An active fire data record from MODIS and VIIRS

Ivan Andras Csiszar, NOAA, ivan.csiszar@noaa.gov (Presenter)
Louis Giglio, NASA GSFC / University of Maryland, giglio@hermes.geog.umd.edu
Chris Justice, University of Maryland, justice@hermes.geog.umd.edu
Wilfrid Schroeder, University of Maryland, wilfrid.schroeder@noaa.gov
Evan Ellicott, UMD/ Dept. of Geography, eaelupus@umd.edu

Over the past decade active fire data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) have provided valuable information for the land management, decision making and science communities worldwide. Recent MODIS algorithm changes for the Collection 6 process include improved detection of smaller and/or cooler fires, new rejection tests to eliminate false alarms caused by small forest clearings, and ocean processing to detect and characterize offshore gas flaring. These changes have partly been implemented as a result of an extensive validation of the Terra/MODIS active fire product, which now includes off-nadir validation using Landsat-5 TM (Thematic Mapper) data in addition to sampling the near-nadir conditions by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER). The continuation of the data record from MODIS will to be provided by the Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) and JPSS (Joint Polar Satellite System) satellites. VIIRS has capabilities for active fire detection and characterization for a broad range of fires, and observing and environmental conditions. To establish a consistent data record useful for the long-term monitoring and analysis of fire dynamics, a detailed comparison of the fire mapping capabilities of MODIS and VIIRS is needed. While NPP and Aqua have similar orbital characteristics and compatible sampling of the diurnal cycle of fire activity, sensor differences, including pixel sizes, along-scan aggregation and swath width result in inherent differences in the expected fire observations. These differences can be analyzed by theoretical simulations produce estimates of detection capabilities and their variations with view angle along the scanline; and by actual fire observations from higher spatial resolution sensors, such as ASTER, TM and Landsat-7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+).

Presentation Type:  Poster

Session:  Science in Support of Decision Making   (Wed 10:00 AM)

Associated Project(s): 

• Csiszar, Ivan: Active fires from MODIS and VIIRS and developing the associated Earth Science Data Record ...details
• Csiszar, Ivan: The Active Fire Data Record from NPP VIIRS ...details

Poster Location ID: 132