Wildfires from Space

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Wildfires

from Space

More Lessons from the Sky Satellite Educators Association http://SatEd.org

This is an adaptation of an original lesson plan developed and published on-line by Natasha Stavros at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The original problem set and all of its related links is available from this address: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/fired-up-over-math-studying-wildfires-from-space/

Please see the Acknowledgements section for historical contributions to the development of this lesson plan. This spotlight on the “Wildfires from Space” lesson plan was published in November 2016 in More Lessons from the Sky, a regular feature of the SEA Newsletter, and archived in the SEA Lesson Plan Library. Both the Newsletter and the Library are freely available on-line from the Satellite Educators Association (SEA) at this address: http://SatEd.org.

Content, Internet links, and materials on the lesson plan's online Resources page revised and updated in October 2019.

SEA Lesson Plan Library Improvement Program Did you use this lesson plan with students? If so, please share your experience to help us improve the lesson plan for future use. Just click the Feedback link at http://SatEd.org/library/about.htm and complete the short form on-line. Thank you. . Teaching Notes Wildfires from Space

Invitation Wildfire is a global reality, and with the onset of climate change, the number of yearly wildfires is increasing. The impacts range from the immediate and tangible to the delayed and less obvious. In this activity, students assess wildfires using remote sensing imagery.

More Lessons from the Sky is pleased to spotlight this lesson develop by Natasha Stavros at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The original problem set and all of its linked resources can be found at this URL: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/fired-up-over-math-studying-wildfires-from-space/

The lesson addresses Next Generation Science Standards for grades 4 and 9-12 and Common Core State Standards for Mathematics in grades 3-12.

Grade Level: 3-12 Time Requirement: 1-2 class period Prerequisites: None Relevant Disciplines: Science, Mathematics, Geography

Student Learning Outcomes By the end of this lesson, students should be able to do the following: Upon completion of the following activities, learners should be able to do each of these: 1. Compare and contrast false color with true color satellite imagery. 2. Measure distance using map scale. 3. Analyze fire progression maps and compare with false color imagery. 4. Determine area of a burn scar in satellite imagery. 5. Solve simple mathematical problems related to wildfire analysis.

Lesson Description Learners will examine true-color and false-color satellite-based imagery of several major wildfires in California. They will also have access to fire progression maps and ground level photographs of each wildfire area. Learners will use rulers, math tiles, Google Earth, and/or ArcGIS Online to determine the length and area of the burn scar for the 2014 King Fire in California, and compare map locations to ground level photos of the burn areas. Older learners will classify each fire on a scale of severity and discuss how they made those decisions. They will be asked to hypothesize about why aerial or satellite data might give ambiguous information.

This lesson is highly adaptable to grade level, student learning modality, and available equipment. It is scaled in complexity and depth for each grade level. For example, younger students will be able to do the first five problems (Part 1) on the worksheet found in the Student Activity pages whereas middle school students should be able to add the next two problems (Parts 1-2) and high school students should be able to

More Lessons from the Sky, © Satellite Educators Association, Inc. Wildfires from Space 1 Teaching Notes complete all thirteen steps (Parts 1-3) on the worksheet.

The original author makes these suggestions for working with younger students: • Focus on helping them understand the difference between a true-color image and a false-color image, in which we use "not-true" colors to make features stand out better to our eyes. Show examples. • For clarity, show the ground-truth images from the high school problems (Steps 9 through 11) that show what the ground area looks like for the aerial view they are seeing. • Ask which image coloring helps us see the bigger picture of how much the fire has affected an area. • Ask which map helps us see the effects better. • Use physical or electronic math tiles or tangrams to find the area of the fire. If using physical tiles, enlarge the image to match the size of your classroom tile set.

It is suggested that middle school students be encouraged to either use a grid or piecing polygons to estimate area. The Google Earth or ArcGIS Online procedures are reserved for high school students.

Conduct a class discussion after the last questions are completed on the worksheet. The original author suggests that, for younger students, the discussion consider a "bird's- eye" view versus the view on the ground. Use Google Earth or ArcGIS Online projected for the entire class to show the playground at their school and the front of the school from above. Help learners navigate, from an aerial perspective, various trips they take during the day, from arrival, to the classroom, to recess, to lunch, etc.

For older students, discuss the relationship between false-color imagery and the electromagnetic spectrum. Most scientific false-color images are created by imaging a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum other than the visible. The false-color images of burn scars are often created using infrared sensing cameras. Remember, false colors are added to images to make otherwise invisible or difficult to see features more visually discernible.

Lesson closure is found in the application and extension activities of the Your Turn section of the Student Activity pages. The first is for younger students, add the second for middle school and the last two for high school. Be sure enough time is allowed for learners to venture forth on their own when ready to demonstrate the process and understanding they developed in this lesson.

The original author assumes prior knowledge of Google Earth for finding distance, area, and location. However, if needed, More Lessons from the Sky has included an optional, short tutorial for measuring distance and area in Google Earth. For those familiar with ArcGIS Online and who would like to use it instead of Google Earth, an optional, short tutorial for finding distance, area, and location in ArcGIS Online Map Viewer is also included. These tutorials can be found at the end of the Student Activity pages. You can also access and download your own MODIS imagery of these and other fires from MODIS Today at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A short tutorial for that can be found at the end of these Teaching Notes. (See Preparation section below.)

