Airborne and Lidar measurements of smoke plume rise, emissions, and dispersion

Metadata:

Identification_Information:
Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Urbanski, Shawn P.
Originator: Kovalev, Vladimir A.
Originator: Hao, Wei Min
Publication_Date: 2013
Title:
Airborne and Lidar measurements of smoke plume rise, emissions, and dispersion
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector and tabular digital data
Publication_Information:
Publication_Place: Fort Collins, CO
Publisher: USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station
Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0010
Description:
Abstract:
This data publication consists of measurements of smoke plume rise, emissions, and dispersion in and around eight wildfires in the western United States and prescribed fires in California, Idaho, and North Carolina. Eleven wildland fires were investigated between August 2009 and August 2011, allowing the research team to measure plume rise and smoke transport over a wide range of meteorological conditions, fire activity, fuels, and terrain. This data publication provides observations for the evaluation of smoke dispersion and air quality forecasting models. The data publication includes measurements of prognostic variables (plume height and the concentrations of aerosol, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and methane) of plume rise models, smoke dispersion models, and atmospheric chemistry transport models. The subcomponent models of smoke modeling systems, such as plume rise and fire effects models rely on a variety of fire environment data as input including ambient meteorological conditions, fuel type, fuel loading, and fuel condition. In addition to measuring model prognostic variables, this data publication also has ancillary data consisting of fire environment variables which are input for the subcomponent models of smoke modeling systems.
Purpose:
Air quality regulators, land managers, and atmospheric scientists all rely on smoke emission and atmospheric chemistry modeling systems to predict, evaluate, and manage the impact of fire emissions on air quality and atmospheric composition. There is an urgent need to quantitatively characterize the uncertainties, biases, and application limits of smoke modeling systems and to develop improved systems for air regulators, land managers, and air quality forecasters. Accurately describing and predicting the dynamics of smoke plumes and subsequent smoke transport is a major uncertainty in determining the impact of fire emissions on air quality. This dataset provides measurements for the evaluation and development of smoke modeling systems.
Supplemental_Information:
The measurements provided in this data publication were collected in the Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) research project "Validation of Smoke Transport Models with Airborne and Lidar Experiments" (Project # 08-1-6-09), and collected in part to support the Smoke Emissions Model Intercomparison Project (SEMIP; https://www.airfire.org/projects/semip/, Joint Fire Science Program Project #08-1-7-10). The research project responded to research solicitation JFSP AFP-2008-1, Task 6 "Smoke and Emissions Models Evaluation".

Original metadata date was 08/12/2013. Minor metadata updates were made on 11/18/2013, 12/15/2016, and 06/11/2024.
Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Range_of_Dates/Times:
Beginning_Date: 200908
Ending_Date: 201108
Currentness_Reference:
Ground condition
Status:
Progress: Complete
Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None planned
Spatial_Domain:
Description_of_Geographic_Extent:
California, Idaho, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon, and Utah
Bounding_Coordinates:
West_Bounding_Coordinate: -125.0
East_Bounding_Coordinate: -75.0
North_Bounding_Coordinate: 50.0
South_Bounding_Coordinate: 33.5
Keywords:
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO 19115 Topic Category
Theme_Keyword: climatologyMeteorologyAtmosphere
Theme_Keyword: environment
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: National Research & Development Taxonomy
Theme_Keyword: Climate change
Theme_Keyword: Carbon
Theme_Keyword: Fire
Theme_Keyword: Prescribed fire
Theme_Keyword: Smoke
Theme_Keyword: Inventory, Monitoring, & Analysis
Theme_Keyword: Monitoring
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Theme_Keyword: biomass burning
Theme_Keyword: wildland fire
Theme_Keyword: smoke dispersion
Theme_Keyword: smoke emissions
Theme_Keyword: wildfire
Theme_Keyword: plume rise
Theme_Keyword: Joint Fire Science Program
Theme_Keyword: JFSP
Place:
Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Place_Keyword: Bob Marshall Wilderness
Place_Keyword: Bitterroot National Forest
Place_Keyword: Salmon-Challis National Forest
Place_Keyword: Clearwater National Forest
Place_Keyword: Bitterroot National Forest
Place_Keyword: Dixie National Forest
Place_Keyword: Deschutes National Forest
Place_Keyword: Fishlake National Forest
Place_Keyword: Boise National Forest
Place_Keyword: Vandenberg Air Force Base
Place_Keyword: Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune
Place_Keyword: Montana
Place_Keyword: Idaho
Place_Keyword: Utah
Place_Keyword: Oregon
Place_Keyword: California
Place_Keyword: North Carolina
Access_Constraints: none
Use_Constraints:
These data were collected using funding from the U.S. Government and can be used without additional permissions or fees. If you use these data in a publication, presentation, or other research product please use the following citation:

