Title: Locating and Characterizing Wildland Fire with Infrasound

Abstract: Wildfires have significant effects on ecosystems, property, and human health. Remote monitoring systems can give early warning on fire ignition detections and sudden changes in fire behavior. Current systems, which include ground-based optical sensors, manned and unmanned aircraft, and satellites, have several limitations. These include discontinuous data records, potential obscuration by clouds, smoke, and vegetation, and limited spatial coverage or a trade-off between spatial and temporal resolution. Infrasound (low-frequency sound) is a monitoring technology currently used for volcano observatories and avalanche monitoring. Unlike current systems, infrasound sensors record continuously, do not require direct visibility to potential sound sources, and receive signals from a large volume of space, showing potential to fill in the gaps of current fire monitoring tools. Infrasound generation in fires has been attributed to changes in the heat release rate and “puffing” caused by buoyant flow, indicating that infrasound systems could be used to detect rapid changes in fire behavior and intensity. I propose to (1) determine if infrasound shows potential as a fire monitoring system by detecting and mapping fire spread; (2) compare different infrasound array configurations to determine the optimal sensor placement in a fire response; and (3) find the acoustic source intensity and signal detection limit for differently sized and intensity fires. I have shown that infrasound can be used to detect fire sources for two prescribed burns with different fuels, and mapped fire spread rate across the landscape in both cases. My dissertation research will advance the newly emerging field of fire infrasound and show its potential as a fire monitoring method. Developing infrasound methods to detect fires early and warn of rapid changes in fire behavior can ultimately protect resources, infrastructure, and save lives.

Advisor: Jake Anderson

Committee: Jeff Johnson, Ellyn Enderlin, and Kara Yedinak

Zoom Link: https://boisestate.zoom.us/j/99722445846pwd=yYVxzCUrz8YF84OmaEBLgA8WaLGJEj.1

Meeting ID: 997 2244 5846
Password: 293514