifies the biological traits that determine bark flammability, and assesses their relative susceptibility to surface fires from their bark properties. The experimental set of burning properties was analyzed by Principal Component Analysis to assess the bark flammability. Bark insulating ability was expressed by the critical time to cambium kill computed from bark thickness. Log-linear regressions indicated that bark flammability varies with the bark thickness and the density of wood under bark and that the most flammable barks have poor insulating ability. Susceptibility to surface fires increases from gymnosperm to angiosperm subalpine trees. The co-dominant subalpine species Larix decidua (Mill.) and Pinus cembra (L.) exhibit large differences in both flammability and insulating ability of the bark that should partly explain their contrasted responses to fires in the past. PMID:24324473

Modeling the protection afforded by burrows, cavities, and roosts during wildland surface fires

Treesearch

Anthony Bova; Matthew Dickinson

2009-01-01

Wildland surface fires produce many toxic and irritating compounds, such as formaldehyde and acrolein, and harmful gases such as carbon monoxide. Several factors influence the degree of protection offered by animal shelters against combustion products and heat.

The state of development of fire management decision support systems in America and Europe

Treesearch

Robert Mavsar; Armando González-Cabán; Elsa Varela

2013-01-01

Forest fires affect millions of people worldwide, and cause major ecosystem and economic impacts at different scales. The management policies implemented to minimize the negative impacts of forest fires require substantial investment of financial, human and organizational resources, which must be justifiable and efficient. Decision support systems based on economic...

Effect of oil pollution on fresh groundwater in Kuwait

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Sulaimi, J.; Viswanathan, M. N.; Székely, F.

1993-11-01

Massive oil fires in Kuwait were the aftermath of the Gulf War. This resulted in the pollution of air, water, and soil, the magnitude of which is unparalleled in the history of mankind. Oil fires damaged several oil well heads, resulting in the flow of oil, forming large oil lakes. Products of combustion from oil well fires deposited over large areas. Infiltrating rainwater, leaching out contaminants from oil lakes and products of combustion at ground surface, can reach the water table and contaminate the groundwater. Field investigations, supported by laboratory studies and mathematical models, show that infiltration of oil from oil lakes will be limited to a depth of about 2 m from ground surface. Preliminary mathematical models showed that contaminated rainwater can infiltrate and reach the water table within a period of three to four days, particularly at the Raudhatain and Umm Al-Aish regions. These are the only regions in Kuwait where fresh groundwater exists. After reaching the water table, the lateral movement of contaminants is expected to be very slow under prevailing hydraulic gradients. Groundwater monitoring at the above regions during 1992 showed minor levels of vanadium, nickel, and total hydrocarbons at certain wells. Since average annual rainfall in the region is only 120 mm/yr, groundwater contamination due to the infiltration of contaminated rainwater is expected to be a long-term one.

Ignition of combustible fluids by heated surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bennett, Joseph Michael

The ignition of flammable fluids leaking onto hot machinery components is a common cause of fires and property loss to society. For example, the U.S. Air Force has over 100 engine fires per year. There is a comparable number in the civilian air fleet. Many of these fires are due to ruptured fuel, oil or hydraulic lines impinging on hot engine components. Also, over 500,000 vehicle fires occur each year on U.S. roads. Many of these are due to leaking fluids onto hot exhaust manifolds or other exhaust components. The design of fire protection systems for aircraft and road vehicles must take into account the problems of hot surface ignition as well as re-ignition that can occur once the fire is initially extinguished. The lack of understanding of ignition and re-ignition results in heavy, high-capacity fire extinguishers to address the fire threat. It is desired to better understand the mechanisms that control this phenomenon, and exploit this understanding in producing machinery designs that can mitigate this threat. The purpose of this effort is to gain a fundamental understanding of ignition by heated surfaces. This is done by performing experimental measurements on the impingement of vertical streams of combustible fluids onto horizontal heated surfaces, and then determine the mechanisms that control the process, in terms of physical, controllable parameters (such as fuel type, flow rate and surface temperature). An initial exhaustive review of the literature revealed a small sample of pertinent findings of previous investigators, focused on droplet ignition. Boiling modes present during contact with the heated surface were also shown to control evaporation rates and ignition delays, in addition to surface temperatures and fluid properties. An experimental apparatus was designed and constructed to create the scenario of interest in a controllable fashion, with a 20 cm horizontal heated plate with variable heating supply. Fuels were applied as streams ranging from 0.67 ml/sec to 9.5 ml/sec. Heptane, hexadecane, dodecane and kerosene were the fuels investigated in the study, and experiments were performed over a range of surface temperatures. Of the 388 fuel impingement experiments performed, 226 resulted in ignition events. Of these, 124 were classified as "airborne" ignitions, where spontaneous ignition occurred up to 60 cm above the surface. A model was derived as a predictor of ignition delays observed in these experiments, based upon a fuel evaporation rate-dominated process. This model, which utilized information derived from prior Nusselt number heat transfer correlations and simple plume models, exhibited a high degree of successful correlation with experimental data. This model was sufficiently robust to be applied to all the fuels studied, and all boiling modes (nucleate, transition and boiling) and flow rates. This facilitated a means of predicting ignition delay times based upon fundamental operating parameters of fuel type, flow rate and surface temperature, and assist in the design of fire-safe systems.

How did prefire treatments affect the Biscuit Fire?

Treesearch

Crystal Raymond; David L. Peterson

2005-01-01

Most scientific literature supports forest thinning to reduce the severity of wildland fires, but the effectiveness of thinning in modifying fire behavior has not been well documented. The Biscuit Fire of 2002 offered a great opportunity to study the effects of mechanical thinning on fire behavior during a megafire.

Impacts of single and recurrent wildfires on topsoil moisture regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

González-Pelayo, Oscar; Malvar, Maruxa; van den Elsen, Erik; Hosseini, Mohammadreza; Coelho, Celeste; Ritsema, Coen; Bautista, Susana; Keizer, Jacob

2017-04-01

The increasing fire recurrence on forest in the Mediterranean basin is well-established by future climate scenarios due to land use changes and climate predictions. By this, shifts on mature pine woodlands to shrub rangelands are of major importance on forest ecosystems buffer functions, since historical patterns of established vegetation help to recover from fire disturbances. This fact, together with the predicted expansion of the drought periods, will affect feedback processes of vegetation patterns since water availability on these seasons are driven by post-fire local soil properties. Although fire impacts of soil properties and water availability has been widely studied using the fire severity as the main factor, little research is developed on post-fire soil moisture patterns, including the fire recurrence as a key explanatory variable. The following research investigated, in pine woodlands of north central Portugal, the short-term consequences (one year after a fire) of wildfire recurrence on the surface soil moisture content (SMC) and on effective soil water (SWEFF, parameter that includes actual daily soil moisture, soil field capacity-FC and permanent wilting point-PWP). The study set-up includes analyses at two fire recurrence scenarios (1x- and 4x-burnt since 1975), at a patch level (shrub patch/interpatch) and at two soil depths (2.5 and 7.5 cm) in a nested approach. Understanding how fire recurrence affects water in soil over space and time is the main goal of this research. The use of soil moisture sensors in a nested approach, the rainfall features and analyses on basic soil properties as soil organic matter, texture, bulk density, pF curves, soil water repellency and soil surface components will establish which factors has the largest role in controlling soil moisture behavior. Main results displayed, in a seasonal and yearly basis, no differences on SMC as increasing fire recurrence (1x- vs 4x-burnt) neither between patch/interpatch microsites at both two soil depths. Otherwise, in a yearly basis and during soil drying cycles, it was found less effective water on soil at the surface layers of the 4x-burnt and between shrub interpatches, based on the worst soil hydrological conditions (PWP) and the increasing percentage of abiotic soil surface components as increasing fire recurrence. Our results suggest that the inclusion of soil hydrological properties, as pF-curves, on the soil water effectiveness calculation seems to be a better indicator of water availability that volumetric SM per se. Otherwise, the use of a nested approach methodology, stresses how fire recurrence, expected increases in the summer drought spells and, the increasing dominance of abiotic soil surface components, are the factors that much influence soil eco-hydrological functioning in fire prone ecosystems. Furthermore, this research point out how post-fire soil structural quality into plant interpatches could provoke looping feedback processes triggering desertification situations also in humid Mediterranean forestlands.

Use of expert knowledge to develop fuel maps for wildland fire management [chapter 11

Treesearch

Robert E. Keane; Matt Reeves

2012-01-01

Fuel maps are becoming an essential tool in fire management because they describe, in a spatial context, the one factor that fire managers can control over many scales ­ surface and canopy fuel characteristics. Coarse-resolution fuel maps are useful in global, national, and regional fire danger assessments because they help fire managers effectively plan, allocate, and...

Impact of fire on global land surface air temperature and energy budget for the 20th century due to changes within ecosystems

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

Li, Fang; Lawrence, David M.; Bond-Lamberty, Ben

Fire is a global phenomenon and tightly interacts with the biosphere and climate. This study provides the first quantitative assessment of fire’s influence on the global land air temperature during the 20th century through its impact on terrestrial ecosystems. We quantify the impact of fire by comparing 20th century fire-on and fire-off simulations with the Community Earth System Model (CESM) as the model platform. Here, results show that fire-induced changes in terrestrial ecosystems increased global land surface air temperature by 0.04 °C. Such changes significantly warmed the tropical savannas and southern Asia mainly by reducing latent heat flux, but cooledmore » Southeast China by enhancing the East Asian winter monsoon. 20% of the early 20th century global land warming can be attributed to fire-induced changes in terrestrial ecosystems, providing a new mechanism for explaining the poorly-understood climate change.« less

Impact of fire on global land surface air temperature and energy budget for the 20th century due to changes within ecosystems

DOE PAGES

Li, Fang; Lawrence, David M.; Bond-Lamberty, Ben

2017-04-03

Fire is a global phenomenon and tightly interacts with the biosphere and climate. This study provides the first quantitative assessment of fire’s influence on the global land air temperature during the 20th century through its impact on terrestrial ecosystems. We quantify the impact of fire by comparing 20th century fire-on and fire-off simulations with the Community Earth System Model (CESM) as the model platform. Here, results show that fire-induced changes in terrestrial ecosystems increased global land surface air temperature by 0.04 °C. Such changes significantly warmed the tropical savannas and southern Asia mainly by reducing latent heat flux, but cooledmore » Southeast China by enhancing the East Asian winter monsoon. 20% of the early 20th century global land warming can be attributed to fire-induced changes in terrestrial ecosystems, providing a new mechanism for explaining the poorly-understood climate change.« less

Surface fuel litterfall and decomposition in the northern Rocky Mountains, U.S.A.

Treesearch

Robert E. Keane

2008-01-01

Surface fuel deposition and decomposition rates are important to fire management and research because they can define the longevity of fuel treatments in time and space and they can be used to design, build, test, and validate complex fire and ecosystem models useful in evaluating management alternatives. We determined rates of surface fuel litterfall and decomposition...

Downward shortwave surface irradiance from 17 sites for the FIRE/SRB Wisconsin experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whitlock, Charles H.; Hay, John E.; Robinson, David A.; Cox, Stephen K.; Wardle, David I.; Lecroy, Stuart R.

1990-01-01

A field experiment was conducted in Wisconsin during Oct. to Nov. 1986 for purposes of both intensive cirrus cloud measurments and SRB algorithm validation activities. The cirrus cloud measurements were part of the FIRE. Tables are presented which show data from 17 sites in the First ISCCP (International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project) Regional Experiment/Surface Radiation Budget (FIRE/SRB) Wisconsin experiment region. A discussion of intercomparison results and calibration inconsistencies is also included.

FIRE III ACE Data Sets

Atmospheric Science Data Center

2017-12-22

... in conjunction with the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) Experiment. The FIRE-ACE focused on all aspects of Arctic cloud ... Alaska with measurements extending well over the Arctic Ocean (ship and aircraft). Guide Documents:  FIRE Project ...

Burned forests impact water supplies

Treesearch

Dennis W. Hallema; Ge Sun; Peter V. Caldwell; Steven P. Norman; Erika C. Cohen; Yongqiang Liu; Kevin D. Bladon; Steven G. McNulty

2018-01-01

Wildland fire impacts on surface freshwater resources have not previously been measured, nor factored into regional water management strategies. But, large wildland fires are increasing and raise concerns about fire impacts on potable water. Here we synthesize longterm records of wildland fire, climate, and river flow for 168 locations across the United States. We show...

Understanding the long-term fire risks in forests affected by sudden oak death

Treesearch

Yana Valachovic; Chris Lee; Radoslaw Glebocki; Hugh Scanlon; J. Morgan Varner; David Rizzo

2010-01-01

It is assumed that large numbers of dead and down tanoak in forests infested by Phytophthora ramorum contribute to increased fire hazard risk and fuel loading. We studied the impact of P. ramorum infestation on surface fuel loading, potential fire hazard, and potential fire behavior in Douglas-fir- (Pseudotsuga...

Madrean pine-oak forest in Arizona: past dynamics, present problems

Treesearch

Andrew M. Barton

2008-01-01

This paper synthesizes research on presettlement dynamics and modern disruption of Madrean pine-oak forests in Arizona. In response to surface fires characteristic of presettlement times, pines were fire resistant, exhibiting high top-survival, whereas oaks were fire resilient, exhibiting lower top-survival but pronounced resprouting. Thus, low-severity fire favors...

Long-range dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguides operating at telecommunication wavelengths.

PubMed

Volkov, Valentyn S; Han, Zhanghua; Nielsen, Michael G; Leosson, Kristjan; Keshmiri, Hamid; Gosciniak, Jacek; Albrektsen, Ole; Bozhevolnyi, Sergey I

2011-11-01

We report on the realization of long-range dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguides (LR-DLSPPWs) consisting of straight and bent subwavelength dielectric ridges deposited on thin and narrow metal stripes supported by a dielectric buffer layer covering a low-index substrate. Using imaging with a near-field optical microscope and end-fire coupling with a tapered fiber connected to a tunable laser at telecommunication wavelengths (1425-1545 nm), we demonstrate low-loss (propagation length ∼500 μm) and well-confined (mode width ∼1 μm) LR-DLSPPW mode guiding and determine the propagation and bend loss.

Entrainment and Optical Properties of an Elevated Canadian Forest Fire Plume Transported into the Planetary Boundary Layer near Washington, D.C.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Colarco, P. R.; Schoeberl, M. R.; Doddridge, B. G.; Marufu, L. T.; Torres, O.; Welton, E. J.

2003-01-01

Smoke and pollutants from Canadian forest fires were transported over the northeastern United States in July 2002. Lidar observations at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center show the smoke from these fires arriving in an elevated plume that was subsequently mixed to the surface. Trajectory and three-dimensional model calculations confirm the origin of the smoke and show that it mixed to the surface after it was intercepted by the turbulent planetary boundary layer. Modeled smoke optical properties agreed well with aircraft and remote sensing observations provided coagulation of smoke particles was accounted for in the model. Our results have important implications for the long-range transport of pollutants and their subsequent entrainment to the surface, as well as the evolving optical properties of smoke from boreal forest fires.

Entrainment and Optical Properties of an Elevated Forest Fire Plume Transported into the Planetary Boundary Layer near Washington, D.C.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Colarco, P. R.; Schoeberl, M. R.; Marufu, L. T.; Torres, O.; Welton, E. J.; Doddridge, B. G.

2003-01-01

Smoke and pollutants from Canadian forest fires were transported over the northeastern United States in July 2002. Lidar observations at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center show the smoke from these fires arriving in an elevated plume that was subsequently transported to the surface. Trajectory and three-dimensional model calculations confirm the origin of the smoke and show that it mixed to the surface after it was intercepted by the turbulent planetary boundary layer. Modeled smoke optical properties agreed well with aircraft and remote sensing observations provided coagulation of smoke particles was accounted for in the model. Our results have important implications for the long-range transport of pollutants and their subsequent entrainment to the surface, as well as the evolving optical properties of smoke from boreal forest fires.

30 CFR 57.4330 - Surface firefighting, evacuation, and rescue procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... LABOR METAL AND NONMETAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS-UNDERGROUND METAL AND NONMETAL MINES Fire Prevention and Control Firefighting Procedures/alarms/drills § 57.4330 Surface... coordinated in advance with available firefighting organizations. (b) Fire alarm procedures or systems shall...

Fuel type characterization and potential fire behavior estimation in Sardinia and Corsica islands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bacciu, V.; Pellizzaro, G.; Santoni, P.; Arca, B.; Ventura, A.; Salis, M.; Barboni, T.; Leroy, V.; Cancellieri, D.; Leoni, E.; Ferrat, L.; Perez, Y.; Duce, P.; Spano, D.

2012-04-01

Wildland fires represent a serious threat to forests and wooded areas of the Mediterranean Basin. As recorded by the European Commission (2009), during the last decade Southern Countries have experienced an annual average of about 50,000 forest fires and about 470,000 burned hectares. The factor that can be directly manipulated in order to minimize fire intensity and reduce other fire impacts, such as three mortality, smoke emission, and soil erosion, is wildland fuel. Fuel characteristics, such as vegetation cover, type, humidity status, and biomass and necromass loading are critical variables in affecting wildland fire occurrence, contributing to the spread, intensity, and severity of fires. Therefore, the availability of accurate fuel data at different spatial and temporal scales is needed for fire management applications, including fire behavior and danger prediction, fire fighting, fire effects simulation, and ecosystem simulation modeling. In this context, the main aims of our work are to describe the vegetation parameters involved in combustion processes and develop fire behavior fuel maps. The overall work plan is based firstly on the identification and description of the different fuel types mainly affected by fire occurrence in Sardinia (Italy) and Corsica (France) Islands, and secondly on the clusterization of the selected fuel types in relation to their potential fire behavior. In the first part of the work, the available time series of fire event perimeters and the land use map data were analyzed with the purpose of identifying the main land use types affected by fires. Thus, field sampling sites were randomly identified on the selected vegetation types and several fuel variables were collected (live and dead fuel load partitioned following Deeming et al., (1977), depth of fuel layer, plant cover, surface area-to-volume ratio, heat content). In the second part of the work, the potential fire behavior for every experimental site was simulated using BEHAVE fire behavior prediction system (Andrews, 1989) and experimental fuel data. Fire behavior was simulated by setting different weather scenarios representing the most frequent summer meteorological conditions. The simulation outputs (fireline intensity, rate of spread, flame length) were then analyzed for clustering the different fuel types in relation to their potential fire behavior. The results of this analysis can be used to produce fire behavior fuel maps that are important tools in evaluating fire hazard and risk for land management planning, locating and rating fuel treatments, and aiding in environmental assessments and fire danger programs modeling. This work is supported by FUME Project FP7-ENV-2009-1, Grant Agreement Number 243888 and Proterina-C Project, EU Italia-Francia Marittimo 2007-2013 Programme.

Biophysical Mechanistic Modelling Quantifies the Effects of Plant Traits on Fire Severity: Species, Not Surface Fuel Loads, Determine Flame Dimensions in Eucalypt Forests

PubMed Central

Bedward, Michael; Penman, Trent D.; Doherty, Michael D.; Weber, Rodney O.; Gill, A. Malcolm; Cary, Geoffrey J.

2016-01-01

The influence of plant traits on forest fire behaviour has evolutionary, ecological and management implications, but is poorly understood and frequently discounted. We use a process model to quantify that influence and provide validation in a diverse range of eucalypt forests burnt under varying conditions. Measured height of consumption was compared to heights predicted using a surface fuel fire behaviour model, then key aspects of our model were sequentially added to this with and without species-specific information. Our fully specified model had a mean absolute error 3.8 times smaller than the otherwise identical surface fuel model (p < 0.01), and correctly predicted the height of larger (≥1 m) flames 12 times more often (p < 0.001). We conclude that the primary endogenous drivers of fire severity are the species of plants present rather than the surface fuel load, and demonstrate the accuracy and versatility of the model for quantifying this. PMID:27529789

Biophysical Mechanistic Modelling Quantifies the Effects of Plant Traits on Fire Severity: Species, Not Surface Fuel Loads, Determine Flame Dimensions in Eucalypt Forests.

PubMed

Zylstra, Philip; Bradstock, Ross A; Bedward, Michael; Penman, Trent D; Doherty, Michael D; Weber, Rodney O; Gill, A Malcolm; Cary, Geoffrey J

2016-01-01

The influence of plant traits on forest fire behaviour has evolutionary, ecological and management implications, but is poorly understood and frequently discounted. We use a process model to quantify that influence and provide validation in a diverse range of eucalypt forests burnt under varying conditions. Measured height of consumption was compared to heights predicted using a surface fuel fire behaviour model, then key aspects of our model were sequentially added to this with and without species-specific information. Our fully specified model had a mean absolute error 3.8 times smaller than the otherwise identical surface fuel model (p < 0.01), and correctly predicted the height of larger (≥1 m) flames 12 times more often (p < 0.001). We conclude that the primary endogenous drivers of fire severity are the species of plants present rather than the surface fuel load, and demonstrate the accuracy and versatility of the model for quantifying this.

Multi-Level Wild Land Fire Fighting Management Support System for an Optimized Guidance of Ground and Air Forces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Almer, Alexander; Schnabel, Thomas; Perko, Roland; Raggam, Johann; Köfler, Armin; Feischl, Richard

2016-04-01

Climate change will lead to a dramatic increase in damage from forest fires in Europe by the end of this century. In the Mediterranean region, the average annual area affected by forest fires has quadrupled since the 1960s (WWF, 2012). The number of forest fires is also on the increase in Central and Northern Europe. The Austrian forest fire database shows a total of 584 fires for the period 2012 to 2014, while even large areas of Sweden were hit by forest fires in August 2014, which were brought under control only after two weeks of intense fire-fighting efforts supported by European civil protection modules. Based on these facts, the improvements in forest fire control are a major international issue in the quest to protect human lives and resources as well as to reduce the negative environmental impact of these fires to a minimum. Within this paper the development of a multi-functional airborne management support system within the frame of the Austrian national safety and security research programme (KIRAS) is described. The main goal of the developments is to assist crisis management tasks of civil emergency teams and armed forces in disaster management by providing multi spectral, near real-time airborne image data products. As time, flexibility and reliability as well as objective information are crucial aspects in emergency management, the used components are tailored to meet these requirements. An airborne multi-functional management support system was developed as part of the national funded project AIRWATCH, which enables real-time monitoring of natural disasters based on optical and thermal images. Airborne image acquisition, a broadband line of sight downlink and near real-time processing solutions allow the generation of an up-to-date geo-referenced situation map. Furthermore, this paper presents ongoing developments for innovative extensions and research activities designed to optimize command operations in national and international fire-fighting missions. The ongoing development focuses on the following topics: (1) Development of a multi-level management solution to coordinate and guide different airborne and terrestrial deployed firefighting modules as well as related data processing and data distribution activities. (2) Further, a targeted control of the thermal sensor based on a rotating mirror system to extend the "area performance" (covered area per hour) in time critical situations for the monitoring requirements during forest fire events. (3) Novel computer vision methods for analysis of thermal sensor signatures, which allow an automatic classification of different forest fire types and situations. (4) A module for simulation-based decision support for planning and evaluation of resource usage and the effectiveness of performed fire-fighting measures. (5) Integration of wearable systems to assist ground teams in rescue operations as well as a mobile information system into innovative command and fire-fighting vehicles. In addition, the paper gives an outlook on future perspectives including a first concept for the integration of the near real-time multilevel forest fire fighting management system into an "EU Civil Protection Team" to support the EU civil protection modules and the Emergency Response Coordination Centre in Brussels. Keywords: Airborne sensing, multi sensor imaging, near real-time fire monitoring, simulation-based decision support, forest firefighting management, firefighting impact analysis.

Forest-fire model with natural fire resistance.

PubMed

Yoder, Mark R; Turcotte, Donald L; Rundle, John B

2011-04-01

Observations suggest that contemporary wildfire suppression practices in the United States have contributed to conditions that facilitate large, destructive fires. We introduce a forest-fire model with natural fire resistance that supports this theory. Fire resistance is defined with respect to the size and shape of clusters; the model yields power-law frequency-size distributions of model fires that are consistent with field observations in the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Relationships among particle number, surface area, and respirable mass concentrations in automotive engine manufacturing.

PubMed

Heitbrink, William A; Evans, Douglas E; Ku, Bon Ki; Maynard, Andrew D; Slavin, Thomas J; Peters, Thomas M

2009-01-01

This study investigated the relationships between particle number, surface area, and respirable mass concentration measured simultaneously in a foundry and an automotive engine machining and assembly center. Aerosol concentrations were measured throughout each plant with a condensation particle counter for number concentration, a diffusion charger for active surface area concentration, and an optical particle counter for respirable mass concentration. At selected locations, particle size distributions were characterized with the optical particle counter and an electrical low pressure impactor. Statistical analyses showed that active surface area concentration was correlated with ultrafine particle number concentration and weakly correlated with respirable mass concentration. Correlation between number and active surface area concentration was stronger during winter (R2 = 0.6 for both plants) than in the summer (R2 = 0.38 and 0.36 for the foundry and engine plant respectively). The stronger correlation in winter was attributed to use of direct-fire gas fired heaters that produced substantial numbers of ultrafine particles with a modal diameter between 0.007 and 0.023 mu m. These correlations support findings obtained through theoretical analysis. Such analysis predicts that active surface area increasingly underestimates geometric surface area with increasing particle size, particularly for particles larger than 100 nm. Thus, a stronger correlation between particle number concentration and active surface area concentration is expected in the presence of high concentrations of ultrafine particles. In general, active surface area concentration may be a concentration metric that is distinct from particle number concentration and respirable mass concentration. For future health effects or toxicological studies involving nano-materials or ultrafine aerosols, this finding needs to be considered, as exposure metrics may influence data interpretation.

An operational system of fire danger rating over Mediterranean Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pinto, Miguel M.; DaCamara, Carlos C.; Trigo, Isabel F.; Trigo, Ricardo M.

2017-04-01

A methodology is presented to assess fire danger based on the probability of exceedance of prescribed thresholds of daily released energy. The procedure is developed and tested over Mediterranean Europe, defined by latitude circles of 35 and 45°N and meridians of 10°W and 27.5°E, for the period 2010-2016. The procedure involves estimating the so-called static and daily probabilities of exceedance. For a given point, the static probability is estimated by the ratio of the number of daily fire occurrences releasing energy above a given threshold to the total number of occurrences inside a cell centred at the point. The daily probability of exceedance which takes into account meteorological factors by means of the Canadian Fire Weather Index (FWI) is in turn estimated based on a Generalized Pareto distribution with static probability and FWI as covariates of the scale parameter. The rationale of the procedure is that small fires, assessed by the static probability, have a weak dependence on weather, whereas the larger fires strongly depend on concurrent meteorological conditions. It is shown that observed frequencies of exceedance over the study area for the period 2010-2016 match with the estimated values of probability based on the developed models for static and daily probabilities of exceedance. Some (small) variability is however found between different years suggesting that refinements can be made in future works by using a larger sample to further increase the robustness of the method. The developed methodology presents the advantage of evaluating fire danger with the same criteria for all the study area, making it a good parameter to harmonize fire danger forecasts and forest management studies. Research was performed within the framework of EUMETSAT Satellite Application Facility for Land Surface Analysis (LSA SAF). Part of methods developed and results obtained are on the basis of the platform supported by The Navigator Company that is currently providing information about fire meteorological danger for Portugal for a wide range of users.

