BOREAS TGB-05 Fire History of Manitoba 1980 to 1991 in Raster Format Summary This raster format data set covers the province of Manitoba. The data were gridded into the AEAC projection from the original vector data. The original vector data were produced by Forestry Canada from hand-drawn boundaries of fires on photocopies of 1:250,000-scale maps. The locational accuracy of the data is considered fair to poor. When the locations of some fire boundaries were compared to Landsat TM images, they were found to be off by as much as a few kilometers. This problem should be kept in mind when using these data. The data are stored in binary, image format files. Note that some of the data set files on the BOREAS CD-ROMs have been compressed using the Gzip program. See section 8.2 for details. Table of Contents * 1 Data Set Overview * 2 Investigator(s) * 3 Theory of Measurements * 4 Equipment * 5 Data Acquisition Methods * 6 Observations * 7 Data Description * 8 Data Organization * 9 Data Manipulations * 10 Errors * 11 Notes * 12 Application of the Data Set * 13 Future Modifications and Plans * 14 Software * 15 Data Access * 16 Output Products and Availability * 17 References * 18 Glossary of Terms * 19 List of Acronyms * 20 Document Information 1. Data Set Overview This data set covers the province of Manitoba and was processed from the original data, which were created by Forestry Canada from hand drawn boundaries of fires on photocopies of 1:250,000-scale maps. The data are gridded with a pixel size of 1,000m x 1,000 m in the BOReal Ecosystem Atmospheric Study (BOREAS) adopted Albers Equal-Area Conic (AEAC) projection. This resolution is considered reasonable for these data given the accuracy and scale of the original data sources. Each year is represented by a separate layer because some fire boundaries can overlap among various years. 1.1 Data Set Identification BOREAS TGB-05 Fire History of Manitoba 1980 to 1991 in Raster Format 1.2 Data Set Introduction This data set covers the province of Manitoba and was produced by gridding vector data produced by Forestry Canada from hand drawn boundaries of fires on photocopies of 1:250,000-scale maps. The locational accuracy of these data is considered fair to poor. When the locations of some fire boundaries were compared to Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images, they were found to be off by as much as a few kilometers. This problem should be kept in mind when using these data. 1.3 Objective/Purpose These data are provided as part of the BOREAS Staff Science Geographic Information System (GIS) Data Collection Program, which included the collection of pertinent map data in both hardcopy and digital form. The objective of collecting these data was to give BOREAS investigators a product showing the spatial distribution of fires in the province of Manitoba. 1.4 Summary of Parameters Presence of a fire 1.5 Discussion Some investigators who have been using Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) imagery have found these data useful because they are on a scale that is suitable for 1,000 m x 1,000 m AVHRR pixels. This product is useful as ground truth for comparing to image classifications from AVHRR imagery. However, because the location of pixels may be off by as much as a few kilometers, care should be taken when determining fire locations. 1.6 Related Data Sets SERM Forest Fire Chronology of Saskatchewan in Vector Format BOREAS TGB-05 Fire History of Manitoba 1980 to 1991 in Vector Format 2. Investigator(s) 2.1 Investigator(s) Name and Title Brian J. Stocks Canadian Forest Service-Ontario Region Great Lakes Forestry Centre Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada Richard G. Zepp Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Research Laboratory Athens, GA 2.2 Title of Investigation Trace Gas Exchange in the Boreal Forest Biome: Effects of Fire and Beaver Activity 2.3 Contact Information Contact 1 ------------------------- Brian J. Stocks Canadian Forest Service-Ontario Region Great Lakes Forestry Centre Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada (705) 949-9461 (705) 759-5700 (fax) stocks@fcor.glfc.forestry.ca Contact 2 ------------------------- David Knapp NASA/GSFC Greenbelt, MD (301) 286-1424 (301) 286-0239 (fax) David.Knapp@gsfc.nasa.gov 3. Theory of Measurements As stated above, this product was created for BOREAS investigators who are interested in the fire history of this area. It could be used for ground truth of satellite image classifications and to get an estimate of the amount of burned area. The uses of this product are general enough that the way in which these data were collected will have little to no impact on the way they might be used. No information with regard to the intensity of the burn is identified in this data base. Only the presence or absence of a fire is given for each year. 4. Equipment 4.1 Sensor/Instrument Description Unknown. 