Passive acoustic assessment of fire noise in prescribed burns and outdoor burn experiments

Passive acoustic measurement techniques have been used throughout many observable phenomena to acquire information with tremendous temporal and spatial resolution. Acoustic signals generated during the combustion of vegetation in wildfires are information rich with strong potential to yield data further illuminating the characteristics of fire behavior. Acoustic measurement devices were deployed during a series of prescribed burns performed by the United States Forest Service at Holly Springs National Forest in Lafayette County, Mississippi. Results of a signal analysis algorithm are combined with observed weather conditions and fuel types to present a complementary technique for fire behavior assessment. The second series of fuel pan burns was performed at the Savannah River Site by the United States Department of Energy in Barnwell County, South Carolina. The burns were recorded in a variety of recording configurations and curated to highlight the ignition, steady burn, and flame out.