2 Wildfires from Space More Lessons from the Sky, © Satellite Educators Association, Inc. Teaching Notes

Important Terms Burn scar Infrared light Remote sensing False color image Landsat Terra and Aqua Fire severity MODIS Wildfire

Assessment Suggestions Lessons such as this involve constant supervision and on-going assessment. Formative assessment of teamwork and timely progress through the worksheets is continuous as the teacher circulates to encourage engagement with the subject matter, observe progress, and answer questions. Summative assessment is possible from the completed worksheets and the Your Turn activity.

Standards The Next Generation Science Standards sets below are relevant to this lesson. Each set includes a disciplinary core idea (DCI), science and engineering practice (SEP), and crosscutting concept (CC), tied together by a performance expectation (PE).

Grade 4: Earth’s Systems PE- 4-ESS2-2 – Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth’s features. DCI- 4-ESS2.B – The locations of mountain ranges, deep ocean trenches, ocean floor structures, earthquakes, and volcanoes occur in patterns. Most earthquakes and volcanoes occur in bands that are often along the boundaries between continents and oceans. Major mountain chains form inside continents or near their edges. Maps can help locate the different land and water areas of Earth. SEP- Analyze and interpret data to make sense of phenomena using logical reasoning. CC- Patterns can be used as evidence to support an explanation.

Grades 9-12: Earth’s Systems PE- HS-ESS2-2 – Analyze geosciences data to make the claim that one change to Earth’s surface can create feedbacks that cause changes to other Earth systems. DCI- HS-ESS2.A – Earth’s systems, being dynamic and interacting, cause feedback effects that can increase or decrease the original changes. SEP- Analyze data using tools, technologies, and/or models (e.g. computational, mathematical) in order to make valid and reliable scientific claims or determine an optimal design solution. CC- Feedback (negative or positive) can stabilize or destabilize a system.

Grades 9-12: Earth and Human Activity PE- HS-ESS3-6 – Use a computational representation to illustrate the relationships among Earth systems and how those relationships are being modified due to human activity. DCI- HS-ESS3.D – Through computer simulations and other studies, important discoveries are still being made about how the ocean, atmosphere, and biosphere interact and are modified in response to human activities. SEP- Use a computational representation of phenomena or design solutions to

More Lessons from the Sky, © Satellite Educators Association, Inc. Wildfires from Space 3 Teaching Notes

describe and/or support claims and/or explanations. CC- When investigating or describing a system, the boundaries and initial conditions of the system need to be defined and their inputs and outputs analyzed and described using models.

Common Core State Standards for Mathematics addressed in this lesson are listed at the following URL: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/fired-up-over-math-studying-wildfires-from-space/

Preparation These Teaching Notes are presented in portable document file format (.pdf) requiring an acceptable PDF reader such as Adobe Reader (http://get.adobe.com/reader/) or equivalent.

The original student worksheet package consists of an answer sheet, color imagery for analysis, a fire progression map, and a burn scar image overlaid with a grid for determination of area by younger students. It can be downloaded in .pdf from NASA/JPL at https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/pdfs/firedup_worksheet.pdf. It is the practice of More Lessons from the Sky to encourage greater teacher flexibility in adapting the lesson to the grade level and individual needs of the students, the curriculum, and the classroom situation. To that end the original answer sheet has been re-created in the Student Activity pages in Microsoft Word document format (.docx).

The teacher will need to determine the best way to provide a set of color images to each student or student group. It is suggested a class set can be prepared and saved for re- use.

Math tiles, polygons, or tangrams are optional area-determining tools for younger and middle school learners, if available. Alternatively, the image of the burn scar overlaid with a grid can be used. Prepare sufficient quantities of one or the other.

All images needed for the original lesson are printed and included in the student worksheet. The MODIS imagery and fire progression maps of the Soberanes Fire and Station Fire needed for the Your Turn activities have been added at the end of these Teaching Notes. Duplicate and distribute as needed. Links to all materials in the lesson except ArcGIS Online are available at the following links:

Sand Fire – true- and false-color images https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=88445 King Fire – true- and false-color images https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=84422 Sand Fire – false-color image with grid (optional) https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/images/activities/sand_fire.jpg King Fire progression map (PDF) http://SatEd.org/library/Resources.htm Sand Fire progression map (PDF) http://SatEd.org/library/Resources.htm Soberanes Fire progression map (PDF) http://SatEd.org/library/Resources.htm Station Fire progression map (PDF)

4 Wildfires from Space More Lessons from the Sky, © Satellite Educators Association, Inc. Teaching Notes

http://SatEd.org/library/Resources.htm King Fire Severity – KMZ file for Google Earth (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/E.Natasha Stavros) https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/pdfs/KingFire_dNBR_credit-nasajpl-caltech-enatashastavros.kmz Original student worksheets https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/pdfs/firedup_worksheet.pdf

For Google Earth or ArcGIS Online, Internet enabled computers are needed. Learners can be assigned to individual terminals or team up in groups of two to four.

