Development of Modeling Tools for Predicting Smoke Dispersion from Low Intensity Fires

Development of Modeling Tools for Predicting Smoke Dispersion from Low Intensity Fires
Author: Warren E. Heilman
Publisher:
Total Pages: 61
Release: 2013
Genre: Dispersion
ISBN:

Of particular concern to fire and air-quality management communities throughout the U.S. are the behavior and air-quality impacts of low-intensity prescribed fires for fuels management. For example, smoke from prescribed fires, which often occur in wildland-urban interface (WUI) areas and in areas where forest vegetation has a significant impact on the local meteorology, can linger for relatively long periods of time and have an adverse effect on human health. Smoke from wildland fires can also reduce visibility over roads and highways in the vicinity of and downwind of these fires, reducing the safety of our transportation system. The planning for and tactical management of low-intensity prescribed fires can be enhanced with models and decision support tools developed with a fundamental understanding of how the atmosphere interacts with these types of fires and the smoke they generate. This particular study focused on (1) an evaluation of several existing coupled meteorological and atmospheric dispersion modeling systems for their potential use as tools to predict the local meteorological and air-quality impacts of low-intensity wildland fires in forested environments,(2) the further development of those modeling systems deemed most appropriate for low intensity wildland fire applications to enhance their local meteorological and air-quality predictive capabilities within forested environments, and (3) the development and analysis of new observational data sets that can be used to evaluate current and future modeling systems and to improve our understanding of fundamental fire-fuel-atmosphere interactions.

Wildland Fire Smoke in the United States

Wildland Fire Smoke in the United States
Author: David L. Peterson
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 346
Release: 2022-08-11
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 3030870456

This open access book synthesizes current information on wildland fire smoke in the United States, providing a scientific foundation for addressing the production of smoke from wildland fires. This will be increasingly critical as smoke exposure and degraded air quality are expected to increase in extent and severity in a warmer climate. Accurate smoke information is a foundation for helping individuals and communities to effectively mitigate potential smoke impacts from wildfires and prescribed fires. The book documents our current understanding of smoke science for (1) primary physical, chemical, and biological issues related to wildfire and prescribed fire, (2) key social issues, including human health and economic impacts, and (3) current and anticipated management and regulatory issues. Each chapter provides a summary of priorities for future research that provide a roadmap for developing scientific information that can improve smoke and fire management over the next decade.

Wildland Fires and Air Pollution

Wildland Fires and Air Pollution
Author: Andrzej Bytnerowicz
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 688
Release: 2009
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0080556094

Wildland fires are one of the most devastating and terrifying forces of nature. While their effects are mostly destructive they also help with regeneration of forests and other ecosystems. Low-intensity fires clear accumulating biomass reducing risk of catastrophic crown fires and can be used as an effective management tool. This book presents current understanding of wildland fires and air quality as well as their effects on human health, forests and other ecosystems. in the first section of the book the basics of wildland fires and resulting emissions are presented from the perspective of changing global climate, air quality impairment and effects on environmental and human health and security. in the second section, effects of wildland fires on air quality, visibility and human health in various regions of the Earth are discussed. The third section of the book deals with complex issues of the ecological impacts of fires and air pollution in forests and chaparral in North America. The fourth section discusses various management issues facing land and fire managers which are related to wildfires, use of prescribed fires, and air quality. This section also presents various modeling systems used for describing fire dangers and behavior as well as smoke and air pollution predictions applied in the risk assessment analysis. The book concludes with a series of expert recommendations for wildland fire and atmospheric research.

Retrospective Fire Modeling

Retrospective Fire Modeling
Author: Brett H. Davis
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
Total Pages: 45
Release: 2011
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 143793904X

This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. Land management agencies (LMA) need to understand and monitor the consequences of their fire suppression decisions. The authors developed a framework for retrospective fire behavior modeling and impact assessment to determine where ignitions would have spread had they not been suppressed, and to assess the cumulative effects that would have resulted. This guidebook is used for applying this methodology and is for those interested in quantifying the impacts of fire suppression. Land managers who use this methodology can track the cumulative effects of suppression, frame future suppression decisions and cost-benefit analyses in the context of past experiences, and communicate tradeoffs to the public, non-gov. organ., and LMA.