Fire Information for Resource Management System: Archiving and Distributing MODIS Active Fire Data

Abstract

Technological advances have driven all aspects of Earth observation data, including improvements realized in sensor characteristics and capabilities, global data processing, near realtime monitoring, value-added products, and the distribution of global products. In particular, the growth of the World Wide Web is contributing to an increase in the global user base. The synergy of remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), Internet, and mobile phone technologies is revolutionizing the way in which satellite-derived information is archived and distributed to users. The Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), a NASA-funded application, is just one of many examples that illustrate the increasing ease with which Earth observation data are accessible to a broad range of users. This paper describes how the delivery of satellite-derived fire information has evolved over the last six years. By understanding user requirements and taking advantage of recent developments in areas such as information management, search, access, visualization, and enabling technologies, FIRMS has expanded the number and range of users that are able to access and utilize satellite-derived fire information. Specifically, we describe how satellite remote sensing and GIS technologies have been integrated to deliver MODIS active fire data to natural resource managers using Internet mapping services and customized e-mail alerts to users in more than 90 countries. We also describe how this web-based desktop application has been transitioned to a mobile service in South Africa to deliver fire information to field staff to warn of fires that may be potentially damaging to both natural resources and infrastructure.

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

“…We analyzed peat fire occurrence in Borneo based on a fire hotspot database, spanning from January 1, 1997, to August 31, 2009, (21). As there is not a single sensor system which covers the full time period, a separate analysis for 2 investigation periods was carried out: (a) from 1997 to 2000 using fire hotspots from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) on board the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite and from the Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) on board the European Remote Sensing Satellite 2 (ERS-2), and (b) and from 2001 to 2009 using fire hotspots from the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the Terra and Aqua satellites (21,22). This fire hotspot time series showed that the peat fires in 2006 were the most severe after the well known 1997-1998 fire disaster.…”

“…22; http://maps.geog.umd.edu/firms/) to estimate the burned peat area for Indonesia. Previous studies showed that there is a reasonable correlation between burned areas deduced from MODIS hotspots and those derived from high resolution Landsat imagery, especially in peatlands, although a fire may cover the whole area of the sensor element (1 square km) or only a small fraction of it (12,21,32).…”

Fire frequency, fire seasonality and fire intensity within the Okavango region derived from MODIS fire products

“…Short duration fires might be also missed if not at overpass time. Thus, AF products are inadequate if total burned area is wished to derive (Pereira et al 2003), but are superior in rapid mapping applications (Davies et al 2009). They are also a valuable alternative in estimating consumed biomass and its emissions directly from FRP (e.g.…”

Integrating Earth Observation Systems and International Environmental Regimes

“…In the World Bank's disaster management portfolio, only projects addressing floods and droughts have been more numerous (IEG 2006 (Calle and Casanova 2008). Among the projects contributing to this program is the Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), a set of applications providing access to near real-time web-based fire maps and associated data sets without exceeding the limited download capacities of many developing countries (Davies et al 2009). While close interaction with focus groups of Earth observation data users in Central America, Africa, and Asia was important to the design of these applications, the project is provider-initiated and interaction with users have revolved around the processing and dissemination of satellite data, not data acquisition.…”