Breakthrough in the Understanding of Flaming Wildfires. Rein, G. 112(32):9795–9796. ![Breakthrough in the Understanding of Flaming Wildfires [link]](https://bibbase.org/img/filetypes/link.svg "link")
Paper doi abstract bibtex [Excerpt] In this article, I give an overview of the recent contribution of Finney et al. (1) to our understanding of how wildfires spread by providing its scientific context and also by putting forward the possible impact on the field. [...] [] Wildfires are important to the natural sciences. Since deep time, the top surface of the Earth's crust has been the interface where abundant plant organic matter meets an atmosphere rich in oxygen. This interface is flammable, especially in dry, windy, and hot conditions, and leads to wildfire after an ignition event. Not only has fire contributed to shaping most ecosystems on Earth, but it plays essential roles supporting life through the regulation of atmospheric oxygen, the carbon cycle, and the climate (3, 4). [] As part of the current anthropogenic age, humans have also modified the fire regimes of many ecosystems and have contributed, for example, to fire exclusion in certain regions (e.g., in the US between the 1910s and 1960s) or to increasing fire frequency and severity through drainage (e.g., peatlands) and possibly through climate change (e.g., Arctic fires). Of note, multiple billions of US dollars are spent annually across the world to fight wildfires for the protection of communities and valuable ecosystems. [] Despite its central importance to the planet and to humanity, our understanding of fire remains very limited. For example, we still cannot accurately forecast the location of a fire in 30-min time. To quote Hottel (5), ” A case can be made for fire being, next to the life processes, the most complex of phenomena to understand.” It comes as no surprise, then, that the discipline of fire science is less mature than other Earth science topics. [...] [] In this context, we see that the recent work by Finney et al. (1) is a scientific breakthrough. Finney et al. have discovered the long-missing piece of the puzzle to understand wildfire dynamics. Their seminal work puts forward for the first time (to my knowledge) a fundamental, comprehensive, and verifiable theory of flaming wildfire spread. [...] Their work feeds into a long-standing debate in the field on whether it is radiation or convection that controls the heat transfer to the fuel bed ahead (Fig. 1). The specific heat transfer mechanism affects the interpretation of experimental observations, and is critical in correctly formulating physically based models (9). Finney et al. settle the debate by identifying with strong evidence that heat transfer to fine fuels is controlled by flame contact, the phenomenon where both radiation and convection heat transfer are combined, but with the distinctiveness that the timings of flame contact is driven by convective flows. [] Finney's theory can have a profound impact in the field. The impact is fourfold regarding [::(i)] previous scientific studies, [::(ii)] wildfire predictions, [::(iii)] new technologies, and [::(iv)] multidisciplinarity. [] [...] The state of the art should naturally revisit and replace Rothermel's model to give way to a new physically based Rothermel-Finney's model. [] Rothermel-Finney's model would improve predictions of fire behavior and help them gain in both accuracy and consistency. This in turn would allow the simulations to provide more reliable information during fire incidents. [] The increased accuracy of simulations should eventually allow for high-fidelity forecasting technologies. [...]
@article{reinBreakthroughUnderstandingFlaming2015,
title = {Breakthrough in the Understanding of Flaming Wildfires},
author = {Rein, Guillermo},
date = {2015-08},
journaltitle = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences},
volume = {112},
pages = {9795--9796},
issn = {1091-6490},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.1512432112},
url = {http://mfkp.org/INRMM/article/13695457},
abstract = {[Excerpt] In this article, I give an overview of the recent contribution of Finney et al. (1) to our understanding of how wildfires spread by providing its scientific context and also by putting forward the possible impact on the field. [...]
[] Wildfires are important to the natural sciences. Since deep time, the top surface of the Earth's crust has been the interface where abundant plant organic matter meets an atmosphere rich in oxygen. This interface is flammable, especially in dry, windy, and hot conditions, and leads to wildfire after an ignition event. Not only has fire contributed to shaping most ecosystems on Earth, but it plays essential roles supporting life through the regulation of atmospheric oxygen, the carbon cycle, and the climate (3, 4).