Spatiotemporal variation of surface shortwave forcing from fire-induced albedo change in interior Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Huang, Shengli; Dahal, Devendra; Liu, Heping; Jin, Suming; Young, Claudia J.; Liu, Shuang; Liu, Shu-Guang

2015-01-01

The albedo change caused by both fires and subsequent succession is spatially heterogeneous, leading to the need to assess the spatiotemporal variation of surface shortwave forcing (SSF) as a component to quantify the climate impacts of high-latitude fires. We used an image reconstruction approach to compare postfire albedo with the albedo assuming fires had not occurred. Combining the fire-caused albedo change from the 2001-2010 fires in interior Alaska and the monthly surface incoming solar radiation, we examined the spatiotemporal variation of SSF in the early successional stage of around 10 years. Our results showed that while postfire albedo generally increased in fall, winter, and spring, some burned areas could show an albedo decrease during these seasons. In summer, the albedo increased for several years and then declined again. The spring SSF distribution did not show a latitudinal decrease from south to north as previously reported. The results also indicated that although the SSF is usually largely negative in the early successional years, it may not be significant during the first postfire year. The annual 2005-2010 SSF for the 2004 fire scars was -1.30, -4.40, -3.31, -4.00, -3.42, and -2.47 Wm-2. The integrated annual SSF map showed significant spatial variation with a mean of -3.15 Wm-2 and a standard deviation of 3.26 Wm-2, 16% of burned areas having positive SSF. Our results suggest that boreal deciduous fires would be less positive for climate change than boreal evergreen fires. Future research is needed to comprehensively investigate the spatiotemporal radiative and non-radiative forcings to determine the effect of boreal fires on climate.

Multiple remote sensing data sources to assess spatio-temporal patterns of fire incidence over Campos Amazônicos Savanna Vegetation Enclave (Brazilian Amazon).

PubMed

Alves, Daniel Borini; Pérez-Cabello, Fernando

2017-12-01

Fire activity plays an important role in the past, present and future of Earth system behavior. Monitoring and assessing spatial and temporal fire dynamics have a fundamental relevance in the understanding of ecological processes and the human impacts on different landscapes and multiple spatial scales. This work analyzes the spatio-temporal distribution of burned areas in one of the biggest savanna vegetation enclaves in the southern Brazilian Amazon, from 2000 to 2016, deriving information from multiple remote sensing data sources (Landsat and MODIS surface reflectance, TRMM pluviometry and Vegetation Continuous Field tree cover layers). A fire scars database with 30 m spatial resolution was generated using a Landsat time series. MODIS daily surface reflectance was used for accurate dating of the fire scars. TRMM pluviometry data were analyzed to dynamically establish time limits of the yearly dry season and burning periods. Burned area extent, frequency and recurrence were quantified comparing the results annually/seasonally. Additionally, Vegetation Continuous Field tree cover layers were used to analyze fire incidence over different types of tree cover domains. In the last seventeen years, 1.03millionha were burned within the study area, distributed across 1432 fire occurrences, highlighting 2005, 2010 and 2014 as the most affected years. Middle dry season fires represent 86.21% of the total burned areas and 32.05% of fire occurrences, affecting larger amount of higher density tree surfaces than other burning periods. The results provide new insights into the analysis of burned areas of the neotropical savannas, spatially and statistically reinforcing important aspects linked to the seasonality patterns of fire incidence in this landscape. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An investigation into the factors that influence toolmark identifications on ammunition discharged from semi-automatic pistols recovered from car fires.

PubMed

Collender, Mark A; Doherty, Kevin A J; Stanton, Kenneth T

2017-01-01

Following a shooting incident where a vehicle is used to convey the culprits to and from the scene, both the getaway car and the firearm are often deliberately burned in an attempt to destroy any forensic evidence which may be subsequently recovered. Here we investigate the factors that influence the ability to make toolmark identifications on ammunition discharged from pistols recovered from such car fires. This work was carried out by conducting a number of controlled furnace tests in conjunction with real car fire tests in which three 9mm semi-automatic pistols were burned. Comparisons between pre-burn and post burn test fired ammunition discharged from these pistols were then performed to establish if identifications were still possible. The surfaces of the furnace heated samples and car fire samples were examined following heating/burning to establish what factors had influenced their surface morphology. The primary influence on the surfaces of the furnace heated and car fire samples was the formation of oxide layers. The car fire samples were altered to a greater extent than the furnace heated samples. Identifications were still possible between pre- and post-burn discharged cartridge cases, but this was not the case for the discharged bullets. It is suggested that the reason for this is a difference between the types of firearms discharge-generated toolmarks impressed onto the base of cartridge cases compared to those striated along the surfaces of bullets. It was also found that the temperatures recorded in the front foot wells were considerably less than those recorded on top of the rear seats during the car fires. These factors should be assessed by forensic firearms examiners when performing casework involving pistols recovered from car fires. Copyright © 2016 The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Using the ``blue spike'' to characterize biomass-burning sites during Southern African Regional Science Initiative (SAFARI) 2000

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCourt, M. L.; McMillan, W. W.; Ackerman, S.; Holz, R.; Revercomb, H. E.; Tobin, D.

2004-10-01

During several flights of the ER-2 while participating in the Southern African Regional Science Initiative (SAFARI 2000), the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Scanning High Resolution Interferometer Sounder (S-HIS) obtained spectra containing isolated fires within its field of view (FOV). These fire-laden FOVs contain a spectral feature caused by rotational hot band transitions of CO2 near 2400 cm-1. Because of its location on the blue side of the 4.3 μm band of CO2, this feature is commonly referred to as the "blue spike." Using this feature, we detected fires on four flights: 24 and 27 August and 6 and 7 September 2000. Fire locations are further verified by the ER-2 pilot's flight logs and elevated brightness temperatures in the thermal detectors of the MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS) also on board the ER-2. Using line-by-line radiative transfer calculations (Genln2) with corrections for a fire's extreme high temperatures (HiTemp), we model S-HIS spectra for various scenes: background (cool surface and cool atmosphere), smoldering (warm surface and cool atmosphere), hot gas layer (cool surface and warm atmosphere), and fire (hot surface and hot atmosphere) cases. Using the controlled burn in the Timbavati Game Reserve on 7 September 2000 as a test case, we spectrally modeled the blue spike feature seen in the spectra obtained by S-HIS while the ER-2 flew over the fire. For this case, we found that ˜4.12 ± 0.05% of the FOV contained the hot gas layer while ˜0.23 ± 0.05% was actively burning. Originally viewed as a straightforward task of using the blue spike to characterize the fire temperature and size (fraction of S-HIS FOV), our analysis shows that numerous variables, including amount of carbon dioxide, amount of water vapor, and the temperature near the fire, play significant roles in the blue spike's shape and spectral position.

Quantifying the Influence of Agricultural Fires in Northwest India on Urban Air Pollution in Delhi, India.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cusworth, D.; Mickley, L. J.; Payer Sulprizio, M.; Marlier, M. E.; DeFries, R. S.; Liu, T.; Guttikunda, S. K.

2017-12-01

In recent decades, farmers in northwest India have switched to mechanized combine harvesting to boost efficiency. This harvesting technique leaves abundant crop residue on the fields, which farmers burn to ready their fields for subsequent planting. A key question is to what extent the intense smoke emitted by these fires contributes to the already severe pollution in Delhi and across the heavily populated Indus-Ganges Plain, downwind of the fires. Using a combination of observed and modeled variables, including surface measurements of PM2.5, we quantify the magnitude of the influence of agricultural fire emissions on surface air pollution in Delhi. We first derive the signal of regional PM2.5 enhancements from the Delhi network of surface air monitors during each winter burning season (Oct. 17 - Nov. 30) for 2012-2016. We next use the Stochastic Time-Inverted Lagrangian Transport model (STILT) to generate particle back-trajectories from Delhi, which allows us to map the sensitivity of Delhi pollution to agricultural fires in each grid cell upwind. By combining these sensitivity maps with emissions from a suite of fire inventories, we can reproduce 15-36% of the weekly variability in observed PM2.5. Our method attributes 7-84% of maximum observed PM2.5 enhancement in Delhi to fires upwind, depending on the year and emission inventory. The large range of these attribution estimates points to the uncertainties in fire emission parameterizations, especially in regions where thick smoke may mask the hotspots of fire radiative power. Although our model can generally reproduce the largest PM2.5 enhancements in Delhi air quality for 1-3 consecutive days each fire season, it fails to capture many smaller daily enhancements, which we attribute to the challenge of detecting small fires in the satellite retrieval. By quantifying the magnitude of the influence of agricultural fire emissions on Delhi air pollution, our work helps clarify the pollution exposure and potential health risk of this harvesting practice.

Effects of Barbell Deadlift Training on Submaximal Motor Unit Firing Rates for the Vastus Lateralis and Rectus Femoris

PubMed Central

Stock, Matt S.; Thompson, Brennan J.

2014-01-01

Previous investigations that have studied motor unit firing rates following strength training have been limited to small muscles, isometric training, or interventions involving exercise machines. We examined the effects of ten weeks of supervised barbell deadlift training on motor unit firing rates for the vastus lateralis and rectus femoris during a 50% maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) assessment. Twenty-four previously untrained men (mean age  = 24 years) were randomly assigned to training (n = 15) or control (n = 9) groups. Before and following the intervention, the subjects performed isometric testing of the right knee extensors while bipolar surface electromyographic signals were detected from the two muscles. The signals were decomposed into their constituent motor unit action potential trains, and motor units that demonstrated accuracy levels less than 92.0% were not considered for analysis. One thousand eight hundred ninety-two and 2,013 motor units were examined for the vastus lateralis and rectus femoris, respectively. Regression analyses were used to determine the linear slope coefficients (pulses per second [pps]/% MVC) and y-intercepts (pps) of the mean firing rate and firing rate at recruitment versus recruitment threshold relationships. Deadlift training significantly improved knee extensor MVC force (Cohen's d = .70), but did not influence force steadiness. Training had no influence on the slopes and y-intercepts for the mean firing rate and firing rate at recruitment versus recruitment threshold relationships. In agreement with previous cross-sectional comparisons and randomized control trials, our findings do not support the notion that strength training affects the submaximal control of motor units. PMID:25531294

Assessing the geomorphic disturbance from fires on coastal dunes near Esperance, Western Australia: Implications for dune de-stabilisation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shumack, Samuel; Hesse, Paul

2018-04-01

Fire is commonly listed as a contributing disturbance to dune re-activation. This paper aims to characterise post-fire disturbance to vegetation and soil surface, and aeolian activity on coastal dunes. Field data were collected in February 2016 at two sites on coastal dunes near Esperance, Western Australia (WA) after recent wildfires in November 2015 and January 2016. We measured wind profiles at burnt and unburnt sites, and assessed recent sand movement, protective covering and burn severity. We also used remote sensing and on-site photos to monitor local patterns of short term biomass recovery. Results suggest that burnt vegetation enables near surface winds to flow with a similar profile shape to bare surfaces. Speed-up ratios (SR) were higher by 5-120% on burnt surfaces when compared with vegetated. However, burnt vegetation did not show the same topographic acceleration as bare dunes. This decelerating effect correlated with surface-level ground cover after removing topographically sheltered data points (r2 = 0.8, p < 0.001). Burnt surfaces had up to 30% more ripples than vegetated sites, but had significantly fewer ripples than previously-bare surfaces (by 60-100%). This was likely due to ground cover (r2 = 0.95, p < 0.001). Effective ground cover appears to be >40%. At one burnt transect a high burn intensity may have inhibited short term germination and re-sprouting. Fire as the sole disturbance is not a major threat to the stability of these dunes, however, extreme burn intensities may leave dunes susceptible to further non-fire disturbance events.

Advanced Initiation Systems Manufacturing Level 2 Milestone Completion Summary

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

Chow, R; Schmidt, M

2009-10-01

Milestone Description - Advanced Initiation Systems Detonator Design and Prototype. Milestone Grading Criteria - Design new generation chip slapper detonator and manufacture a prototype using advanced manufacturing processes, such as all-dry chip metallization and solvent-less flyer coatings. The advanced processes have been developed for manufacturing detonators with high material compatibility and reliability to support future LEPs, e.g. the B61, and new weapons systems. Perform velocimetry measurements to determine slapper velocity as a function of flight distance. A prototype detonator assembly and stripline was designed for low-energy chip slappers. Pictures of the prototype detonator and stripline are shown. All-dry manufacturing processesmore » were used to address compatibility issues. KCP metallized the chips in a physical vapor deposition system through precision-aligned shadow masks. LLNL deposited a solvent-less polyimide flyer with a processes called SLIP, which stands for solvent-less vapor deposition followed by in-situ polymerization. LANL manufactured the high-surface-area (HSA) high explosive (HE) pellets. Test fires of two chip slapper designs, radius and bowtie, were performed at LLNL in the High Explosives Application Facility (HEAF). Test fires with HE were conducted to establish the threshold firing voltages. pictures of the chip slappers before and after test fires are shown. Velocimetry tests were then performed to obtain slapper velocities at or above the threshold firing voltages. Figure 5 shows the slapper velocity as a function of distance and time at the threshold voltage, for both radius and bowtie bridge designs. Both designs were successful at initiating the HE at low energy levels. Summary of Accomplishments are: (1) All-dry process for chip manufacture developed; (2) Solventless process for slapper materials developed; (3) High-surface area explosive pellets developed; (4) High performance chip slappers developed; (5) Low-energy chip slapper detonator designs; and (6) Low-voltage threshold chip slapper detonator demonstrated.« less

BLAZE, a novel Fire-Model for the CABLE Land-Surface Model applied to a Re-Assessment of the Australian Continental Carbon Budget

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nieradzik, L. P.; Haverd, V. E.; Briggs, P.; Meyer, C. P.; Canadell, J.

2015-12-01

Fires play a major role in the carbon-cycle and the development of global vegetation, especially on the continent of Australia, where vegetation is prone to frequent fire occurences and where regional composition and stand-age distribution is regulated by fire. Furthermore, the probable changes of fire behaviour under a changing climate are still poorly understood and require further investigation.In this presentation we introduce the fire-model BLAZE (BLAZe induced land-atmosphere flux Estimator), designed for a novel approach to simulate fire-frequencies, fire-intensities, fire related fluxes and the responses in vegetation. Fire frequencies are prescribed using SIMFIRE (Knorr et al., 2014) or GFED3 (e.g. Giglio et al., 2013). Fire-Line-Intensity (FLI) is computed from meteorological information and fuel loads which are state variables within the C-cycle component of CABLE (Community Atmosphere-Biosphere-Land Exchange model). This FLI is used as an input to the tree-demography model POP(Population-Order-Physiology; Haverd et al., 2014). Within POP the fire-mortality depends on FLI and tree height distribution. Intensity-dependent combustion factors (CF) are then generated for and applied to live and litter carbon pools as well as the transfers from live pools to litter caused by fire. Thus, both fire and stand characteristics are taken into account which has a legacy effect on future events. Gross C-CO2 emissions from Australian wild fires are larger than Australian territorial fossil fuel emissions. However, the net effect of fire on the Australian terrestrial carbon budget is unknown. We address this by applying the newly-developed fire module, integrated within the CABLE land surface model, and optimised for the Australian region, to a reassessment of the Australian Terrestrial Carbon Budget.

A new parameterization of the post-fire snow albedo effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gleason, K. E.; Nolin, A. W.

2013-12-01

Mountain snowpack serves as an important natural reservoir of water: recharging aquifers, sustaining streams, and providing important ecosystem services. Reduced snowpacks and earlier snowmelt have been shown to affect fire size, frequency, and severity in the western United States. In turn, wildfire disturbance affects patterns of snow accumulation and ablation by reducing canopy interception, increasing turbulent fluxes, and modifying the surface radiation balance. Recent work shows that after a high severity forest fire, approximately 60% more solar radiation reaches the snow surface due to the reduction in canopy density. Also, significant amounts of pyrogenic carbon particles and larger burned woody debris (BWD) are shed from standing charred trees, which concentrate on the snowpack, darken its surface, and reduce snow albedo by 50% during ablation. Although the post-fire forest environment drives a substantial increase in net shortwave radiation at the snowpack surface, driving earlier and more rapid melt, hydrologic models do not explicitly incorporate forest fire disturbance effects to snowpack dynamics. The objective of this study was to parameterize the post-fire snow albedo effect due to BWD deposition on snow to better represent forest fire disturbance in modeling of snow-dominated hydrologic regimes. Based on empirical results from winter experiments, in-situ snow monitoring, and remote sensing data from a recent forest fire in the Oregon High Cascades, we characterized the post-fire snow albedo effect, and developed a simple parameterization of snowpack albedo decay in the post-fire forest environment. We modified the recession coefficient in the algorithm: α = α0 + K exp (-nr) where α = snowpack albedo, α0 = minimum snowpack albedo (≈0.4), K = constant (≈ 0.44), -n = number of days since last major snowfall, r = recession coefficient [Rohrer and Braun, 1994]. Our parameterization quantified BWD deposition and snow albedo decay rates and related these forest disturbance effects to radiative heating and snow melt rates. We validated our parameterization of the post-fire snow albedo effect at the plot scale using a physically-based, spatially-distributed snow accumulation and melt model, and in-situ eddy covariance and snow monitoring data. This research quantified wildfire impacts to snow dynamics in the Oregon High Cascades, and provided a new parameterization of post-fire drivers to changes in high elevation winter water storage.

Using NASA Satellite Observations to Map Wildfire Risk in the United States for Allocation of Fire Management Resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farahmand, A.; Reager, J. T., II; Behrangi, A.; Stavros, E. N.; Randerson, J. T.

2017-12-01

Fires are a key disturbance globally acting as a catalyst for terrestrial ecosystem change and contributing significantly to both carbon emissions and changes in surface albedo. The socioeconomic impacts of wildfire activities are also significant with wildfire activity results in billions of dollars of losses every year. Fire size, area burned and frequency are increasing, thus the likelihood of fire danger, defined by United States National Interagency Fire Center (NFIC) as the demand of fire management resources as a function of how flammable fuels (a function of ignitability, consumability and availability) are from normal, is an important step toward reducing costs associated with wildfires. Numerous studies have aimed to predict the likelihood of fire danger, but few studies use remote sensing data to map fire danger at scales commensurate with regional management decisions (e.g., deployment of resources nationally throughout fire season with seasonal and monthly prediction). Here, we use NASA Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) assimilated surface soil moisture, NASA Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) vapor pressure deficit, NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) enhanced vegetation index products and landcover products, along with US Forest Service historical fire activity data to generate probabilistic monthly fire potential maps in the United States. These maps can be useful in not only government operational allocation of fire management resources, but also improving understanding of the Earth System and how it is changing in order to refine predictions of fire extremes.

FOCUS: a fire management planning system -- final report

Treesearch

Frederick W. Bratten; James B. Davis; George T. Flatman; Jerold W. Keith; Stanley R. Rapp; Theodore G. Storey

1981-01-01

FOCUS (Fire Operational Characteristics Using Simulation) is a computer simulation model for evaluating alternative fire management plans. This final report provides a broad overview of the FOCUS system, describes two major modules-fire suppression and cost, explains the role in the system of gaming large fires, and outlines the support programs and ways of...

Assessing predictive services' 7-day fire potential outlook

Treesearch

Karin Riley; Crystal Stonesifer; Dave Calkin; Haiganoush Preisler

2015-01-01

The Predictive Services program was created under the National Wildfire Coordinating Group in 2001 to address the need for long- and short-term decision support information for fire managers and operations personnel. The primary mission of Predictive Services is to integrate fire weather, fire danger, and resource availability to enable strategic fire suppression...

Longleaf pine adaptation to fire: is early height growth pattern critical to fire survival?

Treesearch

G. Geoff Wang; Lauren S. Pile; Benjamin O. Knapp; Huifeng Hu

2016-01-01

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) forests are fire-dependent ecosystems because frequent surface fires prevent other species from being recruited into the canopy. The successful recruitment of longleaf pine has been attributed mainly to its unique fire adaptation – the grass stage. It is commonly believed that, while in the grass stage, longleaf pine seedlings...

Using simulated historical time series to prioritize fuel treatments on landscapes across the United States: The LANDFIRE prototype project

Treesearch

Robert E. Keane; Matthew Rollins; Zhi-Liang Zhu

2007-01-01

Canopy and surface fuels in many fire-prone forests of the United States have increased over the last 70 years as a result of modern fire exclusion policies, grazing, and other land management activities. The Healthy Forest Restoration Act and National Fire Plan establish a national commitment to reduce fire hazard and restore fire-adapted ecosystems across the USA....

30 CFR 77.1100 - Fire protection; training and organization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

....1100 Section 77.1100 Mineral Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR COAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH MANDATORY SAFETY STANDARDS, SURFACE COAL MINES AND SURFACE WORK AREAS OF... facilities and equipment shall be provided commensurate with the potential fire hazards at each structure...

Aerosols from fires: an examination of the effects on ozone photochemistry in the Western United States.

PubMed

Jiang, Xiaoyan; Wiedinmyer, Christine; Carlton, Annmarie G

2012-11-06

This study presents a first attempt to investigate the roles of fire aerosols in ozone (O(3)) photochemistry using an online coupled meteorology-chemistry model, the Weather Research and Foresting model with Chemistry (WRF-Chem). Four 1-month WRF-Chem simulations for August 2007, with and without fire emissions, were carried out to assess the sensitivity of O(3) predictions to the emissions and subsequent radiative feedbacks associated with large-scale fires in the Western United States (U.S.). Results show that decreases in planetary boundary layer height (PBLH) resulting from the radiative effects of fire aerosols and increases in emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO(x)) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the fires tend to increase modeled O(3) concentrations near the source. Reductions in downward shortwave radiation reaching the surface and surface temperature due to fire aerosols cause decreases in biogenic isoprene emissions and J(NO(2)) photolysis rates, resulting in reductions in O(3) concentrations by as much as 15%. Thus, the results presented in this study imply that considering the radiative effects of fire aerosols may reduce O(3) overestimation by traditional photochemical models that do not consider fire-induced changes in meteorology; implementation of coupled meteorology-chemistry models are required to simulate the atmospheric chemistry impacted by large-scale fires.

From fire whirls to blue whirls and combustion with reduced pollution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Huahua; Gollner, Michael J.; Oran, Elaine S.

2016-08-01

Fire whirls are powerful, spinning disasters for people and surroundings when they occur in large urban and wildland fires. Whereas fire whirls have been studied for fire-safety applications, previous research has yet to harness their potential burning efficiency for enhanced combustion. This article presents laboratory studies of fire whirls initiated as pool fires, but where the fuel sits on a water surface, suggesting the idea of exploiting the high efficiency of fire whirls for oil-spill remediation. We show the transition from a pool fire, to a fire whirl, and then to a previously unobserved state, a “blue whirl.” A blue whirl is smaller, very stable, and burns completely blue as a hydrocarbon flame, indicating soot-free burning. The combination of fast mixing, intense swirl, and the water-surface boundary creates the conditions leading to nearly soot-free combustion. With the worldwide need to reduce emissions from both wanted and unwanted combustion, discovery of this state points to possible new pathways for reduced-emission combustion and fuel-spill cleanup. Because current methods to generate a stable vortex are difficult, we also propose that the blue whirl may serve as a research platform for fundamental studies of vortices and vortex breakdown in fluid mechanics.

From fire whirls to blue whirls and combustion with reduced pollution

PubMed Central

Xiao, Huahua; Oran, Elaine S.

2016-01-01

Fire whirls are powerful, spinning disasters for people and surroundings when they occur in large urban and wildland fires. Whereas fire whirls have been studied for fire-safety applications, previous research has yet to harness their potential burning efficiency for enhanced combustion. This article presents laboratory studies of fire whirls initiated as pool fires, but where the fuel sits on a water surface, suggesting the idea of exploiting the high efficiency of fire whirls for oil-spill remediation. We show the transition from a pool fire, to a fire whirl, and then to a previously unobserved state, a “blue whirl.” A blue whirl is smaller, very stable, and burns completely blue as a hydrocarbon flame, indicating soot-free burning. The combination of fast mixing, intense swirl, and the water–surface boundary creates the conditions leading to nearly soot-free combustion. With the worldwide need to reduce emissions from both wanted and unwanted combustion, discovery of this state points to possible new pathways for reduced-emission combustion and fuel-spill cleanup. Because current methods to generate a stable vortex are difficult, we also propose that the blue whirl may serve as a research platform for fundamental studies of vortices and vortex breakdown in fluid mechanics. PMID:27493219

Bottlenecks in Geospatial Data-Driven Decision-Making for Natural Disaster Management: A Case Study of Forest Fire Prevention and Control in Guatemala's Maya Biosphere Reserve

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berenter, J. S.; Mueller, J. M.; Morrison, I.

2016-12-01

Annual forest fires are a source of great economic and environmental cost in the Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR), a region of high ecological and historical value in Guatemala's department of Petén. Scarce institutional resources, limited local response capacity, and difficult terrain place a premium on the use of Earth observation data for forest fire management in the MBR, but also present significant institutional barriers to optimizing the value of this data. Drawing upon key informant interviews and a contingent valuation survey of national and local actors conducted during a three-year performance evaluation of the USAID/NASA Regional Visualization and Monitoring System (SERVIR), this paper traces the flow of SERVIR data from acquisition to decision in order to assess the institutional and contextual factors affecting the value of Earth observation data for forest fire management in the MBR. Findings indicate that the use of satellite data for forest fire management in the MBR is widespread and multi-dimensional: historical assessments of land use and land cover, fire scarring, and climate data help central-level fire management agencies identify and regulate fire-sensitive areas; regular monitoring and dissemination of climate data enables coordination between agricultural burning activities and fire early warning systems; and daily satellite detection of thermal anomalies in land surface temperature permits first responders to monitor and react to "hotspot" activity. Findings also suggest, however, that while the decentralized operations of Petén's fire management systems foster the use of Earth observation data, systemic bottlenecks, including budgetary constraints, inadequate data infrastructure and interpretation capacity, and obstacles to regulatory enforcement, impede the flow of information and use of technology and thus impact the value of that data, particularly in remote and under-resourced areas of the MBR. A geographic expansion and fortification of support systems for use of Earth observation data is thus required to maximize the value of data-driven forest fire management in the MBR. Findings further validate a need for continued cooperation between scientific and governance institutions to disseminate and integrate geospatial data into environmental decision-making.

A Summary of the Scientific Literature on the Effects of Fire on the Concentration of Nutrients in Surface Waters

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-01-01

forests, alpine forests, and so forth); (2) had a range of sampling frequency and dura- tion, such as during and immediately following a fire (from the...1) were done in a variety of environments (savannas, grass- lands, temperate forests, alpine forests, and so forth), (2) had a range of sampling...of Nutrients in Surface Waters Gresswell, R.E., 1999, Fire and aquatic ecosystems in forested biomes of North America: Transactions of the American

Dayton Aircraft Cabin Fire Model, Version 3, Volume I. Physical Description.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-06-01

contact to any surface directly above a burning element, provided that the current flame length makes contact possible. For fires originating on the...no extension of the flames horizontally beneath the surface is considered. The equation for computing the flame length is presented in Section 5. For...high as 0.3. The values chosen for DACFIR3 are 0.15 for Ec and 0.10 for E P. The Steward model is also used to compute flame length , hf, for the fire

BEHAVE: fire behavior prediction and fuel modeling system - BURN subsystem, Part 2

Treesearch

Patricia L. Andrews; Carolyn H. Chase

1989-01-01

This is the third publication describing the BEHAVE system of computer programs for predicting behavior of wildland fires. This publication adds the following predictive capabilities: distance firebrands are lofted ahead of a wind-driven surface fire, probabilities of firebrands igniting spot fires, scorch height of trees, and percentage of tree mortality. The system...

A conceptual framework for ranking crown fire potential in wildland fuelbeds.

