A powerhouse alliance merges advanced sensors, retrofitted antennas, and Indigenous know-how to spot and stop fires early.
Between 2016-21, over a third (35%) of Australia’s forest area was burnt in bushfires. And because of climate change, the intensity and frequency of bushfires is supposedly increasing. The number of extreme bushfires more than doubled between 2003 and 2023, while the average intensity of the 20 most extreme bushfires each year has increased by more than two-fold across two decades.
A key source of ignition is continuous current lightning, which unleash prolonged energy bursts – heating the air to scorching temperatures that can spark a fire.
Think the 2019-20 Black Summer fires, which were largely ignited by lightning strikes.
In unfavourable fire conditions, such as mild temperatures, high humidity, and a light breeze, the flames will likely die down, said Professor Paulo de Souza Executive Dean, School of Engineering at Edith Cowan University (ECU).
“But if there is intense wind, high temperatures, and low humidity, these conditions could lead to a catastrophic fire,” he said.
To intervene before an out-of-control fire develops, ECU partnered with the University of New South Wales in Canberra, the University of Adelaide, the University of Technology Sydney, and the University of Newcastle on the IGNIS mission to monitor lightning that can ignite fires from the ground, air and space.
Developing super thermal sensors
In collaboration with NASA, the team – led by de Souza, Principal Investigator of IGNIS – is working to develop cutting-edge technologies that will transform how we monitor and mitigate fire risks.
“We engaged in frequent, deep conversations with two NASA centers, the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama,” he said.
The Goddard Center created one of the most sensitive thermal cameras ever built, capable of detecting a wide range of temperatures in intricate detail. “That includes normal environmental temperatures and distinguishing between different fire intensities,” de Souza said.
This advanced imaging technology enables researchers to identify heat anomalies that could signal the onset of a fire.
Meanwhile, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center contributed high-resolution lightning detection systems that track lightning strikes, count occurrences, and assess their intensity. “The sensors allow us to see when lightning is occurring and distinguish between different types – whether cloud-to-cloud, cloud-to-air, or ground strikes,” he said.
A groundbreaking 3D lightning observation system
A key element of the IGNIS mission is the deployment of a ground-based sensor network that will provide an unprecedented 3D view of thunderstorms. “The lightning observations obtained with the ground system will be the first of their kind for southwestern Australia, providing an inside look at thunderclouds to reveal the origin of long-lasting lightning currents believed to ignite bushfires,” said NASA Marshall Space Flight Center’s Patrick Gatlin.
But at their core, the sensors are based on “simple” technology that harks back to the past.
“Remember what happens to an analog TV when lightning strikes and the [picture] becomes fuzzy?” de Souza asked. “We put a lot of those old VHF TV antennas together so they work in synchrony.”
The sensor network will consist of ten stations deployed over a 100km by 100km area, providing accurate coverage beyond 1 million hectares.
“This allows us to triangulate and work backwards to the signal’s time of arrival and determine with good accuracy where the lightning struck,” de Souza said.
“If we know when continuous current lightning occurs, we have a window of opportunity to deploy aircraft with super-sensitive thermal cameras to extinguish potential fires before they escalate into catastrophic events.”
With their deep knowledge of Country, local Indigenous rangers will also assist in assisting with deployment of the network, maintaining its sensors, ensuring seamless data collection and field operations.
From ground to space: the future of fire monitoring
The IGNIS mission is structured into three phases. The first, an aerial observation, involved flights over Western Australia’s south west.
“We constructed a digital model of the entire terrain, giving us a good idea of the ‘fuel load’ – the vegetation growth, moisture and density,” de Souza said.
“We also have a good idea of the water deposits in the region which we want to monitor to understand how the environment becomes drier.”
With the sensors soon deployed in the field, the ground mission will kick off in May in collaboration with Marshall Space Flight Centre and the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
“In August we will fly the thermal imagers from the Marshall Space Flight Center on aircraft and conduct a background study of 100km by 100 km east of Perth,” he said.
In an “intense” summer campaign, the team will chase thunderstorms when they present, looking in great detail at when and where they occurred.
“We will install three new sensors that can also detect the direction of the electric field where the storm happened,” de Souza said. “That tells us a lot about the direction of lightning, either from the ground through the air, or air to ground.”
The final phase will take fire monitoring to space. In collaboration with the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics and Hex20, the IGNIS mission aims to launch a satellite in 2026 to enhance detection capabilities across Australia.
To bring the research to life, a sensor network would need to be deployed on a continental scale spanning south, east and west Australia – from southeast Queensland to New South Wales, ACT, Victoria, and South Australia through to southern WA.
“At that scale, we are covering most of Australia’s vulnerable ecosystems and communities,” de Souza said. “We want to see the research applied and part of the toolbox of our emergency services.”
Training the next generation of engineers
ECU is committed to ensuring the long-term impact of this research through education and community involvement.
“ECU students had opportunities to participate in the mission, including onboard flights and in fortnightly meetings with NASA,” de Souza said.
The IGNIS Mission Student Interns Program will also provide opportunities for high school students to participate in the Mission. There were 23 Schools from Western Australia selected, bringing over 150 students from years 7 to 11 to participate in the IGNIS project.
“They can play around with the data, help assemble the instruments and see the results,” de Souza said. “This is what we need to bring more future engineers and scientists into the profession.”
Research at ECU’s School of Engineering encompasses a broad range of engineering disciplines and allied sciences. Click here to find out more.
