How does a forest fire shape the very air around it? This research delves into the complex interaction between wildland fires and the atmosphere, focusing on the turbulence patterns generated beneath a forest canopy. The study uses wavelet-based techniques to analyze temperature and velocity measurements from sonic anemometers during a prescribed wind-driven surface fire. The researchers examined the characteristic temporal scales associated with coherent patterns in temperature and turbulent fluxes at multiple heights within the canopy. Wavelet-based energy density plots revealed fire-modulated ramp–cliff structures in the low-to-mid-frequency band, indicating altered ramp durations and slopes compared to no-fire conditions. Cross-wavelet coherence analysis highlighted thermally-driven turbulent fluxes near the canopy top before the fire front arrived. Fire-induced heat-flux events were coherent down to periods of a second, while ambient heat-flux events operated at higher periods. These findings improve our understanding of fire-induced turbulence, aiding the development of more reliable fire behavior and transport models.
Published in Boundary-Layer Meteorology, this study aligns with the journal's focus on the atmospheric boundary layer and its interaction with surface features. The investigation of fire-atmosphere interactions and the use of wavelet analysis to understand turbulence patterns contribute directly to the journal's scope, providing insights into the complex dynamics of the lower atmosphere.
| Category | Category Repetition |
|---|---|
| Science: Geology | 23 |
| Science: Physics: Meteorology. Climatology | 20 |
| Agriculture: Plant culture | 15 |
| Agriculture: Forestry | 10 |
| Science: Physics | 8 |