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Characteristics of some days involving abrupt increases in fire danger

Citation

Fox-Hughes, P, Characteristics of some days involving abrupt increases in fire danger, Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 54, (12) pp. 2353-2363. ISSN 1558-8424 (2015) [Refereed Article]


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DOI: doi:10.1175/JAMC-D-15-0062.1

Abstract

A class of fire-weather events has been identified recently in which the normal, often diurnal, rise and fall of fire danger is interrupted by abruptly worsening conditions, or "spikes," for which fire managers may be unprepared.Frequent observations from a site in Tasmania, Australia, show that spike events are associated with the passage of negatively tilted upper-tropospheric troughs, leading to descent into the atmospheric boundary layer of dry, high-momentum air-a result that is supported by satellite water vapor imagery. Case studies from other major fire events, both in Australia and in the Northern Hemisphere, show similar characteristics. Statistically significant differences exist between the location and placement of trough and jetstreak features during spike events and normal fire-weather events, with differences in satellite water vapor imagery features also evident. The seasonality of spike events differs significantly from other fire-weather events, with their occurrence peaking from late spring to early summer in Tasmania, in contrast to broad summer primary and midspring secondary peaks for nonspike events.

Item Details

Item Type:Refereed Article
Keywords:fire danger, fire managers, Tasmania, spike events, fire-weather events
Research Division:Earth Sciences
Research Group:Atmospheric sciences
Research Field:Tropospheric and stratospheric physics
Objective Division:Environmental Management
Objective Group:Air quality, atmosphere and weather
Objective Field:Weather
UTAS Author:Fox-Hughes, P (Dr Paul Fox-Hughes)
ID Code:106765
Year Published:2015
Web of Science® Times Cited:3
Deposited By:CRC-Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems
Deposited On:2016-02-19
Last Modified:2016-05-24
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