About the Fire Alert System
The Center for Applied Biodiversity Science (CABS) at Conservation International, International Resources Group (IRG), Madagascar's Ministère de l'Environnement, des Forêts et du Tourisme (MEFT), and US Agency for International Development (USAID) have teamed up with the MODIS Rapid Response System and the Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) at the University of Maryland to develop an e-mail based alert system warning of fires in areas of high biodiversity importance. The system uses data from the MODIS Rapid Response System and builds on the University of Maryland's Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS).
The University of Maryland developed FIRMS to serve MODIS fire observations to the broader natural resource management community, for whom accessing and processing satellite data is costly and time consuming. FIRMS displays active fires detected in near-real time using thermal and mid-infrared data from the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) instrument on board NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites; this means the data are processed and available on the web 4-6 hours after the satellite overpass. Due to their alternating flight paths, the Aqua and Terra satellites permit four fire observations in a 24-hour period.
In ecosystems without natural wildfire regimes, fires can cause enormous damage if left unchecked. However, protected areas and other areas of high biodiversity importance are often situated in remote regions where internet access is too slow or unreliable to routinely use interactive web tools displaying satellite data and maps. The Fire Alert System was created to ensure that these regions have access to information on the threats from fire, delivering near real-time warnings of fire to both national and local stakeholders who can make use of these valuable data for improved natural resource management.
The Fire Alert System is a fully automated analysis and alert system that delivers a range of products tailored to a user's specific needs. These include simple text-based emails containing the coordinates of active fires within protected areas, areas of high biodiversity importance, different vegetation and land cover types, administrative units, or user-defined regions. The emails can include JPEG attachments showing a satellite image of a protected area with the active fire depicted as red squares, ESRI shapefiles for import into geographic information systems (GIS), and KMLs for data import into GoogleEarth. Each e-mail alert also provides information on the time and date of satellite observations and a confidence value for each fire detected. Subscribers may select from a range of background images and maps. The next phase of this system will include multivariate/multi-criteria analysis and that enables more flexible user customization, and an advanced report generator.
The e-mail based alert system was originally developed in partnership with natural resource managers from around the world. Before the automated version, a manual prototype was used to deliver simple alerts to Brazil, Bolivia, Madagascar, Namibia, Paraguay, South Africa, and Tanzania. In addition to fire response and management, the Fire Alert System is now being extensively used to monitor and inform enforcement officials of suspected illegal activity -- such as illegal logging and encroachment taking place in protected areas around the globe.
Sponsors
Our work would not be possible were it not for the generous and sustained support of the following people and institutions:
The University of Maryland developed FIRMS to serve MODIS fire observations to the broader natural resource management community, for whom accessing and processing satellite data is costly and time consuming. FIRMS displays active fires detected in near-real time using thermal and mid-infrared data from the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) instrument on board NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites; this means the data are processed and available on the web 4-6 hours after the satellite overpass. Due to their alternating flight paths, the Aqua and Terra satellites permit four fire observations in a 24-hour period.
In ecosystems without natural wildfire regimes, fires can cause enormous damage if left unchecked. However, protected areas and other areas of high biodiversity importance are often situated in remote regions where internet access is too slow or unreliable to routinely use interactive web tools displaying satellite data and maps. The Fire Alert System was created to ensure that these regions have access to information on the threats from fire, delivering near real-time warnings of fire to both national and local stakeholders who can make use of these valuable data for improved natural resource management.
The Fire Alert System is a fully automated analysis and alert system that delivers a range of products tailored to a user's specific needs. These include simple text-based emails containing the coordinates of active fires within protected areas, areas of high biodiversity importance, different vegetation and land cover types, administrative units, or user-defined regions. The emails can include JPEG attachments showing a satellite image of a protected area with the active fire depicted as red squares, ESRI shapefiles for import into geographic information systems (GIS), and KMLs for data import into GoogleEarth. Each e-mail alert also provides information on the time and date of satellite observations and a confidence value for each fire detected. Subscribers may select from a range of background images and maps. The next phase of this system will include multivariate/multi-criteria analysis and that enables more flexible user customization, and an advanced report generator.
The e-mail based alert system was originally developed in partnership with natural resource managers from around the world. Before the automated version, a manual prototype was used to deliver simple alerts to Brazil, Bolivia, Madagascar, Namibia, Paraguay, South Africa, and Tanzania. In addition to fire response and management, the Fire Alert System is now being extensively used to monitor and inform enforcement officials of suspected illegal activity -- such as illegal logging and encroachment taking place in protected areas around the globe.
Sponsors
Our work would not be possible were it not for the generous and sustained support of the following people and institutions:
American Forests and Paper Association
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Ruth and Ben Hammett
U.S. Agency for International Development
U.S. Department of State
