The VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) Fire layer shows active fire detections and thermal anomalies, such as volcanoes, and gas flares. Fires can be set naturally, such as by lightning, or by humans, whether intentionally or accidentally. Fire is often thought of as a menace and detriment to life, but in some ecosystems it is necessary to maintain the equilibrium, for example, some plants only release seeds under high temperatures that can only be achieved by fire, fires can also clear undergrowth and brush to help restore forests to good health, humans use fire in slash and burn agriculture, to clear away last year’s crop stubble and provide nutrients for the soil and to clear areas for pasture. The fire layer is useful for studying the spatial and temporal distribution of fire, to locate persistent hot spots such as volcanoes and gas flares, to locate the source of air pollution from smoke that may have adverse human health impacts.

The 375m I-band data complements the MODIS fire detections; they both show good agreement in hotspot detection but the improved spatial resolution of the 375m data provides a greater response over fires of relatively small areas and provides improved mapping of large fire perimeters. The 375m data also has improved nighttime performance. Consequently, these data are well suited for use in support of fire management (e.g., near real-time alert systems), as well as other science applications requiring improved fire mapping fidelity.

The VIIRS Fire and Thermal Anomalies product is available from the joint NASA/NOAA Suomi-National Polar orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) satellite. The sensor resolution is 375 m, imagery resolution is 250 m, and the temporal resolution is twice daily. The thermal anomalies are represented as red points (approximate center of a 375 m pixel) in GIBS/Worldview.

References:MODAPS Services: VNP14IMG_NRT; Earthdata: VIIRS; VIIRS 375 m Active Fire Algorithm User Guide