Treesearch

Mark D. Schaaf; David V. Sandberg; Maarten D. Schreuder; Cynthia L. Riccardi

2007-01-01

This paper presents a conceptual framework for ranking the crown fire potential of wildland fuelbeds with forest canopies. This approach extends the work by Van Wagner and Rothermel, and introduces several new physical concepts to the modeling of crown fire behavior derived from the reformulated Rothemel surface fire modeling concepts proposed by Sandberg et al. This...

Behaviour and effects of prescribed fire in masticated fuelbeds

Treesearch

Eric Knapp; J. Morgan Varner; Matt Busse; Carl Skinner; Carol Shestak

2011-01-01

Mechanical mastication converts shrub and small tree fuels into surface fuels, and this method is being widely used as a treatment to reduce fire hazard. The compactness of these fuelbeds is thought to moderate fire behaviour, but whether standard fuel models can accurately predict fire behaviour and effects is poorly understood. Prescribed burns were conducted in...

Fuels planning: science synthesis and integration; forest structure and fire hazard fact sheet 04: role of silviculture in fuel treatments

Treesearch

Rocky Mountain Research Station USDA Forest Service

2004-01-01

The principal goals of fuel treatments are to reduce fireline intensities, reduce the potential for crown fires, improve opportunities for successful fire suppression, and improve forest resilience to forest fires. This fact sheet discusses thinning, and surface fuel treatments, as well as challenges associated with those treatments.

77 FR 18997 - Rim Lakes Forest Restoration Project; Apache-Sitgreavese National Forest, Black Mesa Ranger...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-29

... uncharacteristicly high-severity wild fires, which can lead to loss of entire stands during one fire event. About 67..., fire, and wind. The purpose of the project is to restore forest health, move forests toward an uneven-aged forest structure with all age classes represented, and restore frequent, periodic surface fire as...

7 CFR 29.1018 - Fire-killed.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Fire-killed. 29.1018 Section 29.1018 Agriculture... Type 92) § 29.1018 Fire-killed. Any leaf of which 5 percent or more of its surface has a set green... tobacco may be described as fire-killed. (See Rule 23.) [42 FR 21092, Apr. 25, 1977. Redesignated at 51 FR...

Varied ecosystems need different fire protection

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gutsell, Sheri L.; Johnson, Edward A.; Miyanishi, Kiyoko; Keeley, Jon E.; Dickinson, Matthew; Bridge, Simon R. J.

2001-01-01

Covington states in his Commentary1 that the open ponderosa pine forests of the western United States are "in widespread collapse" because fire suppression by humans has eliminated the low-intensity surface fire regime that maintained the open, park-like structure of these forests. He fears this will lead to an "unprecedented" crown fire regime that will eliminate forests.

Fire and fish dynamics in a changing climate

Treesearch

Lisa Holsinger; Robert Keane

2011-01-01

Wildland fire is a natural disturbance that affects the distribution and abundance of native fishes in the Rocky Mountain West (Rieman and others 2003). Fire can remove riparian vegetation, increasing direct solar radiation to the stream surface and leading to warmer summer water temperatures (fig. 1). Fire can also consume vegetation and organic biomass on the forest...

[Influence of coping material selection and porcelain firing on marginal and internal fit of computer-aided design/computer- aided manufacturing of zirconia and titanium ceramic implant-supported crowns].

PubMed

Cuiling, Liu; Liyuan, Yang; Xu, Gao; Hong, Shang

2016-06-01

This study aimed to investigate the influence of coping material and porcelain firing on the marginal and internal fit of computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) of zirconia ceramic implant- and titanium ceramic implant-supported crowns. Zirconia ceramic implant (group A, n = 8) and titanium metal ceramic implant-supported crowns (group B, n = 8) were produced from copings using the CAD/CAM system. The marginal and internal gaps of the copings and crowns were measured by using a light-body silicone replica technique combined with micro-computed tomography scanning to obtain a three-dimensional image. Marginal gap (MG), horizontal marginal discrepancy (HMD), and axial wall (AW) were measured. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 17.0. Prior to porcelain firing, the measurements for MG, HMD, and AW of copings in group A were significantly larger than those in group B (P < 0.05). After porcelain firing, the measurements for MG of crowns in group A were smaller than those in group B (P < 0.05), whereas HMD and AW showed no significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05). Porcelain firing significantly reduced MG (P < 0.05) in group A but significantly increased MG, HMD, and AW in group B (P < 0.05) HMD and AW were not influenced by porcelain firing in group A (P > 0.05). The marginal fits of CAD/CAM zirconia ceramic implant-supported crowns were superior to those of CAD/CAM titanium ceramic-supported crowns. The fits of both the CAD/CAM zirconia ceramic implant- and titanium ceramic implant-supported crowns were obviously influenced by porcelain firing.

Remote sensing of vegetation fires and its contribution to a fire management information system

Treesearch

Stephane P. Flasse; Simon N. Trigg; Pietro N. Ceccato; Anita H. Perryman; Andrew T. Hudak; Mark W. Thompson; Bruce H. Brockett; Moussa Drame; Tim Ntabeni; Philip E. Frost; Tobias Landmann; Johan L. le Roux

2004-01-01

In the last decade, research has proven that remote sensing can provide very useful support to fire managers. This chapter provides an overview of the types of information remote sensing can provide to the fire community. First, it considers fire management information needs in the context of a fire management information system. An introduction to remote sensing then...

Operation Flambeau - civil defense experiment and support: eyewitness accounts of a mass fire

Treesearch

Clay P. Butler; Theodore G. Storey; Richard C. Rothermel; Michael Woolliscroft; Clive M. Countryman; A.M. Western; Abraham Broido; Thomas Y. Palmer

1969-01-01

Seven men skilled in fire research were stationed around the periphery of Flambeau Fire 760-12 and recorded visual impressions of its magnitude. Also, instrumental data were taken both inside the fire zone and outside, so that visual magnitudes of the mass fire may be compared with its measured physical parameters. Visual magnitudes for this fire were: Flame heights up...

Large-Scale Forest Fires and Resulting Alterations to the Hydrologic Cycle in the Western U.S

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carr, J.; White, A. B.; Thomson, B.

2012-12-01

Recent changes in climate have resulted in a decrease in precipitation and snowpack amounts and increased temperatures in the western United States. Drier and warmer conditions coupled with forest management issues have led to an increase in the frequency and size of forest fires. The 2000 Cerro Grande fire in Los Alamos, New Mexico burned over 43,000 acres and 200 structures. Eleven years later, the Las Conchas fire burned over 156,000 acres and 100 structures, including areas previously burned in 2000, and was considered the largest fire in New Mexico's history. Both fires burned ponderosa, juniper, piñon and mixed conifer forests, resulting in dramatic decreases in vegetation, changes to surface soils, and alterations to the hydrologic cycle (decreased evapotranspiration, decreased infiltration, increased runoff volume and peak discharge, and decreased time to peak discharge) in surrounding watersheds. Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) teams need to determine the flash-flood danger quickly in order to protect residents, fire-fighters, BAER-team field personnel, and property at risk. The USGS developed an analytical method for predicting post-fire peak discharges using data collected from eight different fires throughout the western United States. We use this method to predict peak discharge in Los Alamos watersheds post-Cerro Grande and post-Las Conchas, then compare predicted to measured peak discharge. We will evaluate the effectiveness of the three methodology levels presented by the USGS, which include varying levels of data input and processing. We expect the peak discharges to be similar in magnitude; however, we will also investigate different influential factors such as burn severity, soil type, vegetation type and density, ecological connectivity, topography, pre- and post-fire weather conditions, etc., as they relate to the fires and the results seen from the measured versus the analytical method. Determining the relative influence of these factors may be important in establishing the comprehensive nature of the methodology. The frequency of large, intense "mega-fires" are predicted to increase, thus there is a potential for more post-fire flood damage and more surface water resources to be altered due to water quality issues. For example, the Whitewater-Baldy Complex fire became the largest fire in New Mexico's history one year after the Las Conchas fire by burning almost 300,000 acres in the Gila National Forest in southern New Mexico, the Little Bear fire in 2012 forced the closure of Alto Reservoir for the foreseeable future due to ash and debris, and the Las Conchas fire forced several surface water treatment facilities serving Santa Fe and Albuquerque to shut down. As these fires become more frequent, there is a potential that less surface water will be available and more groundwater will be pumped for human and agricultural use in the western U.S., where water scarcity is already a pressing problem. Understanding how these fires alter the hydrologic cycle is critical to water policy and planning and this research will help advance that understanding.

Forest fire effects on transpiration: process modeling of sapwood area reduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michaletz, Sean; Johnson, Edward

2010-05-01

Transpiration is a hydrological process that is strongly affected by forest fires. In crown fires, canopy fine fuels (foliage, buds, and small branches) combust, which kills individual trees and stops transpiration of the entire stand. In surface fires (intensities ≤ 2500 kW m-1), however, effects on transpiration are less predictable becuase heat transfer from the passing fireline can injure or kill fine roots, leaves, and sapwood; post-fire transpiration of forest stands is thus governed by fire effects on individual tree water budgets. Here, we consider fire effects on cross-sectional sapwood area. A two-dimensional model of transient bole heating is used to estimate radial isotherms for a range of fireline intensities typical of surface fires. Isotherms are then used to drive three processes by which heat may reduce sapwood area: 1) necrosis of living cells in contact with xylem conduits, which prevents repair of natural embolism; 2) relaxation of viscoelastic conduit wall polymers (cellulose, hemicelloluse, and lignin), which reduces cross-sectional conduit area; and 3) boiling of metastable water under tension, which causes conduit embolism. Results show that these processes operate on different time scales, suggesting that fire effects on transpiration vary with time since fire. The model can be linked with a three-dimensional physical fire spread model to predict size-dependent effects on individual trees, which can be used to estimate scaling of individual tree and stand-level transpiration.

The footprint of Alaskan tundra fires during the past half-century: implications for surface properties and radiative forcing

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rocha, Adrian V.; Loranty, Michael M.; Higuera, Phil E.; Mack, Michelle C.; Hu, Feng Sheng; Jones, Benjamin M.; Breen, Amy L.; Rastetter, Edward B.; Goetz, Scott J.; Shaver, Gus R.

2012-01-01

Recent large and frequent fires above the Alaskan arctic circle have forced a reassessment of the ecological and climatological importance of fire in arctic tundra ecosystems. Here we provide a general overview of the occurrence, distribution, and ecological and climate implications of Alaskan tundra fires over the past half-century using spatially explicit climate, fire, vegetation and remote sensing datasets for Alaska. Our analyses highlight the importance of vegetation biomass and environmental conditions in regulating tundra burning, and demonstrate that most tundra ecosystems are susceptible to burn, providing the environmental conditions are right. Over the past two decades, fire perimeters above the arctic circle have increased in size and importance, especially on the North Slope, indicating that future wildfire projections should account for fire regime changes in these regions. Remote sensing data and a literature review of thaw depths indicate that tundra fires have both positive and negative implications for climatic feedbacks including a decadal increase in albedo radiative forcing immediately after a fire, a stimulation of surface greenness and a persistent long-term (>10 year) increase in thaw depth. In order to address the future impact of tundra fires on climate, a better understanding of the control of tundra fire occurrence as well as the long-term impacts on ecosystem carbon cycling will be required.

Are litter decomposition and fire linked through plant species traits?

PubMed

Cornelissen, Johannes H C; Grootemaat, Saskia; Verheijen, Lieneke M; Cornwell, William K; van Bodegom, Peter M; van der Wal, René; Aerts, Rien

2017-11-01

Contents 653 I. 654 II. 657 III. 659 IV. 661 V. 662 VI. 663 VII. 665 665 References 665 SUMMARY: Biological decomposition and wildfire are connected carbon release pathways for dead plant material: slower litter decomposition leads to fuel accumulation. Are decomposition and surface fires also connected through plant community composition, via the species' traits? Our central concept involves two axes of trait variation related to decomposition and fire. The 'plant economics spectrum' (PES) links biochemistry traits to the litter decomposability of different fine organs. The 'size and shape spectrum' (SSS) includes litter particle size and shape and their consequent effect on fuel bed structure, ventilation and flammability. Our literature synthesis revealed that PES-driven decomposability is largely decoupled from predominantly SSS-driven surface litter flammability across species; this finding needs empirical testing in various environmental settings. Under certain conditions, carbon release will be dominated by decomposition, while under other conditions litter fuel will accumulate and fire may dominate carbon release. Ecosystem-level feedbacks between decomposition and fire, for example via litter amounts, litter decomposition stage, community-level biotic interactions and altered environment, will influence the trait-driven effects on decomposition and fire. Yet, our conceptual framework, explicitly comparing the effects of two plant trait spectra on litter decomposition vs fire, provides a promising new research direction for better understanding and predicting Earth surface carbon dynamics. © 2017 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust.

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.

Field validation of a free-agent cellular automata model of fire spread with fire–atmosphere coupling

Treesearch

Gary Achtemeier

2012-01-01

A cellular automata fire model represents ‘elements’ of fire by autonomous agents. A few simple algebraic expressions substituted for complex physical and meteorological processes and solved iteratively yield simulations for ‘super-diffusive’ fire spread and coupled surface-layer (2-m) fire–atmosphere processes. Pressure anomalies, which are integrals of the thermal...

Contribution of suppression difficulty and lessons learned in forecasting fire suppression operations productivity: A methodological approach

Treesearch

Francisco Rodríguez y Silva; Armando González-Cabán

2016-01-01

We propose an economic analysis using utility and productivity, and efficiency theories to provide fire managers a decision support tool to determine the most efficient fire management programs levels. By incorporating managers’ accumulated fire suppression experiences (capitalized experience) in the analysis we help fire managers...

Fire Effects Planning Framework: A user's guide

Treesearch

A. Black; T. Opperman

2005-01-01

Each decision to suppress fire reinforces a feedback cycle in which fuels continue to accumulate, risk escalates, and the tendency to suppress fires grows (Miller and others, 2003). Existing decision-support tools focus primarily on the negative consequences of fire. This guide outlines a framework managers can use to (1) identify key areas of fire risk and (2)...

Entrainment regimes and flame characteristics of wildland fires

Treesearch

Ralph M. Nelson; Bret W. Butler; David R. Weise

2012-01-01

This paper reports results from a study of the flame characteristics of 22 wind-aided pine litter fires in a laboratory wind tunnel and 32 field fires in southern rough and litter-grass fuels. Flame characteristic and fire behaviour data from these fires, simple theoretical flame models and regression techniques are used to determine whether the data support the...

A suite of fire, fuels, and smoke management tools

Treesearch

Roger D. Ottmar; Clint S. Wright; Susan J. Prichard

2009-01-01

The Fire and Environmental Research Applications Team (FERA) of the Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, is an interdisciplinary team of scientists that conduct primary research on wildland fire and provide decision support for fire hazard and smoke management. The team is committed to providing easy-to-use tools that help managers in their fire and...

76 FR 59418 - Wildland Fire Executive Council Meeting Schedule

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-26

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Office of the Secretary Wildland Fire Executive Council Meeting... Interior, Office of the Secretary, Wildland Fire Executive Council (WFEC) will meet as indicated below... wildland fire policy and to provide leadership, direction, and program oversight in support of the Wildland...

76 FR 28445 - Wildland Fire Executive Council Meeting Schedule

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-17

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Office of the Secretary Wildland Fire Executive Council Meeting... Interior, Office of the Secretary, Wildland Fire Executive Council (WFEC) will meet as indicated below...-level wildland fire policy and to provide leadership, direction, and program oversight in support of the...

77 FR 63326 - Wildland Fire Executive Council Meeting Schedule

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-16

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Office of the Secretary Wildland Fire Executive Council Meeting... Interior, Office of the Secretary, Wildland Fire Executive Council (WFEC) will meet as indicated below...-level wildland fire policy and to provide leadership, direction, and program oversight in support of the...

76 FR 15332 - Wildland Fire Executive Council Meeting Schedule

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-21

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Office of the Secretary Wildland Fire Executive Council Meeting... Interior, Office of the Secretary, Wildland Fire Executive Council (WFEC) will meet as indicated below...-level wildland fire policy and to provide leadership, direction, and program oversight in support of the...

Seasonal Fluctuation in Moisture Content of Pine Foliage

Treesearch

Von J. Johnson

1966-01-01

Green or living fuels, particularly pine crowns, are commonly consumed by forest fires burning hot, windy weather. In some cases the pine crown fire has been known to burn ahead of surface-burning fire for some distance before dropping to the ground.

An inverse method to estimate stem surface heat flux in wildland fires

Treesearch

Anthony S. Bova; Matthew B. Dickinson

2009-01-01

Models of wildland fire-induced stem heating and tissue necrosis require accurate estimates of inward heat flux at the bark surface. Thermocouple probes or heat flux sensors placed at a stem surface do not mimic the thermal response of tree bark to flames.We show that data from thin thermocouple probes inserted just below the bark can be used, by means of a one-...

The influence of solid rocket motor retro-burns on the space debris environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stabroth, Sebastian; Homeister, Maren; Oswald, Michael; Wiedemann, Carsten; Klinkrad, Heiner; Vörsmann, Peter

The ESA space debris population model MASTER (Meteoroid and Space Debris Terrestrial Environment Reference) considers firings of solid rocket motors (SRM) as a debris source with the associated generation of slag and dust particles. The resulting slag and dust population is a major contribution to the sub-millimetre size debris environment in Earth orbit. The current model version, MASTER-2005, is based on the simulation of 1076 orbital SRM firings which contributed to the long-term debris environment. A comparison of the modelled flux with impact data from returned surfaces shows that the shape and quantity of the modelled SRM dust distribution matches that of recent Hubble Space Telescope (HST) solar array measurements very well. However, the absolute flux level for dust is under-predicted for some of the analysed Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) surfaces. This points into the direction of some past SRM firings not included in the current event database. The most suitable candidates for these firings are the large number of SRM retro-burns of return capsules. Objects released by those firings have highly eccentric orbits with perigees in the lower regions of the atmosphere. Thus, they produce no long-term effect on the debris environment. However, a large number of those firings during the on-orbit time frame of LDEF might lead to an increase of the dust population for some of the LDEF surfaces. In this paper, the influence of SRM retro-burns on the short- and long-term debris environment is analysed. The existing firing database is updated with gathered information of some 800 Russian retro-firings. Each firing is simulated with the MASTER population generation module. The resulting population is compared against the existing background population of SRM slag and dust particles in terms of spatial density and flux predictions.

Direct and indirect effects of fires on the carbon balance of tropical forest ecosystems (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Randerson, J. T.; Tosca, M. G.; Ward, D. S.; Kasibhatla, P. S.; Mahowald, N. M.; Hess, P. G.

2013-12-01

Fires influence the carbon budget of tropical forests directly because they account for a significant component of net emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. They also have indirect effects on nearby intact forests by modifying regional climate, atmospheric composition, and patterns of nutrient deposition. These latter pathways are not well understood and are often ignored in climate mitigation efforts such as the United Nations Program on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+). Here we used the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM5) and the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED3) to quantify the impacts of fire-emitted aerosols on the productivity of tropical forests. Across the tropical forest biome, fire-emitted aerosols reduced surface temperatures and increased the diffuse solar insolation fraction. These changes in surface meteorology increased gross primary production (GPP) in the Community Land Model. However, these drivers were more than offset in many regions by reductions in soil moisture and total solar radiation. The net effect of fire aerosols caused GPP to decrease by approximately 8% in equatorial Asia and 6% in the central Africa. In the Amazon, decreases in photosynthesis in the western part of the basin were nearly balanced by increases in the south and east. Using additional CAM5 and GEOS-Chem model simulations, we estimated fire contributions to surface concentrations of ozone. Using empirical relationships between ozone exposure and GPP from field studies and models, we estimated how tropical forest GPP was further modified by fire-induced ozone. Our results suggest that efforts to reduce the fire component of tropical land use fluxes may have sustainability benefits that extend beyond the balance sheet for greenhouse gases.

Fire monitoring capability of the joint Landsat and Sentinel 2 constellation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murphy, S.; Wright, R.

2017-12-01

Fires are a global hazard. Landsat and Sentinel 2 can monitor the Earth's surface every 2 - 4 days. This provides an important opportunity to complement the operational (lower resolution) fire monitoring systems. Landsat-class sensors can detect small fires that would be missed by MODIS-classed sensors. All large fires start out as small fires. We analyze fire patterns in California from 1984 to 2017 and compare the performance of Landsat-type and MODIS-type sensors. Had an operational Landsat-Sentinel 2 fire detection system been in place at the time of the Soberanes fire last year (i.e. August 2016), the cost of suppressing of this fire event (US $236 million) could potentially have been reduced by an order of magnitude.

Emissions from Coal Fires and Their Impact on the Environment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kolker, Allan; Engle, Mark; Stracher, Glenn; Hower, James; Prakash, Anupma; Radke, Lawrence; ter Schure, Arnout; Heffern, Ed

2009-01-01

Self-ignited, naturally occurring coal fires and fires resulting from human activities persist for decades in underground coal mines, coal waste piles, and unmined coal beds. These uncontrolled coal fires occur in all coal-bearing parts of the world (Stracher, 2007) and pose multiple threats to the global environment because they emit greenhouse gases - carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4) - as well as mercury (Hg), carbon monoxide (CO), and other toxic substances (fig. 1). The contribution of coal fires to the global pool of atmospheric CO2 is little known but potentially significant. For China, the world's largest coal producer, it is estimated that anywhere between 10 million and 200 million metric tons (Mt) of coal reserves (about 0.5 to 10 percent of production) is consumed annually by coal fires or made inaccessible owing to fires that hinder mining operations (Rosema and others, 1999; Voigt and others, 2004). At this proportion of production, coal amounts lost to coal fires worldwide would be two to three times that for China. Assuming this coal has mercury concentrations similar to those in U.S. coals, a preliminary estimate of annual Hg emissions from coal fires worldwide is comparable in magnitude to the 48 tons of annual Hg emissions from all U.S. coal-fired power-generating stations combined (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2002). In the United States, the combined cost of coal-fire remediation projects, completed, budgeted, or projected by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), exceeds $1 billion, with about 90% of that in two States - Pennsylvania and West Virginia (Office of Surface Mining Enforcement and Reclamation, 2008; fig. 2). Altogether, 15 States have combined cumulative OSM coal-fire project costs exceeding $1 million, with the greatest overall expense occurring in States where underground coal fires are predominant over surface fires, reflecting the greater cost of extinguishing underground fires (fig. 2) (see 'Controlling Coal Fires'). In this fact sheet we review how coal fires occur, how they can be detected by airborne and remote surveys, and, most importantly, the impact coal-fire emissions may have on the environment and human health. In addition, we describe recent efforts by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and collaborators to measure fluxes of CO2, CO, CH4, and Hg, using groundbased portable detectors, and combining these approaches with airborne thermal imaging and CO2 measurements. The goal of this research is to develop approaches that can be extrapolated to large fires and to extrapolate results for individual fires in order to estimate the contribution of coal fires as a category of global emissions.

Linking surface-fire behavior, stem heating, and tissue necrosis

Treesearch

A.S. Bova; M.B. Dickinson; M.B. Dickinson

2005-01-01

Data from 69 experimental, small-plot fires are used to describe relationships among fire intensity, barksurface heat flux, and depth of necrosis in stem tissue for red maple (Acer rubrum L.) and chestnut oak (Quercus prinus L.j. A tetrazolium staining technique was used to determine the depth of necrosis in tree boles subjected to fires with intensities of 20 to 2000...

Estimating ladder fuels: a new approach combining field photography with LiDAR

Treesearch

Heather Kramer; Brandon Collins; Frank Lake; Marek Jakubowski; Scott Stephens; Maggi Kelly

2016-01-01

Forests historically associated with frequent fire have changed dramatically due to fire suppression and past harvesting over the last century. The buildup of ladder fuels, which carry fire from the surface of the forest floor to tree crowns, is one of the critical changes, and it has contributed to uncharacteristically large and severe fires. The abundance of ladder...

Predicting behavior and size of crown fires in the northern Rocky Mountains

Treesearch

Richard C. Rothermel

1991-01-01

Describes methods for approximating behavior and size of a wind-driven crown fire in mountainous terrain. Covers estimation of average rate of spread, energy release from tree crowns and surface fuel, fireline intensity, flame length, and unit area power of the fire and ambient wind. Plume-dominated fires, which may produce unexpectedly fast spread rates even with low...

The enigmatic fire regime of coast redwood forests and why it matters

Treesearch

J. Morgan Varner; Erik S. Jules

2017-01-01

Of perhaps all forests in North America, the fire regime of coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl.) is most enigmatic. Widely considered a temperate rainforest, a large number of fire history studies depict a forest dominated by frequent surface fire regimes. Coast redwood also has a long list of traits that allow it to persist and...

Fire behavior associated with the 1994 South Canyon fire on Storm King Mountain, Colorado

Treesearch

Bret W. Butler; Roberta A. Bartlette; Larry S. Bradshaw; Jack D. Cohen; Patricia L. Andrews; Ted Putnam; Richard J. Mangan

1998-01-01

In the aftermath of the deaths of 14 firefighters during the South Canyon Fire in July 1994, fire scientists assessed what occurred and suggested guidelines that may help firefighters avert such a tragedy in the future. This report describes the fuel, weather, and topographical factors that caused the transition from a relatively slow-spreading, low-intensity surface...

Reintroducing fire into the Blacks Mountain Research Natural Area: effects on fire hazard

Treesearch

Carl N. Skinner

2005-01-01

Frequent, low-intensity, surface fires were an integral ecological process in the Blacks Mountain Experimental Forest (BMEF) prior to the 20th Century. With rare exception, fires have been successfully excluded from BMEF since the early 1900s. The Blacks Mountain Research Natural Area (BMRNA) covers approximately 521 acres of BMEF in 5 compartments of approximately 100...

Climatic variability of a fire-weather index based on turbulent kinetic energy and the Haines Index

Treesearch

Warren E. Heilman; Xindi Bian

2010-01-01

Combining the Haines Index (HI) with near-surface turbulent kinetic energy (TKEs) through a product of the two values (HITKEs) has shown promise as an indicator of the atmospheric potential for extreme and erratic fire behavior in the U.S. Numerical simulations of fire-weather evolution during past wildland fire episodes in...

