SCAR-B ABBA: GOES-8 Satellite Fire Detection in Brazil, 1995

GOES-8 satellite-derived fire products from the 1995 SCAR-B experiment in Brazil. The dataset contains ASCII files with active fire locations, estimated sizes, temperatures, ecosystem types, and flags for the period 15 August to 15 September 1995. Data was processed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison's CIMSS using the Automated Biomass Burning Algorithm (ABBA).

Use Cases

• Analyzing diurnal fire activity patterns based on four daily observation times (1145, 1445, 1745, 2045 UTC).
• Studying relationships between fire characteristics and ecosystem types based on the Olson World Ecosystems classification.
• Validating or comparing modern fire detection algorithms with historical satellite data from a specific field campaign.
• Investigating the spatial distribution of biomass burning in Brazil during the 1995 SCAR-B study period.

Strengths

• Provides data for a specific, well-documented international field campaign (SCAR-B, 1995).
• Includes multiple fire characteristics per detection: location, estimated size, temperature, ecosystem type, and quality flag.
• Offers diurnal coverage with four observations per day during peak burning hours.
• Data was reprocessed with an updated algorithm version (ABBA v4.5) for consistency.

Limitations

• Last updated 1995-09-15 23:59:59.999000; freshness should be verified.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS), University of Wisconsin-Madison, via NASA Earthdata.

Collection Method

Derived from GOES-8 multispectral imagery using the Automated Biomass Burning Algorithm (ABBA).

Time Range

15 August 1995 to 15 September 1995.

Freshness

1995-09-15 23:59:59.999000

Geography

Study region extends from 75W to 35W and from 0S to -40S (primarily Brazil).