 Hi, my name is Danielle Martin and I'm the Satellite Remote Sensing Analyst for the Grassland Curing Project. Grassland Curing observations are collected by human observers and are also collected by satellite. Here is a satellite image taken when the grassland was partly cured. We are using data from a satellite called Terra, which is owned by NASA. The satellite passes over Victoria every one to two days, providing an image that covers the whole state. This satellite carries five instruments which take images of the entire Earth's surface. The instruments operate 24-7 and collect observations which tell us about environmental changes such as ice surfaces, land surface temperatures, plant life and climate. To collect data on vegetation, we are using an instrument called MODIS, which is the most comprehensive sensor onboard this satellite. The raw data from MODIS is received near Melbourne by the Bureau of Meteorology and processed using a supercomputer. The satellite makes an observation of grassland curing for every 500 by 500 meters square of land, the size of a satellite pixel. It would be impossible to collect this amount of information using people on the ground, as there would have to be at least one person for every 500 meters square across the state. Using the satellite data, we can then make a statewide map of curing. Let's take a look at how the satellite map is made. The basic question we are trying to answer is, is the grass green or is it dry? The satellite observes the grass like we do. Sunlight reflected from the grass is observed by our eyes or by the lens of the MODIS sensor. Like the human brain, the satellite receiver compares the amount of living grass with the amount of dry grass. We can do this by analyzing the light reflected off the grass. Living grass is more green, whereas dry grass is a lighter brown, as the signature of dry grass has a more even mix of red, green and blue wavelengths. At this point, humans and satellites start to think differently. Firstly, unlike the satellite, we can walk around in the grass receiving up close information about height, brittleness and temperature. Secondly, the satellites can detect infrared light, which we cannot see. Looking at the infrared area of the graph, at wavelengths we cannot see, water in living grass absorbs some radiation in the mid-infrared range. Satellites can detect moisture content using these mid-infrared wavelengths because green grass absorbs more of this radiation. At near-infrared wavelengths, the satellite can detect changes in living grass that occur as it dehydrates and starts to collapse physically. This signal from green grass is much stronger than the signal from dry grass at these wavelengths, and the satellite measures these changes. Weekly satellite data are used in this equation. The results are combined with weekly field observations to produce a map of grassland curing. The map helps fire and emergency agencies to determine whether to put personnel on standby to issue public warnings or to declare restrictions such as total fire band days. However, there are drawbacks with satellite data, including cloud and transmission errors. For example, if there are two consecutive weeks of complete cloud cover, we cannot receive any useful information as the satellite cannot monitor the ground. Technical issues between the satellite and satellite receiver can also occur, which means we cannot rely solely on satellite data. Despite any technical issues which may occur, the MODIS instrument has been used successfully for many research projects since its launch in the year 1999 and is currently used operationally by fire agencies. We are introducing satellite mapping into the Grassland curing project, but still relying on observers to collect data. Thank you for watching the satellite video.