Urbanski, Shawn P.; Kovalev, Vladimir A.; Hao, Wei Min. 2013. Airborne and Lidar measurements of smoke plume rise, emissions, and dispersion. Fort Collins, CO: USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0010
Point_of_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person: Shawn P. Urbanski
Contact_Organization: USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station
Contact_Position: Research Physical Scientist
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing and physical
Address: Fire Sciences Laboratory
Address: 5775 W US Highway 10
City: Missoula
State_or_Province: MT
Postal_Code: 59808
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: 406-329-4829
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: shawn.p.urbanski@usda.gov
Contact Instructions: This contact information was current as of June 2024. For current information see Contact Us page on: https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS.
Data_Set_Credit:
Funding for this project was provided by multiple entities:

1. Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP # 08-1-6-09: Validation of Smoke Transport Models with Airborne and Lidar Experiments): https://www.firescience.gov

2. USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station

3. The experiments collecting data from the Vandenberg AFB Prescribed Fire and the Camp Lejeune Prescribed Fire were supported by Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program projects SI-1648 and SI-1649.
Cross_Reference:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Urbanski, Shawn P.
Originator: Hao, Wei Min
Originator: Kovalev, Vladimir A.
Publication_Date: Unpublished material
Title:
Airborne and Lidar Measurements of Smoke Plume Rise, Emissions, and Dispersion: Dataset Documentation
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: document
Other_Citation_Details:
140 p. (Available through full product download)
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Data_Quality_Information:
Attribute_Accuracy:
Attribute_Accuracy_Report:
These data include data collected from an airborne platform, data collected from a ground-based mobile Lidar, estimates of pre-fire fuel loading, and a multi-polygon shapefile that provides fire perimeters.

Airborne Platform: Data collected from the airborne platform and included in this dataset are 1. location, 2. volume mixing ratio of carbon dioxide (CO2) , carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4), and water vapor (H2O), 3. light scattering, and 4. plume height.

1. The aircraft location was provided by a GARMIN global positioning system (GPS) receiver with a reported accuracy of +/- 15 meters (m) on average (GARMIN: About GPS, available at: https://www8.garmin.com/aboutGPS/, last access: 16 July 2013).

2. The Legacy Aircraft Package (LAP) employed a non-dispersive infrared instrument to measure volume mixing ratios of CO2 and H2O. The uncertainty of the LAP measured CO2 is as estimated +/-5% (based on the analytical uncertainty of the calibration standards) and the accuracy of the H2O measurement is unknown. A cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) gas analyzer was used to measure mixing ratios of CO2, CO, CH4, water vapor. The estimated analytical uncertainty of the CRDS measurements is +/-1% to +/-1.5% for CO2 and CH4 and+/-2% (at 3 parts per million by volume, ppmv) to +/-15% (at 0.100 ppmv) for CO (see data document section 2.2 of Urbanski et al. [2013]). The average CRDS measurement precision, defined as the 14 s standard deviation while measuring a calibration standard is CO2 = 0.293 ppmv, CH4 = 0.005 ppmv, CO = 0.027 ppmv. The accuracy of the CRDS water vapor measurement is unknown. The analytical uncertainty and measurement precision vary with flight and the data document (see section 2.2 of Urbanski et al. [2013]) should be consulted for flight specific uncertainty estimates.

3. The study employed a Radiance Research M903 Integrating Nephelometer to measure light scattering (bscat) at a wavelength of 530 nanometers (nm). The measurement precision varies with bscat and is estimated as +/-7% for bscat > 50 1/Mm (megameters) and data accquisition rate of 0.5 Hertz. (see section 2.2 of Urbanski et al. [2013]). The accuracy of the bscat measurement is unknown. The measured bscat can be used to infer the mass density of aerosol of fresh smoke by applying a biomass burning mass calibration factor (see section 2.2 of Urbanski et al. [2013]) and uncertainties associated with this calibration are provided in the data document.

4. The average uncertainty in the measured smoke plume height is estimated as +/-30 m.

Ground-based Lidar: The ground-based Lidar measured plume height minimum and maximum with an estimated uncertainty of +/- 30 m.

Fire perimeters: The fire perimeter polygons were created by incident management teams and were acquired from official web sites for interagency wildland fire incident data or directly from personnel involved in fire incident management activities. The accuracy of the fire perimeters is unknown. Uncertainties associated with using these data are discussed in section 2.2 of Urbanski et al. (2013).

Fuel loading: Pre-fire fuel loading was estimated by combining fire perimeters polygons, a USFS forest type group map (Ruefenach et al. [2008]), and a forest fuel loading model (Keane et al. [2013]). The average bias of the fuel load is -3.5% for duff, -2.4% for litter, +0.9% for fine woody debris, and -0.1% for coarse woody debris (Keane et al. [2013]). The overall classification accuracy for the forest type group map is 65% (Ruefenach et al. [2008]).
Logical_Consistency_Report:
Frequent in-flight calibrations were used to maintain accuracy of the trace gas measurements and quantify the measurement precision. The CRDS analyzer was calibrated in-flight using three-point calibrations. In the laboratory, a five point calibration was conducted to verify linearity of CRDS response to CO between 0.030 ppmv and 10 ppmv. The non-dispersive infrared instrument was calibrated in-flight using a two-point calibration. All procedures are detailed in supporting documentation (Urbanski et al. [2013]).
Completeness_Report:
Measurements of CO and CH4 are not available for the fires measured in 2009 and 2010. Non-dispersive infrared instrument data is not available for the fires measured in 2011.