The Marine Corps Ability to Conduct Surface Amphibious Transport is at Risk

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-03

Barrel .50 caliber Machine Gun and the destruction ability of a high explosive grenade with the Mk 19 40 mm Grenade Launcher. Each individual AAV...the current AAV offer protection from up to caliber 12.7 mm rounds from the enemy, it provides a direct fire support capability with the M2 Heavy...are not traditionally designed to provide a high degree of comfort to the inhabitants. They are machines of necessity. As a result, many argue

Joint and Interdependent Requirements: A Case Study in Solving the Naval Surface Fire Support Capabilities Gap

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-05-17

inch long ra projectiles against Viet Cong positions to ranges over 35 miles – 60,000 yards - inland. Additionally, a 5- inch rocket assisted projectile...ship. The 100 mile rocket assisted shell was approximately twenty inches too long to work within the existing handling system. The 278 mile rocket... assisted shell was fourteen inches too long for the Iowa class ship’s ammunition handling equi However, if shortened to seventy-six inches, this

Fire in Australian savannas: from leaf to landscape

PubMed Central

Beringer, Jason; Hutley, Lindsay B; Abramson, David; Arndt, Stefan K; Briggs, Peter; Bristow, Mila; Canadell, Josep G; Cernusak, Lucas A; Eamus, Derek; Edwards, Andrew C; Evans, Bradley J; Fest, Benedikt; Goergen, Klaus; Grover, Samantha P; Hacker, Jorg; Haverd, Vanessa; Kanniah, Kasturi; Livesley, Stephen J; Lynch, Amanda; Maier, Stefan; Moore, Caitlin; Raupach, Michael; Russell-Smith, Jeremy; Scheiter, Simon; Tapper, Nigel J; Uotila, Petteri

2015-01-01

Savanna ecosystems comprise 22% of the global terrestrial surface and 25% of Australia (almost 1.9 million km2) and provide significant ecosystem services through carbon and water cycles and the maintenance of biodiversity. The current structure, composition and distribution of Australian savannas have coevolved with fire, yet remain driven by the dynamic constraints of their bioclimatic niche. Fire in Australian savannas influences both the biophysical and biogeochemical processes at multiple scales from leaf to landscape. Here, we present the latest emission estimates from Australian savanna biomass burning and their contribution to global greenhouse gas budgets. We then review our understanding of the impacts of fire on ecosystem function and local surface water and heat balances, which in turn influence regional climate. We show how savanna fires are coupled to the global climate through the carbon cycle and fire regimes. We present new research that climate change is likely to alter the structure and function of savannas through shifts in moisture availability and increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide, in turn altering fire regimes with further feedbacks to climate. We explore opportunities to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions from savanna ecosystems through changes in savanna fire management. PMID:25044767

MODIS-informed greenness responsesto daytime land surface temperaturefluctuations and wildfire disturbancesin the Alaskan Yukon River Basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tan, Zhengxi; Liu, Shu-Guang; Jenkerson, Calli B.; Oeding, Jennifer; Wylie, Bruce K.; Rover, Jennifer R.; Young, Claudia J.

2012-01-01

Pronounced climate warming and increased wildfire disturbances are known to modify forest composition and control the evolution of the boreal ecosystem over the Yukon River Basin (YRB) in interior Alaska. In this study, we evaluate the post-fire green-up rate using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) derived from 250 m 7 day eMODIS (an alternative and application-ready type of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data) acquired between 2000 and 2009. Our analyses indicate measureable effects on NDVI values from vegetation type, burn severity, post-fire time, and climatic variables. The NDVI observations from both fire scars and unburned areas across the Alaskan YRB showed a tendency of an earlier start to the growing season (GS); the annual variations in NDVI were significantly correlated to daytime land surface temperature (LST) fluctuations; and the rate of post-fire green-up depended mainly on burn severity and the time of post-fire succession. The higher average NDVI values for the study period in the fire scars than in the unburned areas between 1950 and 2000 suggest that wildfires enhance post-fire greenness due to an increase in post-fire evergreen and deciduous species components

Evaluating post-wildfire hydrologic recovery using ParFlow in southern California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2016-12-01

Wildfires are naturally occurring hazards that can have catastrophic impacts. They can alter the natural processes within a watershed, such as surface runoff and subsurface water storage. Generally, post-fire hydrologic models are either one-dimensional, empirically-based models, or two-dimensional, conceptually-based models with lumped parameter distributions. These models are useful in providing runoff measurements at the watershed outlet; however, do not provide distributed hydrologic simulation at each point within the watershed. This research demonstrates how ParFlow, a three-dimensional, distributed hydrologic model can simulate post-fire hydrologic processes by representing soil burn severity (via hydrophobicity) and vegetation recovery as they vary both spatially and temporally. Using this approach, we are able to evaluate the change in post-fire water components (surface flow, lateral flow, baseflow, and evapotranspiration). This model is initially developed for a hillslope in Devil Canyon, burned in 2003 by the Old Fire in southern California (USA). The domain uses a 2m-cell size resolution over a 25 m by 25 m lateral extent. The subsurface reaches 2 m and is assigned a variable cell thickness, allowing an explicit consideration of the soil burn severity throughout the stages of recovery and vegetation regrowth. Vegetation regrowth is incorporated represented by satellite-based Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) products. The pre- and post-fire surface runoff, subsurface storage, and surface storage interactions are evaluated and will be used as a basis for developing a watershed-scale model. Long-term continuous simulations will advance our understanding of post-fire hydrological partitioning between water balance components and the spatial variability of watershed processes, providing improved guidance for post-fire watershed management.

NASA's AVIRIS Instrument Sheds New Light on Southern California Wildfires

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

NASA's Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer instrument (AVIRIS), flying aboard a NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center high-altitude ER-2 aircraft, flew over the wildfires burning in Southern California on Dec. 5, 2017 and acquired this false-color image. Active fires are visible in red, ground surfaces are in green and smoke is in blue. AVIRIS is an imaging spectrometer that observes light in visible and infrared wavelengths, measuring the full spectrum of radiated energy. Unlike regular cameras with three colors, AVIRIS has 224 spectral channels from the visible through the shortwave infrared. This permits mapping of fire temperatures, fractional coverage, and surface properties, including how much fuel is available for a fire. Spectroscopy is also valuable for characterizing forest drought conditions and health to assess fire risk. AVIRIS has been observing fire-prone areas in Southern California for many years, forming a growing time series of before/after data cubes. These data are helping improve scientific understanding of fire risk and how ecosystems respond to drought and fire. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA11243

Post-fire changes in sediment transport connectivity from pedon to watershed scale. The Navalón wildfire in Eastern Spain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cerdà, Artemi; Bodí, Merche B.; González, Óscar; Mataix Solera, Jorge; Doerr, Stefan Helmut

2015-04-01

Wildfire are present in the Earth System since vegetation was present in the continents (Doerr and Cerdà, 2005; Kaiho et al., 2013). Forest fire cause damage in the soil and the vegetation cover (Guénon et al., 2013). The years after a forest fire there is a sudden increase in the soil erosion rates that contribute to connect the pedon, slope tram, tram and watershed with surface flows that results in high erosion rates (Cerdà and Lasanta, 2005; Lasanta and Cerdà, 2005; Cawson et al., 2012; Pérez Cabello et al., 2012; Prats et al., 2015). Although the research on soil erosion after forest fire was carried out at different scales by different authors, there is not information about soil erosion at different scales at the same research site and during the post fire period. After the forest fire of April 2008 in Navalón, Eastern Spain, the Soil Erosion and Degradation Research Group from the University of Valencia initiated the measurement of the soil losses at pedon scale (microplots of 0.30 m2), at slope tram (silt fences of 1.8 m width), at slope scale (abandoned terraces) and at watershed scale, at the bottom of the valley (abandoned terraces). The results show that there is a reduction in the sediment yield from pedon to watershed scale and that the soil erosion took place in the first year after the fire. Acknowledgements To the "Ministerio de Economía and Competitividad" of Spanish Government for finance the POSTFIRE project (CGL2013- 47862-C2-1-R). The research projects GL2008-02879/BTE, LEDDRA 243857 and PREVENTING AND REMEDIATING DEGRADATION OF SOILS IN EUROPE THROUGH LAND CARE (RECARE)FP7-ENV-2013- supported this research. References Carreiras, M., Ferreira, A.J.D., Valente, S., Fleskens, L., Gonzales-Pelayo, Ó., Rubio, J.L., Stoof, C.R., Coelho, C.O.A., Ferreira, C.S.S., Ritsema, C.J. 2014. Comparative analysis of policies to deal with the wildfire risk. Land Degradation & Development, 25, 92-103. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2274 Cawson, J. G., Sheridan, G. J., Smith, H. G., Lane, P. N. J. (2012). Surface runoff and erosion after prescribed burning and the effect of different fire regimes in forests and shrublands: a review. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 21(7), 857-872. Cerdà, A., Lasanta, A. 2005. Long-term erosional responses after fire in the Central Spanish Pyrenees: 1. Water and sediment yield. Catena, 60, 59-80. Doerr, S., Cerdà, A. 2005. Fire effects on soil system functioning: new insights and future challenges International Journal of Wildland Fire Preface. International Journal of Wildland Fire 14(4) 339-342 Guénon, R., Vennetier, M., Dupuy, N., Roussos, S., Pailler, A., Gros, R. 2013. Trends in recovery of Mediterranean soil chemical properties and microbial activities after infrequent and frequent wildfires. Land Degradation & Development, 24: 115- 128. DOI 10.1002/ldr.1109 Kaiho, K., Yatsu, S., Oba, M., Gorjan, P., Casier, J. G., Ikeda, M. (2013). A forest fire and soil erosion event during the Late Devonian mass extinction. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 392, 272-280. Lasanta, A., Cerdà, A. 2005. Long-term erosional responses after fire in the Central Spanish Pyrenees: 2. Solute release. Catena, 60, 80-101. Pérez-Cabello, F., Cerdà, A., de la Riva, J., Echeverría, M.T., García-Martín, A., Ibarra, P., Lasanta, T., Montorio, R., Palacios, V. 2012. Micro-scale post-fire surface cover changes monitored using high spatial resolution photography in a semiarid environment: A useful tool in the study of post-fire soil erosion processes, Journal of Arid Environments, 76: 88-96. 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2011.08.007 Prats, S.A., Malvar, M.C., Simões-Vieira, D.C., MacDonald, L., Keizer, J.J. 2015. Effectiveness of hydro- mulching to reduce runoff and erosion in a recently burnt pine plantation in central Portugal. Land Degradation & Development, DOI: 10.1002/ldr.2236.

Simulations of Forest Fires by the Cellular Automata Model "ABBAMPAU"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

di Gregorio, S.; Bendicenti, E.

2003-04-01

Forest fires represent a serious environmental problem, whose negative impact is becoming day by day more worrisome. Forest fires are very complex phenomena; that need an interdisciplinary approach. The adopted method to modelling involves the definition of local rules, from which the global behaviour of the system can emerge. The paradigm of Cellular Automata was applied and the model ABBAMPAU was projected to simulate the evolution of forest fires. Cellular Automata features (parallelism and a-centrism) seem to match the system "forest fire"; the parameters, describing globally a forest fire, i.e. propagation rate, flame length and direction, fireline intensity, fire duration time et c. are mainly depending on some local characteristics i.e. vegetation type (live and dead fuel), relative humidity, fuel moisture, heat, territory morphology (altitude, slope), et c.. The only global characteristic is given by wind velocity and direction, but wind velocity and direction is locally altered according to the morphology; therefore wind has also to be considered at local level. ABBAMPAU accounts for the following aspects of the phenomenon: effects of combustion in surface and crown fire inside the cell, crown fire triggering off; surface and crown fire spread, determination of the local wind rate and direction. A validation of ABBAMPAU was tested on a real case of forest fire, in the territory of Villaputzu, Sardinia island, August 22nd, 1998. First simulations account for the main characteristics of the phenomenon and agree with the observations. The results show that the model could be applied for the forest fire preventions, the productions of risk scenarios and the evaluation of the forest fire environmental impact.

LANDFIRE 2010—Updates to the national dataset to support improved fire and natural resource management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nelson, Kurtis J.; Long, Donald G.; Connot, Joel A.

2016-02-29

The Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Tools (LANDFIRE) 2010 data release provides updated and enhanced vegetation, fuel, and fire regime layers consistently across the United States. The data represent landscape conditions from approximately 2010 and are the latest release in a series of planned updates to maintain currency of LANDFIRE data products. Enhancements to the data products included refinement of urban areas by incorporating the National Land Cover Database 2006 land cover product, refinement of agricultural lands by integrating the National Agriculture Statistics Service 2011 cropland data layer, and improved wetlands delineations using the National Land Cover Database 2006 land cover and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wetlands Inventory data. Disturbance layers were generated for years 2008 through 2010 using remotely sensed imagery, polygons representing disturbance events submitted by local organizations, and fire mapping program data such as the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity perimeters produced by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Forest Service. Existing vegetation data were updated to account for transitions in disturbed areas and to account for vegetation growth and succession in undisturbed areas. Surface and canopy fuel data were computed from the updated vegetation type, cover, and height and occasionally from potential vegetation. Historical fire frequency and succession classes were also updated. Revised topographic layers were created based on updated elevation data from the National Elevation Dataset. The LANDFIRE program also released a new Web site offering updated content, enhanced usability, and more efficient navigation.

Space Shuttle Flight Support Motor no. 1 (FSM-1)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hughes, Phil D.

1990-01-01

Space Shuttle Flight Support Motor No. 1 (FSM-1) was static test fired on 15 Aug. 1990 at the Thiokol Corporation Static Test Bay T-24. FSM-1 was a full-scale, full-duration static test fire of a redesigned solid rocket motor. FSM-1 was the first of seven flight support motors which will be static test fired. The Flight Support Motor program validates components, materials, and manufacturing processes. In addition, FSM-1 was the full-scale motor for qualification of Western Electrochemical Corporation ammonium perchlorate. This motor was subjected to all controls and documentation requirements CTP-0171, Revision A. Inspection and instrumentation data indicate that the FSM-1 static test firing was successful. The ambient temperature during the test was 87 F and the propellant mean bulk temperature was 82 F. Ballistics performance values were within the specified requirements. The overall performance of the FSM-1 components and test equipment was nominal.

Impacts of fire on sources of soil CO2 efflux in a dry Amazon rain forest.

PubMed

Metcalfe, Daniel B; Rocha, Wanderley; Balch, Jennifer K; Brando, Paulo M; Doughty, Christopher E; Malhi, Yadvinder

2018-05-10

Fire at the dry southern margin of the Amazon rainforest could have major consequences for regional soil carbon (C) storage and ecosystem carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions, but relatively little information exists about impacts of fire on soil C cycling within this sensitive ecotone. We measured CO 2 effluxes from different soil components (ground surface litter, roots, mycorrhizae, soil organic matter) at a large-scale burn experiment designed to simulate a severe but realistic potential future scenario for the region (Fire plot) in Mato Grosso, Brazil, over one year, and compared these measurements to replicated data from a nearby, unmodified Control plot. After four burns over five years, soil CO 2 efflux (R s ) was ~ 5.5 t C ha -1 yr -1 lower on the Fire plot compared to the Control. Most of the Fire plot R s reduction was specifically due to lower ground surface litter and root respiration. Mycorrhizal respiration on both plots was around ~ 20% of R s . Soil surface temperature appeared to be more important than moisture as a driver of seasonal patterns in R s at the site. Regular fire events decreased the seasonality of R s at the study site, due to apparent differences in environmental sensitivities among biotic and abiotic soil components. These findings may contribute towards improved predictions of the amount and temporal pattern of C emissions across the large areas of tropical forest facing increasing fire disturbances associated with climate change and human activities. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Forest fire danger index based on modifying Nesterov Index, fuel, and anthropogenic activities using MODIS TERRA, AQUA and TRMM satellite datasets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suresh Babu, K. V.; Roy, Arijit; Ramachandra Prasad, P.

2016-05-01

Forest fire has been regarded as one of the major causes of degradation of Himalayan forests in Uttarakhand. Forest fires occur annually in more than 50% of forests in Uttarakhand state, mostly due to anthropogenic activities and spreads due to moisture conditions and type of forest fuels. Empirical drought indices such as Keetch-Byram drought index, the Nesterov index, Modified Nesterov index, the Zhdanko index which belongs to the cumulative type and the Angstrom Index which belongs to the daily type have been used throughout the world to assess the potential fire danger. In this study, the forest fire danger index has been developed from slightly modified Nesterov index, fuel and anthropogenic activities. Datasets such as MODIS TERRA Land Surface Temperature and emissivity (MOD11A1), MODIS AQUA Atmospheric profile product (MYD07) have been used to determine the dew point temperature and land surface temperature. Precipitation coefficient has been computed from Tropical Rainfall measuring Mission (TRMM) product (3B42RT). Nesterov index has been slightly modified according to the Indian context and computed using land surface temperature, dew point temperature and precipitation coefficient. Fuel type danger index has been derived from forest type map of ISRO based on historical fire location information and disturbance danger index has been derived from disturbance map of ISRO. Finally, forest fire danger index has been developed from the above mentioned indices and MODIS Thermal anomaly product (MOD14) has been used for validating the forest fire danger index.

Development of a fire weather index using meteorological observations within the Northeast United States

Treesearch

Michael J. Erickson; Joseph J. Charney; Brian A. Colle

2016-01-01

A fire weather index (FWI) is developed using wildfire occurrence data and Automated Surface Observing System weather observations within a subregion of the northeastern United States (NEUS) from 1999 to 2008. Average values of several meteorological variables, including near-surface temperature, relative humidity, dewpoint, wind speed, and cumulative daily...

78 FR 70076 - Aging Management of Internal Surfaces, Fire Water Systems, Atmospheric Storage Tanks, and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-22

... Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): You may access publicly available documents online in the... protection system piping, (d) revisions to the scope and inspection recommendations of the GALL Report AMP XI... NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC-2013-0068] Aging Management of Internal Surfaces, Fire Water...

Experimental modeling of crown fire initiation in open and closed shrubland systems

Treesearch

W. Tachajapong; S. Lozano; S. Mahalingam; D.R. Weise

2014-01-01

The transition of surface fire to live shrub crown fuels was studied through a simplified laboratory experiment using an open-topped wind tunnel. Respective surface and crown fuels used were excelsior (shredded Populus tremuloides wood) and live chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum, including branches and foliage). A high crown fuel...

Effect of various fire retardants on surface roughness of plywood

Treesearch

Nadir Ayrilmis; Suleyman Korkut; Ercan Tanritanir; Jerrold E. Winandy; Salim Hiziroglu

2006-01-01

In this study the surface roughness of plywood treated with various fire retardants was investigated. Commercially manufactured veneer of Akaba wood (Tetraberlinia bifoliolata) was treated with borax, boric acid, monoammonium phosphate and diammonium phosphate, then experimental plywood panels were made from these veneer sheets. A stylus method was employed to evaluate...

Mercury emission from coal seam fire at Wuda, Inner Mongolia, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Yanci; Liang, Handong; Zhu, Shuquan

2014-02-01

The underground coal seam fire in the Wuda, Inner Mongolia of china is one of the most serious coal fires in the world with a history over 50 years and endangers the neighboring downwind urban area. To investigate the potential mercury emission and migration from the coal seam fire, in situ real-time measurement of total gaseous mercury (TGM) concentration using Lumex RA-915 + mercury analyzer were implemented on the fire zone and the urban area. The results show an average TGM concentration of 464 ng m-3 in the fumes released from surface vents and cracks on the fire zone, which leads to an elevated TGM concentration of 257 ng m-3 (211-375 ng m-3) in the near-surface air at the fire zone and 89 ng m-3 (23-211 ng m-3) at the peripheral area. The average TGM concentration in the adjoining downwind urban area of Wuda is 33 ng m-3. This result suggests that the coal seam fire may not only contribute to the global mercury inventory but also be a novel source for mercury pollution in the urban areas. The scenario of urban areas being adjacent to coal seam fires is not limited to Wuda but relatively common in northern China and elsewhere. Whether there are other cities under influence of coal seam fires merits further investigation.

Weather, fuels, fire behavior, plumes, and smoke - the nexus of fire meteorology

Treesearch

Scott L. Goodrick; Timothy J. Brown; W. Matt Jolly

2017-01-01

In a pair of review papers, Potter (2012a, 2012b) summarized the significant fire weather research findings over about the past hundred years. Our scientific understanding of wildland fire-atmosphere interactions has evolved: from simple correlations supporting the notion that hot, dry, and windy conditions lead to more intense fires, we have moved towards more...

A preliminary study of wildland fire pattern indicator reliability following an experimental fire

Treesearch

Albert Simeoni; Zachary C. Owens; Erik W. Christiansen; Abid Kemal; Michael Gallagher; Kenneth L. Clark; Nicholas Skowronski; Eric V. Mueller; Jan C. Thomas; Simon Santamaria; Rory M. Hadden

2017-01-01

An experimental fire was conducted in 2016, in the Pinelands National Reserve of New Jersey, to assess the reliability of the fire pattern indicators used in wildland fire investigation. Objects were planted in the burn area to support the creation of the indicators. Fuel properties and environmental data were recorded. Video and infrared cameras were used to document...

Heat transfer to an unconfined ceiling from an impinging buoyant diffusion flame

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weng, W. G.; Hasemi, Y.

2006-05-01

Impinging flames are used in fire safety research, industrial heating and melting, and aerospace applications. Multiple modes of heat transfer, such as natural convection, forced convection and thermal radiation, etc. are commonly important in those processes. However, the detailed heat transfer mechanisms are not well understood. In this paper, a model is developed to calculate the thermal response of an unconfined nonburning ceiling from an impinging buoyant diffusion flame. This model uses an algorithm for conduction into the ceiling material. It takes account of heat transfer due to radiation from the fire source to the ceiling surface, and due to reradiation from the ceiling surface to other items. Using experimental data, the convective heat transfer coefficient at lower surface is deduced from this model. In addition, the predicted heat fluxes are compared with the existing experimental data, and the comparison results validate the presented model. It is indicated that this model can be used to predict radial-dependent surface temperature histories under a variety of different realistic levels of fire energy generation rates and fire-to-ceiling separation distance.

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.

Semiarid rangeland is resilient to summer fire and post-fire grazing utilization

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

1. Most wildfires occur during summer in the northern hemisphere, the area burned annually is increasing, and fire effects during this season are least understood. Livestock grazing is a primary use of rangelands affected by wildfire, but post-fire grazing management is not well-supported with dat...

Treatability of Aqueous Film-Forming Foams Used for Fire Fighting.

DTIC Science & Technology

BIODETERIORATION, *FIRE EXTINGUISHING AGENTS, SURFACE ACTIVE SUBSTANCES, FLUORINATED HYDROCARBONS, FOAM , ACTIVATED SLUDGE PROCESS, ACTIVATED CARBON, TOXICITY, WASTE DISPOSAL, TABLES(DATA), ADSORPTION.

30 CFR 56.4202 - Fire hydrants.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Fire hydrants. 56.4202 Section 56.4202 Mineral Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR METAL AND NONMETAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS-SURFACE METAL AND NONMETAL MINES Fire Prevention and Control...

30 CFR 57.4230 - Surface self-propelled equipment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Section 57.4230 Mineral Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR METAL AND NONMETAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS-UNDERGROUND METAL AND NONMETAL MINES Fire... fire or its effects could impede escape from self-propelled equipment, a fire extinguisher shall be on...

Simulated western spruce budworm defoliation reduces torching and crowning potential: A sensitivity analysis using a physics-based fire model

Treesearch

Gregory M. Cohn; Russell A. Parsons; Emily K. Heyerdahl; Daniel G. Gavin; Aquila Flower

2014-01-01

The widespread, native defoliator western spruce budworm (Choristoneura occidentalis Freeman) reduces canopy fuels, which might affect the potential for surface fires to torch (ignite the crowns of individual trees) or crown (spread between tree crowns). However, the effects of defoliation on fire behaviour are poorly understood. We used a physics-based fire model to...

Effects of controlled burns on the bulk density and thermal conductivity of soils at a southern Colorado site

Treesearch

W. J. Massman; J. M. Frank

2006-01-01

Throughout the world fire plays an important role in the management and maintenance of ecosystems. However, if a fire is sufficiently intense, soil can be irreversibly altered and the ability of vegetation, particularly forests, to recover after a fire can be seriously compromised. Because fire is frequently used by land managers to reduce surface fuels, it is...

Surface fire intensity influences simulated crown fire behavior in lodgepole pine forests with recent mountain pine beetle-caused tree mortality

Treesearch

Chad M. Hoffman; Penelope Morgan; William Mell; Russell Parsons; Eva Strand; Steve Cook

2013-01-01

Recent bark beetle outbreaks have had a significant impact on forests throughout western North America and have generated concerns about interactions and feedbacks between beetle attacks and fire. However, research has been hindered by a lack of experimental studies and the use of fire behavior models incapable of accounting for the heterogeneous fuel complexes. We...

Fuel treatments alter the effects of wildfire in a mixed-evergreen forest, Oregon, USA.

Treesearch

Crystal L. Raymond; David L. Peterson

2005-01-01

We had the rare opportunity to quantify the relationship between fuels and fire severity using prefire surface and canopy fuel data and fire severity data after a wildfire. The study area is a mixed-evergreen forest of southwestern Oregon with a mixed-severity fire regime. Modeled fire behavior showed that thinning reduced canopy fuels, thereby decreasing the potential...

The wildland fuel cell concept: an approach to characterize fine-scale variation in fuels and fire in frequently burned longleaf pine forests

Treesearch

J. Kevin Hiers; Joseph J. O’Brien; R. J. Mitchell; John M. Grego; E. Louise Loudermilk

2009-01-01

In ecosystems with frequent surface fire regimes, fire and fuel heterogeneity has been largely overlookedowing to the lack of unburned patches and the difficulty in measuring fire behavior at fine scales (0.1–10 m). The diversevegetation in these ecosystems varies at these fine scales. This diversity could be...

Dry forests and wildland fires of the inland Northwest USA: contrasting the landscape ecology of the pre-settlement and modern eras.

Treesearch

Paul F. Hessburg; James K. Agee; Jerry F. Franklin

2005-01-01

Prior to Euro-American settlement, dry ponderosa pine and mixed conifer forests (hereafter, the "dry forests") of the Inland Northwest were burned by frequent low- or mixed-severity fires. These mostly surface fires maintained low and variable tree densities, light and patchy ground fuels, simplified forest structure, and favored fire-tolerant trees, such as...

Estimated smoldering probability: a new tool for predicting ground fire in the organic soils on the North Carolina Coastal Plain

Treesearch

James Reardon; Gary Curcio

2011-01-01

In the Southeastern United States, fires in pocosin wetlands and other similar vegetation communities with deep organic soils are a serious concern to fire managers. Highly flammable shrubs, such as gallberry and fetterbush, and small evergreen trees, such as red and loblolly bay, create the potential for extreme surface fire behavior. Moreover, deep organic soils...

A multivariate model of plant species richness in forested systems: Old-growth montane forests with a long history of fire

USGS Publications Warehouse

Laughlin, D.C.; Grace, J.B.

2006-01-01

Recently, efforts to develop multivariate models of plant species richness have been extended to include systems where trees play important roles as overstory elements mediating the influences of environment and disturbance on understory richness. We used structural equation modeling to examine the relationship of understory vascular plant species richness to understory abundance, forest structure, topographic slope, and surface fire history in lower montane forests on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, USA based on data from eighty-two 0.1 ha plots. The questions of primary interest in this analysis were: (1) to what degree are influences of trees on understory richness mediated by effects on understory abundance? (2) To what degree are influences of fire history on richness mediated by effects on trees and/or understory abundance? (3) Can the influences of fire history on this system be related simply to time-since-fire or are there unique influences associated with long-term fire frequency? The results we obtained are consistent with the following inferences. First, it appears that pine trees had a strong inhibitory effect on the abundance of understory plants, which in turn led to lower understory species richness. Second, richness declined over time since the last fire. This pattern appears to result from several processes, including (1) a post-fire stimulation of germination, (2) a decline in understory abundance, and (3) an increase over time in pine abundance (which indirectly leads to reduced richness). Finally, once time-since-fire was statistically controlled, it was seen that areas with higher fire frequency have lower richness than expected, which appears to result from negative effects on understory abundance, possibly by depletions of soil nutrients from repeated surface fire. Overall, it appears that at large temporal and spatial scales, surface fire plays an important and complex role in structuring understory plant communities in old-growth montane forests. These results show how multivariate models of herbaceous richness can be expanded to apply to forested systems. Copyright ?? Oikos 2006.

Understanding the drivers of post-fire albedo and radiative forcing across Alaska and Canada: implications for management.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potter, S.; Solvik, K.; Erb, A.; Goetz, S. J.; Johnstone, J. F.; Mack, M. C.; Randerson, J. T.; Roman, M. O.; Schaaf, C. L.; Turetsky, M. R.; Veraverbeke, S.; Wang, Z.; Rogers, B. M.

