Global Near Real-Time Fire Detection from MODIS Satellite

NASA's Terra satellite provides twice-daily global fire detection data at 1-kilometer resolution. The MOD14 product is derived from MODIS 4- and 11-micrometer radiances, employing tests to reject false alarms like sun glint. It is produced by LANCEMODIS and delivered in near real-time.

Use Cases

• Mapping active fire locations globally using the fire-mask Science Data Set.
• Analyzing fire intensity and radiative power from the radiative power layer.
• Assessing detection reliability for specific pixels using the algorithm quality flag.
• Tracking diurnal fire activity patterns from the four daily MODIS observations (10:30 AM/PM and 1:30 PM/AM).
• Studying fire pixel attributes like background temperature variability from the numerous attribute layers.

Strengths

• Global coverage from satellite observations.
• Near real-time delivery for timely monitoring.
• Twice-daily data acquisition from the Terra MODIS instrument.
• 1-kilometer spatial resolution for detailed fire mapping.

Limitations

• Potential false alarms from sources like unmasked coastlines require careful validation.
• Detection capability depends on fire strength and background conditions.
• Specific row count, column details, and temporal coverage range are unknown.

Provenance

Source

NASA Earthdata, MODIS instrument on the Terra satellite.

Collection Method

Derived from MODIS 4- and 11-micrometer radiances using a fire detection algorithm.

Freshness

Near real-time, with data provided daily.

Geography

Global.