Airborne meteorological data is only available for prescribed fires measured in California and North Carolina.
Lineage:
Methodology:
Methodology_Type: Lab
Methodology_Description:
PRIMARY DATA:
Three classes of primary data are contained in this data publication: measurements of smoke plume height, smoke emissions, and the spatial distribution of aerosol and trace gases released by wildland fires.

Observations of plume height were obtained through the deployment of a ground based, mobile Lidar and atmospheric chemistry instrumentation deployed on an aircraft platform. In this project, Lidar measurements of light backscattering were processed with a specially developed analysis methodology, the Atmospheric Heterogeneity Height Indicatory, to provide estimates of plume height. In addition to Lidar observations, the aircraft platform provided measurements of plume height by obtaining vertical profiles and transects of smoke concentrations (aerosol and carbon monoxide [CO]) as well as ocular estimates based on GPS elevation when the aircraft was level with the top of the smoke plume/smoke layer.

Using an aircraft platform, measurements of smoke aerosol (PM2.5), CO2, CO, and CH4 concentrations were obtained in fresh smoke and in the background atmosphere upwind of the fires. These measurements can be used to determine emission factors (EF) for the measured species and the modified combustion efficiency (MCE), which can be used to estimate EF for a wide range of reactive gases emitted by fires.

An aircraft platform was used to measure the spatial distribution of aerosol, CO, and CH4 concentrations downwind from wildland fires using vertical profile and horizontal profile transect sampling modes. These concentration fields measured from 0 to 50 kilometers (km) downwind of the fire provide the observations needed to evaluate the concentration fields simulated by smoke dispersion and atmosphere chemistry transport models (ACTM). Additionally, the vertical concentration profiles at the source may be used to initialize the vertical emission profiles used to initialize smoke dispersion/ATCM simulations.

Airborne Sampling Approach:
The airborne smoke sampling acquired measurements of fresh emissions, smoke vertical profile, plume height, and smoke dispersion (the spatial distribution of emissions downwind of the fire). These measurement objectives were accomplished using three flight sampling modes: 1) fresh smoke samples near the fire, 2) vertical profiling at distances of up to 50 km downwind of the source and 3) horizontal transects at distances of up to 50 km downwind from the source.

Sampling Mode 1: Fresh smoke on the edge of the plume column was sampled at multiple elevations.

Sampling Mode 2: Vertical profiles may be obtained either with spiral or step increase profiles. Spiral vertical profiles, centered on the plume downwind from the source are taken from above the smoke plume/smoke layer to the lowest practical elevation. The lowest elevation of sampling was dictated by the Project Aviation Safety Plan which established a minimum flight altitude of 500 (150 meters [m]) to 1,000 feet (ft) (300 m) above the terrain depending on conditions. Step increase vertical profiles involve short (~10 km) horizontal transects, roughly perpendicular to the long-axis of the smoke plume (i.e. perpendicular the direction of smoke transport), taken at multiple elevations. Because step increase profiles are time consuming and may miss some vertical structure of the smoke plume, nearly all of the vertical profiles were acquired using the spiral flight mode. The spiral sampling profile is ideal for measuring the vertical distribution of smoke concentration downwind of a fire if the smoke is homogeneously distributed in the horizontal plane across the diameter of the flight path. This is not always the case.

Sampling Mode 3: The third sampling mode traverses the plume horizontally, roughly perpendicular to the direction of smoke transport, at multiple locations downwind of the source. The horizontal transects were usually executed at the approximate level of maximum smoke density. During some flights, horizontal transects were obtained at multiple vertical levels.

Lidar Measurement Technique in the Vicinity of Large Fires:
The mobile Lidar measures the elastically backscattered light signals as a function of range (or height) at two wavelengths simultaneously, in the infrared (1064 nanometer [nm]) and the ultraviolet (355 nm) regions of the spectra. The backscattered signals at 1064 nm are used for monitoring smoke plume dynamics and propagation. The signals at 355 nm are used for calculation of smoke particle optical properties. The range of the Lidar is up to 5-10 km, depending on atmospheric conditions. The range resolution may be set from 6 to 30 m. The scanning capabilities of the Lidar allow it to change the searching direction rapidly through 180 degrees horizontally and 90 degrees vertically.

Objectively identifying smoke plume dimensions was achieved using an improved methodology developed for analyzing Lidar vertical scans obtained in areas of smoke plumes. The new methodology identifies heterogeneity events each of which is a fixed case of increased atmospheric heterogeneity in a local segment in the two-dimensional space searched by a scanning Lidar (Kovalev et al. [2009]). Heterogeneity events from a fixed azimuthal scan are used to create the Atmospheric Heterogeneity Height Indicator (AHHI) a histogram which shows the number of heterogeneity events in the consecutive height intervals (Kovalev et al. [2009]). From the AHHI, the smoke-plume maximum height is the maximum height where the plume presence can be discriminated from noise in Lidar data.

