U of C prof to use satellite data to predict forest fires

Quazi Hassan uses accessible data from NASA satellite to prognosticate

With the help of a NASA satellite, Quazi Hassan is working to anticipate dangerous forest fire conditions across Alberta — even the nooks and crannies of the province unable to be accurately watched in the past.

The University of Calgary engineering professor has been at it for five years.

And now, he’s got the funding to push his project forward another five years.

Hassan said he’s excited to be doing this research and the implications are far-reaching.

“Not only the fires but any source of natural hazards, if I can handle those using remote sensor data it would be my pleasure to do that sort of research.

“In this particular province we experience lots of fires like this,” he said.

“So definitely, I think this type of research can help people to understand the danger conditions, No. 1 — and secondly, I think in the long run, if we can do more and more research, then we can understand how to design better cities.”

Data from the particular NASA satellite Hassan has been tapping is freely accessible, and he said it’s proven fruitful.

He’s matched up historical data with 77 per cent of the fires in the province between the years 2009 and 2011.

“Our view is, especially in the remote areas where accessibility is extremely poor, installing and running weather stations is not that easy,” Hassan said.

“We thought we can develop some system, which can cover those remote locations.

“For a long, long time — I’ll say since 1996 — I started to do research using remote sensing of the satellite imaging area.

“Then, in 2005, I started to look into some forestry applications,” he added.

In 2008, Hassan came to Calgary and brought his interest to the U of C.

What Hassan’s project aims to do in terms of predicting where forest fires could occur, he said, is not to replace the current system but cover those untouched remote areas and add another layer of information where there is already coverage.

He’s looking forward to the next five years, which he plans to spend expanding what information he’s looking at.

“I would like to investigate more and more emerging factors ... how during the growing season vegetation changes and how that particular change can be related to the fire danger,” he said.

“I would be interested to see how the topography can influence the fire.

“What could be the influence of the road network? What could be the influence of the long weekends on the fires?”

UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Quazi Hassan is an engineering professor at University of Calgary who for the last five years has been using freely accessible NASA satellite data to forecast forest fires in Alberta. His funding has just been renewed and his project will carry on.