Appendix IX: Revision and Updates of Data Sets

VARIABLE: FIRE AREA

DATA SET:

IGBP-DIS Global Fire Product

DATA ADDRESS:

http://www.mtv.sai.jrc.it/projects/fire/home.html

AUTHOR:

Simon Pinnock (World Fire Web), Ned Dwyer (Global Fire Product), Daniela Stroppiana (Burnt Area Mapping) Space Applications Institute, Joint Research Center, Ispra Italy

UNITS:

Global Fire Product, global fire position tables daily and raster fire counts at 0.5o X 0.5o latitude-longitude grids over both daily and 10-day periods. Burnt Area Mapping, in km² per unit time, dependent on sensor (30 m LANDSAT-TM, 1.1 km and 5 km AVHRR resolutions have been experimented with). World Fire Web, detected active fires per unit area per day based on AVHRR 1.1 km imagery

SOURCE:

All from AVHRR 1.1 km imagery although Burnt Area Mapping continues to experiment with other sensors.

RESOLUTION:

Global Fire Product at 1.1-6.7 km (daily global fire position tables) and 0.5o X 0.5o latitude-longitude (daily, 10-day raster fire counts); Burnt Area Mapping, variable resolution depending on sensor, World Fire Web, 1.1-6.7 km

COVERAGE:

Global Fire Product (daily global fire position tables, daily, 10-day raster fire counts are global; Burnt Area Mapping, variable resolution depending on sensor, with one example available for the continent of Africa. Prototype implementation at two regional nodes expected by December 1999 with progressive enlargement thereafter. World Fire Web, 1.1 - 6.7 km, is currently available for Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia and much of South America, although “almost global” coverage is expected by the end of 1999.

METADATA:

Web site metadata are adequate for Global Fire Product. Burnt Area Mapping is still experimental and hence metadata are absent. World Fire Web metadata will require examination when it comes online.

VALIDATION:

Global Fire Product has not clearly been validated, although publications may describe specific sites where ground observations have tested algorithm signatures. Burnt Area Mapping, variable resolution depending on sensor, World Fire Web which depends on the same methods as the Global Fire Product, has not been directly validated, based on information provided at the web site.

REVIEW:

The methods have undergone review, and data to test validity of the algorithm’s ability to discriminate fire and non-fire has been tested for limited locations and situations on all three products (Global Fire Product, Burnt Area Mapping, World Fire Web).

USE:

Several refereed papers on the Global Fire Product have been published; papers describing methods used in Burnt Area Mapping, and the World Fire Web have been published.

APPLICATION:

Global Fire Product has been applied in several publications to define global fire seasons, determine relationships between geography of fire occurrence and environmental variables; Burnt Area Mapping has been tested in Africa but not applied to its purpose of defining a record of areas burnt each year; World Fire Web has been tested on four main nodes but has not been applied yet to its function of providing coverage of currently burning wildland vegetation.

RECOMMENDATION:

Global Fire Product should be accepted by GTOS; Burnt Area Mapping and World Fire Web should be reviewed regularly until they are running, and evaluated for acceptance at that time.

VARIABLE: LAND COVER

DATA SET:

Several products:

- One Degree Global Land Cover

- One Kilometre Global Land Cover

- Eight Kilometre Global Land Cover Project

- Continuous Fields Tree Cover

DATA ADDRESS:

http://glcf.umiacs.umd.edu/about/aboutwho.html

AUTHOR:

Various

UNITS:

Various

SOURCE:

AVHRR data

RESOLUTION:

Varies with product (1x1 degree, 8km, 1km)

COVERAGE:

Global

METADATA:

Yes

VALIDATION:

Yes

REVIEW:

Yes (described in publications)

USE:

Yes

APPLICATION:

Yes

RECOMMENDATION:

Accept

Note: The products are available from the Global Land Cover Facility (GLCF) located at the University of Maryland, College Park, United States.