AIRBORNE INSTRUMENTATION:
The primary platform for the airborne measurements was the USDA Forest Service Region 1 (USFS R1) Cessna 206 aircraft. The project deployed the USFS R1 Cessna to wildfire events during August 2009, 2010, and 2011. The Cessna 206 was installed with atmospheric chemistry instrumentation. Measurements for two prescribed fires included in this report were obtained as part of a separate research project (Department of Defense Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) projects RC-1648 and RC-1649) that used the USDA Forest Service Region 4 Twin Otter aircraft as the sampling platform. Details of the SERDP projects may be found in Yokelson et al. (2013).

Legacy smoke sampling aircraft package (LAP)
The LAP integrated two sampling systems a nephelometer and a non-dispersive infrared CO2/H2O analyzer, into a single aircraft deployable unit. The LAP included a Garmin global positioning system (GPS), which provided time stamped aircraft locations (latitude, longitude, elevation above mean sea-level) at 1 Hertz (Hz). The nephelometer was a Radiance Research Model 903 integrating nephelometer that measured light scattering at 530 nm every 2 seconds. The nephelometer was installed with a 2.5 micrometer cut-off cyclone in the sampling line to limit the measurements to PM2.5 (a cyclone with 2.5 micrometer cut-point passes only particles with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 micrometer, i.e. PM2.5). Nephelometer measurements of light scattering by particles can be related to particle mass concentration through a mass calibration (see section 2.2 of the dataset document). The LAP measured trace gases using a non-dispersive infrared instrument (LI-COR gas analyzer model LI-6262) which provided measurements of CO2 and H2O vapor at a rate of 0.5 Hz. In-flight two-point calibrations were used to maintain CO2 measurement accuracy and determine measurement precision.

Cavity Ring-down Spectroscopy (CRDS) trace gas analyzer
A flight ready CRDS trace gas analyzer (Picarro Inc., CA, USA, model G2401-m) for the continuous measurement of CO2, CO, CH4, and H2O was deployed along with the nephelometer and GPS unit from the LAP. The G2401-m analyzer used in this study scans lasers over the individual spectral lines of CO2, CO, CH4, and H2O at wavelengths between 1560 nm and 1650 nm to measure the concentrations of these gases. The analyzer tightly controls the gas sample temperature and pressure at +/- 0.005 C and +/- 0.0002 atm to provide stable, well-resolved spectral features and ensure high precision measurements. The data acquisition rate was 2 s. The CRDS also logged a Garmin global positioning system (GPS), which provided time stamped aircraft locations (latitude, longitude, elevation above mean sea-level) at 1Hz. Frequent in-flight three-point calibrations were used to maintain measurement accuracy and determine measurement precision.

ANCILLARY DATA:
Fire Perimeters: The fire perimeter polygons, which were obtained from multiple sources, were put into a common projection and combined into a single shapefile.

Fuel loading
The surface fuel load for the area burned was estimated from a geospatial overlay of the incident fire perimeters with a US Forest Service map of forest type group (Ruefenacht et al. [2008]). The forest type group map was combined with a forest type fuel classification from a recent study by Keane et al. (2013). The fuel classification of Keane et al. (2013) includes fuel loading for six fuel bed components: litter, duff, and 1-hr, 10-hr, 100-hr, and 1000-hr dead wood for 19 forest type groups. Keane et al. (2013) did not include canopy fuels and herb and shrub fuels. For this project, the forest type fuel loadings were augmented with estimates of herbaceous and shrub fuel loadings of 0.05 kg/m2 and 0.08 kg/m2, respectively for all forest types (see Section 2.2 of the data document for details (Urbanski et al. [2013]). The canopy fuel loading, which is the canopy fuels likely to be consumed in a fully active crown fire (needles, lichen, moss, and live and dead branch wood less than 6 mm in diameter), was estimated using the canopy geospatial layers canopy cover, canopy height, canopy base height, and canopy bulk density from the LANDFIRE project (LANDFIRE [2012]), see Section 2.2 of the data document for details (Urbanski et al. [2013]).

