Active fire monitoring and fire danger potential detection from space: A review

Wildland fire is both one of the major natural hazards and a natural process for ecosystem persistence. Accurate assessment of fire danger potential and timely detection of active fires are critical for fire fighting and fuel management. Space-borne measurements have become the primary approaches for these efforts. Many research works have been conducted and some data products have been generated for practical applications. This paper presents a review of the major sensors and algorithms for active fire monitoring and fire danger potential detection from space. Major sensors and their characteristics, physical principles of the major algorithms are summarized. Limitations of these algorithms and future improvements are also discussed.