Google Earth should be downloaded and installed on each computer. Many schools and districts pre-install Google Earth on computers for students use. Alternatively, you may need to work with your school administration to open security measures that might block student access to Google Earth. Google Earth is available from: https://www.google.com/earth/. Google Earth includes a measurement tool for distance. Google Earth Pro adds area measurement. Both are available at no cost. An optional, short tutorial for using Google Earth’s measuring tool is included in the Student Activity pages. Duplicate and distribute as needed.

Alternatively, the ArcGIS Online Map Viewer can be used instead of Google Earth. The map is accessible at this URL: http://arcg.is/2fotski. ArcGIS Online is entirely browser- based – there is nothing to download or install. An optional, short tutorial for measuring distance and area and for marking location using latitude and longitude using ArcGIS Online is included in the Student Activity pages. Duplicate and distribute as needed.

The InciWeb Incident Information System (https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/) posts information about active wildfire incidents. It was the source of the four fire progression maps listed above, but it does not archive information from previous years. The fire progression maps were saved to, and are available from, the Resources page for this lesson in the SEA Lesson Plan Library at http://SatEd.org/library/Resources.htm. Click Wildfires from Space in the title list.

Should you desire to find your own MODIS images of these or other fires, the University of Wisconsin-Madison provides MODIS Today. Nearly daily imagery since October 2007 is available for the continental United States from MODIS instruments on both Terra and Aqua satellites. Options include true or false color, addition of coastline and/or state borders, zoom-in/out, and selection of coast-to-coast perspective or just one of eight sectors of the continental U.S. Spatial resolution of sector images can be pre-set to 2000m, 1000m or 250m. All images are downloadable as .jpg or as GIS files. Sector images can also be downloaded as .kml files for use with Google Earth. If needed, a short tutorial on how to use MODIS Today is found at the end of these Teaching Notes.

For YouTube video links needed in the last Your Turn activity, refer to the list of Extensions in the original online lesson plan.

Background Wildfire is a global reality. With the onset of climate change, wildfires have become more extreme in frequency, size, severity, complexity of behavior, and resistance to suppression. The impacts of these “megafires” range from the immediate and tangible

More Lessons from the Sky, © Satellite Educators Association, Inc. Wildfires from Space 5 Teaching Notes to the delayed and less obvious. The potential for loss of life, property and natural areas is one of the first threats that wildfires pose. From a financial standpoint, fires can lead to a downturn in local economies due to loss of tourism and business, high costs related to infrastructure restoration, and impacts to federal and state budgets. Because of their rare nature, only limited data has been available by which to investigate what drives and extinguishes this type of wildfire thus making them unpredictable and difficult to manage before, during, or after.

Measurement of the effects of wildfires can take many forms, including remote-sensing technologies. Remote sensing is observing and measuring an object without coming in contact with it. Instruments on board NASA aircraft and satellites measure the radiation being emitted by or reflected off of an object whether it's radio waves, visible- light waves or energy from another part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Infrared imagery is particularly useful in studying wildfires during and after the fire.

Over the past several decades the use of satellite remote sensing has provided a means to investigate the complex mosaics of these and other fires; but the spatial and spectral resolution of these data has been limiting. Two of the commonly used sensors are an imager on Landsat satellite and MODIS on Terra and Aqua satellites. Landsat has a broadband sensor that offers high spatial resolution at 30m, but is limited with only one band in the thermal infrared. MODIS is also a broadband sensor but with a spatial resolution of 900m per pixel. MODIS does have a much higher spectral resolution than the Landsat instrument but only a limited extension into the thermal infrared range. It has been difficult to tease out differences in spectral signatures beyond general classifications such as non-photosynthetic and photosynthetic vegetation, soil, and char.

The 2014 King Fire was collaboratively studied in depth by NASA/JPL and the U.S. Forest Service. It burned more than 100,000 acres in Placer County, California in September of that year. It was a uniquely severe fire that produced a great deal of smoke threatening global air quality. In this September 17, 2014 image (below) from MODIS Aqua, the King Fire can be seen burning in El Dorado National Forest in California. A red outline was added to indicate hot spots where MODIS detected unusually warm surface temperatures associated with the fire.

6 Wildfires from Space More Lessons from the Sky, © Satellite Educators Association, Inc. Teaching Notes

In addition to MODIS, large amounts of data from two other sources contributed greatly to the study. They were from the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) flown on NASA’s ER-2 aircraft high above the King Fire and the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on the Landsat 8 satellite.

The image below shows the Blue Cut fire at night on August 17, 2016. It is seen by the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) on the Landsat 8 satellite. TIRS senses wavelengths of 10.9 and 12.0 micrometers, showing the amount of heat (thermal energy) radiating from the fiery landscape. Cooler areas are dark, warmer areas are bright. The thermal data was overlaid on a daytime image for added geographic detail.

The scorched area left after a fire is called a burn scar. A lot can be learned from burn scars. The most obvious is the amount of territory that was touched by the fire. Less obvious but more important to fire scientists is the severity of the fire. The false color image below is a composite of short-wave infrared and near-infrared light detected by the OLI on Landsat 8. It shows the burn scar from the Rocky Fire, an area of 67,000 acres in California’s Lake, Yolo, and Colusa counties as of August 3, 2015.

