Outcomes of the Fire science Learning AcRoss the Earth System (FLARE) workshop

Igniting progress: Outcomes of the Fire science Learning AcRoss the Earth System (FLARE) workshop

The FLARE workshop, organised by Douglas Hamilton (NCSU, USA), Morgane Perron (Univ. Brest, France), and Joan Llort (BSC, Spain) in September 2023, was funded by a European Space Agency (ESA)-Future Earth joint program. It gathered an array of experts working on fire, from biogeochemist to atmosphere physicists, remote sensing experts, modellers, and social scientists to artists, communicators and ground-based firefighters to discuss challenges and priorities to advancing fire science.

Outcomes of this workshop included the recent publication of a white paper. The paper highlights 3 major challenges to advancing our understanding of fire science, starting with better understanding the impact of fire on the Earth System, including ocean biogeochemistry and oceanic carbon sequestration. Such challenge needs to be addressed holistically, requiring a joint global effort from across fire relevant disciplines including ocean sciences. The paper also serves as a roadmap for future research in this domain. With more intense and frequent fire occurring worldwide, a growing concern of the scientific community lies on near future the impact on the planet health, the ocean and on society.