Relating violence to MODIS fire detections in Darfur, Sudan

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Thermal Anomalies and Fire Detection data product can provide an input into early warning and rapid response efforts of interest to human rights, humanitarian and security communities. A review of fire detection data during a period of intense violence in Darfur, Sudan, marked by burning campaigns targeted at many settlements in the region, was conducted to test which, if any, of these fires were detected by MODIS. The results indicate that a significant portion of the fires related to violence were detected, and a relationship was found between increased fire detections and reported violence. However, underlying difficulties in the anecdotal reporting introduce uncertainties into the results. While not universally applicable, calculating increases in fire detections on a daily, global basis can possibly provide objective, satellite-based information on certain violent conflicts impacting civilian populations. Acknowledgements The author thanks Dr Ruth DeFries for her patient advice, and Dr Christopher Justice for his input and review. Other faculty members and students at the Department of Geography of the University of Maryland likewise provided important help. In addition, Dr Mona Younis provided useful comments, as did Susan Wolfinbarger. This work was supported in part by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.