Phnom Penh Mapping Meetup

28th January 2013

Paul Gager – Aruna Technology

Active Fire Detection by Satellite

Produce parameters and validate regional global modelsClimate modelsModels of land use changeEcosystem models etc

Hazard/Disaster ResponseLand Management issue

Why monitor fires ?

Release of CO2 due to clearing and conversion of tropical forests for agriculture is thought to contribute around 30% of the net annual increase in CO2 concentration

Changes in regional fire regimes under different climate change scenarios. E.g. An increase in average air temperature in

northern latitudes will lead to a decrease in the natural fire return interval and an increase in fire severity.

Why is this important ?

Operating on both the Terra and Aqua spacecraft.

Viewing swath width of 2,330 km

Views the entire surface of the Earth every one to two days.

Detectors measure 36 spectral bands

Three spatial resolutions: 250-m500-m and 1,000-m.

MODIS Instrument

Algorithm that exploits the strong emission of fires in the infra-red portion of the spectrum

Algorithm examines each pixel of the MODIS swath, and assigns to each one of the following classes:missing datacloud, waternon-fireFireunknown.

How does it work

Detection Example1KM MODIS

Grid over Aster image

Yellow = highBlue =

nominal

Where to get data ?

Web Fire Mapper - 24hrs 28-Jan-2012

24 hours 28-Feb-2012

24 hrs 28-Mar-2012

Burned Area Feb 2012

Download shapefile data

Case Study: Land Concession Fires

1 MW Solar Array

A fire burning with an intensity of 100MW burns an equivalent amount of energy to many

power stations.

At a price of 20c per KW/h, a 100 MW fire is burning the equivalent of $20,000 in energy per

hour !

Final Thought