Wildfires
Each year, forest fires consume millions of acres of land, destroying thousands of homes and properties in the Western United States and around the world. Fires like the 100,277-hectare Lutz Creek fire in British Columbia in August 2018 and the Camp Fire in California in November 2018, which burned more than 142,000 acres, exact a costly economic and human toll. The need to study the relationships between environmental factors and fires to minimize risk is critical.
A key resource for wildland firefighters and managers around the world is NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS). The Fire Map allows you to interactively browse global active fire detections and burned area from the MODIS and VIIRS instruments.
Discover Fire and Related Data
Active Fire/Thermal Anomalies
NASA provides data that can be used to detect active fires and thermal anomalies, such as volcanoes, and gas flares. These data are useful for studying the spatial and temporal distribution of fire, to locate persistent hot spots such as volcanoes and gas flares, and to locate the source of air pollution from smoke that may have adverse human health impacts.
- Discover Fires/Thermal Anomalies Data in Earthdata Search
- Discover Fires/Thermal Anomalies Data in Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS)
- Visualize Fires/Thermal Anomalies Data in Worldview
- Fire/Thermal Anomalies Data at Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC)
- Fire Extent/Severity Data at Oak Ridge National Laboratory DAAC (ORNL DAAC)
- Fire Carbon Emissions Estimates at ORNL DAAC
Webinars
Data Tutorials/Recipes
- Getting Started with Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Thermal Anomalies and Fire Data: All About Accessing Data
- Getting Started with MODIS Thermal Anomalies and Fire Data: Using the Data
- Getting Started with MODIS Thermal Anomalies and Fire Data: Interpreting Quality Information
- Tutorials/Recipes for ORNL DAAC Data
- Tutorials/Recipes for LP DAAC Data
Data User Guides
- MODIS Active Fires Data User Guide
- Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Active Fires Data User Guide
Land Dynamics and Burned Area
Land dynamics, including land cover types, vegetation health, and land surface temperature are important in predicting the severity of fire events. These measurements, along with burned area, help in the assessment of post-fire impacts.
Land Cover
- Discover Land Cover Data in Earthdata Search
- Land Cover Data at LP DAAC
- Land Cover Data at ORNL DAAC
Burned Area
- Discover Burned Area Data in Earthdata Search
- Visualize Burned Area Data in FIRMS
- Burned Area Data at LP DAAC
- Burned Area Data at ORNL DAAC
- MODIS Burned Area Product User Guide
Land Surface Temperature
- Discover Land Surface Temperature Data in Earthdata Search
- Visualize Land Surface Temperature Data in Worldview
- Land Surface Temperature/Emissivity Data at LP DAAC
- Land Surface Reflectance Data at LP DAAC
Data Tutorials/Recipes
- Getting Started with MODIS Version 6 Land Surface Temperature Data: All About Accessing Data
- Getting Started with MODIS Land Surface Temperature Data: Using the Data
- Getting Started with MODIS Land Surface Temperature Data: Interpreting Quality Information
Vegetation
- Discover Vegetation Indices Data in Earthdata Search
- Visualize Vegetation Indices Data in Worldview
- Vegetation Data at LP DAAC
- Vegetation Data at ORNL DAAC
Webinars
- Exploring Earth’s Land Surface with the joint NASA/NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi-NPP) VIIRS Land Data
- Using NASA’s Application for Extracting and Exploring Analysis Ready Samples (AppEEARS) to Slice and Dice Big Earth Data
- ORNL DAAC MODIS and VIIRS Data Tools and Services at your Fingertips
- ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS): NASA's Next-Generation Mission to Measure Evapotranspiration from the ISS
Data Tutorials/Recipes
- An Introduction to NASA MODIS Version 6 Land Data
- Getting Started with MODIS Version 6 Vegetation Indices Data : Accessing the Data
- Getting Started with MODIS Version 6 Vegetation Indices Data: Using the Data
- Getting Started with MODIS Version 6 Vegetation Indices Data: Interpreting Quality Information
- Accessing Data through ORNL DAAC Web Services on Github
NASA provides data, services, and tools that enable resource managers, disaster management teams, and scientists to understand and monitor environmental conditions before a fire starts, measure the intensity and development of fires as they are burning, and assess the effects and impacts of wildfires.