[] As part of the current anthropogenic age, humans have also modified the fire regimes of many ecosystems and have contributed, for example, to fire exclusion in certain regions (e.g., in the US between the 1910s and 1960s) or to increasing fire frequency and severity through drainage (e.g., peatlands) and possibly through climate change (e.g., Arctic fires). Of note, multiple billions of US dollars are spent annually across the world to fight wildfires for the protection of communities and valuable ecosystems.
[] Despite its central importance to the planet and to humanity, our understanding of fire remains very limited. For example, we still cannot accurately forecast the location of a fire in 30-min time. To quote Hottel (5), ” A case can be made for fire being, next to the life processes, the most complex of phenomena to understand.” It comes as no surprise, then, that the discipline of fire science is less mature than other Earth science topics. [...]
[] In this context, we see that the recent work by Finney et al. (1) is a scientific breakthrough. Finney et al. have discovered the long-missing piece of the puzzle to understand wildfire dynamics. Their seminal work puts forward for the first time (to my knowledge) a fundamental, comprehensive, and verifiable theory of flaming wildfire spread. [...] Their work feeds into a long-standing debate in the field on whether it is radiation or convection that controls the heat transfer to the fuel bed ahead (Fig. 1). The specific heat transfer mechanism affects the interpretation of experimental observations, and is critical in correctly formulating physically based models (9). Finney et al. settle the debate by identifying with strong evidence that heat transfer to fine fuels is controlled by flame contact, the phenomenon where both radiation and convection heat transfer are combined, but with the distinctiveness that the timings of flame contact is driven by convective flows.
[] Finney's theory can have a profound impact in the field. The impact is fourfold regarding
[::(i)] previous scientific studies,
[::(ii)] wildfire predictions,
[::(iii)] new technologies, and
[::(iv)] multidisciplinarity.
[] [...] The state of the art should naturally revisit and replace Rothermel's model to give way to a new physically based Rothermel-Finney's model.
[] Rothermel-Finney's model would improve predictions of fire behavior and help them gain in both accuracy and consistency. This in turn would allow the simulations to provide more reliable information during fire incidents.
[] The increased accuracy of simulations should eventually allow for high-fidelity forecasting technologies. [...]},
keywords = {*imported-from-citeulike-INRMM,~INRMM-MiD:c-13695457,~to-add-doi-URL,deep-uncertainty,modelling,non-linearity,nonsteady-flame-convection,physically-based-vs-empirical,uncertainty,wildfires},
number = {32}
}
Downloads: 0
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Since deep time, the top surface of the Earth's crust has been the interface where abundant plant organic matter meets an atmosphere rich in oxygen. This interface is flammable, especially in dry, windy, and hot conditions, and leads to wildfire after an ignition event. Not only has fire contributed to shaping most ecosystems on Earth, but it plays essential roles supporting life through the regulation of atmospheric oxygen, the carbon cycle, and the climate (3, 4). [] As part of the current anthropogenic age, humans have also modified the fire regimes of many ecosystems and have contributed, for example, to fire exclusion in certain regions (e.g., in the US between the 1910s and 1960s) or to increasing fire frequency and severity through drainage (e.g., peatlands) and possibly through climate change (e.g., Arctic fires). Of note, multiple billions of US dollars are spent annually across the world to fight wildfires for the protection of communities and valuable ecosystems. [] Despite its central importance to the planet and to humanity, our understanding of fire remains very limited. For example, we still cannot accurately forecast the location of a fire in 30-min time. To quote Hottel (5), ” A case can be made for fire being, next to the life processes, the most complex of phenomena to understand.” It comes as no surprise, then, that the discipline of fire science is less mature than other Earth science topics. [...] [] In this context, we see that the recent work by Finney et al. (1) is a scientific breakthrough. Finney et al. have discovered the long-missing piece of the puzzle to understand wildfire dynamics. Their seminal work puts forward for the first time (to my knowledge) a