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Improving integrated wildfire management in the Fynbos Biome of South Africa using information on synoptic-scale atmospheric features that promote wildfires
Wildfire, an essential element for the Fynbos Biome of South Africa, can be a threat to property and human life if it is not well managed. Despite many studies on the dynamics and management of wildfire, the role of the atmosphere in inducing regional circulations that promote widespread wildfire is...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Environmental and Geographical Science
2016
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| _version_ | 1867613165904199680 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Harrison, Dean Charles |
| author2 | Abiodun, Babatunde Joseph |
| author_browse | Abiodun, Babatunde Joseph Harrison, Dean Charles |
| author_facet | Abiodun, Babatunde Joseph Harrison, Dean Charles |
| author_sort | Harrison, Dean Charles |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Wildfire, an essential element for the Fynbos Biome of South Africa, can be a threat to property and human life if it is not well managed. Despite many studies on the dynamics and management of wildfire, the role of the atmosphere in inducing regional circulations that promote widespread wildfire is not well known. This dissertation studies the characteristics of wildfire in the Fynbos Biome, identifies synoptic-scale atmospheric features that produce favourable conditions for the wildfire, and examines possibility of using the features as indicators for wildfire occurrence. Ten years (2003 - 2012) of fire data from the MODIS "active-fires" datasets were analysed over the study domain. Daily Fire Danger Index (FDI) was calculated over Southern Africa for this period using maximum temperature (Tmax), minimum relative humidity (RHmin), and maximum wind speed (Wmax) data from the Climate Forecasting System Reanalysis datasets (CFSR) at a 0.5°x0.5° horizontal resolution. The Self Organising Maps (SOMs) technique was used to classify the FDI (anomaly) patterns on the fire days, and the atmospheric dynamics associated with each pattern were studied. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/19957 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:31:48.735Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publishDateRange | 2016 |
| publishDateSort | 2016 |
| publisher | Department of Environmental and Geographical Science |
| publisherStr | Department of Environmental and Geographical Science |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/19957 Improving integrated wildfire management in the Fynbos Biome of South Africa using information on synoptic-scale atmospheric features that promote wildfires Harrison, Dean Charles Abiodun, Babatunde Joseph Anderson, Pippin Environment, Society and Sustainability Wildfire, an essential element for the Fynbos Biome of South Africa, can be a threat to property and human life if it is not well managed. Despite many studies on the dynamics and management of wildfire, the role of the atmosphere in inducing regional circulations that promote widespread wildfire is not well known. This dissertation studies the characteristics of wildfire in the Fynbos Biome, identifies synoptic-scale atmospheric features that produce favourable conditions for the wildfire, and examines possibility of using the features as indicators for wildfire occurrence. Ten years (2003 - 2012) of fire data from the MODIS "active-fires" datasets were analysed over the study domain. Daily Fire Danger Index (FDI) was calculated over Southern Africa for this period using maximum temperature (Tmax), minimum relative humidity (RHmin), and maximum wind speed (Wmax) data from the Climate Forecasting System Reanalysis datasets (CFSR) at a 0.5°x0.5° horizontal resolution. The Self Organising Maps (SOMs) technique was used to classify the FDI (anomaly) patterns on the fire days, and the atmospheric dynamics associated with each pattern were studied. 2016-06-09T11:12:54Z 2016-06-09T11:12:54Z 2015 Master Thesis Masters MPhil http://hdl.handle.net/11427/19957 eng application/pdf Department of Environmental and Geographical Science Faculty of Science University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Environment, Society and Sustainability Harrison, Dean Charles Improving integrated wildfire management in the Fynbos Biome of South Africa using information on synoptic-scale atmospheric features that promote wildfires |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Improving integrated wildfire management in the Fynbos Biome of South Africa using information on synoptic-scale atmospheric features that promote wildfires |
| title_full | Improving integrated wildfire management in the Fynbos Biome of South Africa using information on synoptic-scale atmospheric features that promote wildfires |
| title_fullStr | Improving integrated wildfire management in the Fynbos Biome of South Africa using information on synoptic-scale atmospheric features that promote wildfires |
| title_full_unstemmed | Improving integrated wildfire management in the Fynbos Biome of South Africa using information on synoptic-scale atmospheric features that promote wildfires |
| title_short | Improving integrated wildfire management in the Fynbos Biome of South Africa using information on synoptic-scale atmospheric features that promote wildfires |
| title_sort | improving integrated wildfire management in the fynbos biome of south africa using information on synoptic scale atmospheric features that promote wildfires |
| topic | Environment, Society and Sustainability |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/19957 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT harrisondeancharles improvingintegratedwildfiremanagementinthefynbosbiomeofsouthafricausinginformationonsynopticscaleatmosphericfeaturesthatpromotewildfires |