Title:
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Predicting the extent of wildfires using remotely sensed soil moisture and temperature trends
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Author:
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Chaparro Danon, David; Vall-Llossera Ferran, Mercedes Magdalena; Piles Guillem, Maria; Camps Carmona, Adriano José; Rudiger, Christoph; Riera Tatche, Ramón
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Other authors:
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Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. Departament de Teoria del Senyal i Comunicacions; Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. CTE-CRAE - Grup de Recerca en Ciències i Tecnologies de l'Espai; Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. RSLAB - Grup de Recerca en Teledetecció |
Abstract:
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©2016 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works. |
Abstract:
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Recent climate trends evidence a rise of temperatures and an increase in the duration and intensity of droughts which is in turn leading to the occurrence of larger wildfires, which threaten the environment as well as human lives and beings. In this context, improved wildfires prediction tools are urgently needed. In this paper, the use of remotely sensed soil moisture data as a key variable in the climate-wildfires relationship is explored. The study is centered in the fires registered in the Iberian Peninsula during the period 2010-2014. Their prior-to-occurrence surface moisture-temperature conditions were analyzed using SMOS-derived soil moisture data and ERA-Interim land surface temperature reanalysis. Results showed that moisture and temperature conditions limited the extent of wildfires, and a potential maximum burned area per moisture-temperature paired values was obtained (R-2=0.43). The model relating fire extent with moisture-temperature preconditions was improved by including information on land cover, regions, and the month of the fire outbreak (R-2=0.68). Model predictions had an accuracy of 83.3% with a maximum error of 40.5 ha. Results were majorly coherent with wildfires behavior in the Iberian Peninsula and reflected the duality between Euro-Siberian and Mediterranean regions in terms of expected burned area. The proposed model has a promising potential for the enhancement of fire prevention services. |
Abstract:
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Peer Reviewed |
Subject(s):
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-Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria de la telecomunicació::Radiocomunicació i exploració electromagnètica::Teledetecció -Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Desenvolupament humà i sostenible::Medi ambient::Ecologia -Soil moisture--Measurement -Remote sensing -Wildfires -Wildfires -Remote sensing -Soil moisture measurements -Land surface temperature -Burned area -Wildlandurban interface -Mediterranean landscapes -Iberian peninsula -Fire occurences -Portugal -Patterns -Spain -Index -SMOS -Sòls -- Humitat -- Mesurament -Teledetecció -Incendis forestals |
Rights:
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Document type:
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Article - Submitted version Article |
Published by:
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Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
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