Identification and spatiotemporal distribution analysis of global biomass burning based on Suomi-NPP VIIRS Nightfire data

Abstract

Biomass burning refers to the combustion of various organisms formed through photosynthesis, including natural and man-made biomass burning. Biomass combustion has great impacts on nature and human health. Biomass combustion and industrial heat sources overlap in temperature range, it is difficult to distinguish them with traditional methods. In order to explore the distribution of biomass combustion, the influence of industrial heat sources must be eliminated. This paper used Suomi-NPP (Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership) VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) Nightfire data to extract 1,457,930 global biomass combustion objects from 2012 to 2018 based on the spatial distribution, occurrence frequency and duration characteristics of biomass combustion. The extracted results were verified using industrial directory Point of Interest (POI) data obtained online from high-resolution remote sensing images and place name maps, and the results showed that 98.37% of the industrial heat sources were successfully removed. The spatial and temporal characteristics of biomass combustion in regions with varying levels of economic development at the intercontinental, international and global levels from 2012 to 2018 were revealed in this paper. It also compares the temporal and spatial differences in biomass burning among different climate zones and land cover types from 2012 to 2018. Overall, global biomass burning showed an upward trend from 2012 to 2018 and increased significantly from 2015 to 2016. Global biomass combustion was mostly distributed in Africa, followed by Oceania and South America. Australia, Brazil, Russia, the United States and Canada were the five countries with the most biomass burning. The proportions of biomass burning in different climatic zones and land cover types also showed obvious regularity. Biomass combustion mostly occurred in low-latitude and high-temperature areas and in areas where the land cover types included shrublands, grasslands and farmlands.