Effective use of Himawari-8 data in Fire and Smoke detection, monitoring and forecasting

Spatial Resolution

• The increased spatial resolution will provide a more detailed view of vegetation conditions and trends that are useful for assessing the wildfire threat.
  

• Increased spatial resolution and mapping in the 3.9 micron channel permits better detection and monitoring of smaller fires.
  

• Increased spatial resolution will permit small and thin smoke plumes to be better detected and monitored.
• Increased spatial resolution will permit better geographical analysis of the burnt areas immidiately after the fire.

Temporal Resolution

• Increased temporal resolution will show the earth's surface less obscured by cloud, permitting more frequent views of the earth and thus a better determination of vegetation conditions and trends in these conditions.
  

• Increased temporal resolution in the 3.9 micron channel will assist in monitoring the fires, especially during the night.
  
• The more frequent data will permit the better monitoring of synoptic / mesoscale features such as wind changes due to the passage of a front / seabreezes that can contribute to rapidly changing wildfire conditions.
• The increased temporal resolution in the water vapour channels will permit better monitoring of "dry slots" which could result in "blow up" fire conditions.
  

• The 10 minute data permits a more continuous monitoring of the smoke.
• the 10 minute data assists in the determination of the smoke trajectory of fires. It can thus be used to verify NWP.
• The 10 minute data enables the Forecaster to determine when a plume from a bushfire has transitioned into pyro-convective behaviour.
  

Additional Channels

• The increased spectral coverage will provide more detailed views of vegetation conditions and trends useful for assessing the wildland fire threat.

• Land Cover products made from Himawari-8 data will help monitor burn scars.
• The three water vapour channels of Himawari-8 will permit monitoring of "dry slots" at different levels in the atmosphere. Thes "dry slots" can result in "blow up" fire conditions.
  

• Additional (visible and near infrared) satellite channels will provide improved detection and monitoring of smoke and potentially harmful concentrations of airborne pollutants.
• Smoke may be monitored using the True Colour RGB product.