Size-dependent validation of MODIS MCD64A1 burned area over six vegetation types in boreal Eurasia: Large underestimation in croplands

• Published in: Scientific Reports
• Main Authors: Chunmao Zhu, Hideki Kobayashi, Yugo Kanaya, Masahiko Saito
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Portfolio 2017
• Subjects: Medicine; R; Science; Q; Arctic; Global warming; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-03739-0; https://doaj.org/article/c0e4085b662e49ac9dd3384c848b3a7b

Abstract Pollutants emitted from wildfires in boreal Eurasia can be transported to the Arctic, and their subsequent deposition could accelerate global warming. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) MCD64A1 burned area product is the basis of fire emission products. However, uncertainties due to the “moderate resolution” (500 m) characteristic of the MODIS sensor could be introduced. Here, we present a size-dependent validation of MCD64A1 with reference to higher resolution (better than 30 m) satellite products (Landsat 7 ETM+, RapidEye, WorldView-2, and GeoEye-1) for six ecotypes over 12 regions of boreal Eurasia. We considered the 2012 boreal Eurasia burning season when severe wildfires occurred and when Arctic sea ice extent was historically low. Among the six ecotypes, we found MCD64A1 burned areas comprised only 13% of the reference products in croplands because of inadequate detection of small fires (<100 ha). Our results indicate that over all ecotypes, the actual burned area in boreal Eurasia (15,256 km2) could have been ~16% greater than suggested by MCD64A1 (13,187 km2) when applying the correction factors proposed in this study. This implies the effects of wildfire emissions in boreal Eurasia on Arctic warming could be greater than currently estimated.