Credits: NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey

More Lessons from the Sky, © Satellite Educators Association, Inc. Wildfires from Space 7 Teaching Notes

Wildfires are classified as burning at different levels of severity: low, medium and high. Severity is a function of intensity, or how hot the fire was, and its spread rate, or the linear (kilometers per hour) speed at which it travels. Fire severity describes how fire intensity affects an ecosystem. A high-severity fire is going to cause some irreparable damage to plant life, while a low-severity fire will be recoverable for many large trees. Severity is measured by the damage left after the fire, but can be estimated during a fire event by calculating spread rate and measuring flame height which indicates intensity.

A much more thorough discussion of fire severity as it relates to fire intensity can be found in Jon Keeley’s paper in the International Journal of Wildland Fire (see Resource section).

The larger-area effects of megafires are not always apparent. The online article by Ota Lutz (see Resources section) contains an animation made with NASA’s Eyes on the Earth program. It clearly shows the increased carbon monoxide level resulting from the Station Fire that engulfed the area near JPL in 2009. It dramatically shows the carbon monoxide following prevailing wind currents as the poisonous gas spreads east and south to Louisiana and beyond. Wildfires such as these most definitely have global implications for air quality and health.

Acknowledgements More Lessons from the Sky endeavors to present original lesson plans and provide access to lesson plans already published that enhance student understanding of space-based technologies especially satellites and the use of satellite-based remote-sensing environmental data. In this lesson, the spotlight is on a problem set developed to promote the student use of mathematical reasoning. “Fired Up Over Math: Studying Wildfires from Space” was developed by NASA’s Natasha Stavros and others at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the California Institute of Technology. Credit is given to all contributors and sources in the original on-line publication found at: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/fired-up-over-math-studying-wildfires-from-space/

The procedure in the Student Activity pages was taken from the original conceived and published in the original package of student worksheets and reference materials by Natasha Stavros. If desired, the original package is available on-line at: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/pdfs/firedup_worksheet.pdf

The KMZ file of the King Fire severity was developed for use with Google Earth by Natasha Stavros at NASA/JPL.

The contents of the Student Activity section and the Background section of these Teaching Notes was freely adapted from the original “Fired Up Over Math: Studying Wildfires from Space” and its included references. The adaptations and additional tutorial materials were suggested by J.P. Arvedson for the non-profit Satellite Educators Association as part of More Lessons from the Sky.

More Lessons from the Sky has its roots in an original collection of more than fifty lessons compiled by Satellite Educators Association, Inc. and published in Lessons from the Sky, © 1995 by Amereon, Ltd. More Lessons from the Sky lesson plans are published each month in the Satellite Educators Association Newsletter available online without charge.

8 Wildfires from Space More Lessons from the Sky, © Satellite Educators Association, Inc. Teaching Notes

More information about the Satellite Educators Association, its annual Satellites & Education Conference, its international student environmental research collaborative, and online access to the Newsletter can be found at http://SatEd.org.

All More Lessons from the Sky lesson plans are archived in the on-line SEA Lesson Plan Library available at http://SatEd.org. The web site features a description of the library contents, Next Generation Science Standards addressed, several search tools for finding lessons easily, separate resource files for lessons where needed, and the library’s Analysis Toolbox.

When duplicating or otherwise using any portion of this lesson or its associated materials, full credit to all contributors to the lesson and its associated materials must be included.

Resources Note: All of these URLs were current and active as of this writing. If any are unreachable as printed, the use of online search engines such as DuckDuckGo, Ask, Google or Bing is suggested to find current links.

_____. “Aqua Earth-observing satellite mission.” Aqua Project Science, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved October 11, 2019 from https://aqua.nasa.gov/

_____. “ArcGIS.” ESRI. Access to AcrGIS Online map viewer. Retrieved October 11, 2019 from https://www.arcgis.com/home/index.html

_____. “Burn Scars from the Rocky Fire, California.” Fire and Smoke, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved October 11, 2019 from https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/burn-scars-from-the-rocky-fire-california

_____. California King Fire Map Image. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved October 11, 2019 from https://wildfire.jpl.nasa.gov/images/CaliforniaKingFire.png

_____. “Fired Up Over Math: Studying Wildfires from Space.” Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved October 11, 2019 from https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/fired-up-over-math-studying- wildfires-from-space/

_____. “Google Earth.” Google. Download site for Google Earth versions. Retrieved October 11, 2019 from https://www.google.com/earth/

_____. “Landsat.” National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved October 11, 2019 from https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/landsat/main/index.html

_____. “Learning Styles: The Four Modalities.” The Center for Student Learning at the Addlestone Library, College of Charleston. Retrieved October 11, 2019 from http://csl.cofc.edu/documents/study-skills/online- library/learning_styles/learning_styles_the_four_modalities.pdf

More Lessons from the Sky, © Satellite Educators Association, Inc. Wildfires from Space 9 Teaching Notes

_____. “Mathematical Standards.” Common Core State Standards Initiative. Retrieved October 11, 2019 from http://www.corestandards.org/Math/

_____. “MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer).” National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved October 11, 2019 from https://terra.nasa.gov/about/terra-instruments/modis

