Fire has a diverse range of impacts on Earth's physical and social systems. Accurate and up to date information on areas affected by fire is critical to better understand drivers of fire activity, as well as its relevance for biogeochemical cycles, climate, air quality, and to aid fire management. Mapping burned areas was traditionally done from field sketches. With the launch of the first Earth observation satellites, remote sensing quickly became a more practical alternative to detect burned areas, as they provide timely regional and global coverage of fire occurrence. This review paper explores the physical basis to detect burned area from satellite observations, describes the historical trends of using satellite sensors to monitor burned areas, summarizes the most recent approaches to map burned areas and evaluates the existing burned area products (both at global and regional scales). Finally, it identifies potential future opportunities to further improve burned area detection from Earth observation satellites.
1.Univ Alcala De Henares, Dept Geol Geog & Environm, Environm Remote Sensing Res Grp, Calle Colegios 2, Alcala De Henares 28801, Spain 2.Univ Montpellier, Univ Paul Valery Montpellier, EPHE, UMR CEFE 5175,IRD,CNRS, 1919 Route Mende, F-34293 Montpellier 5, France 3.Vrije Univ Amsterdam, Fac Sci, Dept Earth Sci, De Boelelaan 1085, NL-1081 HV Amsterdam, Netherlands 4.European Commiss Joint Res Ctr, Directorate E Space Secur & Migrat, I-21027 Ispra, Italy 5.Univ Patras, Dept Environm & Nat Resources Management, G Seferi 2, GR-30100 Agrinion, Greece 6.Australian Natl Univ, Fenner Sch Environm & Soc, Acton, ACT, Australia 7.Bushfire Nat Hazards Cooperat Res Ctr, Melbourne, Vic, Australia 8.Univ Leicester, Sch Geog, Leicester Inst Space & Earth Observat, Ctr Landscape & Climate Res, Leicester LE1 7RH, Leics, England 9.Aristotle Univ Thessaloniki, Sch Forestry & Nat Environm, Lab Forest Management & Remote Sensing, Moschounti 59, GR-54124 Thessaloniki, Greece 10.Max Planck Inst Meteorol Environm Modeling, Hamburg, Germany 11.US Geol Survey, Geosci & Environm Change Sci Ctr, Denver, CO 80225 USA 12.Univ Maryland, Dept Geog Sci, College Pk, MD 20742 USA
Recommended Citation:
Chuvieco, Emilio,Mouillot, Florent,van der Werf, Guido R.,et al. Historical background and current developments for mapping burned area from satellite Earth observation[J]. REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT,2019-01-01,225:45-64