See supporting documentation (Urbanski et al. [2013]) for details on the Methodology.
Methodology_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Keane, Robert E.
Originator: Hernyk, Jason M.
Originator: Toney, Chris
Originator: Urbanski, Shawn P.
Originator: Lutes, Duncan C.
Originator: Ottmar, Roger D.
Publication_Date: 2013
Title:
Evaluating the performance and mapping of three fuel classification systems using Forest Inventory and Analysis surface fuel measurements
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: journal article
Series_Information:
Series_Name: Forest Ecology and Management
Issue_Identification: 305: 248-263
Other_Citation_Details:
15 p.
Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2013.06.001
Online_Linkage: https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/44779
Methodology_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Kovalev, Vladimir A.
Originator: Petkov, Alexander
Originator: Wold, Cyle
Originator: Urbanski, Shawn P.
Originator: Hao, Wei Min
Publication_Date: 2009
Title:
Determination of smoke plume and layer heights using scanning lidar data
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: journal article
Series_Information:
Series_Name: Applied Optics
Issue_Identification: 48(28): 5287-5294
Other_Citation_Details:
8 p.
Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.1364/ao.48.005287
Online_Linkage: https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/34681
Methodology_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Ruefenacht, B.
Originator: Finco, M. V.
Originator: Nelson, M. D.
Originator: Czaplewski, R.
Originator: Helmer, E. H.
Originator: Blackard, J. A.
Originator: Holden, G. R.
Originator: Lister, A. J.
Originator: Salajanu, D.
Originator: Weyermann, D.
Originator: Winterberger, K.
Publication_Date: 2008
Title:
Conterminous U.S. and Alaska forest type mapping using Forest Inventory and Analysis data
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: journal article
Series_Information:
Series_Name: Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing
Issue_Identification: 74(11): 1379-1388
Other_Citation_Details:
10 p.
Online_Linkage: https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/19002
Methodology_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Yokelson, R. J.
Originator: Burling, I. R.
Originator: Gilman, J. B.
Originator: Warneke, C.
Originator: Stockwell, C. E.
Originator: De Gouw, J.
Originator: Akagi, S. K.
Originator: Urbanski, S. P.
Originator: Veres, P.
Originator: Roberts, J. M.
Originator: Kuster, W. C.
Publication_Date: 2013
Title:
Coupling field and laboratory measurements to estimate the emission factors of identified and unidentified trace gases for prescribed fires
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: document
Series_Information:
Series_Name: Atmos. Chem. Phys.
Issue_Identification: 13(1):89-116
Other_Citation_Details:
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-89-2013
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: National Interagency Fire Center
Publication_Date: Unpublished material
Title:
Fire Perimeter Polygons
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data
Online_Linkage: ftp://ftp.nifc.gov/Incident_Specific_Data
Type_of_Source_Media: online
Source_Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Range_of_Dates/Times:
Beginning_Date: 2010
Ending_Date: 2011
Source_Currentness_Reference:
ground condition
Source_Citation_Abbreviation:
NIFC
Source_Contribution:
Fire perimeter polygons for:
BSLHC=Big Salmon Lake & Hammer Creek
SC=Saddle Complex
NF=North Fork Prescribed Burn
RR=Rooster Rock
TC=Twitchell Canyon
BNR=Banner
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Hass, J.
Publication_Date: Unpublished material
Title:
Fire Perimeter Polygons
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data
Type_of_Source_Media: electronic mail system
Source_Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Single_Date/Time:
Calendar_Date: 2009
Source_Currentness_Reference:
ground condition
Source_Citation_Abbreviation:
Hass
Source_Contribution:
Fire perimeter polygons for KC=Kootenai Creek. (Hass is a Data Service Specialist for the US Forest service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. Data obtained through personal communication.)
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Parry, L.
Publication_Date: Unpublished material
Title:
Fire Perimeter Polygons
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data
Type_of_Source_Media: electronic mail system
Source_Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Single_Date/Time:
Calendar_Date: 2009
Source_Currentness_Reference:
ground condition
Source_Citation_Abbreviation:
Parry
Source_Contribution:
Fire perimeter polygons for MF=Mill Flat. (Parry is a GIS Database Manager for the US Forest service, Dixie National Forest. Data obtained through personal communication)
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Brown, D.
Publication_Date: Unpublished material
Title:
Fire Perimeter Polygons
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data
Type_of_Source_Media: electronic mail system
Source_Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Single_Date/Time:
Calendar_Date: 2010
Source_Currentness_Reference:
ground condition
Source_Citation_Abbreviation:
Brown
Source_Contribution:
Fire perimeter polygons for WHC=Whitehawk Complex. (Brown is a Zone GIS Coordinator for the US Forest service, Boise National Forest. Data obtained through personal communication.)
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: MesoWest
Publication_Date: Unknown
Title:
Real-time Observation Monitor and Analysis Network
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: database
Publication_Information:
Publication_Place: Salt Lake City, UT
Publisher: University of Utah
Other_Citation_Details:
URL at time of publication: http://raws.wrh.noaa.gov/roman/
Type_of_Source_Media: online
Source_Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Range_of_Dates/Times:
Beginning_Date: Unknown
Ending_Date: Unknown
Source_Currentness_Reference:
ground condition
Source_Citation_Abbreviation:
ROMANS
Source_Contribution:
Surface weather observations from the interagency Remote Automatic Weather Stations (RAWS) are located throughout the US (URL at time of publication: http://raws.fam.nwcg.gov/) and we have cited the RAWS closest to each of our study’s fires in the fire event summaries. RAWS data may be accessed through the Real-time Observation Monitor and Analysis Network (ROMANS). RAWS provide hourly observations of temperature, dew point temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, wind gust speed, wind direction, precipitation, solar radiation, and 10-hour fuel moisture.
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey
Publication_Date: 2012
Title:
LANDFIRE 1.1.0 Fuel layers
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: database
Other_Citation_Details:
[Data accessed: 2012, December 20]
Other_Citation_Details:
URL at time of publication: http://landfire.cr.usgs.gov/viewer/
Type_of_Source_Media: online
Source_Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Range_of_Dates/Times:
Beginning_Date: Unknown
Ending_Date: Unknown
Source_Citation_Abbreviation:
LANDFIRE
Source_Contribution:
Estimated canopy fuel loading for perimeter area was derived from LANDFIRE geospatial data layers (see Urbanski et al. [2013] Section 2.2.2).
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
No process steps have been described for this data set
Process_Date: Unknown
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Spatial_Data_Organization_Information:
Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Vector
Point_and_Vector_Object_Information:
SDTS_Terms_Description:
SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type: GT-polygon composed of chains
Point_and_Vector_Object_Count: 40
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Spatial_Reference_Information:
Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:
Planar:
Map_Projection:
Map_Projection_Name: Albers Conical Equal Area
Albers_Conical_Equal_Area:
Standard_Parallel: 29.5
Standard_Parallel: 45.5
Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -96.0
Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 23.0
False_Easting: 0.0
False_Northing: 0.0
Planar_Coordinate_Information:
Planar_Coordinate_Encoding_Method: coordinate pair
Coordinate_Representation:
Abscissa_Resolution: 0.00000000375279807229845
Ordinate_Resolution: 0.00000000375279807229845
Geodetic_Model:
Horizontal_Datum_Name: D North American 1983
Ellipsoid_Name: GRS 1980
Semi-major_Axis: 6378137
Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.257222101
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Entity_and_Attribute_Information:
Overview_Description:
Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
One ESRI shapefile and eight types of CSV files are present in this product. Below is a description of each dataset and the variables included in each. Note that not all data are available for each fire.

