Assessing fire emissions from tropical savanna and forests of central Brazil

Abstract

Wildfires in tropical forest and savanna are a strong source of trace gas and particulate emissions to the atmosphere, but estimates of the continental-scale impacts are limited by large uncertainties in the rates of fire occurrence and biomass combustion. Satellite-based remote sensing offers promise for characterizing fire physical properties and impacts on the environment, but currenUy available sensors saturate over high-radiance targets and provide only indicalions of regions and times at which fires are extensive ond their areal rate of growth as recorded in ash layers. Here we describe an approach combining satellite- and aircraft-based remote sensing with in situ measurements of smoke to estimate emissions from central Brazil. These estimates will improve global accounting of radiation-absorbing gases and particulates that may be contributing to climate change and will provide strategic data for fire management.

Citation

Riggan, Philip J.; Brass, James A.; Lockwood, Robert N. 1993. Assessing fire emissions from tropical savanna and forests of central Brazil. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing. 59(6): 1009-1015.