fundamental, comprehensive, and verifiable theory of flaming wildfire spread. [...] Their work feeds into a long-standing debate in the field on whether it is radiation or convection that controls the heat transfer to the fuel bed ahead (Fig. 1). The specific heat transfer mechanism affects the interpretation of experimental observations, and is critical in correctly formulating physically based models (9). Finney et al. settle the debate by identifying with strong evidence that heat transfer to fine fuels is controlled by flame contact, the phenomenon where both radiation and convection heat transfer are combined, but with the distinctiveness that the timings of flame contact is driven by convective flows. [] Finney's theory can have a profound impact in the field. The impact is fourfold regarding [::(i)] previous scientific studies, [::(ii)] wildfire predictions, [::(iii)] new technologies, and [::(iv)] multidisciplinarity. [] [...] The state of the art should naturally revisit and replace Rothermel's model to give way to a new physically based Rothermel-Finney's model. [] Rothermel-Finney's model would improve predictions of fire behavior and help them gain in both accuracy and consistency. 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(1) to our understanding of how wildfires spread by providing its scientific context and also by putting forward the possible impact on the field. [...]\n\n[] Wildfires are important to the natural sciences. Since deep time, the top surface of the Earth's crust has been the interface where abundant plant organic matter meets an atmosphere rich in oxygen. This interface is flammable, especially in dry, windy, and hot conditions, and leads to wildfire after an ignition event. Not only has fire contributed to shaping most ecosystems on Earth, but it plays essential roles supporting life through the regulation of atmospheric oxygen, the carbon cycle, and the climate (3, 4).\n\n[] As part of the current anthropogenic age, humans have also modified the fire regimes of many ecosystems and have contributed, for example, to fire exclusion in certain regions (e.g., in the US between the 1910s and 1960s) or to increasing fire frequency and severity through drainage (e.g., peatlands) and possibly through climate change (e.g., Arctic fires). Of note, multiple billions of US dollars are spent annually across the world to fight wildfires for the protection of communities and valuable ecosystems.\n\n[] Despite its central importance to the planet and to humanity, our understanding of fire remains very limited. For example, we still cannot accurately forecast the location of a fire in 30-min time. To quote Hottel (5), ” A case can be made for fire being, next to the life processes, the most complex of phenomena to understand.” It comes as no surprise, then, that the discipline of fire science is less mature than other Earth science topics. [...]\n\n[] In this context, we see that the recent work by Finney et al. (1) is a scientific breakthrough. Finney et al. have discovered the long-missing piece of the puzzle to understand wildfire dynamics. Their seminal work puts forward for the first time (to my knowledge) a fundamental, comprehensive, and verifiable theory of flaming wildfire spread. [...] Their work feeds into a long-standing debate in the field on whether it is radiation or convection that controls the heat transfer to the fuel bed ahead (Fig. 1). The specific heat transfer mechanism affects the interpretation of experimental observations, and is critical in correctly formulating physically based models (9). Finney et al. settle the debate by identifying with strong evidence that heat transfer to fine fuels is controlled by flame contact, the phenomenon where both radiation and convection heat transfer are combined, but with the distinctiveness that the timings of flame contact is driven by convective flows.\n\n[] Finney's theory can have a profound impact in the field. The impact is fourfold regarding \n\n[::(i)] previous scientific studies, \n\n[::(ii)] wildfire predictions, \n\n[::(iii)] new technologies, and \n\n[::(iv)] multidisciplinarity. \n\n[] [...] The state of the art should naturally revisit and replace Rothermel's model to give way to a new physically based Rothermel-Finney's model.\n\n[] Rothermel-Finney's model would improve predictions of fire behavior and help them gain in both accuracy and consistency. This in turn would allow the simulations to provide more reliable information during fire incidents.\n\n[] The increased accuracy of simulations should eventually allow for high-fidelity forecasting technologies. 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