HR: 0800h
AN: G11A-1183    [Abstracts]
TI: Characterizing and Monitoring Hazardous Air Pollution Caused by Wildfire in Interior Alaska in Summer 2005 Using MODIS Imagery
AU: * Li, S
EM: sli@gi.alaska.edu
AF: University of Alaska Faribanks, 903 Koyukuk Drive, P.O. Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320 United States
AU: Cobb, P
EM: patcaribou@yahoo.com
AF: University of Alaska Faribanks, 903 Koyukuk Drive, P.O. Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320 United States
AU: Sassen, K
EM: ksassen@gi.alaska.edu
AF: University of Alaska Faribanks, 903 Koyukuk Drive, P.O. Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320 United States
AU: Engle, K
EM: kengle@gi.alaska.edu
AF: University of Alaska Faribanks, 903 Koyukuk Drive, P.O. Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320 United States
AB: By mid-August 2005, about 600 fires had burned more than 3 million acres in Alaska. Approximately 90-95 percent of the Interior Alaska was impacted by smoke and air quality reached "very unhealthy" to "dangerous" levels between August 12, and 17, 2005. MODIS level 1B images are used study the spectral characteristics of the Wildfires. All 36 MODIS spectral bands are used to analyze the spectral characteristics of background forest and tundra, fires, clouds and smoke plumes. Analysis indicates that clouds have high reflectance at visible and near infrared wavelengths and low emission at thermal infrared wavelengths. Fires have high emission at middle infrared, especially at MODIS Band 21 (3.959 microns). Vegetation covered ground has lowest reflectance at visible wavelengths. Smoke plumes from forest fires have intermediate reflectance at visible wavelengths. The spatial coverage and temporal evolution of the wildfire patches and smoke plumes are monitored using MODIS time series. The characteristics of the smoke plumes are also studied using both ground based remote sensing instrument and MODIS derived aerosol product (MOD04), which monitors aerosol type, aerosol optical thickness, particle size distribution, aerosol mass concentration, optical properties.
DE: 1640 Remote sensing (1855)
DE: 3311 Clouds and aerosols
DE: 3360 Remote sensing
SC: Geodesy [G]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005