Synergistic Satellite and Modeling Methods for the Description of Biomass Smoke Dispersion Over Complex Terrain. The FireHub Platform

Abstract

Wildfire smoke properties depend mainly on the severity and type of fire (i.e. smoldering, flaming combustion) and on the local meteorological conditions. The intensity of the fire is characterized by the observed Fire Radiative Power (FRP) and this measurement is also used for the calculation of smoke emissions and initial plume rise. Geostationary (MSG-SEVIRI) and orbital instruments (MODIS, MISR) allow the early and accurate recognition of biomass burning episodes providing also information on the specific characteristics of the fire and smoke properties. Analysis of specific smoke dispersion episodes over Greece are performed with the FIREHUB platform incorporating both satellite and modeling techniques. FIREHUB has been developed at the National Observatory of Athens and combines satellite recognition of the initial hot-spots with high resolution Eulerian and Lagrangian atmospheric tools (FLEXPART-WRF) for the description of smoke dispersion. Comparison of smoke dispersion simulations with satellite data (MISR, MODIS) for the fire events of Peloponnese 2007, Evros 2011 and Agion Oros 2012 shows the ability of the system to reproduce complex dispersion patterns and indicates the increased possibility of long range transport of smoke due to the abrupt changes between marine and land PBL.