Suomi NPP (SNPP) Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Active Fire Data for Fire Management and Fire Weather Applications

The objective of the JPSS VIIRS AF Proving Ground and Risk Reduction (PGRR) project is to maximize the benefits and performance of SNPP data, algorithms, and products for downstream operational and research users. The VIIRS Active Fire product is critical for disaster and resource management and expected to be used by real-time resource and disaster management; air quality monitoring; ecosystem monitoring; climate studies, etc. With this in mind our goals for the PGRR project are product evaluation and improvement and the development of a near-real-time enhanced product delivery system to support fire management and NOAA operations.

As part of a user readiness and proving ground activity, the team has also developed a web-based data visualization and distribution system, which provides near-real-time data and a rolling archive of all VIIRS fire observations over North America. The website also serves as a test bed for evaluating enhanced and experimental products while allowing us to gather user- feedback to aid in VIIRS active fire algorithm improvement and evaluation. We've developed partnerships with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), National Weather Service (NWS), and National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) to improve data services and user outreach for end-users. We also work on international outreach through Global Observation of Forest and Land Cover Dynamics (GOFC-GOLD), a panel of the Global Terrestrial Observing System, Regional Networks.

Teleconferences over the past 2 years have facilitated a dialogue between PGRR project investigators and members of the user community (e.g. NWS Incident Meteorologists, or IMETs) on topics such as VIIRS data and information dissemination, latency of the delivery system, and user community needs and wants. From these conference calls, and follow-on discussions among team members, we came to the realization that to best understand what the end-users are dealing with at a wildfire incident we needed to visit them – on the ground.

In this presentation we will highlight progress made since launch, outreach activities, and end-user engagement, as well as current and future activities. In particular, we provide insight, highlights, and lessons learned from visits to the West Fork Complex fire in Colorado and Rim fire in California this past 2013 fire season.