THE OPERATIONAL MSG/SEVIRI FIRE RADIATIVE POWER PRODUCT GENERATED AT THE LAND SAF

Biomass burning is globally significant source of trace gases and aerosols and a major mechanism controlling both land-cover change and exchanges of carbon between the land and atmosphere. Quantitative estimates of biomass burning emissions are required for many earth science applications, including for operational forecasting of atmospheric state, where such data are required in close to real-time. This is possible only via a satellite remote sensing approach, ideally utilising the high temporal frequency available from geostationary orbit. This work describes a new European Fire Radiative Power product that has been developed to meet these requirements, and which includes both repetitive detection of actively burning fires at 15 minute intervals (thus allowing analysis of the complete biomass burning diurnal cycle) and quantification of the fires radiative power output (which has been shown to relate closely to the rate of fuel consumption and thus trace gas, carbon and aerosol emission). The FRP product is derived from multi-spectral observations provided by the Meteosat SEVIRI imaging radiometer, including all fire-affected regions of Africa, Europe and part of eastern South America. The product is delivered operationally to users by the Land Surface Analysis Satellite Applications Facilit