Fire Behavior, Weather, and Burn Severity of the 2007 Anaktuvuk River Tundra Fire, North Slope, Alaska

In 2007, the Anaktuvuk River Fire (ARF) became the largest recorded tundra fire on the North Slope of Alaska. The ARF burned for nearly three months, consuming more than 100,000 ha. At its peak in early September, the ARF burned at a rate of 7000 ha d−1. The conditions potentially responsible for th...

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Published in:Arctic, antarctic, and alpine research Vol. 41; no. 3; pp. 309 - 316
Main Authors: Jones, Benjamin M., Kolden, Crystal A., Jandt, Randi, Abatzoglou, John T., Urban, Frank, Arp, Christopher D.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: UCB 450, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0450, U.S.A The Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research 01.08.2009
Taylor & Francis
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research
University of Colorado, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Climate models
Fire behavior
Fires
Forest and land fires
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
Lightning
Meteorology
Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection
Precipitation
Seasons
Synecology
Tundras
Vegetation
Weather damages. Fires
Wildfire seasons
Alaska
United States
North America
America
PNW, Beaufort Sea
PNW, USA, Alaska, North Slope
USA, Alaska, North Slope, Kuparuk R
PN, Arctic
Fire ecology
Fires
Stream
Vegetation fire
Rivers
Forecast model
Tundra
North Slope
ISSN:1523-0430, 1938-4246
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:In 2007, the Anaktuvuk River Fire (ARF) became the largest recorded tundra fire on the North Slope of Alaska. The ARF burned for nearly three months, consuming more than 100,000 ha. At its peak in early September, the ARF burned at a rate of 7000 ha d−1. The conditions potentially responsible for this large tundra fire include modeled record high summer temperature and record low summer precipitation, a late-season high-pressure system located over the Beaufort Sea, extremely dry soil conditions throughout the summer, and sustained southerly winds during the period of vegetation senescence. Burn severity mapping revealed that more than 80% of the ARF burned at moderate to extreme severity, while the nearby Kuparuk River Fire remained small and burned at predominantly (80%) low severity. While this study provides information that may aid in the prediction of future large tundra fires in northern Alaska, the fact that three other tundra fires that occurred in 2007 combined to burn less than 1000 ha suggests site specific complexities associated with tundra fires on the North Slope, which may hamper the development of tundra fire forecasting models.
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ISSN:1523-0430
1938-4246
DOI:10.1657/1938-4246-41.3.309