A climatological study of the Keetch/Byram drought index and fire activity in the Hawaiian Islands

Abstract

thank you for your friendships and the useful meteorological discussions that we have had. Finally, I would like to extend my gratitude to all ofthe graduate students for making this an enjoyable two years. For the first time, the climatological relationship between the KBDI and fire activity is examined using a number ofdifferent techniques. The KBDI is tested separately on four major Hawaiian Islands against total acres burned (TAB). This relationship is explored using various statistical methods and a strong relationship is found between these two variables.The annual cycle of the KBDI is investigated through the use of harmonic analysis. The times of year at which the KBDI is highest, representing the highest fire danger, are found at each of the 27 stations on the island chain. Spectral analysis is applied to investigate the variability of the KBDI on various time scales. Individual stations are found to have different sensitivities to large-scale climatic fluctuations. An EI Nino signal is shown to have a strong relationship with leeward stations through the application of a band-pass filter.Large-scale atmospheric circulations are also investigated for seasons when KBDI is extremely high and low. Anomalous anticyclonic (cyclonic) circulations and IV surface divergence (convergence) are found over the island chain for times when the KBDI is high (low).

Spatial Pattern of the Seasonal Drought/Burned Area Relationship across Brazilian Biomes: Sensitivity to Drought Metrics and Global Remote-Sensing Fire Products

“…KBDI is initialized when the soil is at field capacity = 200 mm. It has been successfully applied in tropical climates [46].…”

Climatological analysis of forest fires occurred in 2011 over Turkey and their associations with hydroclimatic, surface weather and upper atmosphere conditions<p>Türkiye’de 2011’de oluşan orman yangınlarının klimatolojik çözümlemesi ve hidroklimatik, yüzey hava ve yüksek atmosfer koşulları ile bağlantıları

“…Denklemlerde; P, kuraklık etmeni hesaplanacak günün yağış tutarını (mm); T mak , günlük maksimum hava sıcaklığını (°C); P 24 , son 24 saatteki toplam yağışı (mm); yıı P , yıllık ortalama yağış tutarını (mm); kf(t), t zamanındaki kuraklık etmenini; I, KBDI değerini gösterir (Keetch ve Byram, 1968;Janis ve ark., 2002;Goodrick, 2003;Dolling, 2005;Altan ve ark., 2011).…”

“…The most important feature of the index is to establish a link between drought conditions and forest fires by using the soil moisture content, maximum air temperature and precipitation data in order to determine the days of having a risk for forest fires (Keetch and Byram, 1968). Depending on the weather is rainy or virtually rainless; KBDI value is calculated by considering many specific criterions for making an objective decision (Keetch and Byram, 1968;Alexander, 1990;Heim, 2002;Goodrick, 2003;Dolling et al, 2005;Yamak, 2006;Türkeş et al, 2011a;Türkeş and Altan, 2012abc).…”

Estimation of Fire Danger in Hawai'i Using Limited Weather Data and Simulation

“…In a 17-month study, Burgan (1976) found that KBDI correlated well with fuel moisture content of the grass Pennisetum setaceum and the native shrub Dodonaea viscosa in Hawai'i (r ¼ À0.82 and À0.84, respectively); however, correlation with Andropogon virginicus was poor (r ¼ À0:21). Dolling et al (2005) reported a strong correlation between KBDI and monthly total area burned from 1976 to 1996 for the islands of O'ahu, Maui, and Hawai'i.…”