UBC ATSC 413 - Forest-fire Weather & Climate

Syllabus Schedule - 2024

Follow this schedule to access fire cases, meteorology, online lectures, homeworks/readings, quizzes.


 

 

Week

Tuesday 2024
Theme: Weather.
Instructor: Dr. Doug McCollor

See Detailed Schedule of Tuesday Assignments.

Thursday 2024
Theme: Fire.
Instructor: Prof. Roland Stull

See the links below.

1 3 Sep
(UBC Imagine Day. No Tuesday undergrad classes.)
5 Sep.       (link to Thursday week 01 Lect. Notes)
Intro: Indigenous; significant fires, types of burns, WUI
2 10 Sep       (link to Tuesday week 02 Lect. Notes)
Analysis methods for weather charts.
12 Sep       (link to Thursday week 02 Lect. Notes)
Sources of Fire Info: FIRMS, GWIS, CIFFC, NIFC, BlueSky.
3 17 Sep       (link to Tuesday week 03 Lect. Notes)
Types of weather charts: surface, upper air, cross sections. Observations: METARS.
19 Sep       (link to Thursday week 03 Lect. Notes)
Fire behavior: fuels, moisture, wind, slope.
4 24 Sep       (link to Tuesday week 04 Lect. Notes)
Weather satellite imagery &interpretation. Satellites & orbits. Channels. Fire hot-spot detection. Sensors for lightning & drought.
26 Sep       (link to Thursday week 04 Lect. Notes)
Antecedent conditions. Ignition sources. Fire danger rating systems. FWI Intro.
5 1 Oct       (link to Tuesday week 05 Lect. Notes)
Weather radar image interpretation: reflectivity, Doppler velocity, polarimetric.
3 Oct       (link to Thursday week 05 Lect. Notes)
FWI: Fire weather index system.
6 8 Oct       (link to Tuesday week 06 Lect. Notes)
Atmospheric soundings, tephigrams, hodographs, stability & convection.
10 Oct       (link to Thursday week 06 Lect. Notes)
FBP: Fire behavior prediction system.
Also, guest lecture by Mina Deshler on Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS).
Also team -building methods.
7 15 Oct       Most of the material is in Meteorological Concepts in section mc04. (Also see link to additionalTuesday week 07 Lect. Notes)
Extratropical (mid-latitude) cyclones.
17 Oct       (link to Thursday week 07 Lect. Notes)
Case Study: High Level, AB, fire. 2019.
8 22 Oct       (link to Tuesday week 08 Lect. Notes)
Fronts and airmasses.
24 Oct       (link to Thursday week 08 Details)
• First 50 minutes - Midterm Exam
• Last 50 minutes - Case Study: Paradise, California
9 29 Oct
Effect of temperature, humidity, & clouds on fires.
31 Oct       (link to Thursday week 09 Lect. Notes)
Case Study: Kimiwan, AB, fire. 2023 - 2024.
10 5 Nov       (link to Tuesday week 10 Lect. Notes, and Lab/HW )
Convective storms (thunderstorms).
7 Nov       (link to Thursday week10 Lect. Notes)
Case Study: Sparks Lake, BC fire. 2021 Presentation by Jalena Bennett (also serves as a demo of a capstone presentation).
Also, guest lecture by Liam Buchart on Indigenous wildfire and forest issues.
11 12 Nov
(Fall break. No Tuesday classes.)
14 Nov       (link to Thursday week11 Lect. Notes)
Wildfire Smoke.
12 19 Nov
Lahaina, HI, fire. Aug 2023 - Capstone Presentation.
Also: Guest lecture by Matt MacDonald - BC Wildfire Service lead forecaster: On the forecast process at the BC Wildfire Service.
21 Nov
Donnie Creek, BC, fire. 2023-2024 - Capstone Presentation.
Williams Flats, WA, fire. Aug 2019. - Capstone Presentation.
13 26 Nov
Climate change vs. wildfires.
28 Nov       (link to Thursday week13 Lect. Notes)
Numerical weather prediction (NWP). Double Feature:
1) Overview of NWP, by Stull.
2) Guest Lecture and Lab by Lynn Engel: How to use modern tools on the internet to make forecasts.
14 3 Dec
Weather Forecasting (nowcasting, short, medium-range).
5 Dec       (link to Thursday week14 Lect. Notes)
Catch-up on various topics that weren't finished (smoke, regional & slope flows, pyrocb, pyrotornadoes, etc.). Reminder of actions that you can take to be safe.
Synthesis of weather, fire, and cultural issues.
  Final Exam, as will be scheduled by UBC  
     

 


Schedules and fire cases from past years: 2023 ,