Research
Research Interests
I study the role of biomass burning in global biogeochemical cycle. I am interesting in interactions among fire, vegetation, and climate. I am particularly interesting in developing new methods to quantify and assess wildfire-released greenhouse gases and aerosol emissions at regional-to-global scales using multi-source remote sensing data.
Google Scholar
ORCiD
Projects
1. An investigation of FRE biomass combustion coefficient (FBCC) in landscape wildfires.
The empirical relationship between biomass consumption and fire radiative energy based on a small fire has been commonly used to estimate biomass-burning emissions at regional-to-global scale. This study examined whether a similar relationship exists in landscape wildfires using ground-based biomass consumption and satellite-based FRE estimates. A total of 455 fires that were well observed by MODIS and GOES were selected. For each selected fire, biomass consumption was estimated based on Landsat burned area and FCCS fuel loadingsm and satellite FRE was estimated using MODIS and GOES FRP. We found that the ground-based biomass consumption is significantly correlated with satellite FRE and that the derived FBCC is similar to the field-based FBCC (0.368 kg/MJ).
Biomass consumption per unit area over 455 fires occured in 2011 and 2012 across the CONUS
FRE biomass combustion combustion coefficient
2. Estimate biomass-burning emissions by fusing MODIS and GOES FRP retrievals
Sampling limitations constrain application capability of FRP from polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites in estimate biomass burning emissions. This study developed a new algorithm to integrate MODIS and GOES FRP to estimate emissions across the CONUS from 2011-2015. Angular dependence of GOES FRP was corrected first and GOES FRP was further calibrated against and fused with MODIS FRP. The ecosystem-specific FRP climatological diurnal cycles were derived subsequently to fit gaps due to obscuration of clouds and thick smoke plumes. Finally, FRE and consumed dry biomass were estimated to calculate emissions (i.e., PM2.5 and CO). We evaluated emissions estimates using the Landsat-based and the WRF-Chem model based emissions, and existing emissions inventories.
Annual PM2.5 emissions across the CONUS from 2011-2015
Hourly PM2.5 emissions in forest, croplands, grasslands-shrublands-savannas, and all ecosystems
3. Inter-comparison of MODIS and VIIRS M-band Fire Radiative Power (FRP)
This study first corrected inter-scanline and inter-orbit repeat fire detections, and then compared contemporaneous MODIS and VIIRS M-band FRP estimates at fire-cluster, regional, and global grid levels.
Effects of inter-scanline and inter-orbit repeat fire detections on MODIS and VIIRS fire count and FRP