2017-12-01

Boreal forest dynamics including succession, composition, carbon cycling, and surface-atmosphere energy exchanges are largely driven by fire. In Alaska and Canada, burned area and fire frequency have increased since the 1970s, and are projected to continue increasing into the 21st century. In contrast to other biomes, alterations to surface albedo from fires in North American boreal forests are one of the primary feedbacks to climate. Understanding how altered fire regimes impact vegetation composition and energy budgets is therefore critical to forecasting regional and global climate change. High-severity fires cause winter and spring albedo to increase due to increased snow exposure and replacement of evergreen conifers by deciduous broadleaf trees. Although summer albedo decreases initially due to the deposition of black carbon and charred surfaces, it typically increases for several decades thereafter when younger and brighter deciduous trees dominate. The net effect of these albedo changes is expected to result in substantive radiative cooling, but there has been little research to examine how albedo trajectories differ spatially and temporally as a result of differences in burn severity, species composition, topography, climate and soil properties, and what the associated implications for future energy balances are. Here we investigate drivers of post-fire monthly albedo trajectories across Canada and Alaska using a new Collection V006 500 m MODIS daily blue-sky albedo product and historical fires from the Canadian and Alaskan National Fire Databases. The impacts of varying fuel type, landscape position, soils, climate, and burn severity on monthly albedo trajectories are explored using a Random Forest model. This information is then used to predict long-term monthly albedo and radiative forcing for fires that occurred during the MODIS era (2001-2012). We find that higher severity burns in denser forests and environmental conditions that promote either deciduous vegetation or slower tree growth result in the largest increases in post fire albedo and radiative cooling. This understanding and our geospatial products may be relevant for management focused on limiting the climate impacts from intensifying boreal fire regimes.

The rise of fire: Fossil charcoal in late Devonian marine shales as an indicator of expanding terrestrial ecosystems, fire, and atmospheric change

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rimmer, Susan M.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Scott, Andrew C.; Cressler, Walter L.

2015-01-01

Fossil charcoal provides direct evidence for fire events that, in turn, have implications for the evolution of both terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. Most of the ancient charcoal record is known from terrestrial or nearshore environments and indicates the earliest occurrences of fire in the Late Silurian. However, despite the rise in available fuel through the Devonian as vascular land plants became larger and trees and forests evolved, charcoal occurrences are very sparse until the Early Mississippian where extensive charcoal suggests well-established fire systems. We present data from the latest Devonian and Early Mississippian of North America from terrestrial and marine rocks indicating that fire became more widespread and significant at this time. This increase may be a function of rising O2 levels and the occurrence of fire itself may have contributed to this rise through positive feedback. Recent atmospheric modeling suggests an O2 low during the Middle Devonian (around 17.5%), with O2 rising steadily through the Late Devonian and Early Mississippian (to 21–22%) that allowed for widespread burning for the first time. In Devonian-Mississippian marine black shales, fossil charcoal (inertinite) steadily increases up-section suggesting the rise of widespread fire systems. There is a concomitant increase in the amount of vitrinite (preserved woody and other plant tissues) that also suggests increased sources of terrestrial organic matter. Even as end Devonian glaciation was experienced, fossil charcoal continued to be a source of organic matter being introduced into the Devonian oceans. Scanning electron and reflectance microscopy of charcoal from Late Devonian terrestrial sites indicate that the fires were moderately hot (typically 500–600 °C) and burnt mainly surface vegetation dominated by herbaceous zygopterid ferns and lycopsids, rather than being produced by forest crown fires. The occurrence and relative abundance of fossil charcoal in marine black shales are significant in that these shales may provide a more continuous record of fire than is preserved in terrestrial environments. Our data support the idea that major fires are not seen in the fossil record until there is both sufficient and connected fuel and a high enough atmospheric O2 content for it to burn.

Candidate materials for advanced fire-resistant photovoltaic modules

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sugimura, R. S.; Otth, D. H.; Ross, R. G., Jr.; Arnett, J. C.; Samuelson, G.

1985-01-01

A cooperative, cost-sharing research effort to develop a technology base required to construct fire-ratable photovoltaic modules has resulted in the identification of several high-temperature, back-surface candidate materials capable of raising the fire-resistance of modules using hydrocarbon encapsulants to Class A and B levels. Advanced experimental module configurations have been developed using back surfaces consisting of Kapton, Tedlar laminates, metal-foils, and fiberglass materials with high-temperature coatings. Test results (October 1984; March 1985; May 1985; and October 1985) indicate that several of these advanced module configurations are capable of achieving Class B fire-resistance levels, while a few configurations can achieve Class A levels. The paper summarizes activities to date, discussing flammability failure mechanisms, time-temperature profiles, and results of Block V environmental exposure tests of a candidate material suitable for both Class B and Class A fire-resistance levels.

Modeling topographic influences on fuel moisture and fire danger in complex terrain to improve wildland fire management decision support

Treesearch

Zachary A. Holden; W. Matt Jolly

2011-01-01

Fire danger rating systems commonly ignore fine scale, topographically-induced weather variations. These variations will likely create heterogeneous, landscape-scale fire danger conditions that have never been examined in detail. We modeled the evolution of fuel moistures and the Energy Release Component (ERC) from the US National Fire Danger Rating System across the...

Exposure assessment through realistic laboratory simulation of a soccer stadium fire.

PubMed

van Belle, N J C; van Putten, E M; de Groot, A C; Meeussen, V J A; Banus, S

2010-10-01

On Sunday April 13, 2008 a fire broke out on a grandstand in the Euroborg soccer stadium in Groningen The Netherlands. The polyamide chairs on the grandstand were set on fire and supporters were exposed to the emitted smoke which induced mild health effects. The Dutch government was concerned about potential health risks that such fires could have to exposed fans. Especially the exposure to toxic fumes was considered a risk because prior research has proven that large amounts of chemical compounds are emitted during the burning of chemical substances such as polyamide. Among these emitted compounds are HCN, CO, NO(x), NH(3) and volatile organic compounds. To study if supporters were exposed to hazardous chemical compounds we designed a laboratory controlled replica of a part of the grandstand of the Euroborg stadium to perform fire-experiments. This simulation of the fire under controlled circumstances proved that a wide variety of chemicals were emitted. Especially the emission of CO and NO(x) were high, but also the emission of formaldehyde might be toxicologically relevant. The emission of HCN and NH(3) were less than expected. Exposure assessment suggests that the exposure to NO(x) is the main health risk for the supporters that were present at the Euroborg fire. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

7 CFR 29.1018 - Fire-killed.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Fire-killed. 29.1018 Section 29.1018 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... Type 92) § 29.1018 Fire-killed. Any leaf of which 5 percent or more of its surface has a set green...

Radiative Forcing Due to Enhancements in Tropospheric Ozone and Carbonaceous Aerosols Caused by Asian Fires During Spring 2008

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Natarajan, Murali; Pierce, R. Bradley; Lenzen, Allen J.; Al-Saadi, Jassim A.; Soja, Amber J.; Charlock, Thomas P.; Rose, Fred G.; Winker, David M.; Worden, John R.

2012-01-01

Simulations of tropospheric ozone and carbonaceous aerosol distributions, conducted with the Real-time Air Quality Modeling System (RAQMS), are used to study the effects of major outbreaks of fires that occurred in three regions of Asia, namely Thailand, Kazakhstan, and Siberia, during spring 2008. RAQMS is a global scale meteorological and chemical modeling system. Results from these simulations, averaged over April 2008, indicate that tropospheric ozone column increases by more than 10 Dobson units (DU) near the Thailand region, and by lesser amounts in the other regions due to the fires. Widespread increases in the optical depths of organic and black carbon aerosols are also noted. We have used an off-line radiative transfer model to evaluate the direct radiative forcing due to the fire-induced changes in atmospheric composition. For clear sky, the monthly averaged radiative forcing at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) is mostly negative with peak values less than -12 W/sq m occurring near the fire regions. The negative forcing represents the increased outgoing shortwave radiation caused by scattering due to carbonaceous aerosols. At high latitudes, the radiative forcing is positive due to the presence of absorbing aerosols over regions of high surface albedo. Regions of positive forcing at TOA are more pronounced under total sky conditions. The monthly averaged radiative forcing at the surface is mostly negative, and peak values of less than -30 W/sq m occur near the fire regions. Persistently large negative forcing at the surface could alter the surface energy budget and potentially weaken the hydrological cycle.

Using synthetic polymers to reduce soil erosion after forest fires in Mediterranean soils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lado, Marcos; Ben-Hur, Meni; Inbar, Assaf

2010-05-01

Forest fires are a major environmental problem in the Mediterranean region because they result in a loss of vegetation cover, changes in biodiversity, increases in greenhouse gasses emission and a potential increase of runoff and soil erosion. The large increases in runoff and sediment yields after high severity fires have been attributed to several factors, among them: increase in soil water repellency; soil sealing by detached particles and by ash particles, and the loss of a surface cover. The presence of a surface cover increases infiltration, and decreases runoff and erosion by several mechanisms which include: rainfall interception, plant evapotranspiration, preservation of soil structure by increasing soil organic matter, and increasing surface roughness. The loss of vegetation cover as a result of fire leaves the surface of the soil exposed to the direct impact of the raindrops, and therefore the sensitivity of the soil to runoff generation and soil loss increases. In this work, we propose a new method to protect soils against post-fire erosion based on the application of synthetic polymers to the soil. Laboratory rainfall simulations and field runoff plots were used to analyze the suitability of the application of synthetic polymers to reduce soil erosion and stabilize soil structure in Mediterranean soils. The combination of these two processes will potentially favor a faster recovery of the vegetation structure. This method has been successfully applied in arable land, however it has not been tested in burnt forests. The outcome of this study may provide important managerial tools for forest management following fires.

Effects of fire and fuels management on water quality in eastern North America

Treesearch

R. K. Kolka

2012-01-01

Fuels management, especially prescribed fire, can have direct impacts on aquatic resources through deposition of ash to surface waters. On the terrestrial side, fuels management leads to changes in vegetative structure and potentially soil properties that affect ecosystem cycling of water and inorganic and organic constituents. Because surface water systems (streams,...

Relating fuel loads to overstorey structure and composition in a fire-excluded Sierra Nevada mixed conifer forest

Treesearch

Jamie M. Lydersen; Brandon M. Collins; Eric E. Knapp; Gary B. Roller; Scott Stephens

2015-01-01

Although knowledge of surface fuel loads is critical for evaluating potential fire behaviour and effects, their inherent variability makes these difficult to quantify. Several studies relate fuel loads to vegetation type, topography and spectral imaging, but little work has been done examining relationships between forest overstorey variables and surface fuel...

Rocky Mountain Research Station 2008-2012 National Fire Plan Investments

Treesearch

Erika Gallegos

2013-01-01

This report highlights selected accomplishments by the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station's Wildland Fire and Fuels Research & Development projects in support of the National Fire Plan from 2008 through 2012. These projects are examples of the broad range of knowledge and tools developed by National Fire Plan funding beginning in 2008.

Fire and the herbaceous layer of eastern oak forests

Treesearch

Todd Hutchinson

2006-01-01

Across oak forest landscapes, the herbaceous layer supports the great majority of plant diversity. As the use of prescribed fire increases, it is important to better understand its effects on biodiversity. This paper reviews the current ?state of the knowledge? regarding fire effects on herbaceous layer vegetation. In typical dormant-season fires, direct heating...

AEGIS: a wildfire prevention and management information system

Treesearch

Kostas Kalabokidis; Alan Ager; Mark Finney; Nikos Athanasis; Palaiologos Palaiologou; Christos Vasilakos

2016-01-01

We describe a Web-GIS wildfire prevention and management platform (AEGIS) developed as an integrated and easy-to-use decision support tool to manage wildland fire hazards in Greece (http://aegis.aegean.gr). The AEGIS platform assists with early fire warning, fire planning, fire control and coordination of firefighting forces by providing online access to...

75 FR 35437 - Notice of Request for Extension of a Currently Approved Information Collection

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-22

... from construction of a fire station with fire fighting and rescue equipment to financing a 911 emergency system. These facilities are designed to provide fire protection and emergency rescue services to... for a currently approved information collection in support of the program for Fire and Rescue Loans...

41 CFR 102-80.120 - What analytical and empirical tools should be used to support the life safety equivalency...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... used to support the life safety equivalency evaluation? Analytical and empirical tools, including fire models and grading schedules such as the Fire Safety Evaluation System (Alternative Approaches to Life... empirical tools should be used to support the life safety equivalency evaluation? 102-80.120 Section 102-80...

41 CFR 102-80.120 - What analytical and empirical tools should be used to support the life safety equivalency...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... used to support the life safety equivalency evaluation? Analytical and empirical tools, including fire models and grading schedules such as the Fire Safety Evaluation System (Alternative Approaches to Life... empirical tools should be used to support the life safety equivalency evaluation? 102-80.120 Section 102-80...

An approach of surface coal fire detection from ASTER and Landsat-8 thermal data: Jharia coal field, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roy, Priyom; Guha, Arindam; Kumar, K. Vinod

2015-07-01

Radiant temperature images from thermal remote sensing sensors are used to delineate surface coal fires, by deriving a cut-off temperature to separate coal-fire from non-fire pixels. Temperature contrast of coal fire and background elements (rocks and vegetation etc.) controls this cut-off temperature. This contrast varies across the coal field, as it is influenced by variability of associated rock types, proportion of vegetation cover and intensity of coal fires etc. We have delineated coal fires from background, based on separation in data clusters in maximum v/s mean radiant temperature (13th band of ASTER and 10th band of Landsat-8) scatter-plot, derived using randomly distributed homogeneous pixel-blocks (9 × 9 pixels for ASTER and 27 × 27 pixels for Landsat-8), covering the entire coal bearing geological formation. It is seen that, for both the datasets, overall temperature variability of background and fires can be addressed using this regional cut-off. However, the summer time ASTER data could not delineate fire pixels for one specific mine (Bhulanbararee) as opposed to the winter time Landsat-8 data. The contrast of radiant temperature of fire and background terrain elements, specific to this mine, is different from the regional contrast of fire and background, during summer. This is due to the higher solar heating of background rocky outcrops, thus, reducing their temperature contrast with fire. The specific cut-off temperature determined for this mine, to extract this fire, differs from the regional cut-off. This is derived by reducing the pixel-block size of the temperature data. It is seen that, summer-time ASTER image is useful for fire detection but required additional processing to determine a local threshold, along with the regional threshold to capture all the fires. However, the winter Landsat-8 data was better for fire detection with a regional threshold.

Development and evaluation of a high-resolution aerosol optical depth product for the southern California region during the October 2007 wildfires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCarthy, M. C.; Raffuse, S. M.; Dewinter, J. L.; Lurmann, F.; Craig, K. J.; Fruin, S.

2010-12-01

Current methods for estimating acute exposure to high levels of air pollution (e.g., particles, CO, NOx, aldehydes) during fire events require spatial interpolation over the study area using concentrations at central air quality monitors to represent the population of interest. This may inaccurately represent the magnitude of exposure because pollutant concentrations vary widely depending on the location of the fire plume, vertical mixing, and prevailing winds dispersing the pollutant. Remotely sensed datasets, such as aerosol optical depth (AOD) from the NASA MODIS instrument, can provide greater spatial coverage than ground-based air quality monitors. Past studies have shown positive correlations between AOD, a measure of aerosols in an atmospheric column, and ground-level measurements of PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations. However, current standard AOD products are not sufficient for assessing intra-urban variability due to the low spatial resolution (e.g., 10x10 km for MODIS) of datasets. In addition such products typically perform poorly with very dense smoke in the atmosphere and over reflective, semi-arid land surfaces such as southern California. A highly resolved AOD product (500m resolution) was developed for southern California during the October 2007 fires using radiance data obtained from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) MODIS instrument. AOD was calculated at 0.55µm wavelength using a unique algorithm tailored to the southern California region and for an atmosphere dominated by biomass burning aerosols. The AOD product was compared with column measurements of AOD from surface-based AERONET sites. AOD was not predictive of surface PM during the October 2007 fires when compared to surface PM concentrations throughout southern California; R-square correlation coefficients were low. However, the relationship varied during the time period studied: correlations were weak early in the event (0.02) but improved during the later days of the event (0.3). Heavy dust episodes early in the fire event were poorly represented by the biomass-specific aerosol optical properties model. In addition, lofted smoke plumes from active fires did not mix down to the surface, resulting in high AOD column estimates and low surface PM concentrations. The aerosol was more dispersed later in the event; elevated surface PM concentrations were coincident with moderate AOD values. The case study demonstrates the challenges in using remote measurements in quantifying surface concentrations during active fire events in areas of complex terrain.

Erosive burning research. [for solid-propellant rocket engines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strand, L.; Yang, L. C.; Nguyen, M. H.; Cohen, N. S.

1986-01-01

A status report is given on the results for the completed tests in a series of motor firings being carried out to measure the effects of the parameters that are considered to most strongly influence the scaling to larger rocket motor sizes of the transition to/or threshold conditions for erosive burning rate augmentation. Propellant burning rates at locations along the axis of the test motors are measured with a newly developed plasma capacitance gauge technique. The measured results are compared with erosive-burning predictions from a supporting ballistics analysis. The completed motor firings have successfully demonstrated response to the designed test variables. The trends with varying propellant burning rate, chamber pressure, and mass flow rate are consistent with existing results, but no pronounced effect of surface roughness has been observed. Rather, the influence of propellant oxidizer particle size on erosive burning is through its effect on the base, no-corssflow burning rate.

LSA SAF Meteosat FRP products - Part 1: Algorithms, product contents, and analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wooster, M. J.; Roberts, G.; Freeborn, P. H.; Xu, W.; Govaerts, Y.; Beeby, R.; He, J.; Lattanzio, A.; Fisher, D.; Mullen, R.

2015-11-01

Characterizing changes in landscape fire activity at better than hourly temporal resolution is achievable using thermal observations of actively burning fires made from geostationary Earth Observation (EO) satellites. Over the last decade or more, a series of research and/or operational "active fire" products have been developed from geostationary EO data, often with the aim of supporting biomass burning fuel consumption and trace gas and aerosol emission calculations. Such Fire Radiative Power (FRP) products are generated operationally from Meteosat by the Land Surface Analysis Satellite Applications Facility (LSA SAF) and are available freely every 15 min in both near-real-time and archived form. These products map the location of actively burning fires and characterize their rates of thermal radiative energy release (FRP), which is believed proportional to rates of biomass consumption and smoke emission. The FRP-PIXEL product contains the full spatio-temporal resolution FRP data set derivable from the SEVIRI (Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager) imager onboard Meteosat at a 3 km spatial sampling distance (decreasing away from the west African sub-satellite point), whilst the FRP-GRID product is an hourly summary at 5° grid resolution that includes simple bias adjustments for meteorological cloud cover and regional underestimation of FRP caused primarily by underdetection of low FRP fires. Here we describe the enhanced geostationary Fire Thermal Anomaly (FTA) detection algorithm used to deliver these products and detail the methods used to generate the atmospherically corrected FRP and per-pixel uncertainty metrics. Using SEVIRI scene simulations and real SEVIRI data, including from a period of Meteosat-8 "special operations", we describe certain sensor and data pre-processing characteristics that influence SEVIRI's active fire detection and FRP measurement capability, and use these to specify parameters in the FTA algorithm and to make recommendations for the forthcoming Meteosat Third Generation operations in relation to active fire measures. We show that the current SEVIRI FTA algorithm is able to discriminate actively burning fires covering down to 10-4 of a pixel and that it appears more sensitive to fire than other algorithms used to generate many widely exploited active fire products. Finally, we briefly illustrate the information contained within the current Meteosat FRP-PIXEL and FRP-GRID products, providing example analyses for both individual fires and multi-year regional-scale fire activity; the companion paper (Roberts et al., 2015) provides a full product performance evaluation and a demonstration of product use within components of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS).

Siberian and North American Biomass Burning Contributions to the Processes that Influenced the 2008 Arctic Aircraft and Satellite Field Campaigns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soja, A. J.; Stocks, B. J.; Carr, R.; Pierce, R. B.; Natarajan, M.; Fromm, M.

2009-05-01

Current climate change scenarios predict increases in biomass burning in terms of increases in fire frequency, area burned, fire season length and fire season severity, particularly in boreal regions. Climate and weather control fire danger, which strongly influences the severity of fire events, and these in turn, feed back to the climate system through direct and indirect emissions, modifying cloud condensation nuclei and altering albedo (affecting the energy balance) through vegetative land cover change and deposition. Additionally, fire emissions adversely influence air quality and human health downwind of burning. The boreal zone is significant because this region stores the largest reservoir of terrestrial carbon, globally, and will experience climate change impacts earliest. Boreal biomass burning is an integral component to several of the primary goals of the ARCTAS (Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites) and ARCPAC (Aerosol, Radiation, and Cloud Processes affecting Arctic Climate) 2008 field campaigns, which include its implication for atmospheric composition and climate, aerosol radiative forcing, and chemical processes with a focus on ozone and aerosols. Both the spring and summer phases of ARCTAS and ARCPAC offered substantial opportunities for sampling fresh and aged biomass burning emissions. However, the extent to which spring biomass burning influenced arctic haze was unexpected, which could inform our knowledge of the formation of arctic haze and the early deposition of black carbon on the icy arctic surface. There is already evidence of increased extreme fire seasons that correlate with warming across the circumboreal zone. In this presentation, we discuss seasonal and annual fire activity and anomalies that relate to the ARCTAS and ARCPAC spring (April 1 - 20) and summer (June 18 - July 13) periods across Siberia and North America, with particular emphasis on fire danger and fire behavior as they relate to smoke emissions. Fire severity and subsequent emission levels are directly related to fire danger conditions, which reflect and incorporate both antecedent and current weather. In this century, it is predicted that fire regime increases will be the catalyst for ecosystem change, which will force ecosystems to move more rapidly towards a new equilibrium with climate. However, the reasons for ecosystem change are often accompanied by social and political drivers of land cover change, which complicate the relationship between fire and weather. For instance, since the collapse of the former Soviet Union, financial support for fire fighting is minimal, communal agricultural lands have been abandoned and a number of species are no longer protected (e.g. Saiga in Kalmykia), and each of these factors strongly influences vegetation cover and fire regimes, leading to a complicated interaction of processes that control fire and its affect on the larger environment.

High Resolution Trajectory-Based Smoke Forecasts Using VIIRS Aerosol Optical Depth and NUCAPS Carbon Monoxide Retrievals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierce, R. B.; Smith, N.; Barnet, C.; Barnet, C. D.; Kondragunta, S.; Davies, J. E.; Strabala, K.

2016-12-01

We use Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) and combined Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) and Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) NOAA-Unique CrIS-ATMS Processing System (NUCAPS) carbon monoxide (CO) retrievals to initialize trajectory-based, high spatial resolution North American smoke dispersion forecasts during the May 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire in northern Alberta and the July 2016 Soberanes Fire in Northern California. These two case studies illustrate how long range transport of wild fire smoke can adversely impact surface air quality thousands of kilometers downwind and how local topographic flow can lead to complex transport patterns near the wildfire source region. The NUCAPS CO retrievals are shown to complement the high resolution VIIRS AOD retrievals by providing retrievals in partially cloudy scenes and also providing information on the vertical distribution of the wildfire smoke. This work addresses the need for low latency, web-based, high resolution forecasts of smoke dispersion for use by NWS Incident Meteorologists (IMET) to support on-site decision support services for fire incident management teams. The primary user community for the IDEA-I smoke forecasts is the Western regions of the NWS and US EPA due to the significant impacts of wildfires in these regions. Secondary users include Alaskan NWS offices and Western State and Local air quality management agencies such as the Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP).

An in situ investigation of the influence of a controlled burn on the thermophysical properties of a dry soil

Treesearch

W. J. Massman; J. M. Frank

2004-01-01

High soil temperatures associated with fire influence forests and their ability to regenerate after a fire by altering soil properties and soil chemistry and by killing microbes, plant roots, and seeds. Because intense wild fires are an increasingly common component of the landscape (Graham 2003) and because fire is frequently used by land managers to reduce surface...

Spatial and temporal distribution of fire temperatures from prescribed fires in the mixed oak forests of southern Ohio

Treesearch

Louis R. Iverson; Daniel Yaussy; Joanne Rebbeck; Todd Hutchinson; Robert Long; Brian McCarthy; Cynthia Riccardi; Anantha Prasad

2003-01-01

Prescribed surface fires are being investigated, in conjunction with thinning, as silvicultural tools for assisting in the regeneration of mixed oak forests in the Central Hardwoods Region. Fires were conducted on 2001 March 28 and 2001 April 4-5, respectively, at the Tar Hollow (TAR) and Zaleski (ZAL) State Forests, and at the Raccoon Ecological Management Area (REMA...

Tree mortality from fire and bark beetles following early and late season prescribed fires in a Sierra Nevada mixed conifer forest

Treesearch

Dylan W. Schwilk; Eric E. Knapp; Scott M. Ferrenberg; Jon E. Keeley; Anthony. Caprio

2006-01-01

Over the last century, fire exclusion in the forests of the Sierra Nevada has allowed surface fuels to accumulate and has led to increased tree density. Stand composition has also been altered as shade tolerant tree species crowd out shade intolerant species. To restore forest structure and reduce the risk of large, intense fires, managers have increasingly used...

Temporal and spatial patterns in fire occurrence during the establishment of mixed-oak forests in eastern North America

Treesearch

Ryan W. McEwan; Todd F. Hutchinson; Robert P. Long; Robert D. Ford; Brian C. McCarthy

2007-01-01

What was the role of fire during the establishment of the current overstory (ca. 1870-1940) in mixed-oak forests of eastern North America? Nine sites representing a 240-km latitudinal gradient on the Allegheny and Cumberland Plateaus of eastern North America. Basal cross-sections were collected from 225 trees. Samples were surfaced, and fire scars were dated. Fire...

Effects of dormant and growing season burning on surface fuels and potential fire behavior in northern Florida longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) flatwoods

Treesearch

James B. Cronan; Clinton S. Wright; Maria Petrova

2015-01-01

Prescribed fire is widely used to manage fuels in high-frequency, low-severity fire regimes including pine flatwoods of the southeastern USA where prescribed burning during the growing season (the frost-free period during the calendar year) has become more common in recent decades. Growing season prescribed fires address ecological management objectives that focus on...

Validation of BlueSky Smoke Prediction System using surface and satellite observations during major wildland fire events in Northern California

Treesearch

Lesley Fusina; Sharon Zhong; Julide Koracin; Tim Brown; Annie Esperanza; Leland Tarney; Haiganoush Preisler

2007-01-01

The BlueSky Smoke Prediction System developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, AirFire Team under the National Fire Plan is a modeling framework that integrates tools, knowledge of fuels, moisture, combustion, emissions, plume dynamics, and weather to produce real-time predictions of the cumulative impacts of smoke from wildfires, prescribed fires...

Fire in Australian savannas: from leaf to landscape.

