Spatial and temporal intercomparison of four global burned area products

• Published in: International journal of digital earth Vol. 12; no. 4; pp. 460 - 484
• Main Authors: Humber, Michael L., Boschetti, Luigi, Giglio, Louis, Justice, Christopher O.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 03.04.2019; Taylor & Francis Ltd; Taylor & Francis Group
• Subjects: Area; Burning; burning patterns; emissions; fire ecology; Fires; Global burned area; Intercomparison; moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer; MODIS; product intercomparison; Products; Regional analysis; voxel; voxel; Global burned area; product intercomparison; burning patterns
• ISSN: 1753-8947; 1753-8955; 1753-8955
• DOI: 10.1080/17538947.2018.1433727

We characterize the agreement and disagreement of four publically available burned products (Fire CCI, Copernicus Burnt Area, MODIS MCD45A1, and MODIS MCD64A1) at a finer spatial and temporal scale than previous assessments using a grid of three-dimensional cells defined both in space and in time. Our analysis, conducted using seven years of data (2005-2011), shows that estimates of burned area vary greatly between products in terms of total area burned, the location of burning, and the timing of the burning. We use regional and monthly units for analysis to provide insight into the variation between products that can be lost when considering products yearly and/or globally. Comparison with independent, contemporaneous MODIS active fire observations provides one indication of which products most reasonably capture the burning regime. Our results have implications for the use of global burned area products in fire ecology, management and emissions applications.