PROCEEDINGS: Index of Abstracts

OVERVIEW OF CURRENT RESEARCH ON ATMOSPHERIC INTERACTIONS WITH WILDLAND FIRES

Warren E. Heilman

Research Meteorologist, USDA Forest Service, North Central Forest Experiment Station, East Lansing, MI 48823.

Changes in the large-scale mean thermal structure of the atmosphere have the potential for affecting the dynamics of the atmosphere across the entire spectrum of scales that govern atmospheric processes. Inherent in these changes are interactions among the scales that could change, resulting in an alteration in the frequency of regional weather systems conducive to fire occurrence. In support of the Northern Stations Global Change Research Program, we have designed a research program to examine the interactions of large-scale atmospheric processes with regional fire-weather systems. This paper provides a summary of four studies that have been performed or are in progress that address some of the fundamental characteristics of regional fire-weather systems and their behavior in response to larger-scale atmospheric conditions.