_____. “MODIS Today.” Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies, Space Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Retrieved October 11, 2019 from http://ge.ssec.wisc.edu/modis-today/

_____. “Lesson Title/Resources for Lessons.” SEA Lesson Plan Library, Satellite Educators Association, Inc. Retrieved October 11, 2019 from http://sated.org/library/Resources.htm

_____. “NASA Airborne Science Program.” National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved October 11, 2019 from https://airbornescience.nasa.gov/

_____. “Operational Land Imager (OLI).” Landsat Science, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved October 11, 2019 from https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/operational-land-imager-oli/

_____. “Pixels on Fire.” Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved October 11, 2019 from https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/pixels-on-fire/

_____. “Terra, The EOS Flagship.” National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved October 11, 2019 from https://terra.nasa.gov/

Keeley, Jon E. “Fire Intensity, fire severity and burn severity: a brief review and suggested usage.” International Journal of Wildland Fire 18(1) 116-126. Retrieved June 7, 2017 from http://www.publish.csiro.au/wf/WF07049

Lutz, Ota. “The Science of Wildfires.” Teachable Moments, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. August 10, 2018. Retrieved October 11, 2019 from https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/news/2016/8/22/back-to-school-burn-the- science-of-wildfires/

National Research Council. A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2019 from https://www.nap.edu/catalog/13165/a-framework-for-k-12-science-education- practices-crosscutting-concepts

National Research Council. The Next Generation Science Standards, Next Generation Science Standards For States, By States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2019 from http://www.nap.edu/catalog/18290/next-generation-science-standards-for-

10 Wildfires from Space More Lessons from the Sky, © Satellite Educators Association, Inc. Teaching Notes

states-by-states

Stavros, Natasha. “Unprecedented Megafire Remote Sensing.” Wildfire, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved October 11, 2019 from https://wildfire.jpl.nasa.gov

Answers to Questions 1. Examine the true- and false-color images for the Sand Fire and King Fire. What are the advantages of viewing a fire in true color? What are the advantages of viewing a fire in false color? In the true color image, the smoke plume extent can be clearly seen, but much of the fire area is obscured by the smoke. In the false color image, sensor can “see” through the smoke to more clearly show the extent of the burn area on the ground.

2. Use the scale on the false-color image of the King Fire to estimate how long, at its longest, the burn scar is. Answers may vary. The length of the burn scar is approximately 41.7km (25.9mi).

3. Use the King Fire progression map to estimate how long, at its longest, the burn scar is. Which is easier to use, the false-color image or the progression map? Why? How do you suppose progression maps are created? Answers may vary. The length is 43.8km (27.2mi). The progression map is easier to use because the line of demarcation between burned and unburned is clearer. At one time, fire progression maps were probably made by actually traveling the perimeter and reporting from the ground the extent of the fire on any one day or getting reports from fire fighters on the ground about where the front lines were located. Today, progression map making is aided by computer analysis of satellite imaging.

4. Use math tiles or a grid to find the area of the Sand Fire. Answers may vary. The approximate area is 90 sq. km (34.7 sq. mi.).

5. Use math tiles, polygons, or formulas to find the approximate area of the King Fire burn scar. Use whichever map you find easiest. Answers may vary. The area is more than 710 sq.km (270 sq. mi.). Most students will likely find the fire progression map easiest to use.

6. Examine the progression map for the King Fire. Assuming a constant progression rate throughout the day, how fast was the fire moving on September 15? Using the scale on the map, the fire progressed at a rate of about 4.0km per day (2.5mi per day). That translates to about 0.17kph (0.10mph).

7. Firefighters were on the ground fighting the King Fire as it advanced toward them. The terrain is steep and unforgiving. Firefighters are wearing and carrying a lot of heavy gear. A firefighter in full gear can climb a slope at a rate of 3.2 kph. If a firefighter were working the King Fire on the front lines on September 13 as the fire advanced, would they have time to outrun it or would they have to shelter in place? On September 13, the fire’s progression rate was less than it was later. Using the scale on the fire progression map, the fire traveled about 3.5km (2.2mi) on September 13. That translates to about 0.15kph (0.09mph). Firefighters climbing at a rate of 3.2kph should have been able to outrun the fire or have time to find shelter. Four days later, the fire would have overrun the firefighters very quickly.

More Lessons from the Sky, © Satellite Educators Association, Inc. Wildfires from Space 11 Teaching Notes

8. Open the King Fire severity data set KMZ file in Google Earth. Or, open the fire severity map in ArcGIS Online by pointing your browser to this URL: http://arcg.is/2fotski. Green areas are unchanged by the fire. Yellow equals low severity; orange equals moderate severity; red equals high severity. Note: The King Fire was an unusually severe fire. NOTE: Both Google Earth and ArcGIS Online are available for use here. The measurement procedure is about the same in each. Use the one you are most comfortable having your students use.

9. Find this location on the map: 38.878872, -120.572015. Is this in an unchanged, low, moderate, or high severity location? Check out these images taken at this location on the ground. This location marks a red pixel equating to high severity. The ground level photos show all duff and liter on the ground burned to ash, all tree foliage burned off, and some tree trunks charred.