Image of the Camp Fire in California from November 2018, shown in the Worldview mapping application. The NASA Worldview mapping application provides the capability to interactively browse over 900 global, full-resolution satellite imagery layers.
Lightning
Wildland fires are most often started by humans, but lightning strikes have been the cause of some of the worst wildfires in the western United States and around the world. Wildfires caused by lightning often occur in remote locations that are not easily accessible.
- Discover Lightning Data in Earthdata Search
- Visualize Lightning Data in Worldview
- Lightning Data at Global Hydrology Resource Center DAAC (GHRC DAAC)
Webinars
- Discover International Space Station (ISS) Lightning and Associated Validation Data from Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R (GOES-R)
- Striking New Spatial Bounds Using ISS Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) Data
- Learn How to Subset Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) Data with the Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) Level 2 Data Subsetter
Data Tutorials/Recipes
- ISS LIS Lightning Flash Location Quickview using Python and GIS
- Using ArcGIS to Convert LIS Very High Resolution Gridded Lightning Climatology NetCDF Data to GeoTIFF Format
Precipitation
By monitoring seasonal variations in precipitation (rain and snow) fire managers are better able to predict and evaluate when and where a wildfire may develop, how severe the fire may become, and the rate at which a wildfire spreads.
- Discover Rain/Snow Data in Earthdata Search
- Visualize Rain/Snow Data in Worldview
- Precipitation Data at GES DISC
- Rain/Snow Data at GHRC DAAC
- Snow Data at National Snow and Ice Data Center DAAC (NSIDC DAAC)
- Citizen Science on Snow
Webinars
- Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Precipitation Products and Services at GES DISC
- NetCD-what? An Ecologist’s Guide to Working with Daymet and other NetCDF-formatted Data
- Data Access and Visualization of Model Data at GES DISC
Data Tutorials/Recipes
- Daymet Single Pixel Data Extraction - Web Services
- How to Import Modern Era-Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) Surface Product Data into ArcGIS
Smoke Plumes and Air Quality
Air quality forecasters use near real-time (NRT) data from NASA's Land, Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE) to improve some local and national air quality forecasts. Smoke plumes from agricultural burning and wildland fires can be a source of air pollution that may have adverse impacts on human health.
Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD)
- Discover AOD in Earthdata Search
- Visualize AOD at Worldview
- AOD Data at GES DISC
- AOD Data at Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System DAAC (LAADS DAAC)
- AOD Data at Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC)
- AOD Data at Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC)
- AOD Data at Ocean Biology DAAC (OB.DAAC)
- AOD Data at LP DAAC
- Citizen Science on AOD
Aerosol Index
- Discover Aerosol Index in Earthdata Search
- Visualize Aerosol Index in Worldview
- Aerosol Index (AI) Data at GES DISC
- AI Data at LAADS DAAC
- AI Data at ASDC
- Near real-time AI Data from LANCE
Smoke Plumes
Carbon Monoxide (CO)
- Discover CO Data in Earthdata Search
- Visualize CO Data in Worldview
- CO Data at GES DISC
- CO Data at ASDC
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)
Getting Started
About the Data
NASA’s Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) provides data from a variety of sources including satellites, airborne campaigns, field campaigns, in situ instruments and model outputs. These freely and openly available data can be used to understand and monitor environmental conditions before a fire starts, measure the intensity and development of fires as they are burning, and assess the effects and impacts of wildfires.
Dr. Santiago Gassó studies the concentration and global movement of dust.
Dr. Laura Bourgeau-Chavez studies wetlands and wildfire.
Dr. Nancy French explores the effects of wildfires on forest ecosystems.
Data Pathfinders are pathways to the most commonly-used datasets within NASA’s Earth science collections. Pathfinders are designed to aid new data users in discovering data or visualizations of the data.
Read about how resource managers and researchers are using NASA satellite and field campaign data to study and monitor the development and impact of wildland fires, and the relationships between environmental factors and fires.
NASA FIRMS Helps Fight Wildland Fires in Near Real-Time
New Ozone Mapping Profiler Suite (OMPS) Product Provides a Better View of High-Aerosol Events
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) Near Real-Time Products Now Available through LANCE
Links
Last Updated: Jul 9, 2019 at 12:38 AM EDT
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