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These scientists are setting a forest on fire — and studying it with drones

Data from the blaze in Utah could improve models of how wildfire smoke spreads.
  1. Alexandra Witze
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Sometime in late June, if all goes to plan, a helicopter will hover above a thickly forested slope in Utah and set it ablaze. The goal is to clear out dead conifer trees to allow quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) to regain a foothold in this high-altitude national forest. But the blaze could also help scientists better understand wildfires.

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Nature 569, 610 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-01604-w

References

  1. Prichard, S. et al. Atmosphere 10, 66 (2019).

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  2. Stocks, B. J., Alexander, M. E., & Lanoville, R. A. Can. J. For. Res. 34, 1543–1547 (2004).

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