Skip to main content
OSTI.GOVU.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information
 

The detection and interpretation of fire-disturbed boreal forest ecosystems in Alaska using spaceborne SAR data

Conference · · Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America; (United States)
OSTI ID:6264028
; ;  [1]
  1. Environmental Research Institute of Michigan, Ann Arbor (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

There is great interest in the ability to remotely monitor changes in boreal forest ecosystems for the understanding and balancing of the global carbon budget. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the utility of spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR), particularly the ERS-1 C-VV SAR, for the detection and interpretation of fire-disturbed boreal forest ecosystems in the state of Alaska. The Alaska Fire Service has provided fire maps and records for comparison with the SAR data. Preliminary results have found that the following all have an influence on the detectability of a fire-scar (1) the time elapsed since the fire occurred, (2) the season in which the SAR data is collected, and (3) the geomorphology of the landscape in which the fire occurred. This paper demonstrates the usefulness of SAR in the estimation of the areal extent of fires. It also evaluates the potential usefulness of SAR in providing information on the spatial variability of bum intensity.

OSTI ID:
6264028
Report Number(s):
CONF-930798--
Journal Information:
Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America; (United States), Journal Name: Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America; (United States) Vol. 74:2; ISSN BECLAG; ISSN 0012-9623
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Similar Records

Estimation of carbon emissions from wildfires in Alaskan boreal forests using AVHRR data
Conference · Tue Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1993 · Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America; (United States) · OSTI ID:6145213
Monitoring of wildfires in boreal forests using large area AVHRR NDVI composite image data
Journal Article · Tue Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1993 · Ohio Journal of Science; (United States) · OSTI ID:7369121

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
095000* -- Biomass Fuels-- Environmental Aspects-- (1990-)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540120 -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
ALASKA
CARBON CYCLE
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DISTRIBUTION
ECOSYSTEMS
FIRES
FORESTS
GEOLOGY
GEOMORPHOLOGY
GLOBAL ASPECTS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MONITORING
NORTH AMERICA
RADAR
RANGE FINDERS
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
SYNTHETIC-APERTURE RADAR
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
USA