Burn Scar Mapping in Attica, Greece using the dNBR (differenced Normalised Burn Ratio) Index on Landsat TM/ETM+ Satellite Imagery

Abstract

This paper presents an attempt to map burn scars from 1984 to present around the city of Athens, Greece from a remote sensing perspective. Fine spatial resolution Landsat TM/ETM+ imagery was used favoured by an extensive available archive. The input data were processed based on a methodology integrating the bi-temporal differenced Normalised Burn Ratio (dNBR) index and a fixed thresholding technique. Three major scars have been detected in the years 1985, 2007 and 2009. The total burnt area was estimated 19,607ha during the periods 1984-1991 and 2003-2009. Accuracy assessment was carried out with reference to a highly accurate validated source. High levels of accuracy were attributed principally to the dNBR index performance. This study comes to underpin the strong capabilities of the dNBR index in burnt area mapping and confirms the suitability of the methodology for applications in Mediterranean climate regions.