A research team from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign recently traveled to Tallahassee, Fla., to conduct a rigorous, weeklong field data-collection campaign aimed at improving our understanding and modeling of wildfires, with the ultimate goal of mitigating the impacts of disasters on vulnerable communities.
The team utilized highly specialized, multimodal drone-based remote sensing technology to capture critical data before, during, and after a prescribed (controlled) fire burn.
Led by CEE Research Assistant Professor Mohamad Alipour's research group, the campaign deployed several advanced sensor payloads to capture a comprehensive view of the fire's behavior and environmental impact. To precisely evaluate pre- and post-burn fuels and map the changing landscape, the researchers utilized airborne and terrestrial LiDAR and photogrammetry. During the burn, they deployed drone-based radiometric infrared imaging to capture high-resolution data on the fire's spread. Furthermore, the team employed drone-based radar measurements to evaluate fire-induced changes in the soil, tracking critical metrics, such as soil moisture and water repellency. To benchmark and validate this extensive aerial data, the team also conducted various on-the-ground field sampling activities throughout the deployment.
This research addresses a critical need in disaster response and prevention. By gathering high-fidelity data on fire behavior and post-fire environmental changes, the work improves the scientific community's understanding and modeling of wildfires. Ultimately, this enhances the capability to monitor highly susceptible environments, such as wildland-urban interfaces, to safeguard local communities and control post-fire hazards.
"Our drone-based capture of complementary sensing modalities provides the critical pieces of the puzzle needed to create high-fidelity, high-resolution digital models. We can then use these models to conduct accurate risk assessments, predict disaster impacts, and facilitate data-driven decision-making."
- Mohamad Alipour, CEE at Illinois Research Assistant Professor
The demanding field operations were successfully executed by CEE Ph.D. candidate Yuxiang Zhao and Postdoctoral Associate Zixin Wang. The campaign was made possible through a vital collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service Program Leader Dr. Adam Watts and the expert staff at the Tall Timbers Research Station, whose knowledge and logistical facilitation were instrumental to the project's success.
This research is supported by funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and a grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) FireSense Technology Program (FIRET-23). FIRET-23 is a technology development program housed under NASA's Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) developed in the pursuit of innovative ideas for earth system observation capabilities to monitor and predict extreme fire events. After the tragic wildfires that burned through Los Angeles and Southern California last January, their mission, as well as the work being done by the selected project teams, has become more paramount than ever. Alipour is part of a team of collaborators are developing canopy-penetrating radar systems capable of characterizing wildfire fuels that are difficult to capture with current technology, aiming to improve pre-fire risk assessments and interventions in wildfire management.
Alipour's research focuses on scalable digitization and automation to tackle the challenges facing our built and natural environments. His work integrates remote sensing, data analytics, and artificial intelligence with engineering domain expertise. His recent research projects leverage drones, multimodal data fusion, and AI to solve challenging real-world problems.