FILE FORMATS:
Filenames: \Data\*_format.csv (where *=acdata_fire_PlumeHeights.csv, acdata_fire_yyyymmdd_ProfileLog_format.csv, ..., Lidar_fire_yyyymmdd_PH_format.csv)
These are ASCII text files for type of data file available for each fire. They describe the structure of the actual data files, such as column names, units, and variable descriptions.


FIRE PERIMETERS AND FUELS (for all firecodes):
Filename: \Data\_AllFires\Fire_Perimeters_Fuels.shp (and associated files)
This is a multi-polygon ESRI shapefile that provides fire perimeters for all of the fires included in this data publication.
FireCode = Fire code (BSLHC=Big Salmon Lake & Hammer Creek, SC=Saddle Complex, NF=North Fork Prescribed Burn, KC=Kootenai Creek, MF=Mill Flat, RR=Rooster Rock, TC=Twitchell Canyon, WHC=Whitehawk Complex, BNR=Banner, GBA=Vanderberg AFB Grant A Prescribed Burn, and CLME=Camp Lejeune Unit ME Prescribed Burn).
Notes = text description of perimeter measurement/estimate method if known.
Source = source of fire perimeter polygon.
date_ = date of fire perimeter as long integer in yyyymmdd format where yyyy=year, mm=month, dd=day.
area_ha = perimeter area in units of hectare.
fc0 = Area of perimeter (in hectare) mapped as Nonforest in USFS Forest Type Group map (see Urbanski et al. [2013] Section 2.2.2).
fc200 = Area of perimeter (in hectare) mapped as Forest Type Group 200, Douglas-fir Group in USFS Forest Type Group map (see Urbanski et al. [2013] Section 2.2.2).
fc260 = Area of perimeter (in hectare) mapped as Forest Type Group 260, Fir / Spruce / Mountain Hemlock Group in USFS Forest Type Group map (see Urbanski et al. [2013] Section 2.2.2).
fc280 = Area of perimeter (in hectare) mapped as Forest Type Group 280, Lodgepole Pine Group in USFS Forest Type Group map (see Urbanski et al. [2013] Section 2.2.2).
fc360 = Area of perimeter (in hectare) mapped as Forest Type Group 360, Other Western Softwoods Group in USFS Forest Type Group map (see Urbanski et al. [2013] Section 2.2.2).
fc950 = Area of perimeter (in hectare) mapped as Forest Type Group 950, Other Western Hardwood Group in USFS Forest Type Group map (see Urbanski et al. [2013] Section 2.2.2).
fc220 = Area of perimeter (in hectare) mapped as Forest Type Group 220, Ponderosa Pine Group in USFS Forest Type Group map (see Urbanski et al. [2013] Section 2.2.2).
fc900 = Area of perimeter (in hectare) mapped as Forest Type Group 900, Aspen / Birch Group in USFS Forest Type Group map (see Urbanski et al. [2013] Section 2.2.2).
CFL_kg_m2 = Estimated canopy fuel loading (in units of kg of dry vegetation per square meter) for perimeter area derived from LANDFIRE geospatial data layers (see Urbanski et al. [2013] Section 2.2.2).


