 |
|
Home -- ENSO Cycle -- ENSO Effects -- Missions -- Data -- Tools -- Site Map |
|
TRMM VIRS Instrument Data:
Global Fires, September, 1999, Custom Image
|
Data Product |
File Names for Data Products Provided on This CD |
Web Site for VIRS Monthly Fire Product |
|---|---|---|
|
VIRS Monthly Fire Product
|
|
Sample Information The TRMM VIRS Monthly Fire Product is a coarse-resolution summary of global fire activity. The measurements show the number of 4.4 square kilometer pixels in each half-degree grid cell (each cell is 2500 square kilometers at the equator) that are hot enough to contain a large fire. Not all of the land surface within the grid cell is on fire! Not all of the land surface within the pixel is on fire!
VIRS has characteristics very similar to the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). VIRS is capable of spotting active fires as well as evidence of burn scars. It has five bands from visible to thermal infrared (0.63 to 12µm) and provides 2km resolution, for the TRMM VIRS RADIANCE data granule available for each orbit from the EDG. The TRMM orbit causes the local overpass time to drift over the entire 24 hours of a day approximately once each month, enabling observation of regional diurnal burning cycles. Also as a result of the TRMM orbit, the dataset covers the global area between latitudes 40°S and 40°N.
The TRMM VIRS Monthly Fire Product shows directly the number of "hot fires" that result from either El Niño or La Niña-influenced drought conditions in Africa, Indonesia-Australia, and South America. Drought conditions remove moisture from surface plants, allowing wind-fanned fires (caused by farmers or lightning (TRMM LIS lightning data)) to spread far afield.
In the spring of 1998 drought conditions influenced by El Niño led to the spread of wildfires throughout Southeast Asia. Intended to clear land for agriculture, the fires are usually extinguished by the annual monsoon rains. The reversal in direction of the trade winds (NSCAT wind data) moved the seasonally warm waters to the eastern Pacific, to the western coast of South America. As a consequence, the water temperature in the western Pacific dropped significantly, lowering humidity. Not enough warm water vapor was produce to provide the normal seasonal showers. The Island of Borneo was especially hard hit. During La Niña conditions later in the year, wildfires burned in southern Africa, South America, and Australia.
Disclaimer: NASA offers these suggested sites for additional information regarding the VIRS Monthly Fire Product. Web access is required. Link existence and contents are not under the control of the EOSDIS Science Operations Office.
NASA's TRMM instrument data products featured on this CD-ROM
Chart (GIF image) showing spectral bandwidth for each TRMM instrument
NASA's TRMM LIS instrument data products featured on this CD-ROM
NASA's TRMM TMI MPE instrument data products featured on this CD-ROM
NASA's TRMM TMI SST instrument data products featured on this CD-ROM
