USGS Submissions

Hazards - Earthquakes

Hazards - Fires

Burned Area Essential Climate Variable

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Essential climate variables (ECVs) are used to track critical attributes of atmospheric, oceanic, and terrestrial systems over time scales appropriate for analyzing their relationships with climate change. As part of a larger Climate Data Record (CDR) and ECV Development project, scientists at the USGS Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center in Denver, Colorado, have led the development and validation of the Burned Area ECV algorithm.

Establishing Quantitative Relations between Remotely Sensed Burn Severity and Hydraulic Parameters

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

The wildland-urban interface extends into many small headwater catchments, which are commonly sources of post-wildfire water-related problems such as flooding and debris flows. This exposure puts human life and health, homes, transportation infrastructure, and water quality at risk. Physical representation of post-wildfire infiltration, runoff generation, and associated water-related risk is a major challenge for current empirical and numerical models.

Fires Mapped by Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity Project Approaches 20,000

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

The Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) project is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Remote Sensing Applications Center (RSAC) and the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. In 2006, the Wildland Fire Leadership Council tasked MTBS to assess burn severity for all known large fires (i.e.,  ≥500 ac in the east, ≥1000 ac in the west) that have occurred on any land ownership in the United States since 1984.

Lidar Assessment of the Black Forest Wildfire

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Prolonged drought and climate change continue to increase the prevalence and severity of wildland fire, while the growing number of houses set within natural areas around urban developments (i.e., within the wildland urban interface [WUI]) adds to the potential hazard exposure. Characterizing the risk to WUI housing from wildfire is an important area of natural hazards and applied remote sensing research. This project is investigating how lidar data can be used to describe the vertical structure and fine-scale fuel characteristics within the home ignition zone.

Prefire and Postfire Lidar Burn Severity Analysis

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

This project addresses several wildfire research questions using a unique remote sensing opportunity to analyze pre- and post-fire lidar data. The Pole Creek Fire burned 27,000 acres through various forest types in October 2012 in Deschutes National Forest near Sisters, Oregon. Lidar data were fortuitously collected prior to the wildfire for an unrelated study, offering a unique opportunity to investigate fire disturbance impacts and processes with high-resolution data.

Three Years of Conterminous United States Burned Area Essential Climate Variable Products

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

The Land Remote Sensing Program is sponsoring the development of Landsat science information products, referred to as essential climate variables (ECVs), that are designed to be more readily used in research and applications by removing some of the data processing burden from the end user. In this particular case, a “burned area” product is being generated that is a proxy for fire disturbance, which is an important parameter used for modeling ecosystem dynamics and biogeochemical cycling.

Hazards - Other

An Early Warning Indicator for Toxic and Nuisance Blooms Using Ocean Color Satellites

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Algal blooms cause extensive problems in lakes worldwide, including human and animal health risks, anoxia and fish kills, and contaminated potable water. Cyanobacterial blooms are a particular concern because of their dense biomass, toxins, and taste and odor. The Cyanobacteria Assessment Network (CyAN) for freshwater systems project is an interagency collaboration between the EPA, NASA, NOAA, and the USGS.

Hazards Data Distribution System (HDDS)

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Remotely sensed datasets such as satellite imagery and aerial photography can be invaluable resources to support the response to and recovery from emergency events such as floods, earthquakes, landslides, wildfires, and other natural or human-induced disasters. When disasters strike there is often an urgent need and high demand for coordinated, rapid acquisition and distribution of pre- and post-event geospatial products and remotely sensed imagery.