Monitoring Wildfire Growth Using the JPSS Constellation

The Interface Data Processing Segment (IDPS), part of the JPSS Common Ground System (CGS), processes data from Suomi-NPP (S-NPP) and NOAA-20 creating Science Data Records (SDRs) and Geolocation products. With the launch of NOAA-20 in November 2017, additional data is now available to compliment S-NPP. Both spacecraft are in a sun-synchronous, 101 minute orbit with NOAA-20 lagging behind S-NPP by 50 minutes. By having a constellation of two spacecraft, IDPS is able to provide data from a greater number of passes over a particular area of interest. This is particularly important for monitoring and analyzing the progress of a fast-changing event such as a wildfire.

The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) onboard S-NPP and NOAA-20 is a 22 band scanning radiometer providing 750 meter moderate resolution and 375 meter imagery resolution SDRs processed by IDPS. S-NPP and NOAA-20 VIIRS data is used to provide an analysis of the growth of the Carr Fire in Northern California from July 25 to July 27, 2018 when it grew from 18.2 km² to 195.5 km². During this time the fire, driven by hot temperatures, winds, and dry vegetation, burned into residential areas on the west side of the city of Redding, CA. The medium wave infrared I4 band (3.55-3.93 µm) with 375 meter resolution is usable day and night and is able to detect the fire through heavy smoke. Using both S-NPP and NOAA-20 data, a time sequence of plots are created and the amount of growth is estimated. The 750 meter resolution Day Night Band (DNB, 0.5-0.9 µm) detects low levels of visible light at night. A time sequence of DNB images shows the growth of the fire toward the city of Redding. NOAA-20 provides additional fire growth data points that would not be available with S-NPP alone. This study demonstrates the ability of the JPSS constellation and IDPS products to provide valuable data for a highly dynamic event.