Through a collaboration between the University of Kentucky, the University of Colorado at Denver, Rochester Institute of Technology, and cooperation with NCAR, a next generation wiland fire system is being created based on dynamic data-driven application system (DDDAS) principles.
A variety of sensors are used, from stationary sensors on the ground to sensors in satellites or attached to airplanes flying overhead. The use of the sensors changes with little warning and cannot be predicted in advance. Models change dynamically based on sensor networks. A dynamic execution environment is essential for acquiring the data, running a multi-model application, and pushing the results to the right places at the right times securely and robustly while still being simple enough for non-computer experts to operate the complex system while on a mountainside during stressful conditions.
The sensors used are reprogrammed in the field. New mathematical methods are being developed to change running simulation of a highly nonlinear system with coherent features in response to data and also controls sensors. The project employs virtual Grid technology in the computational environment.
Tens of billions of dollars in property and infrastructure burn up or are severely damaged every year due to wildfires. The peak areas are not just low population density areas in Colorado and Montana, but include areas near large population areas and national labs in California, Florida, Georgia, Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Commerce is affected through disruptions of transportation of goods and loss of jobs.