10. Find this location on the map: 38.832171, -120.492246. Is this in an unchanged, low, moderate, or high severity location? Check out these images taken at this location on the ground. This location marks the border of a green and a yellow pixel equating to unchanged to low severity. Much of the duff and litter on the ground has burned, some tree trunks are charred, but only the low lying foliage is burned off. The higher foliage is full and green.

11. Find this location on the map: 38.808761, -120.475796. Is this in an unchanged, low, moderate, or high severity location? Check out these images taken at this location on the ground. This location marks a green pixel equating to unchanged. The ground level photos show most of the duff and litter on the ground is dry but unburned, low lying foliage is dehydrated but still present on the branches, and higher foliage is full and green. It appears there may have been some heat effects, but the area would be expected to fully recover quickly.

12. Discuss how you made your decisions for your answers to questions 10 and 11. Answers will vary. The color of the pixel was compared to the data’s false color legend and then to the ground level photos for further clarification. Encourage students to explain how they decided borderline cases such as Question 10. The decision-making process is more important than the decision.

13. Hypothesize about why aerial or satellite data would give ambiguous information. Answers will vary. The satellite data is digital in nature and represented in a pixilated image. The pixels are rectangular in shape and show the average value for the ground area covered by the pixel. Pixels also cover nearly a kilometer or more on the ground. The satellite imagery does not take into account where the actual values at ground level are continuously changing throughout the pixel area.

12 Wildfires from Space More Lessons from the Sky, © Satellite Educators Association, Inc. Teaching Notes Wildfires from Space Accessing MODIS Today

The Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) in the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison offers MODIS Today, a web site where one can access and download imagery of the continental United States. The imagery was captured by the moderate resolution imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). This scientific instrument was built by Santa Barbara Remote Sensing and launched by NASA on board the Terra (EOS AM) satellite in 1999 and Aqua (EOS PM) satellite in 2002. MODIS captures data in 36 spectral bands ranging from 0.4μm to 14.4μm in wavelength and at spatial resolutions of 250m, 500m, and 1km. It images the entire Earth every 1-2 days. More Information about MODIS can be found at this NASA web site: https://terra.nasa.gov/about/terra-instruments/modis

To access imagery from MODIS Today, follow these steps.

 Ensure your computer is Internet enabled. Launch your browser. Navigate to this site: http://ge.ssec.wisc.edu/modis-today/

Notice the links in the control bar at the top of the screen:

Feel free to explore at will. However, the example in the following steps will lead you to an image of the 2014 King Fire in California.

 For now, keep these control bar selections: View images from MODIS on Terra, in True Color, and with Coastline and State borders added. Leave Sector borders unchecked.

 Click the date drop-down arrow. Scroll down to, and select, September 17, 2014.

Notice the smoke plume northeast of San Francisco, west of Lake Tahoe.

 For a closer look, roll the cursor over the image near the smoke plume. Notice the border for that sector appears in blue. Click the image anywhere in that sector.

 To get closer still, click the radio button for 250m resolution.

 HINT: Scroll to the bottom of the image. Then scroll horizontally about half way across the image. Now, scroll up slowly to see the smoke plume. Continue scrolling on both axes until the smoke plume is where you want it on the screen.

Compare this image to one from MODIS Aqua:

More Lessons from the Sky, © Satellite Educators Association, Inc. Wildfires from Space 13 Teaching Notes

 Scroll to the extreme upper left corner of the image to display the control bar. Click the radio button for Aqua. After the image changes, scroll back to the position of the smoke plume.

The sector image can be downloaded and saved:

 Scroll back to the control bar in the upper left corner of the image display. Click Download this image. The downloadable version of the image will be displayed on the screen. Right-click or Ctrl-Click to select Save image as from the context menu. Navigate to the folder where you want to save the image, change the file name if desired, and click Save.

Feel free to experiment with other dates and false color imagery. Remember, false colors are generally selected to make certain features easier to see than in the true-color image.

You may wish to see the King Fire as it appeared on other dates:

 One of the easiest ways to do that is to click the Previous Day or Next Day button in the control bar. Or, just select a different date from the date drop-down.

If you know the date and location of other fires in the continental United States occurring since October 2007, the images are likely available in MODIS Today.

This is only a brief introduction to MODIS Today. Feel free to explore!

14 Wildfires from Space More Lessons from the Sky, © Satellite Educators Association, Inc. Teaching Notes

MODIS Aqua imagery of the Soberanes Fire, July 27, 2016 in Monterey County, California

True color image

False color image

More Lessons from the Sky, © Satellite Educators Association, Inc. Wildfires from Space 15 Teaching Notes

16 Wildfires from Space More Lessons from the Sky, © Satellite Educators Association, Inc. Teaching Notes

MODIS Terra imager of the Station Fire, August 31, 2009 in Los Angeles County, California

True color image

False color image

More Lessons from the Sky, © Satellite Educators Association, Inc. Wildfires from Space 17 Teaching Notes

Fire Progression Map – Station Fire, 2009, Los Angeles County, California

18 Wildfires from Space More Lessons from the Sky, © Satellite Educators Association, Inc. Student Activity

Wildfires from Space

Introduction Wildfire is a global reality, and with the onset of climate change, the number of yearly wildfire is increasing. The impacts range from the immediate and tangible to the delayed and less obvious. In this activity, you will assess wildfires using remote sensing imagery.

