Led by the Centre, this project identified how existing Geoscience Australia’s (GA) Digital Earth Australia (DEA) satellite-based data products could be tailored to better suit the needs of the National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC).
During active fire events, aerial firefighting units dispatched by NAFC use a variety of data sources to identify locations for helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to access water. Current and accurate information is critical for effective decision making, so this research’s focus on translating the proof-of-concept work undertaken through the Black Summer research program and active engagement of NAFC, NSW Rural Fire Service and Victoria’s Country Fire Authority delivered a prototype workflow that can be used to:
- identify aircraft-accessible water bodies
- contribute to aircraft selection and allocation based on access to water
- contribute to efficient use of aircraft
- provide advice to air desks, air bases and air crews to assist in their situational awareness and decision-making
The project identified additional attributes that enhance the existing DEA Waterbodies product for users in the emergency management sector. A workshop was conducted to gather insights from these users on how current waterbody datasets are utilised and what additional attributes are needed. A localised prototype workflow was developed and implemented to better identify various waterbody properties, such as the surface area of the water and the most recent date water was observed. This enhancement aims to assist in strategically placing aircraft during future fire seasons.
“The earlier version of DEA Waterbodies lacked the comprehensive information that agencies require to understand the location of water in the environment. The new product now includes valuable information about data currency and the potential extent of the waterbody.”
Sandra Whight, Executive Director National Capability, AFAC
“As part of a collaborative project between AFAC, Natural Hazards Research Australia and FrontierSI, we learned that emergency managers wanted clearer and more reliable information about our satellite data on water to make it more useful in pre-season and pre-flight planning.
We improved our data to clarify when the satellites had last seen water, and when the last satellite passed over the waterbody, as well as to provide an estimated wet surface area of each waterbody from the most recent satellite observation. These updates will help support aerial firefighters in understanding the currency and distribution of surface water across Australia when planning emergency responses.”
Bex Dunn, project lead and Earth Observation scientist