ROS validation using Anderson 2015 dataset

Objectives

The goal is to assess the accuracy of various rate of spread (ROS) models by comparing their computed ROS values against observed data from the Anderson 2015 dataset.

Description of the benchmark

• Input Dataset: Utilize Table A1 from the Anderson 2015 dataset, located at firebench/data/ros_model_validation/Anderson_2015.

• Complementary Fuel Data: Incorporate fuel data from the Scott and Burgan 40 fuel models.

• Handling Missing Fuel Data: If specific fuel data is unavailable, employ the firebench.tools.find_closest_fuel_class_by_properties function to identify the nearest fuel category. This function uses total fuel load and fuel height, applying default weights to determine similarity.

• Wind Reduction Factor Calculation: Apply the Baughman_generalized_wind_reduction_factor_unsheltered method to compute the wind reduction factor, considering that the input wind measurements are taken above the vegetation canopy.

Output file

The workflow generates an output file in hdf5 format. The output file contains the expected and computed rate of spread.

Benchmarks available

The worklow template can be found at firebench/workflow/rate_of_spread_models_analysis/01_01_Anderson_2015_validation.

The workflow has been run with the following models and parameters:

• balbi 2022
• Rothermel (SFIRE version)

If you don’t find the content in the data directory, try git lfs pull.