4.1.1 Collection Environment Unknown. 4.1.2 Source/Platform Unknown. 4.1.3 Source/Platform Mission Objectives Unknown. 4.1.4 Key Variables Presence of absence of fire in a particular year 4.1.5 Principles of Operation Unknown. 4.1.6 Sensor/Instrument Measurement Geometry Unknown. 4.1.7 Manufacturer of Sensor/Instrument Unknown. 4.2 Calibration Not applicable. 4.2.1 Specifications Unknown. 4.2.1.1 Tolerance Not applicable. 4.2.2 Frequency of Calibration Not applicable. 4.2.3 Other Calibration Information Not applicable. 5. Data Acquisition Methods Forestry Canada compiled these data from maps of fires in the province of Manitoba. Apparently, the fires were mapped based on observation from the air. These fire polygons were hand traced onto photocopies of 1:250,000-scale maps. The fire data were then compiled by year and hand digitized into ARC/INFO polygon coverages. BOREAS staff gridded the polygon coverages into raster images at a pixel resolution of 1,000 m x 1,000 m. There is a separate image for each year of fire history data (1980-91). 6. Observations There is no record of observations except for the actual data. 6.1 Data Notes None. 6.2 Field Notes None. 7. Data Description These data simply contain information that indicates whether or not a fire occurred at a particular pixel location in a given year. The pixel values are the year in which the fire occurring 0 (no fire) or 82 (fire that occurred in 1982). 7.1 Spatial Characteristics The pixel size of this image is 1,000 m x 1,000 m. 7.1.1 Spatial Coverage The approximate corner coordinates of the BOREAS region are: Longitude Latitude BOREAS X BOREAS Y ---------- -------- -------- --------- Northwest 111.000W 59.979N 0.000 1000.000 Northeast 93.502W 58.844N 1000.000 1000.000 Southeast 96.970W 50.089N 1000.000 0.000 Southwest 111.000W 51.000N 0.000 0.000 Although the corners of the image are at these locations, only areas within the province of Manitoba have the fires mapped. The area defined by the above coordinates encompasses a much larger area than the province of Manitoba. 7.1.2 Spatial Coverage Map Not available. 7.1.3 Spatial Resolution These data were gridded to a cell size of 1,000 meters in the AEAC projection. 7.1.4 Projection The area mapped is projected in the ellipsoidal version of AEAC projection. The projection has the following parameters: Datum: North American Datum 1983 (NAD83) Ellipsoid: GRS80 or WGS84 Origin: 111.000W0 51.000N0 Standard Parallels: 520 30' 00"N 580 30' 00"N Units of Measure: kilometers 7.1.5 Grid Description The data are gridded in 1,000-m intervals. 7.2 Temporal Characteristics 7.2.1 Temporal Coverage Each raster image represents the fires that occurred during that year. The years between 1980 and 1991 (inclusive) are in this data set. 7.2.2 Temporal Coverage Map Not available. 7.2.3 Temporal Resolution The temporal resolution of this data set is 1 year. 7.3 Data Characteristics These data simply indicate the presence or absence of a fire in a particular year. The value of a pixel indicates the year in which the fire occurred at that pixel. For example, if a pixel has a value of 83, a fire occurred in 1983 in that pixel. Pixels where no fire occurred for that year have a value of zero (0). 7.3.1 Parameter/Variable Fire occurrence in a given year. 7.3.2 Variable Description/Definition The occurrence of a fire in a given year. 7.3.3 Unit of Measurement Unitless but coded value. 7.3.4 Data Source Forestry Canada 7.3.5 Data Range 0 (zero) if no fire occurred to 91 (for the year 1991). 7.4 Sample Data Record Not applicable. 8. Data Organization 8.1 Data Granularity The smallest amount of obtainable data is the entire data set containing all of the raster layers and their supporting files. 8.2 Data Format(s) 8.2.1 Uncompressed Data Files The Manitoba fire history data set contains 13 total files, of which some contain American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) information and others contain binary numbers. The first file is a descriptive ASCII header file that describes the content of the other files. The next 12 binary files (files 2 to 13) contain the raster image data as 8-bit values. File Pixels Lines Bytes per pixel Description ------- ----------------------------------------------------- File 1 Not applicable ASCII header file File 2 1000 1000 1 Image of 1980 fires File 3 1000 1000 1 Image of 1981 fires File 4 1000 1000 1 Image of 1982 fires File 5 1000 1000 1 Image of 1983 fires File 6 1000 1000 1 Image of 1984 fires File 7 1000 1000 1 Image of 1985 fires File 8 1000 1000 1 Image of 1986 fires File 9 1000 1000 1 Image of 1987 fires File 10 1000 1000 1 Image of 1988 fires File 11 1000 1000 1 Image of 1989 fires File 12 1000 1000 1 Image of 1990 fires File 13 1000 1000 1 Image of 1991 fires Each of the binary files (2 to 13) contain 1,000 8-bit pixels in each of 1,000 lines. The range of values in the binary files is from 0 (zero) to the last two digits of the year (e.g., 89 for 1989). 