Soil Moisture and Wildfire Prediction Workshop
April 29, 2019 (8:50 am – 6 pm)
In association with the 6th International Fire Behavior and Fuels Conference hosted by the International Association of Wildland Fire
Contacts:
Matt Levi – Assistant Professor; University of Georgia; matthew.levi@uga.edu
Windy Kelley – Extension Program Coordinator; USDA Northern Plains Climate Hub; wkelley1@uwyo.edu
Emile Elias; Director – USDA Southwest Climate Hub; Emile.Elias@ARS.USDA.GOV
Tyson Ochsner; Associate Professor – Oklahoma State University; tyson.ochsner@okstate.edu
Location: Hyatt Regency Albuquerque (505-842-1234) 330 Tijeras NW Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, 87102
Focus: Soil moisture modeling, wildfire danger modeling, Climate Adaptation Science Center project on wildfire probability mapping, Soil MERGE (SMERGE) soil moisture project
Objectives: Identify science and management needs from the fire community and soil moisture community related to modeling, risk assessment, planning, and decision support tools. Find synergy between groups and link similar projects to existing Soil MERGE (SMERGE) and Climate Adaptation Science Center projects by learning and discussing current trends and status of:
• Wildfire occurrence, impacts, and response
• Fire modeling and fire danger ratings
• Soil moisture monitoring and modeling
• Linkages between soil moisture, fuel moisture, and wildfire
Participants will identify opportunities for soil moisture monitoring and modeling to benefit fire modeling and fire danger rating for the sake of improved wildfire preparedness and response.
Geographic focus: Rio Grande River Basin, Red River Basin, Southwestern and South Central US
Format: Interactive 1–day workshop. Select speakers will discuss the ‘state’ of the science and practice and small group discussions will identify stakeholder needs.
Financial support was provided by the Department of the Interior’s South Central Climate Science and Adaption Center grant number G18AC00278 with partial support for the workshop provided by the USDA Northern Plains Climate Hub through award number NNX16AH30G from the NASA Climate Indicator and Data Products for the National Climate Assessments program.
