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Atmosphere
Special Issues
Atmospheric Electricity and Fire in a Changing Climate
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Atmospheric Electricity and Fire in a Changing Climate

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Meteorology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 February 2023) | Viewed by 4386

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Francisco J. Pérez-Invernón

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC), Glorieta de la Astronomía, s/n, 18008 Granada, Spain
Interests: atmospheric electricity; lightning; meteorology; wildfires
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jose V. Moris

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural, Forestry and Food Sciences (DISAFA), University of Turin, Largo Paolo Braccini 2, Grugliasco, 10095 Turin, Italy
Interests: forestry; wildfires; lightning; ecology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Lightning is one of the most predominant causes of wildfire ignition worldwide. However, there are still noteworthy uncertainties in the process of ignition by lightning and the subsequent spreading of fire. Multiple laboratory experiments and field observations have indicated that electrical characteristics of lightning, such as the duration of the continuing current, determine the probability of ignition. In the same manner, fuel availability and meteorological conditions influence fire ignition and propagation. Nevertheless, further investigations are needed to better understand the electrical characteristics of lightning that ignite wildfires, the meteorological conditions that favorable lightning-ignited wildfires in different regions of the world and the sensitivity of lightning-ignited wildfires to climate change.

The aim of this Special Issue is to provide recent advances in lightning-ignited wildfires, with topics of interest including, but not being limited to:

  • Preferential meteorological conditions of lightning-ignited wildfires;
  • Synoptic weather patterns associated with lightning-ignited wildfires;
  • Electrical characteristics of fire-igniting lightning;
  • Laboratory experiments on electrical discharges and fuel conditions leading to ignitions;
  • Climate lightning-fire teleconnections;
  • Lightning-ignited wildfires and climate change;
  • Characteristics of thunderstorms causing lightning-ignited wildfires;
  • The modeling and detection of lightning-ignited fires;
  • Environmental drivers of smoldering and holdover fires;
  • Studies on lightning-ignited wildfires in regions where such fires receive less attention.

Dr. Francisco J. Pérez-Invernón
Dr. Jose V. Moris
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Atmosphere is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • lightning-ignited fires
  • wildfires
  • lightning
  • long-continuing current lightning
  • thunderstorms
  • weather patterns
  • fuel moisture
  • atmospheric conditions

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 7473 KiB  
Article
Lightning-Ignited Wildfires beyond the Polar Circle
by Viacheslav I. Kharuk, Maria L. Dvinskaya, Alexey S. Golyukov, Sergei T. Im and Anastasia V. Stalmak
Atmosphere 2023, 14(6), 957; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14060957 - 30 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1695
Abstract
Warming-driven lightning frequency increases may influence the burning rate within the circumpolar Arctic and influence vegetation productivity (GPP). We considered wildfire occurrence within the different Arctic sectors (Russian, North American, and Scandinavian). We used satellite-derived (MODIS) data to document changes in the occurrence [...] Read more.
Warming-driven lightning frequency increases may influence the burning rate within the circumpolar Arctic and influence vegetation productivity (GPP). We considered wildfire occurrence within the different Arctic sectors (Russian, North American, and Scandinavian). We used satellite-derived (MODIS) data to document changes in the occurrence and geographic extent of wildfires and vegetation productivity. Correlation analysis was used to determine environmental variables (lightning occurrence, air temperature, precipitation, soil and terrestrial moisture content) associated with a change in wildfires. Within the Arctic, the majority (>75%) of wildfires occurred in Russia (and ca. 65% in Eastern Siberia). We found that lightning occurrence increase and moisture are primary factors that meditate the fire frequency in the Arctic. Throughout the Arctic, warming-driven lightning influences fire occurrence observed mainly in Eastern Siberia (>40% of explained variance). Similar values (ca. 40%) at the scale of Eurasia and the entire Arctic are attributed to Eastern Siberia input. Driving by increased lightning and warming, the fires’ occurrence boundary is shifting northward and already reached the Arctic Ocean coast in Eastern Siberia. The boundary’s extreme shifts synchronized with air temperature extremes (heat waves). Despite the increased burning rate, vegetation productivity rapidly (5–10 y) recovered to pre-fire levels within burns. Together with increasing GPP trends throughout the Arctic, that may offset fires-caused carbon release and maintain the status of the Arctic as a carbon sink. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Atmospheric Electricity and Fire in a Changing Climate)
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17 pages, 5214 KiB  
Article
ERA5 Reanalysis of Environments Conducive to Lightning-Ignited Wildfires in Catalonia
by Nicolau Pineda and Oriol Rodríguez
Atmosphere 2023, 14(6), 936; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14060936 - 26 May 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2204
Abstract
In the climate change context, wildfires are an increasing hazard in the Mediterranean Basin, especially those triggered by lightning. Although lightning activity can be predicted with a reasonable level of confidence, the challenge remains in forecasting the thunderstorm’s probability of ignition. The present [...] Read more.
In the climate change context, wildfires are an increasing hazard in the Mediterranean Basin, especially those triggered by lightning. Although lightning activity can be predicted with a reasonable level of confidence, the challenge remains in forecasting the thunderstorm’s probability of ignition. The present work aims to characterise the most suitable predictors to forecast lightning-ignited wildfires. Several ERA5 parameters were calculated and compared for two different samples, thunderstorm episodes that caused a wildfire (n = 961) and ordinary thunderstorms (n = 1023) that occurred in Catalonia (NE Iberian Peninsula) in the 2006–2020 period. Lightning wildfires are mostly associated with dry thunderstorms, characterised by: weak-to-moderate Mixed-Layer Convective Available Potential Energy (MLCAPE, 150–1100 J kg−1), significant Dew Point Depression at 850 hPa (DPD850, 3.3–10.1 °C), high Most-Unstable Lifted Condensation Level (MULCL, 580–1450 m) and steep 500–700 hPa Lapse Rate (LR, −7.0–−6.3 °C). Under these conditions, with relatively dry air at lower levels, thunderstorms tend to be high-based, the rain evaporating before reaching the ground and lightning occurring without significant rainfall. Specifically forecasting the probability of LIW occurrence would be of great assistance to the forest protection tactical decision-making process, preparing for “dry” thunderstorm days where multiple ignitions can be expected. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Atmospheric Electricity and Fire in a Changing Climate)
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