Within a folder for each fire (which is labelled with the acronym for that fire), you will find the data files listed below.
(Here are the fire folder names, which will be shows as FireCode below: BSLHC=Big Salmon Lake & Hammer Creek, SC=Saddle Complex, NF=North Fork Prescribed Burn, KC=Kootenai Creek, MF=Mill Flat, RR=Rooster Rock, TC=Twitchell Canyon, WHC=Whitehawk Complex, BNR=Banner, GBA=Vanderberg AFB Grant A Prescribed Burn, and CLME=Camp Lejeune Unit ME Prescribed Burn)

PLUME HEIGHT MEASUREMENTS:
Filename: \Data\FireCode\acdata_fire_PlumeHeights.csv
date = date as MM/DD/YYYY where MM=month, DD=day, YYYY=year.
start_time = start time of plume height measurement, in seconds since midnight MDT.
end_time = end time of plume height of plume height measurement, in seconds since midnight MDT.
mid_time = mid time of plume height measurement, in seconds since midnight MDT.
altitude = approximate plume top in m above sea-level (see Urbanski et al. [2013] Section 2.1.2).

LOG OF AIRBORNE SAMPLING FLIGHT PROFILE:
Filename: \Data\FireCode\acdata_fire_yyyymmdd_ProfileLog.csv
Log of airborne sampling flight profile:
start_time = start time of flight segment time in seconds since midnight MDT. EST for FireCode=CLME and PST for FireCode=GBA.
end_time = end time of flight segment in seconds since midnight MDT. EST for FireCode=CLME and PST for FireCode=GBA.
start_alt = elevation above mean sea-level (in m) at the beginning of the flight segment.
end_alt = elevation above mean sea-level (in m) at the end of the flight segment.
description = description of flight profile.

AIRBORNE SMOKE DISPERSION MEASUREMENTS ACQUIRED WITH THE CRDS TRACE GAS ANALYZER AND NEPHELOMETER:
Filename: \Data\FireCode\acdata_fire_yyyymmdd_SD.csv
Airborne smoke dispersion observations acquired with the CRDS trace gas analyzer and nephelometer:

ssm = local time in seconds since midnight MDT.
time = time in hhmmss MDT where hh=hour, mm=minute, ss=second.
latitude = latitude of location in decimal degrees.
longitude = longitude of location in decimal degrees.
altitude = elevation above mean sea-level, in m.
CO = mixing ratio of carbon monoxide in units ppm in dry air.
CH4 = mixing ratio of methane in units ppm in dry air.
calibration = Cavity Ring-down Spectroscopy (CRDS) calibration flag set to 1 during calibration.
bscat = light scattering at 530 nm in inverse Mm (1/Mm) (1/Mm = 1x10E-6 1/m). bscat may be used to infer aerosol mass concentrations see Section 2.1.1 of data document.
RHneph = relative humidity percentage in the nephelometer sample cavity.
Tneph = ambient temperature in the nephelometer sample cavity, in degC.
Pneph = pressure in the nephelometer sample cavity, in mb.

AIRBORNE SMOKE DISPERSION OBSERVATIONS ACQUIRED WITH THE LEGACY AIRCRAFT PACKAGE (LAP):
Filename: \Data\FireCode\acdata_fire_yyyymmdd_SD_LAP.csv
Airborne smoke dispersion observations acquired with the Legacy Aircraft Package (LAP):
time = time in hhmmss MDT, hh = hour, mm = minute, ss = second.
ssm = local time in seconds since midnight MDT.
longitude = longitude of location in decimal degrees.
latitude = latitude of location in decimal degrees.
altitude = elevation above mean sea-level, in m.
CO2 = mixing ratio of carbon dioxide in units ppm in dry air.
H2O = mixing ratio of water vapor in parts per thousand.
bscat = light scattering at 530 nm in inverse Mm (1/Mm) (1/Mm = 1x10E-6 1/m). bscat may be used to infer aerosol mass concentrations see Section 2.1.1 of data document.
RHneph = relative humidity percentage in the nephelometer sample cavity.
Tneph = ambient temperature in the nephelometer sample cavity, in degC.
Pneph = pressure in the nephelometer sample cavity, in mb.

