INTERMEDE BBSO: call for participation

Following the BBSO (Biomass Burnt and Satellite Observations) workshop in 2005, a BBSO intercomparison exercise is being currently carried out. This exercise called 'INTERMEDE BBSO : Intercomparison of methods to derive global burnt biomass from satellite observations' is carried out under the leadership of the JRC unit in Ispra, Italy and Laboratoire d'Aérologie, Toulouse, France.

The intercomparison focuses on total particulate matter and CO emission estimates. The reference year for the exercise will be 2003. Participants of the intercomparison will use different products for estimating burned biomass. Common vegetation maps and emission factors (EF) have been decided for the experiment. This will help to understand the origin of the observed differences between the emission estimates of the different attending groups in terms of overall budgets and spatial/temporal distribution. Furthermore, the cooperation of providers and users of satellite based products is expected to yield regionally specific methods for users to derive burnt biomass from AF and BA data (e.g. combining methods). The results will be compared with inverse modelling studies. 
    The exercise will be complemented by the population-based model calculations of Sergey Venevsky, and statistic information from the Global Wildland fire Database (GFMC) of  Johann G. Goldammer and P. Daniel Kraus.
   Cooperation with the GlobCarbon, HALO and GEMS projects is envisaged.

You will find here a poster presented in the IGAC (Cape town, sept. 2006) and the GEIA (Paris, nov. 2006) conferences, on the intercomparison project.

The details of the experiment (vegetation maps, EF, etc.) have been decided in early Spring 2007, and are described in this document. Together with this document, the following documents are needed which give the GLC2000 vegetation map at 0.5°, and vegetation related information (biomass density, burning efficiency and emission factors).

The contact person is Cathy Liousse (lioc@aero.obs-mip.fr)