Latest Wildfire Stories
redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe Online New research claims charcoal created from wildfires does not remain in the soil as previously believed, but is instead transported into the sea by rivers, where it ultimately enters the carbon cycle. That determination was made by an international team of researchers, including Thorsten Dittmar from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology (MPI) in Bremen and Rudolf Jaffé from Florida International University's...
Airborne imaging technology developed at NASA and transferred to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service (USFS) in 2012 is being tested to prepare for this year's wildfire season in the western United States. The Autonomous Modular Sensor (AMS) is a scanning spectrometer designed to help detect hot-spots, active fires, and smoldering and post-fire conditions. Scientists at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., and USFS engineers installed it on a Cessna Citation...
WASHINGTON, April 11, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Airborne imaging technology developed at NASA and transferred to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service (USFS) in 2012 is being tested to prepare for this year's wildfire season in the western United States. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) The Autonomous Modular Sensor (AMS) is a scanning spectrometer designed to help detect hot-spots, active fires, and smoldering and post-fire...
SOUTHPORT, England, April 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Grass has always been a tough customer. Few other forms of plant life show such astonishing adaptability and resilience in the face of challenging conditions but the team at Turfland [http://www.turfland.co.uk ] are keen to point out that grass responds a little better when it receives a helping hand. After a long, cold winter that has stretched long into the spring time, grass is now facing a very new challenge. As this...
WASHINGTON, March 27, 2013 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Private sector aerial firefighters report their aircraft are mission-ready for what could be another devastating fire season in the US, as dry conditions continue to persist over much of the country. In fact, according to a US Forest Service (USFS) spokesman, the 2013 fire season is projected to be similar to last year's, when 9.3 million acres of wildland were destroyed, by a total of 67,674 fires. Operators of helicopters and...
World's Most Daring Wood Coaster Launches BRANSON, Mo., March 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- International attention is focusing on Branson, Missouri as the Silver Dollar City theme park debuted today a first-of-its-kind thrill ride, Outlaw Run, the world's most daring wood coaster. The park opened for the season and launched Outlaw Run's first riders on the groundbreaking wood coaster. To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click...
Alan McStravick for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Forest fires are responsible for laying waste to entire ecosystems. As the flames rush through, animals attempt to make their escape, seeking shelter in less incendiary locales. Charred remains of trees and ground cover are completely unsuitable for sustaining the life of the animals that once called the area home. However, a new study led by bat ecologist Winifred Frick of the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) reports the...
HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 26, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With the approach of spring and increased risk of forest and brush fires across the state, federal grants are now available to help Pennsylvania's rural communities better guard against the threat of fires in forested, undeveloped and unprotected areas. "Warming temperatures, sunny days and strong winds usher in wildfire dangers that emphasize the value of having well-trained and well-equipped local firefighting forces in...
April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online A megadrought that started in 2005 is still affecting a portion of the Amazon Rainforest twice the size of California, a new study led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) finds. The results of this study, combined with the observed recurrences of droughts every few years and associated damage to forests in both the southern and western Amazon over the past decade, reveal that the rainforest might be showing the initial signs of...
redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe Online Despite cooler conditions across southeastern Australia on Wednesday, the threat of wildfires remained a concern throughout the states of New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, according to various news reports. Record heat and dry conditions sparked bushfires throughout several regions in recent days, destroying buildings throughout all three Australian states, according to BBC News. The Associated Press (AP) notes that there...
