First Steps Towards a Dynamical Model for Forest Fire Behaviour in Argentinian Landscapes

LANERI KARINA; SIGFRIDO WAIDELICH; VIVIANA ZIMMERMAN; MONICA DENHAM

Journal of Computer Science & Technology

Iberoamerican Science & Technology Education Consortium (ISTEC) Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI)

Lugar: La Plata; Año: 2020

1666-6038

We developed a Reaction Diffusion Convection (RDC)model for forest fire propagation coupled to a visual-ization platform with several functionalities requestedby local firefighters. The dynamical model aims to un-derstand the key mechanisms driving fire propagationin the Patagonian region. We?ll show in this work thefirst tests considering artificial landscapes. Syntheticmaps were created and used to test our RDC model,analysing step by step the effect of every landscapecharacteristic on fire propagation. Simulation resultswere in agreement with the expected fire behavior inthe presence of heterogeneous vegetation, wind andslope gradients.The simulator, developed in CUDA C/OpenGL, in-tegrates several layers including topography, weather,and fuel data. It allows to visualize the fire propaga-tion and also to interact with the user in simulationtime. The Fire Weather Index (FWI), extensively usedin Argentina to support operative preventive measuresfor forest fires management, was also coupled to ourvisualization platform. This additional functionalityallows the user to visualize on the landscape the firerisks, that are closely related to FWI, for NorthwestPatagonian forests in Argentina. Real land coverage,topography and weather maps were used in order tocalculate FWI and fire risk. Those maps were used tofeed our simulator to show, in a friendly visual way,the fire risk under different possible scenarios.