PubMed

Beringer, Jason; Hutley, Lindsay B; Abramson, David; Arndt, Stefan K; Briggs, Peter; Bristow, Mila; Canadell, Josep G; Cernusak, Lucas A; Eamus, Derek; Edwards, Andrew C; Evans, Bradley J; Fest, Benedikt; Goergen, Klaus; Grover, Samantha P; Hacker, Jorg; Haverd, Vanessa; Kanniah, Kasturi; Livesley, Stephen J; Lynch, Amanda; Maier, Stefan; Moore, Caitlin; Raupach, Michael; Russell-Smith, Jeremy; Scheiter, Simon; Tapper, Nigel J; Uotila, Petteri

2015-01-01

Savanna ecosystems comprise 22% of the global terrestrial surface and 25% of Australia (almost 1.9 million km2) and provide significant ecosystem services through carbon and water cycles and the maintenance of biodiversity. The current structure, composition and distribution of Australian savannas have coevolved with fire, yet remain driven by the dynamic constraints of their bioclimatic niche. Fire in Australian savannas influences both the biophysical and biogeochemical processes at multiple scales from leaf to landscape. Here, we present the latest emission estimates from Australian savanna biomass burning and their contribution to global greenhouse gas budgets. We then review our understanding of the impacts of fire on ecosystem function and local surface water and heat balances, which in turn influence regional climate. We show how savanna fires are coupled to the global climate through the carbon cycle and fire regimes. We present new research that climate change is likely to alter the structure and function of savannas through shifts in moisture availability and increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide, in turn altering fire regimes with further feedbacks to climate. We explore opportunities to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions from savanna ecosystems through changes in savanna fire management. © 2014 The Authors. Global Change Biology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Evidence for nonuniform permafrost degradation after fire in boreal landscapes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Minsley, Burke J.; Pastick, Neal J.; Wylie, Bruce K.; Brown, Dana R.N.; Kass, M. Andy

2016-01-01

Fire can be a significant driver of permafrost change in boreal landscapes, altering the availability of soil carbon and nutrients that have important implications for future climate and ecological succession. However, not all landscapes are equally susceptible to fire-induced change. As fire frequency is expected to increase in the high latitudes, methods to understand the vulnerability and resilience of different landscapes to permafrost degradation are needed. We present a combination of multiscale remote sensing, geophysical, and field observations that reveal details of both near-surface (<1 m) and deeper (>1 m) impacts of fire on permafrost. Along 11 transects that span burned-unburned boundaries in different landscape settings within interior Alaska, subsurface electrical resistivity and nuclear magnetic resonance data indicate locations where permafrost appears to be resilient to disturbance from fire, areas where warm permafrost conditions exist that may be most vulnerable to future change, and also areas where permafrost has thawed. High-resolution geophysical data corroborate remote sensing interpretations of near-surface permafrost and also add new high-fidelity details of spatial heterogeneity that extend from the shallow subsurface to depths of about 10 m. Results show that postfire impacts on permafrost can be variable and depend on multiple factors such as fire severity, soil texture, soil moisture, and time since fire.

AEGIS: a wildfire prevention and management information system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalabokidis, Kostas; Ager, Alan; Finney, Mark; Athanasis, Nikos; Palaiologou, Palaiologos; Vasilakos, Christos

2016-03-01

We describe a Web-GIS wildfire prevention and management platform (AEGIS) developed as an integrated and easy-to-use decision support tool to manage wildland fire hazards in Greece (http://aegis.aegean.gr). The AEGIS platform assists with early fire warning, fire planning, fire control and coordination of firefighting forces by providing online access to information that is essential for wildfire management. The system uses a number of spatial and non-spatial data sources to support key system functionalities. Land use/land cover maps were produced by combining field inventory data with high-resolution multispectral satellite images (RapidEye). These data support wildfire simulation tools that allow the users to examine potential fire behavior and hazard with the Minimum Travel Time fire spread algorithm. End-users provide a minimum number of inputs such as fire duration, ignition point and weather information to conduct a fire simulation. AEGIS offers three types of simulations, i.e., single-fire propagation, point-scale calculation of potential fire behavior, and burn probability analysis, similar to the FlamMap fire behavior modeling software. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) were utilized for wildfire ignition risk assessment based on various parameters, training methods, activation functions, pre-processing methods and network structures. The combination of ANNs and expected burned area maps are used to generate integrated output map of fire hazard prediction. The system also incorporates weather information obtained from remote automatic weather stations and weather forecast maps. The system and associated computation algorithms leverage parallel processing techniques (i.e., High Performance Computing and Cloud Computing) that ensure computational power required for real-time application. All AEGIS functionalities are accessible to authorized end-users through a web-based graphical user interface. An innovative smartphone application, AEGIS App, also provides mobile access to the web-based version of the system.

Multiple Aspects of the Southern California Wildfires as Seen by NASA's AVIRIS

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-15

NASA's Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer instrument (AVIRIS), flying aboard a NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center high-altitude ER-2 aircraft, observed wildfires burning in Southern California on Dec. 5-7, 2017. AVIRIS is an imaging spectrometer that observes light in visible and infrared wavelengths, measuring the full spectrum of radiated energy. Unlike regular cameras with three colors, AVIRIS has 224 spectral channels, measuring contiguously from the visible through the shortwave infrared. Data from these flights, compared against measurements acquired earlier in the year, show many ways this one instrument can improve both our understanding of fire risk and the response to fires in progress. The top row in this image compilation shows pre-fire data acquired from June 2017. At top left is a visible-wavelength image similar to what our own eyes would see. The top middle image is a map of surface composition based on analyzing the full electromagnetic spectrum, revealing green vegetated areas and non-photosynthetic vegetation that is potential fuel as well as non-vegetated surfaces that may slow an advancing fire. The image at top right is a remote measurement of the water in tree canopies, a proxy for how much moisture is in the vegetation. The bottom row in the compilation shows data acquired from the Thomas fire in progress in December 2017. At bottom left is a visible wavelength image. The bottom middle image is an infrared image, with red at 2,250 nanometers showing fire energy, green at 1,650 nanometers showing the surface through the smoke, and blue at 1,000 nanometers showing the smoke itself. The image at bottom right is a fire temperature map using spectroscopic analysis to measure fire thermal emission recorded in the AVIRIS spectra. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22194

Projected changes in atmospheric heating due to changes in fire disturbance and the snow season in the western Arctic, 2003–2100

USGS Publications Warehouse

Euskirchen, E.S.; McGuire, A. David; Rupp, T.S.; Chapin, F. S.; Walsh, J.E.

2009-01-01

In high latitudes, changes in climate impact fire regimes and snow cover duration, altering the surface albedo and the heating of the regional atmosphere. In the western Arctic, under four scenarios of future climate change and future fire regimes (2003–2100), we examined changes in surface albedo and the related changes in regional atmospheric heating due to: (1) vegetation changes following a changing fire regime, and (2) changes in snow cover duration. We used a spatially explicit dynamic vegetation model (Alaskan Frame-based Ecosystem Code) to simulate changes in successional dynamics associated with fire under the future climate scenarios, and the Terrestrial Ecosystem Model to simulate changes in snow cover. Changes in summer heating due to the changes in the forest stand age distributions under future fire regimes showed a slight cooling effect due to increases in summer albedo (mean across climates of −0.9 W m−2 decade−1). Over this same time period, decreases in snow cover (mean reduction in the snow season of 4.5 d decade−1) caused a reduction in albedo, and a heating effect (mean across climates of 4.3 W m−2 decade−1). Adding both the summer negative change in atmospheric heating due to changes in fire regimes to the positive changes in atmospheric heating due to changes in the length of the snow season resulted in a 3.4 W m−2 decade−1 increase in atmospheric heating. These findings highlight the importance of gaining a better understanding of the influences of changes in surface albedo on atmospheric heating due to both changes in the fire regime and changes in snow cover duration.

Performance Testing of Lithium Li-ion Cells and Batteries in Support of JPL's 2003 Mars Exploration Rover Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smart, Marshall C.; Ratnakumar, B. V.; Ewell, R. C.; Whitcanack, L. D.; Surampudi, S.; Puglia, F.; Gitzendanner, R.

2007-01-01

In early 2004, JPL successfully landed two Rovers, named Spirit and Opportunity, on the surface of Mars after traveling > 300 million miles over a 6-7 month period. In order to operate for extended duration on the surface of Mars, both Rovers are equipped with rechargeable Lithium-ion batteries, which were designed to aid in the launch, correct anomalies during cruise, and support surface operations in conjunction with a triple-junction deployable solar arrays. The requirements of the Lithium-ion battery include the ability to provide power at least 90 sols on the surface of Mars, operate over a wide temperature range (-20(super 0)C to +40(super 0)C), withstand long storage periods (e.g., including pre-launch and cruise period), operate in an inverted position, and support high currents (e.g., firing pyro events). In order to determine the inability of meeting these requirements, ground testing was performed on a Rover Battery Assembly Unit RBAU), consisting of two 8-cell 8 Ah lithium-ion batteries connected in parallel. The RBAU upon which the performance testing was performed is nearly identical to the batteries incorporated into the two Rovers currently on Mars. The primary focus of this paper is to communicate the latest results regarding Mars surface operation mission simulation testing, as well as, the corresponding performance capacity loss and impedance characteristics as a function of temperature and life. As will be discussed, the lithium-ion batteries (fabricated by Yardney Technical Products, Inc.) have been demonstrated to far exceed the requirements defined by the mission, being able to support the operation of the rovers for over three years, and are projected to support an even further extended mission.

Granitic boulder erosion caused by chaparral wildfire: Implications for cosmogenic radionuclide dating of bedrock surfaces

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kendrick, Katherine J.; Camille Partin,; Graham, Robert C.

2016-01-01

Rock surface erosion by wildfire is significant and widespread but has not been quantified in southern California or for chaparral ecosystems. Quantifying the surface erosion of bedrock outcrops and boulders is critical for determination of age using cosmogenic radionuclide techniques, as even modest surface erosion removes the accumulation of the cosmogenic radionuclides and causes significant underestimate of age. This study documents the effects on three large granitic boulders following the Esperanza Fire of 2006 in southern California. Spalled rock fragments were quantified by measuring the removed rock volume from each measured boulder. Between 7% and 55% of the total surface area of the boulders spalled in this single fire. The volume of spalled material, when normalized across the entire surface area, represents a mean surface lowering of 0.7–12.3 mm. Spalled material was thicker on the flanks of the boulders, and the height of the fire effects significantly exceeded the height of the vegetation prior to the wildfire. Surface erosion of boulders and bedrock outcrops as a result of wildfire spalling results in fresh surfaces that appear unaffected by chemical weathering. Such surfaces may be preferentially selected by researchers for cosmogenic surface dating because of their fresh appearance, leading to an underestimate of age.

A New Top-Down Decadal Constraint on Black Carbon Emissions over Asia - Capturing The Influence of Widespread and Regularly Occurring Fires and Urbanization: Greater Atmospheric Loading and Variability, Larger Impacts on Radiative Forcing at the Surface and in the Atmosphere, and Possible Feedback Mechanisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, J. B.

2014-12-01

A global top-down study of Black Carbon (BC) Emissions has found that sources are considerably higher than present day emissions datasets, with most of this underestimation stemming from the rapidly developing areas of East and Southeast Asia. An additional source in these regions is the frequent and sometimes annual influence of extreme biomass burning events, which emit additional BC and other aerosols into the atmosphere. An additional top-down study has shown that the emissions of BC from these biomass burning events in Southeast Asia contribute an additional 30% increase in the annual average BC emissions, and an additional 110% increase during the highest fire year. One important reason for this underestimation is that many of these source regions do not appear as fires, due to missing MODIS overpasses, intense cloud cover, and low fire temperatures at the wet surface. These new temporally and spatially varying emissions of BC are run in a state-of-the art combined model of aerosol physics, chemistry, and general circulation, including urban scale chemical processing and core/shell aerosol mixture impacts on radiation. The results reveal that this new dataset matches in space, time, and magnitude, an array of observations (remotely sensed, ground, and column) far better than other emission datasets: IPCC SRES, AEROCOM, BOND, and GFED. The modeled mean atmospheric extinction and loading are both much higher and more variable than previous modelling efforts, leading to a larger negative surface radiative forcing. At the same time, atmospheric absorption is enhanced and more variable, leading to intense atmospheric heating, with the average impact from 1.0-1.5 W/m2. This has impacts on the vertical stability in the source areas, and leads to changes in the dynamics such as a shifting of the ITCZ, reducing light precipitation and increasing strong convection. To support this, a bit of measurement-based evidence presented for each of these phenomena.

The deforestation story: testing for anthropogenic origins of Africa's flammable grassy biomes.

PubMed

Bond, William; Zaloumis, Nicholas P

2016-06-05

Africa has the most extensive C4 grassy biomes of any continent. They are highly flammable accounting for greater than 70% of the world's burnt area. Much of Africa's savannas and grasslands occur in climates warm enough and wet enough to support closed forests. The combination of open grassy systems and the frequent fires they support have long been interpreted as anthropogenic artefacts caused by humans igniting frequent fires. True grasslands, it was believed, would be restricted to climates too dry or too cold to support closed woody vegetation. The idea that higher-rainfall savannas are anthropogenic and that fires are of human origin has led to initiatives to 'reforest' Africa's open grassy systems paid for by carbon credits under the assumption that the net effect of converting these system to forests would sequester carbon, reduce greenhouse gases and mitigate global warming. This paper reviews evidence for the antiquity of African grassy ecosystems and for the fires that they sustain. Africa's grassy biomes and the fires that maintain them are ancient and there is no support for the idea that humans caused large-scale deforestation. Indicators of old-growth grasslands are described. These can help distinguish secondary grasslands suitable for reforestation from ancient grasslands that should not be afforested.This article is part of the themed issue 'The interaction of fire and mankind'. © 2016 The Author(s).

The deforestation story: testing for anthropogenic origins of Africa's flammable grassy biomes

PubMed Central

Zaloumis, Nicholas P.

2016-01-01

Africa has the most extensive C4 grassy biomes of any continent. They are highly flammable accounting for greater than 70% of the world's burnt area. Much of Africa's savannas and grasslands occur in climates warm enough and wet enough to support closed forests. The combination of open grassy systems and the frequent fires they support have long been interpreted as anthropogenic artefacts caused by humans igniting frequent fires. True grasslands, it was believed, would be restricted to climates too dry or too cold to support closed woody vegetation. The idea that higher-rainfall savannas are anthropogenic and that fires are of human origin has led to initiatives to ‘reforest’ Africa's open grassy systems paid for by carbon credits under the assumption that the net effect of converting these system to forests would sequester carbon, reduce greenhouse gases and mitigate global warming. This paper reviews evidence for the antiquity of African grassy ecosystems and for the fires that they sustain. Africa's grassy biomes and the fires that maintain them are ancient and there is no support for the idea that humans caused large-scale deforestation. Indicators of old-growth grasslands are described. These can help distinguish secondary grasslands suitable for reforestation from ancient grasslands that should not be afforested. This article is part of the themed issue ‘The interaction of fire and mankind’. PMID:27216527

Prescribed fire experiences on crop residue removal for biomass exploitations. Application to the maritime pine forests in the Mediterranean Basin.

PubMed

Molina, Juan Ramón; García, Juan Pedro; Fernández, Juan José; Rodríguez Y Silva, Francisco

2018-01-15

Socioeconomic changes, climate change, rural migration and fire exclusion have led to a high woody biomass accumulation increasing potential wildfire severity. Mechanical thinning and prescribed burning practices are commonly used to prevent large fires. The purpose of this study was to assess burning treatment effectiveness following mechanical thinning from biomass harvesting. Prescribed burning to reduce residue removal could help mitigate fire behavior, mainly in strategic management or critical focal points. Field samplings were conducted before and immediately after burnings on different environmental scenarios where fuel load was classified by categories. Prescribed fires reduced available fuel in all fuel categories, mainly in surface litter layer. Total fuel load reduction ranged from 59.07% to 86.18%. In this sense, fuel reduction effects were more pronounced when burns were conducted fewer than 10% on surface litter moisture. The difference in fuel consumption among scenarios was higher for most all woody fuel components and decomposition litter layer than for surface litter layer. Managers can use this information to design technical prescription to achieve the targets while decomposed litter retention maintaining the soil properties and biodiversity. Understanding the most effective "burn window" should help better plan prescribed burning, both in term of fire behavior and fuel consumption, without altering ecosystem properties. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fuel models and fire potential from satellite and surface observations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Burgan, R.E.; Klaver, R.W.; Klarer, J.M.

1998-01-01

A national 1-km resolution fire danger fuel model map was derived through use of previously mapped land cover classes and ecoregions, and extensive ground sample data, then refined through review by fire managers familiar with various portions of the U.S. The fuel model map will be used in the next generation fire danger rating system for the U.S., but it also made possible immediate development of a satellite and ground based fire potential index map. The inputs and algorithm of the fire potential index are presented, along with a case study of the correlation between the fire potential index and fire occurrence in California and Nevada. Application of the fire potential index in the Mediterranean ecosystems of Spain, Chile, and Mexico will be tested.

Fire prevention in Delaware: a case study of fire and life safety initiatives.

PubMed

Frattaroli, Shannon; Gielen, Andrea C; Piver-Renna, Jennifer; Pollack, Keshia M; Ta, Van M

2011-01-01

Injuries resulting from residential house fires are a significant public health issue. The fire service is engaged in fire prevention activities aimed at preventing fire-related morbidity and mortality. The fire service in Delaware is regarded by some leaders in the field as a model for fire and life safety education (FLSE). We identified 3 questions to guide this research. What is the culture and context of fire prevention in Delaware? What prevention programs and policies constitute Delaware's fire prevention efforts? What can be learned from select model programs regarding their impact, sustainability, strengths, limitations, and general applicability? A discussion of the lessons learned from Delaware's experience with FLSE initiatives concludes the article. We used a single case study design and collected and analyzed data from in-depth interviews, documents, and participant observation notes to address the research questions. Data were collected in Delaware. Interviewees included a purposeful sample of members of the Delaware fire service. Descriptions of the context in which fire prevention occurs, the initiatives underway, and the factors associated with successfully supporting fire prevention in the state. Data from 16 key informant interviews, relevant documents, and direct observations of FLSE events revealed a fire service rooted in tradition, dedication, and community. A compilation of state and local FLSE initiatives illustrates the diversity of FLSE in Delaware. Thematic analysis of the data emphasize the importance of a strategic, comprehensive, and coordinated approach to realizing success in Delaware's approach to FLSE. The fire service is an important part of the public health infrastructure. While their role as first responders is evident, their contributions to prevention are also significant. This research suggests ways to support fire service prevention efforts and more fully integrate their FLSE work into the public health infrastructure.

Understanding Changes in Modeled Land Surface Characteristics Prior to Lightning-Initiated Holdover Fire Breakout

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schultz, Christopher J.; Case, Jonathan L.; Hain, Christopher R.; White, Kristopher; Wachter, J. Brent; Nauslar, Nicholas; MacNamara, Brittany

2018-01-01

Lightning initiated wildfires are only 16% of the total number of wildfires within the United States, but account for 56% of the acreage burned. One of the challenges with lightning-initiated wildfires is their ability to "holdover" which means smolder for up to 2+ weeks before breaking out into a full fledged fire. This work helps characterize the percentage of holdover events due to lightning, and helps quantify changes in the land surface characteristics to help understand trends in soil moisture and vegetation stress that potentially contribute to the fire breaking out into a full wildfire.

Impacts of global open-fire aerosols on direct radiative, cloud and surface-albedo effects simulated with CAM5

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

Jiang, Yiquan; Lu, Zheng; Liu, Xiaohong

Aerosols from open-land fires could significantly perturb the global radiation balance and induce climate change. In this study, Community Atmosphere Model version 5 (CAM5) with prescribed daily fire aerosol emissions is used to investigate the spatial and seasonal characteristics of radiative effects (REs, relative to the case of no fires) of open-fire aerosols including black carbon (BC) and particulate organic matter (POM) from 2003 to 2011. The global annual mean RE from aerosol–radiation interactions (REari) of all fire aerosols is 0.16 ± 0.01 W m –2 (1 σ uncertainty), mainly due to the absorption of fire BC (0.25 ± 0.01 Wmore » m –2), while fire POM induces a small effect (–0.05 and 0.04 ± 0.01 W m –2 based on two different methods). Strong positive REari is found in the Arctic and in the oceanic regions west of southern Africa and South America as a result of amplified absorption of fire BC above low-level clouds, in general agreement with satellite observations. The global annual mean RE due to aerosol–cloud interactions (REaci) of all fire aerosols is –0.70 ± 0.05 W m –2, resulting mainly from the fire POM effect (–0.59 ± 0.03 W m –2). REari (0.43 ± 0.03 W m –2) and REaci (–1.38 ± 0.23 W m –2) in the Arctic are stronger than in the tropics (0.17 ± 0.02 and –0.82 ± 0.09 W m –2 for REari and REaci), although the fire aerosol burden is higher in the tropics. The large cloud liquid water path over land areas and low solar zenith angle of the Arctic favor the strong fire aerosol REaci (up to –15 W m –2) during the Arctic summer. Significant surface cooling, precipitation reduction and increasing amounts of low-level cloud are also found in the Arctic summer as a result of the fire aerosol REaci based on the atmosphere-only simulations. Furthermore, the global annual mean RE due to surface-albedo changes (REsac) over land areas (0.030 ± 0.10 W m –2) is small and statistically insignificant and is mainly due to the fire BC-in-snow effect (0.02 W m –2) with the maximum albedo effect occurring in spring (0.12 W m –2) when snow starts to melt.« less

Impacts of global open-fire aerosols on direct radiative, cloud and surface-albedo effects simulated with CAM5

DOE PAGES

Jiang, Yiquan; Lu, Zheng; Liu, Xiaohong; ...

2016-11-29

Aerosols from open-land fires could significantly perturb the global radiation balance and induce climate change. In this study, Community Atmosphere Model version 5 (CAM5) with prescribed daily fire aerosol emissions is used to investigate the spatial and seasonal characteristics of radiative effects (REs, relative to the case of no fires) of open-fire aerosols including black carbon (BC) and particulate organic matter (POM) from 2003 to 2011. The global annual mean RE from aerosol–radiation interactions (REari) of all fire aerosols is 0.16 ± 0.01 W m –2 (1 σ uncertainty), mainly due to the absorption of fire BC (0.25 ± 0.01 Wmore » m –2), while fire POM induces a small effect (–0.05 and 0.04 ± 0.01 W m –2 based on two different methods). Strong positive REari is found in the Arctic and in the oceanic regions west of southern Africa and South America as a result of amplified absorption of fire BC above low-level clouds, in general agreement with satellite observations. The global annual mean RE due to aerosol–cloud interactions (REaci) of all fire aerosols is –0.70 ± 0.05 W m –2, resulting mainly from the fire POM effect (–0.59 ± 0.03 W m –2). REari (0.43 ± 0.03 W m –2) and REaci (–1.38 ± 0.23 W m –2) in the Arctic are stronger than in the tropics (0.17 ± 0.02 and –0.82 ± 0.09 W m –2 for REari and REaci), although the fire aerosol burden is higher in the tropics. The large cloud liquid water path over land areas and low solar zenith angle of the Arctic favor the strong fire aerosol REaci (up to –15 W m –2) during the Arctic summer. Significant surface cooling, precipitation reduction and increasing amounts of low-level cloud are also found in the Arctic summer as a result of the fire aerosol REaci based on the atmosphere-only simulations. Furthermore, the global annual mean RE due to surface-albedo changes (REsac) over land areas (0.030 ± 0.10 W m –2) is small and statistically insignificant and is mainly due to the fire BC-in-snow effect (0.02 W m –2) with the maximum albedo effect occurring in spring (0.12 W m –2) when snow starts to melt.« less

Forecasting distributions of large federal-lands fires utilizing satellite and gridded weather information

USGS Publications Warehouse

Preisler, H.K.; Burgan, R.E.; Eidenshink, J.C.; Klaver, Jacqueline M.; Klaver, R.W.

2009-01-01

The current study presents a statistical model for assessing the skill of fire danger indices and for forecasting the distribution of the expected numbers of large fires over a given region and for the upcoming week. The procedure permits development of daily maps that forecast, for the forthcoming week and within federal lands, percentiles of the distributions of (i) number of ignitions; (ii) number of fires above a given size; (iii) conditional probabilities of fires greater than a specified size, given ignition. As an illustration, we used the methods to study the skill of the Fire Potential Index an index that incorporates satellite and surface observations to map fire potential at a national scale in forecasting distributions of large fires. ?? 2009 IAWF.

Effects of fire season on vegetation in longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) forests

Treesearch

Bryan T. Mudder; G. Geoff Wang; Joan L. Walker; J. Drew Lanham; Ralph Costa

2010-01-01

Forest managers in the Southeastern United States are interested in the restoration of not only longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) trees, but also the characteristic forest structure and ground-layer vegetation of the longleaf pine ecosystem. Season of burn, fire intensity, and fire frequency are critical components of a fire regime that supports...

Perspectives on prescribed fire in the south: does ethnicity matter?

Treesearch

Siew Hoon Lim; J.M. Bowker; Cassandra Y. Johnson; H. Ken Cordell

2009-01-01

Using a household survey and regression methods, we assessed preferences for prescribed fire in the southern United States. We found that the majority of the respondents favored the use of prescribed fire. However, we observed pronounced racial variation in opinions on prescribed fire and its side effects. African Americans and Hispanics were less supportive and were...

A balanced approach: Dr. Biswell's solution to fire issues in urban interface and wildland ecosystems

Treesearch

Carol Rice

1995-01-01

Dr. Biswell's approach to fire management balanced fire prevention, suppression, and fuel management. Dr. Biswell maintained that with increased support for fire prevention and fuel management, several profound changes would be anticipated, including a decrease in the number of wildfires, as well as a decrease in requirements for suppression. Interested persons...

The use of witness trees as pyro-indicators for mapping past fire conditions

Treesearch

Melissa A. Thomas-Van Gundy; Gregory J. Nowacki

2013-01-01

Understanding and mapping presettlement fire regimes is vitally important for ecosystem restoration, helping ensure the proper placement of fire back into ecosystems that formerly burned. Witness trees can support this endeavor by serving as pyro-indicators of the past. We mapped fire-adapted traits across a landscape by categorizing trees into two classes, pyrophiles...

Medium-range fire weather forecasts

Treesearch

J.O. Roads; K. Ueyoshi; S.C. Chen; J. Alpert; F. Fujioka

1991-01-01

The forecast skill of theNational Meteorological Center's medium range forecast (MRF) numerical forecasts of fire weather variables is assessed for the period June 1,1988 to May 31,1990. Near-surface virtual temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and a derived fire weather index (FWI) are forecast well by the MRF model. However, forecast relative humidity has...

75 FR 69032 - Naval Surface Warfare Center, Potomac River, Dahlgren, VA; Danger Zone

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-10

... hazardous operations such as firing large and small caliber guns and projectiles, aerial bombing, use of... protect the public from hazardous operations such as firing large and small caliber guns and projectiles... zone to include firing of large or small caliber guns and projectiles, aerial bombing, use of directed...

Fire-induced water repellency: An erosional factor in wildland environments

Treesearch

Leonard F. DeBano

2000-01-01

Watershed managers and scientists throughout the world have been aware of fire-induced water-repellent soils for over three decades. Water repellency affects many hydrologic processes, including infiltration, overland flow, and surface erosion (rill and sheet erosion). This paper describes; the formation of fire-induced water-repellent soils, the effect of soil water...

Powder Extinguishants for Jet-Fuel Fires

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Altman, R. L.; Mayer, L. A.; Ling, A. C.

1986-01-01

Mixtures of alkali metal dawsonite and metal halide show superior performance. In tests of new dry powder fire extinguishants, mixtures of potassium dawsonite with either stannous iodide or potassium iodide found effective for extinguishing jet-fuel fires on hot metal surfaces (up to 900 degrees C). Mixtures performed more effectively than either compound alone.

What kind of cutting and thinning can prevent crown fires?

Treesearch

Mick Harrington

2008-01-01

Many land managers are attempting to lessen the probability of severe wildfire behavior and impacts, especially near communities, by manipulating canopy and surface fuel characteristics. Various interest groups have questioned the value of fuels treatments. In reality, apart from fire exposure when a real fire went through a treated stand, effectiveness of fuel...

