MSU geographers learned to estimate steppe fire scale through satellite images

The MSU geographers demonstrated how, with satellite data processing algorithms, we can track out the evidences of the steppe fire, in particular those blamed on spent burnt out rocket stages. The study was accomplished within the framework of the Russian Science Foundation Project No. 20-77-10010. The study is presented in the publication of Arid Land Research and Management journal. “We already had a set of algorithms and various coefficients, the so called spectral indexes that enable to distinguish, through aerial and satellite survey data, the areas with fire remains from unchanged areas. However, most of them were applicable to forests alone. Using the Landsat 8 satellite data, we have selected the appropriate spectral indexes for Kalmykia and Central Kazakhstan regions”, says Anna Sharapova, Project Head, researcher, Geography faculty, Moscow State University.