Satellite-Observed Soil Moisture as an Indicator of Wildfire Risk

Abstract

Wildfires are a concerning issue in Canada due to their immediate impact on people’s lives, local economy, climate, and environment. Studies have shown that the number of wildfires and affected areas in Canada has increased during recent decades and is a result of a warming and drying climate. Therefore, identifying potential wildfire risk areas is increasingly an important aspect of wildfire management. The purpose of this study is to investigate if remotely sensed soil moisture products from the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite can be used to identify potential wildfire risk areas for better wildfire management. We used the National Fire Database (NFDB) fire points and polygons to group the wildfires according to ecozone classifications, as well as to analyze the SMOS soil moisture data over the wildfire areas, between 2010–2017, across fourteen ecozones in Canada. Timeseries of 3-day, 5-day, and 7-day soil moisture anomalies prior to the onset of each wildfire occurrence were examined over the ecozones individually. Overall, the results suggest, despite the coarse-resolution, SMOS soil moisture products are potentially useful in identifying soil moisture anomalies where wildfire hot-spots may occur.

Causes of the Widespread 2019–2020 Australian Bushfire Season

“…Since the bushfire incidents occurred on different dates at the BFUs, daily WS10, RH, and vapor pressure deficit (used to calculate dead fuel moisture) are retrieved only for the days of bushfire for each BFU. Also, following the suggestion of Ambadan et al (2020), SSM data is collected for 5 days prior to bushfire incidents at each BFU. Live fuel moisture is calculated based on the available date of MODIS data set (MOD09A1) prior to the starting date of the bushfire at each BFU.…”

Using Soil Moisture Information to Better Understand and Predict Wildfire Danger

“…In addition, there is a rapidly expanding body of knowledge resulting from studies linking remotely sensed soil moisture to wildfire. Those studies have shown how remotely sensed soil moisture can be used to estimate fuel moisture content and to predict wildfire extent from regional to global scales (Chaparro et al., 2016; Jensen et al., 2018; Lu & Wei, 2021; O et al., 2020; Rigden et al., 2020; Thomas Ambadan et al., 2020). Taken together, there are strong and growing lines of evidence that soil moisture information can help us better understand and predict wildfire danger.…”

Complete Issue

“…In addition, there is a rapidly expanding body of knowledge resulting from studies linking remotely sensed soil moisture to wildfire. Those studies have shown how remotely sensed soil moisture can be used to estimate fuel moisture content and to predict wildfire extent from regional to global scales (Chaparro et al, 2016;Jensen et al, 2018;Lu & Wei, 2021;O et al, 2020;Rigden et al, 2020;Thomas Ambadan et al, 2020). Taken together, there are strong and growing lines of evidence that soil moisture information can help us better understand and predict wildfire danger.…”