Sudden oak death-caused changes to surface fuel loading and potential fire behavior in Douglas-fir-tanoak forests

Treesearch

Y.S. Valachovic; C.A. Lee; H. Scanlon; J.M. Varner; R. Glebocki; B.D. Graham; D.M. Rizzo

2011-01-01

We compared stand structure and fuel loading in northwestern California forests invaded by Phytophthora ramorum, the cause of sudden oak death, to assess whether the continued presence of this pathogen alters surface fuel loading and potential fire behavior in ways that may encumber future firefighting response. To attempt to account for these...

Effect of a Spaced Thinning in Mature Lodgepole Pine on Within-Stand Microclimate and Fine Fuel Moisture Content

Treesearch

R. J. Whitehead; G. L. Russo; B. C. Hawkes; S. W. Taylor; B. N. Brown; H. J. Barclay; R. A. Benton

2006-01-01

Thinning mature forest stands to wide spacing is prescribed to reduce crown bulk density and likelihood of severe crown fire behaviour. However, it may adversely affect surface fuel load, moisture content and within-stand wind, which influence surface fire behaviour and crowning potential. Comparison of a mature lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl....

Establishment of a long-term fire salvage study in an interior ponderosa pine forest

Treesearch

Martin W. Ritchie; Eric E. Knapp

2014-01-01

An experiment designed to evaluate the treatment effects of salvaging merchantable fire-killed trees on surface fuels and regeneration was established after a wildfire in northeastern California. The study was then monitored for 10 years. Surface fuel accumulations were rapid, corresponding with a high rate of snag decay and subsequent breakage or windthrow. Pine snags...

Fuels planning: science synthesis and integration; forest structure and fire hazard fact sheet 05: fuel treatment principles for complex landscapes

Treesearch

Rocky Mountain Research Station USDA Forest Service

2004-01-01

Appropriate types of thinning and surface fuel treatments are clearly useful in reducing surface and crown fire hazards under a wide range of fuels and topographic situations. This paper provides well-established scientific principles and simulation tools that can be used to adjust fuel treatments to attain specific risk levels.

Heat transfer and vascular cambium necrosis in the boles of trees during surface fires

Treesearch

M. B. Dickinson

2002-01-01

Heat-transfer and cell-survival models are used to link surface fire behavior with vascular cambium necrosis from heating by flames. Vascular cambium cell survival was predicted with a numerical model based on the kinetics of protein denaturation and parameterized with data from the literature. Cell survival was predicted for vascular cambium temperature regimes...

The photoload sampling technique: estimating surface fuel loadings from downward-looking photographs of synthetic fuelbeds

Treesearch

Robert E. Keane; Laura J. Dickinson

2007-01-01

Fire managers need better estimates of fuel loading so they can more accurately predict the potential fire behavior and effects of alternative fuel and ecosystem restoration treatments. This report presents a new fuel sampling method, called the photoload sampling technique, to quickly and accurately estimate loadings for six common surface fuel components (1 hr, 10 hr...

Surface fuel changes after severe disturbances in northern Rocky Mountain ecosystems

Treesearch

Chris Stalling; Robert E. Keane; Molly Retzlaff

2017-01-01

It is generally assumed that severe disturbances predispose damaged forests to high fire hazard by creating heavy fuel loading conditions. Of special concern is the perception that surface fuel loadings become high as recently killed trees deposit foliage and woody material on the ground and that these high fuel loadings may cause abnormally severe fires. This study...

Physical and chemical characteristics of surface fuels in masticated mixed-conifer stands of the U.S. Rocky Mountains

Treesearch

Robert E. Keane; Pamela G. Sikkink; Theresa B. Jain

2018-01-01

Mastication is a wildland fuel treatment technique that is rapidly becoming the preferred method for many fire hazard reduction projects, especially in areas where reducing fuels with prescribed fire is particularly challenging. Mastication is the process of mechanically modifying the live and dead surface and canopy biomass by chopping and shredding vegetation to...

Overstory-derived surface fuels mediate plant species diversity in frequently burned longleaf pine forests

Treesearch

Jane E. Dell; Lora A. Richards; Joseph J. O’Brien; E. Louise Loudermilk; Andrew T. Hudak; Scott M. Pokswinski; Benjamin C. Bright; J. Kevin Hiers; Brett W. Williams; Lee A. Dyer

2017-01-01

Frequently burned low-latitude coniferous forests maintain a high-diversity understory. Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) forests and woodlands have exceptionally high diversity at fine scales and very frequent fire return intervals (1–3 yr). Furthermore, the positive association between high-frequency, low-intensity surface fires and high species richness in...

Fire-induced changes in boreal forest canopy volume and soil organic matter from multi-temporal airborne lidar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alonzo, M.; Cook, B.; Andersen, H. E.; Babcock, C. R.; Morton, D. C.

2016-12-01

Fire in boreal forests initiates a cascade of biogeochemical and biophysical processes. Over typical fire return intervals, net radiative forcing from boreal forest fires depends on the offsetting impacts of greenhouse gas emissions and post-fire changes in land surface albedo. Whether boreal forest fires warm or cool the climate over these multi-decadal intervals depends on the magnitude of fire emissions and the time scales of decomposition, albedo changes, and forest regrowth. Our understanding of vegetation and surface organic matter (SOM) changes from boreal forest fires is shaped by field measurements and moderate resolution remote sensing data. Intensive field plot measurements offer detailed data on overstory, understory, and SOM changes from fire, but sparse plot data can be difficult to extend across the heterogeneous boreal forest landscape. Conversely, satellite measurements of burn severity are spatially extensive but only provide proxy measures of fire effects. In this research, we seek to bridge the scale gap between existing intensive and extensive methods using a combination of airborne lidar data and time series of Landsat data to evaluate pre- and post-fire conditions across Alaska's Kenai Peninsula. Lidar-based estimates of pre-fire stand structure and composition were essential to characterize the loss of canopy volume from fires between 2001 and 2014, quantify transitions from live to dead standing carbon pools, and isolate vegetation recovery following fire over 1 to 13 year time scales. Results from this study demonstrate the utility of lidar for estimating pre-fire structure and species composition at the scale of individual tree crowns. Multi-temporal airborne lidar data also provide essential insights regarding the heterogeneity of canopy and SOM losses at a sub-Landsat pixel scale. Fire effects are forest-structure and species dependent with variable temporal lags in carbon release due to delayed mortality (>5 years post fire) and standing dead trees. Establishing the spatial and temporal scales of canopy structural change will aid in constraining estimates of net radiative forcing from both carbon release and albedo in the years following fire.

Altered motor unit discharge patterns in paretic muscles of stroke survivors assessed using surface electromyography.

PubMed

Hu, Xiaogang; Suresh, Aneesha K; Rymer, William Z; Suresh, Nina L

2016-08-01

Hemispheric stroke survivors often show impairments in voluntary muscle activation. One potential source of these impairments could come from altered control of muscle, via disrupted motor unit (MU) firing patterns. In this study, we sought to determine whether MU firing patterns are modified on the affected side of stroke survivors, as compared with the analogous contralateral muscle. Using a novel surface electromyogram (EMG) sensor array, coupled with advanced template recognition software (dEMG) we recorded surface EMG signals over the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle on both paretic and contralateral sides. Recordings were made as stroke survivors produced isometric index finger abductions over a large force range (20%-60% of maximum). Utilizing the dEMG algorithm, MU firing rates, recruitment thresholds, and action potential amplitudes were estimated for concurrently active MUs in each trial. Our results reveal significant changes in the firing rate patterns in paretic FDI muscle, in that the discharge rates, characterized in relation to recruitment force threshold and to MU size, were less clearly correlated with recruitment force than in contralateral FDI muscles. Firing rates in the affected muscle also did not modulate systematically with the level of voluntary muscle contraction, as would be expected in intact muscles. These disturbances in firing properties also correlated closely with the impairment of muscle force generation. Our results provide strong evidence of disruptions in MU firing behavior in paretic muscles after a hemispheric stroke, suggesting that modified control of the spinal motoneuron pool could be a contributing factor to muscular weakness in stroke survivors.

The Influence of Solid Rocket Motor Retro-Burns on the Space Debris Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stabroth, S.; Homeister, M.; Oswald, M.; Wiedemann, C.; Klinkrad, H.; Vörsmann, P.

The ESA space debris population model MASTER Meteoroid and Space Debris Terrestrial Environment Reference considers firings of solid rocket motors SRM as a debris source with the associated generation of slag and dust particles The resulting slag and dust population is a major contribution to the sub-millimetre size debris environment in Earth orbit The current model version MASTER-2005 is based on the simulation of 1 076 orbital SRM firings which contributed to the long-term debris environment A comparison of the modelled flux with impact data from returned surfaces shows that the shape and quantity of the modelled SRM dust distribution matches that of recent Hubble Space Telescope HST solar array measurements very well However the absolute flux level for dust is under-predicted for some of the analysed Long Duration Exposure Facility LDEF surfaces This points into the direction of some past SRM firings not included in the current event database The most suitable candidates for these firings are the large number of SRM retro-burns of return capsules Objects released by those firings have highly eccentric orbits with perigees in the lower regions of the atmosphere Thus they produce no long-term effect on the debris environment However a large number of those firings during the on-orbit time frame of LDEF might lead to an increase of the dust population for some of the LDEF surfaces In this paper the influence of SRM retro-burns on the short- and long-term debris environment is analysed The existing firing database is updated with gathered

Altered motor unit discharge patterns in paretic muscles of stroke survivors assessed using surface electromyography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Xiaogang; Suresh, Aneesha K.; Rymer, William Z.; Suresh, Nina L.

2016-08-01

Objective. Hemispheric stroke survivors often show impairments in voluntary muscle activation. One potential source of these impairments could come from altered control of muscle, via disrupted motor unit (MU) firing patterns. In this study, we sought to determine whether MU firing patterns are modified on the affected side of stroke survivors, as compared with the analogous contralateral muscle. Approach. Using a novel surface electromyogram (EMG) sensor array, coupled with advanced template recognition software (dEMG) we recorded surface EMG signals over the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle on both paretic and contralateral sides. Recordings were made as stroke survivors produced isometric index finger abductions over a large force range (20%-60% of maximum). Utilizing the dEMG algorithm, MU firing rates, recruitment thresholds, and action potential amplitudes were estimated for concurrently active MUs in each trial. Main results. Our results reveal significant changes in the firing rate patterns in paretic FDI muscle, in that the discharge rates, characterized in relation to recruitment force threshold and to MU size, were less clearly correlated with recruitment force than in contralateral FDI muscles. Firing rates in the affected muscle also did not modulate systematically with the level of voluntary muscle contraction, as would be expected in intact muscles. These disturbances in firing properties also correlated closely with the impairment of muscle force generation. Significance. Our results provide strong evidence of disruptions in MU firing behavior in paretic muscles after a hemispheric stroke, suggesting that modified control of the spinal motoneuron pool could be a contributing factor to muscular weakness in stroke survivors.

Effects of prescribed fire on conditions inside a Cuban parrot (Amazona Leucocephala) surrogate nesting cavity on Great Abaco, Bahamas

Treesearch

Joseph O' Brien; Caroline Stahala; Gina P. Mori; Mac Callaham; Chris M. Bergh

2006-01-01

Cuban Parrots (Amazona leucocephala) on the island of Great Abaco in the Bahamas forage and nest in native pine forests. The population is unique in that the birds nest in limestone solution holes on the forest floor. Bahamian pine forests are fire-dependent with a frequent surface fire regime. The effects of fire on the parrots, especially while nesting, are not well...

A NASA-NOAA Update on Global Fire Monitoring Capabilities for Studying Fire-Climate Interactions: Focus on Northern Eurasia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gutman, G.; Csiszar, I.

2012-04-01

The global, long-term effects of fires are not well understood and we are learning more every year about its global impacts and potential feedbacks to climate change. The frequency, intensity, severity, and emissions of fires may be changing as a result of climate warming as has been manifested by the observations in northern Eurasia. The climate-fire interaction may produce important societal and environmental impacts in the long run. NASA and NOAA have been developing long-term fire datasets and improving systems to monitor active fires, study fire severity, fire growth, emissions into the atmosphere, and fire effects on carbon stocks. Almost every year there are regions in the world that experience particularly severe fires. For example, less than two years ago the European part of Russia was the focus of attention due to the anomalous heat and dry wave with record high temperatures that caused wildfires rage for weeks and that led to thousands of deaths. The fires also have spread to agricultural land and damaged crops, causing sharp increases of global wheat commodity prices. Remote sensing observations are widely used to monitor fire occurrence, fire spread; smoke dispersion, and atmospheric pollutant levels. In the context of climate warming and acute interest to large-scale emissions from various land-cover disturbances studying spatial-temporal dynamics of forest fire activity is critical. NASA supports several activities related to fires and the Earth system. These include GOFC-GOLD Fire Project Office at University of Maryland and the Rapid Response System for global fire monitoring. NASA has funded many research projects on biomass burning, which cover various geographic regions of the world and analyze impacts of fires on atmospheric carbon in support of REDD initiative, as well as on atmospheric pollution with smoke. Monitoring active fires, studying their severity and burned areas, and estimating fire-induced atmospheric emissions has been the subject of several research projects in the NASA LCLUC program over the globe, and, in particular, in Northern Eurasia. As an operational agency, NOAA puts global fire monitoring as a priority and supports related GCOS, CEOS and GOFC-GOLD objectives. NOAA developed an operational quasi-global fire monitoring system using geostationary satellites that provides coverage over parts of Northern Eurasia. Fire products from the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite) sensor on the NPP (NPOESS Preparatory Project) satellite, launched in October 2011, and on subsequent JPSS satellites will ensure high quality global fire monitoring and will extent the AVHRR- and MODIS-based fire data record over Northern Eurasia. This overview presents an update of NASA's and NOAA's fire monitoring capability and scientific achievements on fire-climate interactions. We will illustrate how combination of coarse spatial resolution polar orbiting satellite observations are combined with moderate spatial resolution observations to better monitor the location of fires and burned areas. While coarse resolution data have been more or less easily available, the utility of moderate resolution Landsat data has increased tremendously during the past couple of years once the data became freely available. Data fusion from polar orbiting and geostationary satellites will be discussed.

Ignition and combustion of bulk metals at normal, elevated and reduced gravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Branch, Melvyn C.; Daily, John W.; Abbud-Madrid, Angel

1995-01-01

Knowledge of the oxidation, ignition, and combustion of bulk metals is important for fire safety in the production, management, and utilization of liquid and gaseous oxygen for ground based and space applications. This proposal outlines studies in continuation of research initiated earlier under NASA support to investigate the ignition and combustion characteristics of bulk metals under varying gravity conditions. Metal ignition and combustion have not been studied previously under these conditions and the results are important not only for improved fire safety but also to increase knowledge of basic ignition and combustion mechanisms. The studies completed to date have led to the development of a clean and reproducible ignition source and diagnostic techniques for combustion measurements and have provided normal, elevated, and reduced gravity combustion data on a variety of different pure metals. The research conducted under this grant will use the apparatus and techniques developed earlier to continue the elevated and low gravity experiments, and to develop the overall modeling of the ignition and combustion process. Metal specimens are to be ignited using a xenon short-arc lamp and measurements are to be made of the ignition energy, surface temperature history, burning rates, spectroscopy of surface and gas products, and surface morphology and chemistry. Elevated gravity will be provided by the University of Colorado Geotechnical Centrifuge and microgravity will be obtained in NASA's DC-9 Reduced Gravity aircraft.

Analysis of particulate emissions from tropical biomass burning using a global aerosol model and long-term surface observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reddington, Carly L.; Spracklen, Dominick V.; Artaxo, Paulo; Ridley, David A.; Rizzo, Luciana V.; Arana, Andrea

2016-09-01

We use the GLOMAP global aerosol model evaluated against observations of surface particulate matter (PM2.5) and aerosol optical depth (AOD) to better understand the impacts of biomass burning on tropical aerosol over the period 2003 to 2011. Previous studies report a large underestimation of AOD over regions impacted by tropical biomass burning, scaling particulate emissions from fire by up to a factor of 6 to enable the models to simulate observed AOD. To explore the uncertainty in emissions we use three satellite-derived fire emission datasets (GFED3, GFAS1 and FINN1). In these datasets the tropics account for 66-84 % of global particulate emissions from fire. With all emission datasets GLOMAP underestimates dry season PM2.5 concentrations in regions of high fire activity in South America and underestimates AOD over South America, Africa and Southeast Asia. When we assume an upper estimate of aerosol hygroscopicity, underestimation of AOD over tropical regions impacted by biomass burning is reduced relative to previous studies. Where coincident observations of surface PM2.5 and AOD are available we find a greater model underestimation of AOD than PM2.5, even when we assume an upper estimate of aerosol hygroscopicity. Increasing particulate emissions to improve simulation of AOD can therefore lead to overestimation of surface PM2.5 concentrations. We find that scaling FINN1 emissions by a factor of 1.5 prevents underestimation of AOD and surface PM2.5 in most tropical locations except Africa. GFAS1 requires emission scaling factor of 3.4 in most locations with the exception of equatorial Asia where a scaling factor of 1.5 is adequate. Scaling GFED3 emissions by a factor of 1.5 is sufficient in active deforestation regions of South America and equatorial Asia, but a larger scaling factor is required elsewhere. The model with GFED3 emissions poorly simulates observed seasonal variability in surface PM2.5 and AOD in regions where small fires dominate, providing independent evidence that GFED3 underestimates particulate emissions from small fires. Seasonal variability in both PM2.5 and AOD is better simulated by the model using FINN1 emissions. Detailed observations of aerosol properties over biomass burning regions are required to better constrain particulate emissions from fires.

Impacts of Wildfires on Long-term Land Surface Phenology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, J.; Zhang, X.

2016-12-01

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

Developing and Validating a Santa Ana Wildfire Threat Index

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Capps, S. B.; Rolinski, T.; DAgostino, B.; Vanderburg, S.; Fovell, R. G.; Cao, Y.

2014-12-01

Santa Ana winds, common to southern California during the fall through spring, are a type of katabatic wind that originates from a direction generally ranging from 360°/0° to 100° and is usually accompanied by very low humidity. Since fuel conditions tend to be driest from late September through the middle of November, Santa Ana winds occurring during this period have the greatest potential to produce large, devastating fires when an ignition occurs. Such catastrophic fires occurred in 1993, 2003, 2007, and 2008. Because of the destructive nature of these fires, there has been a growing desire to categorize Santa Ana wind events in much the same way that tropical cyclones have been categorized. The Santa Ana Wildfire Threat index (SAWT) is an attempt to categorize such events with respect to fire activity, based on surface wind velocity, dew point depression, and forecasted fuel conditions. The index, a USDA Forest Service product, was developed by the Forest Service in collaboration with San Diego Gas and Electric Utility (SDG&E), the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at UCLA, The Desert Research Institute (DRI), and Vertum Partners. The methodology behind the SAWT index, along with the index itself will be presented in detail. Also, there will be a discussion on the construction of a 30-year climatology of the index, which includes various meteorological and fuel parameters. We will demonstrate the usefulness of the index as another decision support tool for fire agencies and first responders, and how it could assist the general public and private industry in the preparation of critical Santa Ana wind events.

Statistical modeling of an integrated boiler for coal fired thermal power plant.

PubMed

Chandrasekharan, Sreepradha; Panda, Rames Chandra; Swaminathan, Bhuvaneswari Natrajan

2017-06-01

The coal fired thermal power plants plays major role in the power production in the world as they are available in abundance. Many of the existing power plants are based on the subcritical technology which can produce power with the efficiency of around 33%. But the newer plants are built on either supercritical or ultra-supercritical technology whose efficiency can be up to 50%. Main objective of the work is to enhance the efficiency of the existing subcritical power plants to compensate for the increasing demand. For achieving the objective, the statistical modeling of the boiler units such as economizer, drum and the superheater are initially carried out. The effectiveness of the developed models is tested using analysis methods like R 2 analysis and ANOVA (Analysis of Variance). The dependability of the process variable (temperature) on different manipulated variables is analyzed in the paper. Validations of the model are provided with their error analysis. Response surface methodology (RSM) supported by DOE (design of experiments) are implemented to optimize the operating parameters. Individual models along with the integrated model are used to study and design the predictive control of the coal-fired thermal power plant.

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).

Pervasive Agility and Agile Fires in Support of Decisive Action

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-29

Pervasive Agility and Agile Fires in Support of Decisive Action FORMAT: Civilian Research Project DATE: 29 March 2012 WORD COUNT : 12,599 PAGES: 54...will face, this pollenization may require creative measures, perhaps virtual or constructive scenarios. The National Training Center at Fort Irwin

Interactions between atmospheric circulation, nutrient deposition, and tropical forest primary production (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Randerson, J. T.; Chen, Y.; Rogers, B. M.; Morton, D. C.; van der Werf, G.; Mahowald, N. M.

2010-12-01

Tropical forests influence regional and global climate by means of several pathways, including by modifying surface energy exchange and by forming clouds. High levels of precipitation, leaching, and soil weathering limit nutrient availability in these ecosystems. Phosphorus (P) is a key element limiting net primary production, and in some areas, including forests recovering from prior disturbance, nitrogen (N) also may limit some components of production. Here we quantified atmospheric P and N inputs to these forests from fires using satellite-derived estimates of emissions and atmospheric models. In Africa and South America, cross-biome transport of fire-emitted aerosols and reactive N gases from savannas and areas near the deforestation frontier increased deposition of P and N in interior forests. Equatorward atmospheric transport during the dry (fire) season in one hemisphere was linked with surface winds moving toward the inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ) in the other hemisphere. Deposition levels were higher in tropical forests in Africa than in South America because of large savanna areas with high levels of fire emissions in both southern and northern Africa. We conclude by describing a potential feedback loop by which equatorward transport of fire emissions, dust, and spores sustains the productivity of tropical forests. We specifically assessed evidence that savanna-to-forest atmospheric transport of nutrients increases forest productivity, height, and rates of evapotranspiration (ET). In parallel, we examined the degree to which increases in ET and surface roughness in tropical forests have the potential to strengthen several components of the Hadley circulation, including deep convection, equatorward return flow (near the surface), and the intensity of seasonal drought in the subtropics (thereby increasing fires). These interactions are important for understanding biogeochemical - climate interactions on millennial timescales and for quantifying how contemporary changes in fire activity and land use are changing the global carbon cycle.

Diffusing, side-firing, and radial delivery laser balloon catheters for creating subsurface thermal lesions in tissue

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Chun-Hung; Fried, Nathaniel M.

2016-02-01

Infrared lasers have been used in combination with applied cooling methods to preserve superficial skin layers during cosmetic surgery. Similarly, combined laser irradiation and tissue cooling may also allow development of minimally invasive laser therapies beyond dermatology. This study compares diffusing, side-firing, and radial delivery laser balloon catheter designs for creation of subsurface lesions in tissue, ex vivo, using a near-IR laser and applied contact cooling. An Ytterbium fiber laser with 1075 nm wavelength delivered energy through custom built 18 Fr (6-mm-OD) balloon catheters incorporating either 10-mm-long diffusing fiber tip, 90 degree side-firing fiber, or radial delivery cone mirror, through a central lumen. A chilled solution was flowed through a separate lumen into 9-mm-diameter balloon to keep probe cooled at 7°C. Porcine liver tissue samples were used as preliminary tissue model for immediate observation of thermal lesion creation. The diffusing fiber produced subsurface thermal lesions measuring 49.3 +/- 10.0 mm2 and preserved 0.8 +/- 0.1 mm of surface tissue. The side-firing fiber produced subsurface thermal lesions of 2.4 +/- 0.9 mm2 diameter and preserved 0.5 +/- 0.1 mm of surface tissue. The radial delivery probe assembly failed to produce subsurface thermal lesions, presumably due to the small effective spot diameter at the tissue surface, which limited optical penetration depth. Optimal laser power and irradiation time measured 15 W and 100 s for diffusing fiber and 1.4 W and 20 s, for side-firing fiber, respectively. Diffusing and side-firing laser balloon catheter designs provided subsurface thermal lesions in tissue. However, the divergent laser beam in both designs limited the ability to preserve a thicker layer of tissue surface. Further optimization of laser and cooling parameters may be necessary to preserve thicker surface tissue layers.

Critical Technology Events (CTEs) that Support the Rationale for Army Laboratories Based on S&T Functions Performed

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-01

is very compatible to growth of mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe or MCT) on its surface. HgCdTe is the IR sensitive material. However, CdZnTe is...in Indiana which is one of the few test ranges in the developed world where battlefield smokes and live artillery fire could be 41 F. Shields, NV...spectral region of E&M spectrum) I2 – Image Intensification JIEDDO – Joint IED Defeat Office JPG – Jefferson Proving Ground, Indiana . JPO – Joint

Evaluating and monitoring forest fuel treatments using remote sensing applications in Arizona, U.S.A.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Petrakis, Roy; Villarreal, Miguel; Wu, Zhuoting; Hetzler, Robert; Middleton, Barry R.; Norman, Laura M.

2018-01-01

The practice of fire suppression across the western United States over the past century has led to dense forests, and when coupled with drought has contributed to an increase in large and destructive wildfires. Forest management efforts aimed at reducing flammable fuels through various fuel treatments can help to restore frequent fire regimes and increase forest resilience. Our research examines how different fuel treatments influenced burn severity and post-fire vegetative stand dynamics on the San Carlos Apache Reservation, in east-central Arizona, U.S.A. Our methods included the use of multitemporal remote sensing data and cloud computing to evaluate burn severity and post-fire vegetation conditions as well as statistical analyses. We investigated how forest thinning, commercial harvesting, prescribed burning, and resource benefit burning (managed wildfire) related to satellite measured burn severity (the difference Normalized Burn Ratio – dNBR) following the 2013 Creek Fire and used spectral measures of post-fire stand dynamics to track changes in land surface characteristics (i.e., brightness, greenness and wetness). We found strong negative relationships between dNBR and post-fire greenness and wetness, and a positive non-linear relationship between dNBR and brightness, with greater variability at higher severities. Fire severity and post-fire surface changes also differed by treatment type. Our results showed harvested and thinned sites that were not treated with prescribed fire had the highest severity fire. When harvesting was followed by a prescribed burn, the sites experienced lower burn severity and reduced post-fire changes in vegetation greenness and wetness. Areas that had previously experienced resource benefit burns had the lowest burn severities and the highest post-fire greenness measurements compared to all other treatments, except for where the prescribed burn had occurred. These results suggest that fire treatments may be most effective at reducing the probability of hazardous fire and increasing post-fire recovery. This research demonstrates the utility of remote sensing and spatial data to inform forest management, and how various fuel treatments can influence burn severity and post-fire vegetation response within ponderosa pine forests across the southwestern U.S.

Building Fire Behavior Analyst (FBAN) capability and capacity: Lessons learned From Victoria, Australia's Bushfire Behavior Predictive Services Strategy

Treesearch

K. E. Gibos; A. Slijepcevic; T. Wells; L. Fogarty

2015-01-01

Wildland fire managers must frequently make meaning from chaos in order to protect communities and infrastructure from the negative impacts of fire. Fire management personnel are increasingly turning to science to support their experience-based decision-making processes and to provide clear, confident leadership for communities frequently exposed to risk from wildfire...

First-order fire effects models for land Management: Overview and issues

Treesearch

Elizabeth D. Reinhardt; Matthew B. Dickinson

2010-01-01

We give an overview of the science application process at work in supporting fire management. First-order fire effects models, such as those discussed in accompanying papers, are the building blocks of software systems designed for application to landscapes over time scales from days to centuries. Fire effects may be modeled using empirical, rule based, or process...