Learning Outcomes Upon completion of the following activities, you should be able to do each of these: 1. Compare and contrast false color with true color satellite imagery. 2. Measure distance using map scale. 3. Analyze fire progression maps and compare with false color imagery. 4. Determine area of a burn scar in satellite imagery. 5. Solve simple mathematical problems related to wildfire analysis.

Additionally, high school students may be asked to do each of these: 6. Interpret fire severity from satellite imagery and ground-level photographs. 7. Examine your decision making process. 8. Hypothesize about possible ambiguities in satellite data.

More Lessons from the Sky, © Satellite Educators Association, Inc. Wildfires from Space 19

Student Activity

Wildfires from Space Procedure – Part 1

1. Examine the true- and false-color images for the Sand Fire and King Fire. What are the advantages of viewing a fire in true color? What are the advantages of viewing a fire in false color?

2. Use the scale on the false-color image of the King Fire to estimate how long, at its longest, the burn scar is.

4. Use math tiles or a grid to find the area of the Sand Fire.

5. Use math tiles, polygons, or formulas to find the approximate area of the King Fire burn scar. Use whichever map you find easiest.

20 Wildfires from Space More Lessons from the Sky, © Satellite Educators Association, Inc.

Student Activity

Wildfires from Space Procedure – Part 2

6. Examine the progression map for the King Fire. Assuming a constant progression rate throughout the day, how fast was the fire moving on September 15?

More Lessons from the Sky, © Satellite Educators Association, Inc. Wildfires from Space 21

Student Activity

Wildfires from Space Procedure – Part 3

9. Find this location on the map: 38.878872, -120.572015. Is this in an unchanged, low, moderate, or high severity location? Check out these images taken at this location on the ground.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/E. Natasha Stavros

22 Wildfires from Space More Lessons from the Sky, © Satellite Educators Association, Inc.

Student Activity

10. Find this location on the map: 38.832171, -120.492246. Is this in an unchanged, low, moderate, or high severity location? Check out these images taken at this location on the ground.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/E. Natasha Stavros

More Lessons from the Sky, © Satellite Educators Association, Inc. Wildfires from Space 23

Student Activity

11. Find this location on the map: 38.808761, -120.475796. Is this in an unchanged, low, moderate, or high severity location? Check out these images taken at this location on the ground.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/E. Natasha Stavros

12. Discuss how you made your decisions for your answers to questions 10 and 11.

13. Hypothesize about why aerial or satellite data would give ambiguous information.

24 Wildfires from Space More Lessons from the Sky, © Satellite Educators Association, Inc.

Student Activity

Your Turn

Now that you have completed the steps in the worksheet, try doing it again on your own. Complete one or more of these activities.

In this activity you worked with data from the King Fire and the Sand Fire. Now compare the Soberanes Fire and/or the Station Fire to the King Fire using satellite images and fire progression maps of provided by your teacher.

Using the progression maps of the King Fire, Sand, Fire, Soberanes, Fire, and Station Fire, find the area of the burn scar of each. Which was largest? Which was smallest? Assuming the fire progression rate is the same throughout each day, on which day did each fire spread faster? What environmental factors (such as terrain, prevailing wind, relative humidity, ambient temperature, convection currents created by the fire itself) do you think most influenced the spread of the fire? Why do you think so?

Research the MODIS instrument and wildfire properties. Find out which wavelength band(s) is most needed for “seeing” the burning and burned areas under the smoke during a wildfire. Is the MODIS sensor design sufficient for study and prevention of wildfires? Suggest the qualities a replacement sensor should have that would be more useful for studying and preventing wildfires. Weigh the cost of such replacement against the need. List evidence to defend a position for or against development of such a sensor and launch of new satellite with that sensor onboard.

Your teacher will give you the links for several YouTube videos related to the wildfires just studied. Watch the videos assigned. Then create and defend a position statement about our society’s carbon footprint and what actions should be taken now and in the near future.

Name______Class______Date______

Wildfires from Space Answer Sheet – Part 1

1. Examine the true and false color images for the Sand Fire and the King Fire. What are the advantages of viewing a fire in true color? What are the advantages of viewing a fire in false color?

2. Use the scale of the false color image of the King Fire to estimate how long, at its longest, the burn scar is.

3. Use the King Fire progression map to estimate how long, at its longest, the burn scar is. Which is easier to use, the false color image or the progression map? Why? How do you suppose progression maps are created?

4. Use math tiles or a grid to find the area of the Sand Fire.

5. Use math tiles, polygons, or formulas to find the approximate area of the King Fire burn scar. Use whichever map you find easiest.

Name______Class______Date______

Wildfires from Space Answer Sheet – Part 2

6. Examine the progression map for the King Fire. Assuming a constant progression rate throughout the day, how fast was the fire moving on September 15?

Name______Class______Date______

Wildfires from Space Answer Sheet – Part 3

8. Open Google Earth and embed the King Fire severity data set kmz file. Green areas are unchanged by the fire. Yellow = low severity; orange = moderate severity; red = high severity. Note: The King Fire was an unusually severe fire.

