Multitemporal analysis of land surface temperature using NOAA-AVHRR: preliminary relationships between climatic anomalies and forest fires

Abstract

Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-14 imagery was used to analyse changes in land surface temperature in an area of Central Mexico during the course of each dry season (November-April) for the period 1996-2000. Daily surface temperature was obtained by the split-window method and cloud-free monthly composites were subsequently built. This value was related to maximum air temperatures recorded at meteorological stations and to forest fires detected from night-time images. During 1996-1997 and 1997-1998 (El Nino) dry seasons, monthly surface temperature ranged from 35degreesC to 46degreesC and from 33degreesC to 51degreesC, respectively

during 1998-1999 (La Nina) and 1999-2000 it was lower, ranging from 28degreesC to 47degreesC, and from 28degreesC to 41degreesC, respectively. At the end of El Nino, land surface temperatures higher than 50degreesC were registered, and 730 forest fires were detected, suggesting that this temperature increment also contributed to the vulnerability of vegetation to fire. It is concluded that land surface temperature during the first four months of the dry season can be used as a variable for modelling the probability of forest fire occurrence, in combination with other environmental variables. Similarities between land surface temperature and maximum air temperature suggest the potential use of NOAA-AVHRR imagery for evaluating El Nino/LaNina effects on the continental surface.