Published works

Understanding and predicting fire behaviour is a priority for fire services, land managers and sometimes individual businesses and residents. This is an enormous scientific challenge given bushfires are complex phenomena, with their behaviour and resultant severity driven by complicated interactions among living and dead vegetation, topography and weather conditions. A good understanding of fire risk across the landscape is critical in preparing and responding to bushfire events and managing fire regimes, and remote sensing data will enhance this understanding. However, the vast array of spatial data sources available is not being used ve ry effectively in fire management. This project uses remote sensing observations to produce spatial information on fire hazard and impacts needed by planners, land managers and emergency services to effectively manage fire at landscape scales. The group works closely with ACT Parks and Conservation Service and agencies beyond the ACT to better understand their procedures and information needs, comparing these with the spatial data and mapping methods that are readily available, and developing the next generation of mapping technologies to help them prepare and respond to bushfires.