The fires, detected at Borroloola on the McArthur River, are among the first to be captured by the Earth Fire Alliance’s FireSat Protoflight satellite, with images released this week.
But scientists behind the effort say it may take the launch of another three satellites, scheduled for next year, to create bushfire modelling and more accurately predict where and how fires spread.
The non-profit alliance, which has partnered with Google Research and Muon Space, aims to deliver bushfire detection and monitoring using satellites and AI software, and provide data to emergency services and scientists in near real time.
The group’s first satellite launched in March and international relations lead Dr Karen O’Connor said the first four publicly released images captured by infra-red cameras demonstrated its potential.
Using high-resolution cameras, the satellite could detect fires about the size of a classroom, Dr O’Connor said, and with a full constellation of 50 satellites, it would be able to monitor a fire’s progress every 20 minutes.
Agencies participating in the program include the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, the Queensland Fire Department and the South Australian Country Fire Service.
NSW Rural Fire Service deputy commissioner Peter McKechnie said firefighters were grateful to be consulted in the development of the system and were almost “impatient” to use the technology when it could reliably detect, monitor and predict the path of bushfires.
Being able to monitor the spread of fires would also help to create advanced fire modelling, Google Research climate and energy lead Chris Van Arsdale said, and could help researchers predict a fire’s movement and direct firefighting efforts.
– AAP
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