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Investigating fundamental wildfire drivers
by Alex Kuhn-Regnier Alex Kuhn-Regnier is a PhD student at Imperial College London based in the Department of Physics. He investigates wildfire models and how to improve the representation of the ecological impacts of future wildfire changes. My PhD began by asking the question “What are the fundamental drivers of wildfires?” Far from being […]
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KCL researchers in new 10-million-euro project to tackle forest fires in Europe
Image: A forest fire burning in Enskogen, as seen by Sentinel-2 on 16th July (Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data [2018], processed by the Copernicus Support Office) King’s College London will be one of 39 partners from across the world involved in the new research project FirEUrisk, starting this month, which will develop a science-based strategy […]
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Spontaneous ignition of smouldering peat fires (and how to simulate them in the field)
Figure 1: Smouldering wildfire of a carbon-rich soil system in Las Tablas de Daimiel (Photo by Dr G Rein, 2009). Researchers at Imperial College Hazelab, including members of Leverhulme Wildfires, have recently published a new paper developing a multi-step reaction model to study the potential of peatland fires starting from self-heating ignition, in the International […]
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Landscape fires estimated to cause over 600 thousand premature deaths each year, many in children under five
Photo: Smoke from surrounding peatland fires often pollutes the air in the city of Palangkarya (Kalimantan, Indonesia) – home to around 250,000 people. During these events. levels of airborne fine particulate matter (PM2.5) reach many times those considered extremely hazardous to health. Ambient (outdoor) air pollution is the world’s greatest environmental health risk, and a […]
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King’s researchers contribute to new study that says Australia’s ‘Black Summer’ should be a wake-up call
“Satellite data analysis by our researchers revealed the severity of bushfires in Australia during 2019 to 2020 compared to previous years” – Leverhulme Wildfires researchers at King’s College London contribute to an ANU-led study looking at bushfires during the Black Summer of 2019 to 2020.
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Quantifying past fire-biodiversity relationships in European Landscapes
Photo: wildfire at Eagle Creek Trailhead, USA. Credit: Luke Flynt (Unsplash) Jacob Mercer is a Leverhulme Wildfires 2020 summer placement student, reading Mathematics and Statistics at Worcester College, Oxford. Through the Natural Environment Research Council research experience placement scheme, Jacob had the opportunity to undertake a project supervised by Dr. Daniele Colombaroli at Royal Holloway, […]
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Introduction to King’s Earth Observation & Research Group
Ahead of our next Leverhulme Wildfires Research Workshop this month on Earth Observation, check out this introductory video below, of the King’s Earth Observation and Wildfire Research Group, which is led by the Centre’s Associate Director, Prof. Martin Wooster, in the Department of Geography.
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Simulations show Large Human-made Wildfires in Indonesia Impact on El Niño Weather
Photo: Firefighters battle a blaze near Pekanbaru, Riau in 2019. These wildfires, initiated by humans, quickly become out of control in the region, burning for months on end with devastating consequences. Source: Wahyudi/AFP/Getty Images [1]. Clara Bayley is Leverhulme Wildfires summer placement student. She has recently completed her undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences at the […]
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Carbon-releasing ‘zombie fires’ in peatlands could be dampened by new findings
New simulations have provided clues on reducing peat fires, which hide underground and are notoriously bad for human health and the environment – watch the video below and read more here.
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“World: we got this” PODCAST – Fire in the Tropics with Prof Martin Wooster
In the King’s College London podcast “World: we got this” (of the School of Global Affairs) we hear Professor Martin Wooster, Associate Director of Leverhulme Wildfires, talk about the importance of mapping wildfires, why not all wildfires are bad, and the unique threat posed by fires in the tropics.
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