Fire Radiative Energy Research
'A series of international projects'
 The energy radiated by an active fire can provide information on both the total fuel combusted and the fire behavior.
Several international research groups are using thermal infared (TIR) and middle infared (MIR) remote sensing systems to measure this radiative energy during prescribed fires. Experiments have used both research towers (Left: Wooster et al Research tower in England, UK) and combustion chambers, such as that at the USFS Missoula Fire Lab.
Researchers within ForestPARC are actively coordinating with several of these research groups to investigate how such measurements can be used to further constrain emission estimates from widlfires. ForestPARC currently has a proposal in review and is engaged in several pilot projects.
Known FRE Research Groups:
These are the known existing international research groups (in no particular order) that are investigating the radiative energy from fires.
Brittish Group (King's College London et al)
Lead: Professor Martin J Wooster
Current Relevant Publications:
Zhukov, B., Lorenz, E., Oertel, D., WOOSTER, M.J., Roberts, G., (2006), Spaceborne detection and caharctaerization of fires during the bi-spectral infared detection (BIRD) experimenta; small satellite missions (2001-2004), Remote Sensing of Environment, 100, 29-51.
Roberts, G., WOOSTER, M.J., Perry, G.L.W., Drake, N., Rebelo, L-M., Dipotso, F. (2005) Retrieval of biomass combustion rates and totals from fire radiative power observations: Part 2 - application to southern Africa using geostationary SEVIRI Imagery, Journal of Geophysical Research, 110, D21111, doi:10.1029/2005JD006018
Smith, A.M.S. and WOOSTER, M.J., (2005), Remote classification of head and backfire types from MODIS fire radiative power observations, International Journal of Wildland Fire, 14, 249-254.
Smith, A.M.S., WOOSTER, M.J., Drake, N.D., Perry, G.L.W. and Dipotso, F. (2005) Fire in African savanna: testing the impact of incomplete combustion on pyrogenic emissions estimates, Ecological Applications, 15, 1074Ð1082
Wooster, M. J., G. Roberts, G. L. W. Perry, and Y. J. Kaufman (2005), Retrieval of biomass combustion rates and totals from fire radiative power observations: FRP derivation and calibration relationships between biomass consumption and fire radiative energy release, J. Geophys. Res., 110, D24311, doi:10.1029/2005JD006318
WOOSTER, M.J and Zhang, Y.-H. (2004) Boreal Forest Fires Burn Less Intensely in Russia than in North America, Geophysical Research Letters, 31, doi:10.1029/2004GL020805
WOOSTER, M.J., Zhukov, B. and Oertel, D. (2003) Fire radiative energy for quantitative study of biomass burning: Derivation from the BIRD experimental satellite and comparison to MODIS fire products, Remote Sensing of Environment, 86, 83-107
WOOSTER, M.J. (2002) Small-scale experimental testing of fire radiative energy for quantifying mass combusted in natural vegetation fires, Geophysical Research Letters, 29(21), 2027, doi:10.1029/2002GL015487.
University of Idaho/RMRS-Moscow Group (ForestPARC)
Leads: Dr Alistair Smith (UI);
Dr Andrew Hudak (RMRS-Moscow)
Current Relevant Publications:
Smith, A.M.S. and WOOSTER, M.J., (2005), Remote classification of head and backfire types from MODIS fire radiative power observations, International Journal of Wildland Fire, 14, 249-254.
Smith, A.M.S., WOOSTER, M.J., Drake, N.D., Perry, G.L.W. and Dipotso, F. (2005) Fire in African savanna: testing the impact of incomplete combustion on pyrogenic emissions estimates, Ecological Applications, 15, 1074Ð1082
USFS Missoula Fire Lab Group (Thermal Imaging Research/Fire Chemistry Group)
Affiliated Scientists: C Hardy, P Riggan, B Butler et al.
Current Relevant Publications:
Butler, B.W., Cohen, J., Latham, D.J., Schuette, R.D., Sopko, P., Shannon, K.S., Jimenez, D. and Bradshaw, L.S. (2004), Measurements of radiant emissive power and temperatures in crown fires, Canadain Journal of Forest Research, 34, 1577-1587.
Riggan PJ, Tissell RG, Lockwood RN, Brass JA, Pereira JAR, Miranda HS, Miranda AC, Campos T, Higgins R (2004) Remote measurement of energy and carbon flux from wildfires in Brazil. Ecological Applications 14, 3, 885-872.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Group
Affiliated Scientists: Y Kaufman, C Ichoku, et al.
Current Relevant Publications:
Ichoku, C. and Kaufman, Y.J., (2005), A method to deive smoke emission rates from MODIS fire radaitive energy measurements, IEEE Transacations on Geosceince and Remote Sensing, 43, 11, 2636-2649.
Kaufman YJ, Kleidman RG, King MD (1998) SCAR-B fires in the tropics: Properties and remote sensing from EOS-MODIS. Journal of Geophysical Research 103, 31955-31968.
Updated: 1/21/2006
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