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GOES-16: fire detection in Florida

By Scott Bachmeier •

GOES-16 (left) and GOES-13 (right) 3.9 µm Shortwave Infrared images [click to play MP4 animation]

GOES-16 (left) and GOES-13 (right) 3.9 µm Shortwave Infrared images [click to play MP4 animation]

Numerous small fires were burning in the Lake Okeechobee area of southern Florida on 20 February 2017. A comparison of GOES-16 ABI (at rapid scan 30 second intervals) and GOES-13 (at routine 15-30 minute intervals) 3.9 µm Shortwave Infrared images (above; also available as a 71 Mbyte animated GIF) showed the “hot spots” — dark black to yellow to red enhancement, with red being the hottest — associated with these fires. Since many of the fires were agricultural sugar cane burns (which tend to be brief, but intense), the vast majority were not detected using the routine operational 15-30 minute scan interval of GOES-13; only the 30-second interval rapid scan GOES-16 images were able to capture these short-lived events. GOES-16 (the first in the GOES-R series) will provide the capability of 30-second or 60-second images within special Mesoscale Sectors.

The improved spatial resolution of the GOES-16 data (2-km at satellite sub-point, vs 4-km for GOES-13) also aided in the detection and characterization of the small and short-lived fires.

Fire detection points from the NOAA Hazard Mapping System for 20 February are shown below.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System fire detection points [click to enlarge]

NOAA Hazard Mapping System fire detection points [click to enlarge]

Note: GOES-16 data shown on this page are preliminary, non-operational data and are undergoing on-orbit testing.

 

Categories: Fire detection, GOES-13, GOES-16