An example of a land surface temperature data from the MODIS instrument.
Team Location:NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), Huntsville, Alabama
Authors: James Brenton, University of Alabama in Huntsville; Khamis Abdouli, Florida State University; Nathan Bledsoe, University of Alabama in Huntsville.
Advisors/Mentors: Dr. Jeff Luvall, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, GHCC Global Hydrology and Climate Center; Dr. Max Moreno Madri̱an, SERVIR Deputy Science Applications Lead; Victor Hugo Ramos, Wildlife Conservation Society.
Abstract: Fire poses a significant threat to biodiversity, rural communities, and established infrastructure across Colombia. NASA Earth Observations can play a major role in the monitoring of fires and natural disasters. This research uses partnerships with NASA’s Regional Visualization and Monitoring Network (SERVIR), a platform for observing, forecasting and modeling environmental processes in Central America. SERVIR conducted a similar, interagency project called Geospatial Information System for Fire Management (SIGMA-I), to address fire incidence in Guatemala. This project is a pilot study in the watershed areas of the Cali River in Colombia (Valle del Cauca) for determining the likelihood of successfully undertaking a similar project for the entire nation for future DEVELOP terms. The research investigates the technical resources required to undertake a project comprised of: historical fire mapping, mapping fire scars recurrence, a pattern analysis and ignition cause model, and a dynamic fire risk model showing the relations between environmental factors and the locations of fires.