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Characteristics of wildfire-igniting lightning in the western United States

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dc.contributor.authorBurris, Lucy Ellen, author
dc.contributor.authorSibold, Jason, advisor
dc.contributor.authorKelly, Eugene, committee member
dc.contributor.authorHoeting, Jennifer, committee member
dc.date.accessioned2016-01-11T15:13:58Z
dc.date.available2017-01-07T06:30:24Z
dc.date.issued2015
dc.description.abstractAnnually, over half the wildfires on federal lands in the conterminous western United States are caused by lightning. However, broad-scale characteristics of wildfire-igniting lightning flashes are poorly understood, and limit our ability to predict what role climate change might have on lightning patterns and in turn on future patterns of wildfire. I investigated lightning-wildfire relationships by comparing the characteristics of lightning flashes that start fires to those that do not across 29 ecoregions in the western US from 2003-2007. After accounting for ecoregional variation, I found little meaningful difference in characteristics of igniting flashes including the proportion of positive flashes, proportion of negative flashes with long continuing current, number of strokes per flash (multiplier), or flash peak current (all attributes thought to be related to ignition potential). In contrast, I found that wildfires are associated with significantly higher lightning flash densities near fire locations compared to further away. However, the role of flash density varied significantly between ecoregions. Given the non-uniqueness of igniting flashes, simple proxies such as storm frequency or intensity may be sufficient to estimate likelihood of lightning ignitions under changing climatic conditions. However, these estimates must be mediated based on ecosystem response to potential ignitions.
dc.format.mediumborn digital
dc.format.mediummasters theses
dc.identifierBurris_colostate_0053N_13365.pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10217/170389
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherColorado State University. Libraries
dc.relation.ispartof2000-2019
dc.rightsCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.
dc.subjectlightning density
dc.subjectlightning flash
dc.subjectlong continuing current
dc.subjectwildland fire
dc.titleCharacteristics of wildfire-igniting lightning in the western United States
dc.typeText
dcterms.embargo.expires2017-01-07
dcterms.embargo.terms2017-01-07
dcterms.rights.dplaThis Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/). You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
thesis.degree.disciplineEcology
thesis.degree.grantorColorado State University
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science (M.S.)

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