An overview of mountain meteorological effects relevant to fire behaviour and bushfire risk
Jason J. Sharples
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A School of Physical, Environmental and Mathematical Sciences, University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia. Email: j.sharples@adfa.edu.au
B Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre, Level 5, 340 Albert Street, East Melbourne, VIC 3002, Australia.
International Journal of Wildland Fire 18(7) 737-754 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF08041
Submitted: 12 March 2008 Accepted: 19 January 2009 Published: 27 October 2009
Abstract
Many of the processes that can occur in mountainous landscapes have the potential to significantly affect fire behaviour and bushfire risk in general. These processes can lead to otherwise unexpected fire behaviour and escalation in fire size and severity that could endanger firefighting crews and compromise suppression activities. Interaction of upper winds with rugged terrain can often result in highly variable and turbulent wind patterns and variations in temperature and humidity that can affect fire regimes in the long and short term. More generally, the effect of rugged terrain on atmospheric flows can give rise to complex dynamics and emergent properties that are discontinuous in nature. Hence, the ‘fire weather continuum’ that is often assumed in fire management practices is of reduced validity in mountainous or hilly landscapes. This paper presents an overview of the main elements of mountain meteorology relevant to fire weather and discusses the potential roles they may play in bushfire behaviour, development and risk. As such, the paper is intended to promote understanding, across the wide range of professions concerned with bushfire, of how mountain meteorological effects might contribute to fire potential and fire behaviour.
Acknowledgements
The author is indebted to the staff at the Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research (CAWCR) who provided valuable input and discussion on the topic of this paper. In particular, the author would like to thank Graham Mills, Xinmei Huang and the CAWCR librarians. The author is also grateful to Stephen Wilkes for allowing inclusion of his photographs in this paper and for discussions on mountain weather and bushfire. Thanks are also due to Rodney Weber, John Taylor and David Lowe from the School of Physical, Environmental and Mathematical Sciences, University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy, to Rick McRae from the ACT Emergency Services Agency and to Bob Cechet from Geoscience Australia for comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript. Thanks also go to David Packham, Chris Lucas, Philip Riley and Kevin O’Loughlin for their interest and suggestions.
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