CWFIS Datamart

Metadata

Alberta Smoke Plume Observation data

Alberta Smoke Plume Observation data

Description

The Alberta Smoke Plume Observation Study was a field project conducted by provincial forestry staff in coordination with Natural Resources Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada to observe and measure smoke plumes from wildland fires in Alberta. The study used hand-held inclinometer measurements and photos taken from forestry lookout towers. Observations of 222 plumes were collected from 21 towers over a six-year period from 2010 to 2015. Observers reported the equilibrium and maximum plume heights based on the plume’s final leveling height and the maximum lofting height, respectively.

Observations were tabulated at the end of each year and matched to reported fires. Forest fuel types as well as fire sizes at assessment times were reported by the province. Fire weather conditions were obtained from the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System (CWFIS). Assessed fire sizes were adjusted to the appropriate size at plume observation time using elliptical fire-growth projections.

Supplemental Information
The Alberta Smoke Plume Observation Study was conducted to observe and measure the smoke plumes from wildland fires in Alberta. This study used hand-held inclinometer measurements and photos taken at several lookout towers in the province. The plume height data and photos were used to validate plume rise algorithms, which have been incorporated in smoke and air quality prediction models.

The following paper presents a description and analysis of this database. We encourage users to read it before attempting further analyses.

Anderson, K.R.; Pankratz, A.; Mooney, C,; Fleetham, K. 2017. The Alberta Smoke Plume Observations Study. DOI: 10.5194/essd-10-325-2018
Licenses

Open Government Licence - Canada (http://open.canada.ca/en/open-government-licence-canada)

Data Resources

For additional information, please see the metadata included with the data itself.