[1] Biomass burning is the main global source of fine primary carbonaceous aerosols in the form of organic carbon (OC) and black carbon (BC). We present an approach to estimate biomass burning aerosol emissions based on the measurement of radiative energy released during combustion. We make use of both Aqua and Terra MODIS observations to estimate the fire radiative energy using a simple model to parameterize the fire diurnal cycle based on the long-term ratio between Terra and Aqua MODIS FRP. The parameterization is developed using cases of frequent (up to 12 times daily) MODIS observations, geostationary data from SEVIRI, and precessing observations from TRMM VIRS. FRE-based emission coefficients for the organic and black carbon (OCBC) component of fine mode aerosols are computed from multiple regions encompassing grassland/savanna, tropical forest, and extratropical forest biomes using OCBC emission estimates derived from the MODIS fine mode aerosol product and an inverse aerosol transport model. The values of emission coefficients for OCBC retrieved were 2.7 ± 0.3 g/MJ for grassland/savanna, 8.6 ± 0.8 g/MJ for tropical forest, and 14.4 ± 0.8 g/MJ for extratropical forest. The FRE monthly data are then used to estimate OCBC emissions from biomass burning on a global basis. For 2001 to 2007, our annual estimates are comparable to previously published values. According to our estimate, the OCBC emissions are the largest for 2003 (18.8 Tg), roughly 20% above average and primarily driven by wildland fires in the Lake Baikal region (Russia).Citation: Vermote, E., E. Ellicott, O. Dubovik, T. Lapyonok, M. Chin, L. Giglio, and G. J. Roberts (2009), An approach to estimate global biomass burning emissions of organic and black carbon from MODIS fire radiative power,

[1] Biomass burning is an important global phenomenon impacting atmospheric composition. Application of satellite based measures of fire radiative energy (FRE) has been shown to be effective for estimating biomass consumed, which can then be used to estimate gas and aerosol emissions. However, application of FRE has been limited in both temporal and spatial scale. In this paper we offer a methodology to estimate FRE globally for 2001 -2007 at monthly time steps using MODIS. Accuracy assessment shows that our FRE estimates are precise (R 2 = 0.85), but may be underestimated. Global estimates of FRE show that Africa and South America dominate biomass burning, accounting for nearly 70% of the annual FRE generated. Applying FRE-based combustion factors to Africa yields an annual average biomass burned of 716 -881 Tg of dry matter (DM). Comparison with the GFEDv2 biomass burned estimates shows large annual differences suggesting significant uncertainty remains in emission estimates.

The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensor on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) satellite incorporates fire-sensitive channels, including a dual-gain high-saturation temperature 4 μm channel, enabling active fire detection and characterization. The active fire product, based on the 750 m moderate resolution "M" bands of VIIRS, is one of the standard operational products generated by the Interface Data Processing Segment of the S-NPP ground system. The product builds on an earlier "Collection 4" version of the algorithm used for processing Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. Following postlaunch quality assessments and corrections in the input VIIRS Sensor Data Record data processing, an initial low detection bias was removed and the product achieved Beta quality in April 2012. Daily spurious detections along-scan lines were also significantly reduced as a result of further processing improvements in October 2012. Direct product comparison with MODIS over 4 months of data in 2013 has shown that VIIRS produces approximately 26% more detections than MODIS within the central 3 pixel VIIRS aggregation zone of approximately ±31°scan angle range and 70% more detections outside of that zone, mainly as a result of the superior VIIRS scanning and sampling characteristics. Further development is in progress to ensure high-quality VIIRS fire products that continue the MODIS data record and better serve the user community by delivering a full image classification product and fire radiative power retrievals. Research is also underway to take advantage of the radiometric signal from the 375 m VIIRS imager "I" bands. IntroductionActive fire data from spaceborne sensors have been available since the 1980s [Ichoku et al., 2012;Matson and Holben, 1987;Setzer and Pereira, 1991]. The increased thermal signal of active fires in the 4 μm channel, together with radiometric measurements in the longwave and shortwave channels, enables the detection of thermal anomalies from moderate to coarse spatial resolution sensors [Dozier, 1981;Robinson, 1991] for a wide range of environmental and observing conditions [Giglio et al., 1999]. The series of U.S. polar orbiter environmental satellites provided a crucial contribution to the international suite of sensors flown by various space agencies on both polar and geostationary platforms [Justice et al., 2013a]. On the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) polar orbiters, the 1 km advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) sensor has been used worldwide for operational fire monitoring and for research purposes since the early 1990s [Justice and Tucker, 2009], with different algorithms using the signal from the fire's thermal emission in the 3.7 μm channel as the main driver for active fire detection [Giglio et al., 1999;Li et al., 2000;Lasaponara et al., 2003]. A number of operational fire monitoring systems around the world have been using AVHRR as one of the primary sensors. Examples include the NOAA H...

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