EARTHSC 2GG3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Radiant Heating, Pyrolysis, Conversion Of Units Of Temperature
11 Sep 2018
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Document Summary
Wildfire as a process: a self-sustaining, rapid, high-temperature biochemical reaction, 3 requirements: (if any is removed, the fire goes out, oxygen, fuel, heat. Involves external reactions that liberate heat and light. Ignition does not necessarily lead to a wildfire: wildfires only develop when vegetation is dry and has accumulated in quantities to carry the fire across the land. Extinction phase: the point at which combustion, including smouldering, ceases, a fire is considered extinct when it no longer has sufficient heat and fuel to sustain it. Topography: drier fuels are found on, south-facing in the northern hemisphere (sunlight, slopes exposed to prevailing winds. Effects on the geologic environment: fires may leave a near-surface, water-repellant hydrophobic layer, increases surface runoff and erosion, soil erosion and debris flows are common following wildfires, significantly greater likelihood on steep slopes charred by a severe burn.