AIRBORNE SMOKE DISPERSION OBSERVATIONS ACQUIRED WITH THE LAP AND AIRBORNE METEOROLOGY PROBE:
Filename: \Data\FireCode\acdata_fire_yyyymmdd_SD_LAP_MET.csv
Airborne smoke dispersion observations acquired with the LAP and airborne meteorology measurements:

ssm = local time in seconds since midnight MDT. EST for FireCode=CLME and PST for FireCode=GBA.
time = local time in hhmmss MDT. EST for FireCode=CLME and PST for FireCode=GBA, hh=hour, mm=minute, ss=second.
CO2 = mixing ratio of carbon dioxide in units ppm in dry air.
H2O = mixing ratio percentage of water vapor.
bscat = light scattering at 530 nm in inverse Mm (1/Mm) (1/Mm=1x10E-6 1/m). bscat may be used to infer aerosol mass concentrations see Section 2.1.1 of data document.
RHneph = relative humidity percentage in the nephelometer sample cavity.
Tneph = ambient temperature in the nephelometer sample cavity, in degC.
Pneph = pressure in the nephelometer sample cavity, in mb.
Tc = ambient temperature in degC.
RH = relative humidity expressed as fraction.
P = ambient pressure, in Pascals (Pa).
u = East/West wind component, in m/s. u>0 is wind blowing to the East.
v = North/South wind component in m/s. v>0 is wind blowing to the North.
w = vertical wind component in m/s. w>0=wind is upward.
longitude = longitude of location in decimal degrees.
latitude = latitude of location in decimal degrees.
altitude = elevation above mean sea-level in m.

EMISSION MEASUREMENTS ACQUIRED WITH THE CRDS TRACE GAS ANALYZER:
Filename: \Data\FireCode\acdata_fire_yyyymmdd_SRCXX.csv
Emission measurements acquired with the CRDS trace gas analyzer:

ssm = time since midnight MDT, in seconds.
latitude = latitude of location, in decimal degrees.
longitude = longitude of location, in decimal degrees.
altitude = elevation above mean sea-level, in millibars (mb).
CO = mixing ratio of carbon monoxide in units of part per million (ppm) in dry air.
CO2 = mixing ratio of carbon dioxide in units ppm in dry air.
CH4 = mixing ratio of methane in units of ppm in dry air.
H2O = mixing ratio percentage of water vapor.
bscat = light scattering at 530 nanometers (nm) in inverse megameters (Mm). bscat may be used to infer aerosol mass concentrations see Section 2.1.1 of Urbanski et al. (2013).
Pneph = pressure in the nephelometer sample cavity, in mb.
Tneph = temperature in the nephelometer sample cavity, in Kelvin (K).
RHneph = relative humidity percentage in the nephelometer sample cavity.
bkgd = flag set to 1 when the sample is background air (outside of the plume).
plume = flag set to 1 when the sample is smoke (inside of plume).

ESTIMATED PRE-FIRE FUEL LOADING OF AREA IMPACTED BY FIRE:
Filename: \Data\FireCode\Fuels_fire.csv
Estimated pre-fire fuel loading of area impacted by fire:

start_date = start date for data, as MM/DD/YYYY where MM=month, DD=day, YYYY=year.
end_date = end date for data, as MM/DD/YYYY where MM=month, DD=day, YYYY=year.
area = estimated area burned between 00:00 on the start date and 23:59 on end date, in hectares (ha).
litter = estimated pre-fire litter fuel loading for the area burned, in kilograms per square meter (kg/m2).
hr1 = estimated pre-fire 1-hour fuel loading for area burned in kg/m2.
hr10 = estimated pre-fire 10-hour fuel loading for area burned, in kg/m2.
hr100 = estimated pre-fire 100-hour fuel loading for area burned, in kg/m2.
cwd = estimated pre-fire 1000-hour fuel loading for area burned, in kg/m2.
duff = estimated pre-fire duff fuel loading for area burned, in kg/m2.
herb = estimated pre-fire herb fuel loading for area burned, in kg/m2.
shrub = estimated pre-fire shrub fuel loading for area burned, in kg/m2.
canopy = estimated pre-fire canopy fuel loading for area burned, in kg/m2.
fc0 = estimated area burned mapped as Forest Type group 0 non-forest, in ha

fc200 = estimated area burned mapped as Forest Type group 200 Douglas-fir, in ha.
fc220 = estimated area burned mapped as Forest Type group 220 Ponderosa pine group, in ha

fc260 = estimated area burned mapped as Forest Type group 260 Fir/spruce/mountain hemlock group, in ha.
fc280 = estimated area burned mapped as Forest Type group 280 Lodgepole pine group, in ha.
fc360 = estimated area burned mapped as Forest Type group 360 other western softwoods group, in ha.
fc900 = estimated area burned mapped as Forest Type group 900 Aspen/birch group, in ha.

PLUME HEIGHT MEASUREMENTS DERIVED FROM LIDAR OBSERVATIONS:
Filename: \Data\FireCode\lidar_fire_yyyymmdd_PH.csv
Plume height measurements derived from Lidar observations:

date = date of Lidar sequence, as YYYYMMDD., where MM=month, DD=day, YYYY=year.
sequence = Lidar scanning sequence for a specific date.
time = time of Lidar sequence as HHMMSS MDT where HH=hour, MM=minute, SS=second.
azimuth = azimuth of the Lidar scan, in degrees.
Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:
1. Urbanski et al. (2013)

2. Final JFSP report for this project can be found here: https://www.firescience.gov (see project #: 08-1-6-09)
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