9. Find this location on the map: 38.878872, -120.572015. Is this in an unchanged, low, moderate, or high severity location? Check out these images taken at this location on the ground.

10. Find this location on the map: 38.832171, -120.492246. Is this in an unchanged, low, moderate, or high severity location? Check out these images taken at this location on the ground.

11. Find this location on the map: 38.808761, -120.475796. Is this in an unchanged, low, moderate, or high severity location? Check out these images taken at this location on the ground.

12. Discuss how you made your decisions for your answers to questions 10 and 11.

13. Hypothesize about why aerial or satellite data would give ambiguous information.

Student Activity Wildfires from Space Using Google Earth’s Measuring Tool

Measuring Distance Follow these steps to measure distance along a straight line or a path in both Google Earth and Google Earth Pro.

 Click the Show Ruler button on the button bar above the 3D Viewer window.

 In the Ruler popup, use the drop-down arrow to change Map Length units to kilometers or miles.

 Use the mouse to place the measuring icon at one end of the top of the 3D Viewer window and click once to start the measurement. As you move the cursor to the bottom of the 3D Viewer window, a yellow line will follow the cursor. Place the cursor at the bottom of the 3D viewer window and double-click to end the measurement.

 In the Ruler dialogue box, Map Length is the distance represented by the yellow measurement line.

 To delete the measurement from the display, click the Clear button in the Ruler dialogue. There is no need to save this measurement.

 When finished, close the Ruler dialogue by clicking the X in the upper corner of the popup window.

When measuring in Google Earth, a path is not in a straight line. The course of a river, some state boundaries, and even some roads are not straight lines. But they could be thought of as a series of straight lines connected together – a path.

 In the Ruler popup, click the Path tab.

Student Activity

 Use the mouse to place the cursor at the beginning of the path and left-click once. Then drag the cursor to the end of that path segment and click again. Notice the yellow line that traces the path of the path segment with red or blue markers at each end. Drag the cursor to the end of the next path segment and click again. Continue this process until you reach the end of the path segment.

 In the Ruler dialogue box, Length is the distance represented by the yellow measurement line.

 To delete the measurement from the display, click the Clear button in the Ruler dialogue. There is no need to save this measurement.

 When finished, close the Ruler dialogue by clicking the X in the upper corner of the popup window.

Measuring Area Area measurement is only available in Google Earth Pro.

 In the Ruler popup, click the Polygon tab.

 Use the mouse to place the cursor anywhere on the perimeter of the area to be measured and left-click once. Then drag the cursor along the perimeter until the perimeter no longer falls on the straight-line path describes by the yellow measurement line; click again. Continue clicking around the perimeter of the area to be measured. Notice the yellow line is attempting to surround the area indicated by the red and blue markers. Click as many times as needed to precisely outline the area to be measured. If you make a mistake, click the Clear button and start again.

 In the Ruler dialogue box, Area is the area enclosed by the yellow measurement line.

 To delete the measurement from the display, click the Clear button in the Ruler dialogue. There is no need to save this measurement.

 When finished, close the Ruler dialogue by clicking the X in the upper corner of the popup window.

Student Activity Wildfires from Space Finding Length, Area, and Location with ArcGIS Online

The ArcGIS Online Map Viewer has tools for measuring distance and area, a location finder, and Map Notes for storing location markers. The 2014 King Fire Severity map is located at: http://arcg.is/2fotski.

Measuring Distance

 Find the button bar just above the map display. Click Measure. The Find area, length, or location dialogue pops up. Select and click the length button . Use the drop-down arrow to select kilometers or miles.

 Place the cursor over the start of the length to be measured and click once. Move the cursor to the end of the length to be measured and double-click. Read the measurement result in the popup.

 To clear the measurement line, close the popup by clicking the X in its upper corner.

Measuring Area

 Click Measure in the button bar. In the popup, click the area button .

 Use the mouse to place the cursor anywhere on the perimeter of the area to be measured; click once. Then move the cursor along the perimeter until the perimeter no longer falls on the straight-line path described by the blue outline; click again. Continue clicking around the perimeter of the area to be measured. Notice the blue line is attempting to surround the area you are marking. Click as many times as needed to precisely outline the area to be measured. Double-click on the last point to release the measurement line from cursor control. Read the measurement result in the popup. If

Student Activity

you make a mistake, double-click outside the area and start again.

 To clear the measurement polygon, close the popup by clicking the X in its upper corner.

Finding Location

 Type the desired latitude and longitude into the Find address or place field and click the magnifying glass icon to the right. Remember to separate the latitude and longitude with a comma. Remember that south latitudes and west longitudes are negative numbers.

Notice the Search result pointer indicating the desired location.

 Click Add to Map Notes (and, if necessary, Add new Map Notes Layer).

Notice the Search result marker changes to a Map Note marker. Map Note markers can be clicked at any time to display their location information.

 Click the Map Note marker to display its location information. Click Zoom to in order to zoom in on that specific location. Click Zoom to again, if needed, until you can determine the color of the exact pixel to which the marker points.

 To close the Map Note marker information popup, click the X in its upper corner.

 Repeat this process for the other requested locations.

 When finished using the ArcGIS Online Map Viewer, simply close the browser window.