8.2.2 Compressed CD-ROM Files On the BOREAS CD-ROMs, file 1 listed above is stored as ASCII text files; however, files 2 - 13 have been compressed with the Gzip compression program (file name *.gz). These data have been compressed using gzip version 1.2.4 and the high compression (-9) option (Copyright (C) 1992-1993 Jean-loup Gailly). Gzip (GNU zip) uses the Lempel-Ziv algorithm (Welch, 1994) used in the zip and PKZIP programs. The compressed files may be uncompressed using gzip (-d option) or gunzip. Gzip is available from many websites (for example, ftp site prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu/gzip-*.*) for a variety of operating systems in both executable and source code form. Versions of the decompression software for various systems are included on the CD-ROMs. 9. Data Manipulations 9.1 Formulae 9.1.1 Derivation Techniques and Algorithms None. 9.2 Data Processing Sequence 9.2.1 Processing Steps BOREAS Information System (BORIS) staff gridded the coverages separately for each year. The fire history data processing steps were: 1) Reproject the vector data to the BOREAS grid projection. 2) Rasterize the vector files. 3) Write the gridded layer to tape. 4) Copy the ASCII and compress the binary files for release on CD-ROM. 9.2.2 Processing Changes None. 9.3 Calculations 9.3.1 Special Corrections/Adjustments None. 9.3.2 Calculated Variables None. 9.4 Graphs and Plots None. 10. Errors 10.1 Sources of Error Potential sources of error in the original data set could be interpretation or digitizing error. As indicated above, the data were hand traced onto photocopied maps based on air observations. No precision mapping of the fire boundaries was done. There is also the possibility that the data could have been gridded incorrectly, although visual inspection of the data was done to ensure against this. 10.2 Quality Assessment 10.2.1 Data Validation by Source Each gridded file/layer was spot checked to make sure that the gridding procedure assigned a digital number (DN) to each fire polygon. 10.2.2 Confidence Level/Accuracy Judgment Although the gridding procedure itself is highly accurate, there is some question as to the positional accuracy of the original data. Therefore, caution should be used when inferring information from this data set. As indicated, the locational accuracy of this data is questionable. The location of the fire boundaries could be off by as much as a few kilometers. This data should be used with this problem in mind. 10.2.3 Measurement Error for Parameters Unknown. 10.2.4 Additional Quality Assessments Unknown. 10.2.5 Data Verification by Data Center As noted previously, BORIS personnel reviewed the data layers visually as vector plots and raster data layers. Direct quantitative checking of the data was not performed. 11. Notes 11.1 Limitations of the Data The precision and accuracy of this data set put some limitations on the use of these data. The data set should not be used for comparison to mapping products derived from high-resolution imagery (e.g., air photos). Care should be taken when comparing it to Landsat TM or imagery with smaller pixel sizes. 11.2 Known Problems with the Data As indicated above, the locational accuracy of these data is suspect because of the way in which the data were collected (see Section 5). 11.3 Usage Guidance Before uncompressing the Gzip files on CD-ROM, be sure that you have enough disk space to hold the uncompressed data files. Then use the appropriate decompression program provided on the CD-ROM for your specific system. 11.4 Other Relevant Information None. 12. Application of the Data Set Some investigators who have been using AVHRR data have found these data useful because they are on a scale that is suitable for 1,000 m x 1,000 m AVHRR pixels. This product would be useful as ground truth for comparing to image classifications from AVHRR imagery. 13. Future Modifications and Plans None. 14. Software 14.1 Software Description BORIS Staff used the ARC/INFO (Version 7) software and related tools to process the original vector data to this raster form. The ARC/INFO software is a proprietary package developed and distributed by: Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. 