Thanks to their images, “we can detect dry areas prone to forest fires from space. We can detect active fires and smoldering fires, as well as burned areas and trace smoke and gas emissions,” explains Clément Albergel, responsible for exploitable climate information at the European Space Agency (ESA). . “We can learn from all of these types of things.”
While geostationary satellites, which orbit 36,000 kilometers from the Earth’s surface, offer wide, continuous panoramic views, low-orbit satellites placed just 1,000 km from the Earth take more restricted images at regular intervals but offering a level more precise details. Valuable technology for monitoring the start and development of forest fires.
Predictive ecology
In Los Angeles, “there are satellite observations,” confirms Natasha Stavros, fire specialist for the company WKID Solutions. But knowing precisely where the fires are spreading and which houses are affected remains more difficult. “Some people stay put because they don’t really understand what’s going on… That’s where the idea comes from that we need more observations,” says Stavros.
Detect and monitor
Several companies and organizations have already developed projects in this area. The German company Orora Tech launched on Tuesday the first of its 14 nanosatellites – the size of a shoebox – which will “provide ultra-rapid forest fire alerts and high-quality thermal data”, according to Martin Langer, its managing director. The American non-profit company Earth Fire Alliance (EFA) plans to launch a constellation of four satellites into low orbit by the end of 2026. With images with a precision of 5 meters, they will be able to “find very small fires”, explains Brian Collins, director of the structure. These devices will complement ESA’s Sentinel-2 satellites, and the MODIS and VIIRS deployed by NASA.
-The operation, with a total cost of $53 million according to the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation which finances it, is a drop in the ocean compared to the damage caused by the fires, estimates Genevieve Biggs. The head of firefighting within the foundation hopes that the EFA will ultimately be able to finance its overall project of launching 55 satellites, for some 400 million dollars. A program that could capture images of the entire Earth at least every 20 minutes. Deploying dozens of satellites would “both detect and monitor fires at a speed that would make decision-making on the ground possible,” says Brian Collins. Collecting that much information would be fantastic, says Clément Albergel of ESA. But the expert recalls the importance of the last mile, or how to pass data to people.
Because the mass of information sent (the ESA Sentinel-2 mission alone sends a terabyte every day) must then be processed automatically. Identifying the start of fires is, according to Brian Collins, an excellent problem of artificial intelligence and machine learning… A needle in a haystack. Distinguishing controlled and intentional fires or simple light reflections from real fires still remains a challenge. For Natasha Stavros, satellites are not the miracle solution.
The Moore Foundation isn’t just focused on satellite fire detection and monitoring, adds Genevieve Biggs. A third essential component is based on “predictive fire ecology”, she specifies. “We not only focus on today’s conditions, but we also think about tomorrow’s conditions.”
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