Description
Fires are a growing concern, especially in regions with longer fire seasons, expanded wildland/urban interfaces, and severe and frequent droughts. Anthropogenic fires are commonly used to clear grassland and agricultural land prior to the planting season, and forests are often cleared using fires so the land can be repurposed for other uses. Whether naturally-occurring or anthropogenic, fires produce a significant change in the structure and reflectance of vegetation and soil properties and atmospheric chemistry. Remote sensing can be used to monitor pre-, during-, and post-fire conditions, including weather and climate conditions, fuel characterization, fire risk, smoke detection, monitoring and forecasting, fire behavior, and the post-fire landscape. This six-part, intermediate training led by NASA's Applied Remote Sensing Training Program (ARSET) provides lectures and case studies focused on the use of Earth observations for operational fire monitoring before, during, and after an event.