380 New York St. Redlands, CA 92373-8100 Gzip (GNU zip) uses the Lempel-Ziv algorithm (Welch, 1994) used in the zip and PKZIP commands. 14.2 Software Access ARC/INFO is a commercial package; contact Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI) for details. Gzip is available from many websites across the net (for example) ftp site prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu/gzip-*.*) for a variety of operating systems in both executable and source code form. Versions of the decompression software for various systems are included on the CD-ROMs. 15. Data Access 15.1 Contact Information Ms. Beth Nelson BOREAS Data Manager NASA/GSFC Greenbelt, Maryland (301) 286-4005 (301) 286-0239 (fax) Elizabeth.Nelson@gsfc.nasa.gov 15.2 Data Center Identification See Section 15.1. 15.3 Procedures for Obtaining Data Users may place requests by telephone, electronic mail, or fax. 15.4 Data Center Status/Plans The TGB-05 raster fire history data are available from the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC). The BOREAS contact at ORNL is: ORNL DAAC User Services Oak Ridge National Laboratory (865) 241-3952 ornldaac@ornl.gov ornl@eos.nasa.gov 16. Output Products and Availability 16.1 Tape Products These data can be made available on 8-mm, Digital Archive Tape (DAT), or 9-track tapes at 6250 or 1600 Bytes Per Inch (BPI). 16.2 Film Products None. 16.3 Other Products These data are available on the BOREAS CD-ROM series. 17. References 17.1 Platform/Sensor/Instrument/Data Processing Documentation ARC/INFO User's Guide (Version 7) 1994. Redlands, CA. Welch, T.A. 1984, A Technique for High Performance Data Compression, IEEE Computer, Vol. 17, No. 6, pp. 8 - 19. 17.2 Journal Articles and Study Reports Sellers, P.and F. Hall. 1994. Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study: Experiment Plan. Version 1994-3.0, NASA BOREAS Report (EXPLAN 94). Sellers, P.and F. Hall. 1996. Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study: Experiment Plan. Version 1996-2.0, NASA BOREAS Report (EXPLAN 96). Sellers, P., F. Hall and K.F. Huemmrich. 1996. Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study: 1994 Operations. NASA BOREAS Report (OPSDOC 94). Sellers, P., F. Halland K.F. Huemmrich. 1997. Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study: 1996 Operations. NASA BOREAS Report (OPS DOC 96). Sellers, P., F. Hall, H. Margolis, B. Kelly, D. Baldocchi, G. den Hartog, J. Cihlar, M.G. Ryan, B. Goodison, P. Crill, K.J. Ranson, D. Lettenmaier, and D.E. Wickland. 1995. The boreal ecosystem-atmosphere study (BOREAS): an overview and early results from the 1994 field year. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 76(9):1549-1577. Sellers, P.and F. Hall. 1997. BOREAS Overview Paper. JGR Special Issue (in press). 17.3 Archive/DBMS Usage Documentation None. 18. Glossary of Terms None. 19. List of Acronyms AEAC - Albers Equal-Area Conic ASCII - American Standard Code for Information Interchange AVHRR - Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer BOREAS - BOReal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study BORIS - BOREAS Information System BPI - Bytes per inch CCRS - Canadian Centre for Remote Sensing CCT - Computer Compatible Tape CD-ROM - Compact Disk-Read-Only Memory DAAC - Distributed Active Archive Center DAT - Digital Archive Tape DN - Digital Number EOS - Earth Observing System EOSDIS - EOS Data and Information System GIS - Geographic Information System GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center LRRC - Land Resource Research Branch NAD83 - North American Datum 1983 NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration NSA - Northern Study Area ORNL - Oak Ridge National Laboratory PANP - Prince Albert National Park SSA - Southern Study Area TM - Thematic Mapper UTM - Universal Transverse Mercator URL - Uniform Resource Locator 20. Document Information 20.1 Document Revision Dates Written: 21-Feb-1997 Revised: 31-Jul-1998 20.2 Document Review Dates BORIS Review: 20-Jun-1997 Science Review: 20.3 Document ID 20.4 Citation The original data set was produced by: Canadian Forest Service-Ontario Region Great Lakes Forestry Centre 1219 Queen St. East Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada P6A 5M7 Forestry Canada’s willingness to supply the data and the efforts by BORIS staff to grid, check, and document the data are greatly appreciated. 20.5 Document Curator 20.6 Document URL Keywords ------------- Fire History Forest Fire TGB05_Fire_Hist_Raster 08/18/98