Wildfires and Impacts

Dr. Chaoqun Ma, Group Leader

Research Focus

Wildfires, as unplanned and uncontrolled biomass burning, is the key process linking the biosphere with the atmosphere, hydrosphere and human society. Since global warming would bring more drought and heatwaves, the frequency and severity of wildfires is expected to rise in the future, together with its environmental impact.

Our group explores the unknown details in how wildfires shape the atmospheric composition, ecological succession, climate change and our human society, also how human activities and climate, in turn, influence wildfire behavior. Our research would help the management of natural resources, mitigation of extreme climate events and deepening our understanding of climate and earth systems. 

For this purpose, we utilize a comprehensive set of tools, including:

- Remote sensing and field measurements (Tower and Aircraft);

- Simulations from regional/global Atmospheric Chemistry Models and Earth System Models;

- AI and eXplainable AI (XAI) techniques.