IN034-02
VIIRS Direct Broadcast Advances for Improved Wildland Fire Monitoring in Alaska
Tuesday, 15 December 2020: 04:04
Virtual
Peter James Hickman1, Jennifer Jenkins2, Gary Schmunk2, Jennifer Delamere3, Carl Dierking4, Jay Cable4, Greg S Wirth5, Curtis Seaman6, Alison S York7 and Robert Ziel8, (1)University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, United States, (2)Bureau of Land Management, Alaska Fire Service, Fairbanks, AK, United States, (3)University of Alaska Fairbanks, Geophysical Institute, Fairbanks, AK, United States, (4)University of Alaska Fairbanks, Geographic Information Network of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, United States, (5)Geographic Information Network of Alaska - UAF, Fairbanks, AK, United States, (6)Colorado State University, Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere, Fort Collins, CO, United States, (7)University of Alaska Fairbanks, Alaska Fire Science Consortium, Fairbanks, AK, United States, (8)University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Fairbanks, United States
Abstract:
The University of Alaska Fairbanks Geographic Information Network of Alaska (GINA) has been providing near real-time, satellite-derived, fire-monitoring products to the Alaska Fire Service (AFS) since 2003. These products, used to detect new fire starts in remote areas and to map and monitor active fires, are valued by the Alaska Wildland Fire community because they arrive rapidly, cover the entire state numerous times per day, and provide actionable information. While the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) was the early source data for these products, the Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensor, flying aboard Suomi NPP and NOAA-20, is now at the forefront. AFS was among the first in the fire management community to adopt VIIRS I-Band Active Fire Products. AFS has credited VIIRS active fire detections and fire-specific imagery as the method of detection for numerous fire-starts each season, otherwise difficult to detect in Alaska’s wilderness.
GINA operates two direct-broadcast antennas and an advanced near real-time (NRT) processing system with support from the NOAA JPSS program. Polar satellite products are delivered to the National Weather Service, AFS and other state/federal agencies within 15-30 minutes of acquisition. NOAA-20 leads Suomi NPP in orbit by 50 minutes, combining for approximately 14 passes per day over central Alaska. GeoTIFF imagery is delivered via public web-sites and fire heat points are delivered as ESRI REST web service endpoints that are readily consumed by web-mapping applications tailored for the wildland fire community (i.e. https://arcg.is/1aa8Lq). This year, GINA and AFS are developing a mechanism to deliver VIIRS I-Band FireColor and M-Band FireTemperature image services as both ESRI REST and OGC WMS endpoints. This allows the community to easily ingest these services into their client applications, without the overhead of learning GIS software or requesting assistance from GIS staff.
This critical and timely information from GINA’s Direct Broadcast NRT system has become an essential tool for AFS managers and partner agencies across the state to plan strategies that involve hundreds of personnel and millions of dollars in equipment to protect Alaska residents, property and commerce from wildfire disaster.