A chance-constrained programming model to allocate wildfire initial attack resources for a fire season

Treesearch

Yu Wei; Michael Bevers; Erin Belval; Benjamin Bird

2015-01-01

This research developed a chance-constrained two-stage stochastic programming model to support wildfire initial attack resource acquisition and location on a planning unit for a fire season. Fire growth constraints account for the interaction between fire perimeter growth and construction to prevent overestimation of resource requirements. We used this model to examine...

Fire safety of ground-based space facilities on the spaceport ;Vostochny;

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Artamonov, Vladimir S.; Gordienko, Denis M.; Melikhov, Anatoly S.

2017-06-01

The facilities of the spaceport ;Vostochny; and the innovative technologies for fire safety to be implemented are considered. The planned approaches and prospects for fire safety ensuring at the facilities of the spaceport ;Vostochny; are presented herein, based on the study of emergency situations having resulted in fire accidents and explosion cases at the facilities supporting space vehicles operation.

A framework for developing safe and effective large-fire response in a new fire management paradigm

Treesearch

Christopher J. Dunn; Matthew P. Thompson; David E. Calkin

2017-01-01

The impacts of wildfires have increased in recent decades because of historical forest and fire management, a rapidly changing climate, and an increasingly populated wildland urban interface. This increasingly complex fire environment highlights the importance of developing robust tools to support risk-informed decision making. While tools have been developed to aid...

Wildland Fire Use - Challenges Associated With Program Management Across Multiple Ownerships and Land Use Situations

Treesearch

Thomas Zimmerman; Michael Frary; Shelly Crook; Brett Fay; Patricia Koppenol; Richard Lasko

2006-01-01

The application and use of wildland fire for a range of beneficial ecological objectives is rapidly expanding across landscapes supporting diverse vegetative complexes and subject to multiple societal uses. Wildland fire use originated in wilderness and has become a proven practice successful in meeting ecological needs. The use of wildland fire in non-wilderness is...

Induced superhydrophobic and antimicrobial character of zinc metal modified ceramic wall tile surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Özcan, Selçuk; Açıkbaş, Gökhan; Çalış Açıkbaş, Nurcan

2018-04-01

Hydrophobic surfaces are also known to have antimicrobial effect by restricting the adherence of microorganisms. However, ceramic products are produced by high temperature processes resulting in a hydrophilic surface. In this study, an industrial ceramic wall tile glaze composition was modified by the inclusion of metallic zinc powder in the glaze suspension applied on the pre-sintered wall tile bodies by spraying. The glazed tiles were gloss fired at industrially applicable peak temperatures ranging from 980 °C to 1100 °C. The fired tile surfaces were coated with a commercial fluoropolymer avoiding water absorption. The surfaces were characterized with SEM, EDS, XRD techniques, roughness, sessile water drop contact angle, surface energy measurements, and standard antimicrobial tests. The surface hydrophobicity and the antimicrobial activity results were compared with that of unmodified, uncoated gloss fired wall tiles. A superhydrophobic contact angle of 150° was achieved at 1000 °C peak temperature due to the formation of micro-structured nanocrystalline zinc oxide granules providing a specific surface topography. At higher peak temperatures the hydrophobicity was lost as the specific granular surface topography deteriorated with the conversion of zinc oxide granules to the ubiquitous willemite crystals embedded in the glassy matrix. The antimicrobial efficacy also correlated with the hydrophobic character.

Fire Weather Products for Public and Emergency Use: Extending Professional Resources to the Public

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogers, M. A.; Schranz, S.; Kriederman, L.

2012-12-01

Large wildfires require significant resources to combat, including dedicated meteorological support to provide accurate and timely forecasts to assist incident commanders in making decisions for logistical and tactical firefighting operations. Smaller fires often require the same capabilities for understanding fire and the fire weather environment, but access to needed resources and tools is often limited due to technical, training, or education limitations. Providing fire weather information and training to incident commanders for smaller wildfires should prove to enhance firefighting capabilities and improve safety for both firefighters and for the public as well. One of the premier tools used to support fire weather forecasting for the largest wildfires is the FX-Net product, a thin-client version of the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System used by NWS incident meteorologists (IMETs) deployed to large wildfires. We present results from an ongoing project to extend the sophisticated products available from FX-Net to more accessible and mobile software platforms, such as Google Earth. The project involves input from IMETs and fire commanders to identify the key parameters used in fighting wildfires, and involves a large training component for fire responders to utilize simplified products to improve understanding of fire weather in the context of firefighting operations.

Climatic stress increases forest fire severity across the western United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

van Mantgem, Philip J.; Nesmith, Jonathan C. B.; Keifer, MaryBeth; Knapp, Eric E.; Flint, Alan; Flint, Lorraine

2013-01-01

Pervasive warming can lead to chronic stress on forest trees, which may contribute to mortality resulting from fire-caused injuries. Longitudinal analyses of forest plots from across the western US show that high pre-fire climatic water deficit was related to increased post-fire tree mortality probabilities. This relationship between climate and fire was present after accounting for fire defences and injuries, and appeared to influence the effects of crown and stem injuries. Climate and fire interactions did not vary substantially across geographical regions, major genera and tree sizes. Our findings support recent physiological evidence showing that both drought and heating from fire can impair xylem conductivity. Warming trends have been linked to increasing probabilities of severe fire weather and fire spread; our results suggest that warming may also increase forest fire severity (the number of trees killed) independent of fire intensity (the amount of heat released during a fire).

[Effect of porcelain firing cycle on microstructure and corrosion resistance of 4 metal ceramic alloys].

PubMed

Chen, Lei; Cai, Hui; Xu, Guo-fu; Fang, Chang-yun

2006-06-01

To determine the effect of porcelain firing cycle on microstructure of 4 metal ceramic alloys, and to analyze the changes of their corrosion resistance in the artificial saliva. We simulated the process of firing and repolishing when fabricating porcelain-fused-to-metal restoration in clinic,and then observed the microstructures of Ni-Cr, Ni-Cr-Ti, Co-Cr alloys and high gold alloy by field emission scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The electrochemical corrosion behavior of alloys in artificial saliva was analyzed by polarization curves and corrview 2 corrosion analysis software. The data of self-corrosion potential and transpassive potential were obtained and analyzed. After the porcelain firing cycle, the surface composition changed slightly, and the morphological in the 3 predominate base metal alloys also changed. The self-corrosion potential turned to more negative, and the transpassive potential declined. The procedure of porcelain firing cycle can affect the surface microstructure and increase the corrosion of 4 metal-ceramic alloys.

Surface Dimming by the 2013 Rim Fire Simulated by a Sectional Aerosol Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yu, Pengfei; Toon, Owen B.; Bardeen, Charles G; Bucholtz, Anthony; Rosenlof, Karen; Saide, Pablo E.; Da Silva, Arlindo M.; Ziemba, Luke D.; Thornhill, Kenneth L.; Jimenez, Jose-Luis;

Surface dimming by the 2013 Rim Fire simulated by a sectional aerosol model.

PubMed

Yu, Pengfei; Toon, Owen B; Bardeen, Charles G; Bucholtz, Anthony; Rosenlof, Karen H; Saide, Pablo E; Da Silva, Arlindo; Ziemba, Luke D; Thornhill, Kenneth L; Jimenez, Jose-Luis; Campuzano-Jost, Pedro; Schwarz, Joshua P; Perring, Anne E; Froyd, Karl D; Wagner, N L; Mills, Michael J; Reid, Jeffrey S

2016-06-27

The Rim Fire of 2013, the third largest area burned by fire recorded in California history, is simulated by a climate model coupled with a size-resolved aerosol model. Modeled aerosol mass, number, and particle size distribution are within variability of data obtained from multiple-airborne in situ measurements. Simulations suggest that Rim Fire smoke may block 4-6% of sunlight energy reaching the surface, with a dimming efficiency around 120-150 W m -2 per unit aerosol optical depth in the midvisible at 13:00-15:00 local time. Underestimation of simulated smoke single scattering albedo at midvisible by 0.04 suggests that the model overestimates either the particle size or the absorption due to black carbon. This study shows that exceptional events like the 2013 Rim Fire can be simulated by a climate model with 1° resolution with overall good skill, although that resolution is still not sufficient to resolve the smoke peak near the source region.

Solar activity as a possible cause of large forest fires--a case study: analysis of the Portuguese forest fires.

PubMed

Gomes, J F P; Radovanovic, M

2008-05-01

Fires of large dimension destroy forests, harvests and housing objects. Apart from that combustion products and burned surfaces become large ecological problems. Very often fires emerge simultaneously on different locations of a region so a question could be asked if they always have been a consequence of negligence, pyromania, high temperatures or maybe there has been some other cause. This paper is an attempt of establishing the possible connection between forest fires that numerous satellites registered and activities happening on the Sun immediately before fires ignite. Fires emerged on relatively large areas from Portugal and Spain on August 2005, as well as on other regions of Europe. The cases that have been analyzed show that, in every concrete situation, an emission of strong electromagnetic and thermal corpuscular energy from highly energetic regions that were in geo-effective position had preceded the fires. Such emissions have, usually, very high energy and high speeds of particles and come from coronary holes that also have been either in the very structure or in the immediate closeness of the geo-effective position. It should also be noted that the solar wind directed towards the Earth becomes weaker with deeper penetration towards the topographic surface. However, the results presented in this paper suggest that, there is a strong causality relationship between solar activity and the ignition of these forest fires taking place in South-western Europe.

Determinants of postfire recovery and succession in mediterranean-climate shrublands of California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Keeley, J.E.; Fotheringham, C.J.; Baer-Keeley, M.

2005-01-01

Evergreen chaparral and semideciduous sage scrub shrublands were studied for five years after fires in order to evaluate hypothesized determinants of postfire recovery and succession. Residual species present in the immediate postfire environment dominated early succession. By the fifth year postfire, roughly half of the species were colonizers not present in the first year, but they comprised only 7-14% cover. Successional changes were evaluated in the context of four hypotheses: (1) event-dependent, (2) fire interval, (3) self-regulatory, and (4) environmental filter hypotheses. Characteristics specific to the fire event, for example, fire severity and annual fluctuations in precipitation, were important determinants of patterns of change in cover and density, supporting the "event-dependent" hypothesis. The "fire interval" hypothesis is also supported, primarily through the impact of short intervals on reproductive failure in obligate seeding shrubs and the impact of long intervals on fuel accumulation and resultant fire severity. Successional changes in woody cover were correlated with decreases in herb cover, indicating support for "self-regulatory" effects. Across this landscape there were strong "environmental filter" effects that resulted in complex patterns of postfire recovery and succession between coastal and interior associations of both vegetation types. Of relevance to fire managers is the finding that postfire recovery patterns are substantially slower in the interior sage scrub formations, and thus require different management strategies than coastal formations. Also, in sage scrub (but not chaparral), prefire stand age is positively correlated with fire severity, and negatively correlated with postfire cover. Differential responses to fire severity suggest that landscapes with combinations of high and low severity may lead to enhanced biodiversity. Predicting postfire management needs is complicated by the fact that vegetation recovery is significantly controlled by patterns of precipitation. ?? 2005 by the Ecological Society of America.

Remote sensing for prediction of 1-year post-fire ecosystem condition

Treesearch

Leigh B. Lentile; Alistair M. S. Smith; Andrew T. Hudak; Penelope Morgan; Michael J. Bobbitt; Sarah A. Lewis; Peter R. Robichaud

2009-01-01

Appropriate use of satellite data in predicting >1 year post-fire effects requires remote measurement of surface properties that can be mechanistically related to ground measures of post-fire condition. The present study of burned ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests in the Black Hills of South Dakota evaluates whether immediate fractional cover estimates of...

A synoptic climatology for forest fires in the NE US and future implications for GCM simulations

Treesearch

Yan Qing; Ronald Sabo; Yiqiang Wu; J.Y. Zhu

1994-01-01

We studied surface-pressure patterns corresponding to reduced precipitation, high evaporation potential, and enhanced forest-fire danger for West Virginia, which experienced extensive forest-fire damage in November 1987. From five years of daily weather maps we identified eight weather patterns that describe distinctive flow situations throughout the year. Map patterns...

30 CFR 75.1107-4 - Automatic fire sensors and manual actuators; installation; minimum requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Automatic fire sensors and manual actuators... § 75.1107-4 Automatic fire sensors and manual actuators; installation; minimum requirements. (a)(1... sensors or equivalent shall be installed for each 50 square feet of top surface area, or fraction thereof...

Ecological restoration of an old-growth longleaf pine stand utilizing prescribed fire

Treesearch

J. Morgan Varner; John S. Kush; Ralph S. Meldahl

2000-01-01

Ecological restoration using prescribed fire has been underway for 3 years in an uncut, old-growth longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) stand located in south Alabama. The longleaf pine ecosystem requires frequent (once every 1-10 years) surface fire to prevent succesion to later several stages. Before this study began, this stand had not burned in >...

The role of fire in management of watershed responses

Treesearch

Malcolm J. Zwolinski

2000-01-01

Hydrologic responses of watersheds are strongly related to vegetation and soil disturbances. Many of the storage and transfer components of the global hydrologic cycle are altered by the occurrence of fire. The major effect of fire on the hydrologic functioning of watersheds is the removal of vegetation and litter materials that protect the soil surface. Reductions in...

Basic principles of forest fuel reduction treatments

Treesearch

James K. Agee; Carl N. Skinner

2005-01-01

Successful fire exclusion in the 20th century has created severe fire problems across the West. Not every forest is at risk of uncharacteristically severe wildfire, but drier forests are in need of active management to mitigate fire hazard. We summarize a set of simple principles important to address in fuel reduction treatments: reduction of surface fuels, increasing...

Bringing fire back. The changing regimes of the Appalachian mixed-oak forest

Treesearch

Patrick Brose; Thomas Schuler; David Van Lear; John Berst

2001-01-01

Since vegetative associations stabilized about 4,000 years ago, the Appalachian mixed-oak forests have experienced three profoundly different fire regimes. Periodic, low-intensity surface fires lit by American Indians characterized the first regime, and this regime helped perpetuate oak as one of the dominant species groups. The Industrial Revolution led to high-...

The evaluation of meta-analysis techniques for quantifying prescribed fire effects on fuel loadings.

Treesearch

Karen E. Kopper; Donald McKenzie; David L. Peterson

2009-01-01

Models and effect-size metrics for meta-analysis were compared in four separate meta-analyses quantifying surface fuels after prescribed fires in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.) forests of the Western United States. An aggregated data set was compiled from eight published reports that contained data from 65 fire treatment units....

Modeling wildland fire propagation with level set methods

Treesearch

V. Mallet; D.E Keyes; F.E. Fendell

2009-01-01

Level set methods are versatile and extensible techniques for general front tracking problems, including the practically important problem of predicting the advance of a fire front across expanses of surface vegetation. Given a rule, empirical or otherwise, to specify the rate of advance of an infinitesimal segment of fire front arc normal to itself (i.e., given the...

Quantifying fire emissions and associated aerosols species using assimilation of satellite carbon monoxide retrievals.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barre, J.; Edwards, D. P.; Worden, H. M.

2016-12-01

Wildfires tend to be more intense and hence costly and are predicted to increase in frequency under a warming climate. For example, the recent August 2015 Washington State fires were the largest in the state's history. Also in September and October 2015 very intense fires over Indonesia produced some of the highest concentration of carbon monoxide (CO) ever seen from space. Such larges fires impact not only the local environment but also affects air quality far downwind through the long-range transport of pollutants. Global to continental scale coverage showing the evolution of CO resulting from fire emission is available from satellite observations. Carbon monoxide is the only atmospheric trace gas for which satellite multispectral retrievals have demonstrated reliable independent profile information close to the surface and also higher in the free troposphere. The unique CO profile product from Terra/MOPITT clearly distinguishes near-surface CO from the free troposphere CO. Also previous studies have suggested strong correlations between primary emissions of fire organic and black carbon aerosols and CO. We will present results from the Ensemble Adjustement Kalman Filter (DART) system that has been developed to assimilate MOPITT CO in the global scale chemistry-climate model CAM-Chem. The ensemble technique allows inference on various fire model state variables such as CO emissions and also aerosol species resulting from fires such as organic and black carbon. The benefit of MOPITT CO assimilation on the Washington and Indonesian fire cases studies will be diagnosed regarding the CO fire emissions, black and organic carbon inference using the ensemble information.

Examination of the wind speed limit function in the Rothermel surface fire spread model

Treesearch

Patricia L. Andrews; Miguel G. Cruz; Richard C. Rothermel

2013-01-01

The Rothermel surface fire spread model includes a wind speed limit, above which predicted rate of spread is constant. Complete derivation of the wind limit as a function of reaction intensity is given, along with an alternate result based on a changed assumption. Evidence indicates that both the original and the revised wind limits are too restrictive. Wind limit is...

Seasonal variation in surface fuel moisture between unthinned and thinned mixed conifer forest, northern California, USA

Treesearch

Becky L. Estes; Eric E. Knapp; Carl N. Skinner; Fabian C. C. Uzoh

2012-01-01

Reducing stand density is often used as a tool for mitigating the risk of high-intensity crown fires. However, concern has been expressed that opening stands might lead to greater drying of surface fuels, contributing to increased fire risk. The objective of this study was to determine whether woody fuel moisture differed between unthinned and thinned mixed-conifer...

Evaluating the performance and mapping of three fuel classification systems using Forest Inventory and Analysis surface fuel measurements

Treesearch

Robert E. Keane; Jason M. Herynk; Chris Toney; Shawn P. Urbanski; Duncan C. Lutes; Roger D. Ottmar

2013-01-01

Fuel Loading Models (FLMs) and Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCSs) fuelbeds are used throughout wildland fire science and management to simplify fuel inputs into fire behavior and effects models, but they have yet to be thoroughly evaluated with field data. In this study, we used a large dataset of Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) surface fuel...

Decades-old silvicultural treatments influence surface wildfire severity and post-fire nitrogen availability in a ponderosa pine forest

Treesearch

Ann L. Lezberg; Michael A. Battaglia; Wayne D. Shepperd; Anna W. Schoettle

2008-01-01

Wildfire severity and subsequent ecological effects may be influenced by prior land management, via modification of forest structure and lingering changes in fuels. In 2002, the Hayman wildfire burned as a low to moderate-severity surface fire through a 21-year pine regeneration experiment with two overstory harvest cuttings (shelterwood, seed-tree) and two site...

An examination of the sensitivity of numerically simulated wildfires to low-level atmospheric stability and moisture, and the consequences for the Haines Index

Treesearch

Mary Ann Jenkins

2002-01-01

The Haines Index, an operational fire-weather index introduced in 1988 and based on the observed stability and moisture content of the near-surface atmosphere, has been a useful indicator of the potential for high-risk fires in low wind conditions and flat terrain. The Haines Index is of limited use, however, as a predictor of actual fire behavior. To develop a fire-...

Data Filtering of Western Hemisphere GOES Wildfire ABBA Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Theisen, M.; Prins, E.; Schmidt, C.; Reid, J. S.; Hunter, J.; Westphal, D.

2002-05-01

The Fire Locating and Modeling of Burning Emissions (FLAMBE') project was developed to model biomass burning emissions, transport, and radiative effects in real time. The model relies on data from the Geostationary Operational Environment Satellites (GOES-8, GOES-10), that is generated by the Wildfire Automated Biomass Burning Algorithm (WF ABBA). In an attempt to develop the most accurate modeling system the data set needs to be filtered to distinguish the true fire pixels from false alarms. False alarms occur due to reflection of solar radiation off of standing water, surface structure variances, and heat anomalies. The Reoccurring Fire Filtering algorithm (ReFF) was developed to address such false alarms by filtering data dependent on reoccurrence, location in relation to region and satellite, as well as heat intensity. WF ABBA data for the year 2000 during the peak of the burning season were analyzed using ReFF. The analysis resulted in a 45% decrease in North America and only a 15% decrease in South America, respectively, in total fire pixel occurrence. The lower percentage decrease in South America is a result of fires burning for longer periods of time, less surface variance, as well as an increase in heat intensity of fires for that region. Also fires are so prevalent in the region that multiple fires may coexist in the same 4-kilometer pixel.

Impacts of Central American Fires on Ozone Air Quality along the US Gulf Coast

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, S. C.; Wang, Y.; Estes, M. J.; Lei, R.; Talbot, R. W.

2017-12-01

Biomass burning in Central America is associated with agriculture activities and occurs regularly during April and May every year. Satellite observations have documented frequent transport of wildfire smoke from Mexico and Central America to the southern US, causing haze and exceedance of fine particle matter. However, the impacts of those fires on surface ozone in the US are poorly understood. This study uses both observations and modeling to examine the effects of the springtime Central America fire emissions on surface ozone over the Gulf coastal regions over a long-term time period (2002-2015). Passive tracer simulation in the nested-grid version of the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model over North America is used to identify the days when Central American fire plumes reached the US Gulf Coast. During the identified fire-impact days, Central American fires are estimated to result in an average of 9 ppbv enhancement of regional background ozone over the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria (HGB) region. Satellite-observed distributions of AOD and CO are used to examine the transport pathways and effects of those fires on atmospheric composition. Finally, we integrate satellite observations, ground measurements, and modeling to quantify the impact of Central American fires on springtime ozone air quality along the US Gulf Coast in terms of both long-term (2002-2015) mean and extreme cases.

Geophysical evidence for non-uniform permafrost degradation after fire across boreal landscapes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minsley, B. J.; Pastick, N. J.; Wylie, B. K.; Brown, D. N.; Kass, A.

2015-12-01

Fire can be a significant driver of permafrost change in boreal landscapes, altering the availability of soil carbon and nutrients that have important implications for future climate and ecological succession. However, not all landscapes are equally susceptible to fire-induced change. As fire frequency is expected to increase in the high latitudes, methods to understand the vulnerability and resilience of different landscapes to permafrost degradation are needed. We present a combination of multi-scale remote sensing, geophysical, and field observations that reveal details of both near-surface (<1 m) and deeper impacts of fire on permafrost. Along 11 transects that span burned-unburned boundaries in different landscape settings within interior Alaska, subsurface imaging indicates locations where permafrost appears to be resilient to disturbance from fire, areas where warm permafrost conditions exist that may be most vulnerable to future change, and also where permafrost has thawed. High-resolution geophysical data corroborate remote sensing interpretations of near-surface permafrost, and also add new high-fidelity details of spatial heterogeneity that extend from the shallow subsurface to depths of about 10 m. Data collected along each transect include observations of active layer thickness (ALT), organic layer thickness (OLT), plant species cover, electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), and downhole Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) measurements. Results show that post-fire impacts on permafrost can be variable, and depend on multiple factors such as fire severity, soil texture, and soil moisture.

El Niño-southern oscillation effect on a fire regime in northeastern Mexico has changed over time.

PubMed

Yocom, Larissa L; Fulé, Peter Z; Brown, Peter M; Cerano, Julian; Villanueva-Díaz, José; Falk, Donald A; Cornejo-Oviedo, Eladio

2010-06-01

The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a climate-forcing mechanism that has been shown to affect precipitation and the occurrence of wildfires in many parts of the world. In the southern United States and northern Mexico, warm events (El Niño) are associated with moist winter conditions and fewer fires, while cool events (La Niñia) tend to favor dry winters and more fires. We tested this relationship in a region of northeastern Mexico by characterizing the historical fire regime and climatic influences: Fire regimes were reconstructed from fire-scar samples collected from 100 trees in three high-elevation sites on Peña Nevada in southern Nuevo Le6n. The sites were approximately 25 ha each, and the site centers were approximately 1 km apart. The earliest recorded fire occurred in 1521 and the time period we used for analysis was 1645-1929. The sites were characterized by frequent surface fires before the 1920s. In the three sites, mean fire intervals ranged from 8.6 to 9.6 years (all fires) and 11.9 to 18.6 years (fires that scarred > or = 25% of recording trees). The per-tree mean fire return interval was 17 years, and all three sites burned in the same year seven times between 1774 and 1929. After 1929, fires were nearly eliminated in all sites, likely due to human causes. We found a temporal change in the association between ENSO events and fires; before the 1830s La Niña events were significantly associated with fire years, while after the 1830s this association was not significant. In 1998, when the most severe El Niño event of the past century occurred, the three sites experienced severe, stand-replacing fires that killed many trees that had survived multiple surface fires in the past. Prior to the 1830s, fires tended to occur during dry La Niña years, but since then both La Niña and El Niño have been associated with dry years in this region, especially during the last three decades. This result suggests that ENSO effects have changed over time in this location and that phases of ENSO are not consistent indicators of precipitation, fire occurrence, or fire behavior in this area of northeastern Mexico.

Biomass burning aerosol transport and vertical distribution over the South African-Atlantic region: Aerosol Transport Over SE Atlantic

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

Das, Sampa; Harshvardhan, H.; Bian, Huisheng

Aerosols from wild-land fires could significantly perturb the global radiation balance and induce the climate change. In this study, the Community Atmospheric Model version 5 (CAM5) with prescribed daily fire aerosol emissions is used to investigate the spatial and seasonal characteristics of radiative forcings of wildfire aerosols including black carbon (BC) and particulate organic matter (POM). The global annual mean direct radiative forcing (DRF) of all fire aerosols is 0.15 W m-2, mainly due to the absorption of fire BC (0.25 W m-2), while fire POM induces a weak negative forcing (-0.05 W m-2). Strong positive DRF is found inmore » the Arctic and in the oceanic regions west of South Africa and South America as a result of amplified absorption of fire BC above low-level clouds, in general agreement with satellite observations. The global annual mean cloud radiative forcing due to all fire aerosols is -0.70 W m-2, resulting mainly from the fire POM indirect forcing (-0.59 W m-2). The large cloud liquid water path over land areas of the Arctic favors the strong fire aerosol indirect forcing (up to -15 W m-2) during the Arctic summer. Significant surface cooling, precipitation reduction and low-level cloud amount increase are also found in the Arctic summer as a result of the fire aerosol indirect effect. The global annual mean surface albedo forcing over land areas (0.03 W m-2) is mainly due to the fire BC-on-snow forcing (0.02 W m-2) with the maximum albedo forcing occurring in spring (0.12 W m-2) when snow starts to melt.« less

Study on the Fire Damage Characteristics of the New Qidaoliang Highway Tunnel: Field Investigation with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Back Analysis

PubMed Central

Lai, Hongpeng; Wang, Shuyong; Xie, Yongli

2016-01-01

In the New Qidaoliang Tunnel (China), a rear-end collision of two tanker trunks caused a fire. To understand the damage characteristics of the tunnel lining structure, in situ investigation was performed. The results show that the fire in the tunnel induced spallation of tunnel lining concrete covering 856 m3; the length of road surface damage reached 650 m; the sectional area had a maximum 4% increase, and the mechanical and electrical facilities were severely damaged. The maximum area loss happened at the fire spot with maximum observed concrete spallation up to a thickness of 35.4 cm. The strength of vault and side wall concrete near the fire source was significantly reduced. The loss of concrete strength of the side wall near the inner surface of tunnel was larger than that near the surrounding rock. In order to perform back analysis of the effect of thermal load on lining structure, simplified numerical simulation using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was also performed, repeating the fire scenario. The simulated results showed that from the fire breaking out to the point of becoming steady, the tunnel experienced processes of small-scale warming, swirl around fire, backflow, and longitudinal turbulent flow. The influence range of the tunnel internal temperature on the longitudinal downstream was far greater than on the upstream, while the high temperature upstream and downstream of the transverse fire source mainly centered on the vault or the higher vault waist. The temperature of each part of the tunnel near the fire source had no obvious stratification phenomenon. The temperature of the vault lining upstream and downstream near the fire source was the highest. The numerical simulation is found to be in good agreement with the field observations. PMID:27754455