The Hazard Mapping System (HMS) - NOAA's multi-sensor fire and smoke detection program using environmental satellites (Invited Presentation)

The Hazard Mapping System (HMS) is an operational system that capitalizes on existing sensors on the current suite of environmental satellites to create a daily fire and smoke analysis over the US and adjacent areas of Canada and Mexico. Automated fire detections are incorporated into the system from Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS. A key component is the quality control performed by an analyst who inspects all available imagery and automated fire detects, deletes those detects that are believed to be false alarms and adds additional fires that the automated routines have not detected. Nighttime lights imagery from Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Operational Linescan System (DMSP/OLS) and a variety of static layers are available to assist the analyst.

The HMS products are available in ASCII, graphic and Geographic Information System (GIS) formats. Use of GIS has increased the use of National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service products among non-traditional users.

Future plans include operationally running several of the automated algorithms on global imagery.