Detecting Wildfires from Orbit

Guest: Chris Van Arsdale, Google Climate & Energy Research Lead

Wildfires aren’t just a summer problem anymore. This past January, California faced an unusual and intense wildfire outbreak, with flames ripping through communities and forcing thousands to evacuate. What if we could catch wildfires in their earliest stages, before they spiral out of control? That’s the goal of Google’s FireSat, a revolutionary satellite system designed to spot fires as small as a campfire and deliver updates every 20 minutes. Today on Weather Geeks, we’re talking to Chris Van Arsdale, a leader behind the FireSat project, about how it all works and how they are using AI to help the firefight before it even starts

Chapters

1. 00:00 Introduction to Wildfire Challenges and Firesat
2. 03:10 Chris Van Arsdale's Journey to Google and Climate Research
3. 06:09 Understanding the Firesat Satellite System
4. 09:01 Operational Use and Future of Firesat
5. 11:48 The Role of Google in Wildfire Detection
6. 15:06 Machine Learning and Data Challenges in Fire Detection
7. 18:10 Implications for Firefighting Strategies
8. 20:52 Future Data Applications Beyond Fire Detection
9. 23:58 Global Interest and Collaboration on Firesat
10. 26:49 Environmental and Security Considerations
11. 29:59 Sustainability and Future Launch Plans for Firesat
12. 32:50 Global Applications and Community Engagement
13. 35:56 Final Thoughts on Firesat's Impact

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