VARIABLE: SOIL MOISTURE

DATA SET:

Global soil moisture data bank

DATA ADDRESS:

http://climate.envsci.rutgers.edu/soil-moisture

AUTHOR:

Alan Robock

UNITS:

Various

SOURCE:

Russia, China, the United States, etc.

RESOLUTION:

100-500 km

COVERAGE:

Russia, China, the United States, etc.

METADATA:

Adequate - available on the web

VALIDATION:

available on the web

REVIEW (peer):

A paper by Robock et al., 2000 (Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society)

USE in refereed papers:

APPLICATION:

The data is used as the validation for satellite remote sensing and Global Soil Wetness Project.

RECOMMENDATION:

Qualified acceptance. These are scattered point measurements and are thus not globally comprehensive. It should be noted that soil moisture observation is strongly affected by the local heterogeneity of the land surface.

VARIABLE: EVAPOTRANSPIRATION

DATA SET:

Global Soil Wetness Project

DATA ADDRESS:

http://grads.iges.org/gswp/

AUTHOR:

CCSR/University of Tokyo

UNITS:

W/m²

SOURCE:

Land surface model output intercomparison

RESOLUTION:

1x1 degree, 10-day mean

COVERAGE:

Global, 1987 and 1988

METADATA:

Adequate - available on the web

VALIDATION:

Available on the web

REVIEW (peer):

Dirmeyer et al. (1999, Journal of the Meteorlogical Society of Japan 77 (1B).

USE in refereed papers:

Special issue of Journal of Meteorological Society of Japan, Vol. 77, No. 1B.

APPLICATION:

Used as the boundary condition for the GCM for seasonal prediction experiments.

RECOMMENDATION:

Qualified acceptance. The coverage is globally comprehensive, but all products are derived from SVAT models. The models are forced with realistic precipitation and radiation. There are significant differences among the models, leading to a degree of uncertainty. Soil moisture of the surface and the rooting layer, skin temperature, sensible heat flux, snow depth, run-off rate, net surface radiation are also available.

VARIABLE: PERMAFROST ACTIVE LAYER DEPTH

DATA SET:

Active layer depth

DATA ADDRESS:

http://www.geography.uc.edu/calm

AUTHOR:

37 observers from 15 countries

UNITS:

Depth in cm

SOURCE:

Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring System (CALM); see web site

RESOLUTION:

Point measurement

COVERAGE:

Approximately 80 reporting sites mostly in Arctic and Subarctic

METADATA:

Adequate

VALIDATION:

Annually by observer

REVIEW (peer):

Funded NSF peer reviewed grant; various papers published on individual or groups of sites are peer reviewed. CALM web master and IPA coordinator review annual inputs.

USE in refereed papers:

Yes (bibliography being compiled)

APPLICATION:

Trace gas emission, climate index, soil nutrient availability, slope failures

RECOMMENDATION:

Full acceptance.

VARIABLE: PERMAFROST THERMAL STATE

DATA SET:

Borehole temperature

DATA ADDRESS:

Proposed host <http://sts.gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/permafrost/>

AUTHOR:

35 observers from 14 countries

UNITS:

degree C

SOURCE:

Jerry Brown, International Permafrost Association, POB 7, Woods Hole, MA 02543

RESOLUTION:

Point measurement

COVERAGE:

Approximately 250 potential sites in the Arctic, Subarctic, Antarctic, and major mountain ranges and plateaus of both hemispheres.

METADATA:

Metadata form to be circulated in second half 1999.

VALIDATION:

By individual investigators.

REVIEW (peer):

Sites include peer reviewed funded proposal in the United States, Canada, and Europe (PACE); various papers published on individual or collective sites are peer reviewed.

USE in refereed papers:

Yes (current bibliography to be compiled based on metadata forms)

APPLICATION:

Decadal to secular climate changes, trace gas emission, slope failures

RECOMMENDATION:

Full acceptance.