http://hdl.handle.net/10174/152 2026-04-04T16:25:08Z http://hdl.handle.net/10174/38897 Title: USING VIRTUAL REALITY AND E-LEARNING FOR ENHANCING AWARENESS IN ENVIRONMENTAL AND SUSTAINABILITY TOPICS - FROM SOLAR ENERGY TO CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND EARTH ECOLOGY Authors: Guerreiro, Luis; Afrikanov, Lachezar; Maries, Georgiana Abstract: New methodologies in education are extremely important in a globalized world where knowledge transfer is absorbed at an extremely fast pace. Virtual Reality is part of the digital transition, having a wide range of advantages such us: ease to participate in immersive content, support both image and sound, as well as the possibility to conduct training from a distance having the trainer in one location and the trainee in another location. Multimedia content related to sustainability, renewable energy, circular economy has been produced and integrated into virtual scenarios in a very appealing way within the framework of an international Erasmus+ Project with four partners in four European countries. 2024-02-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10174/38815 Title: Assessing ECMWF Lightning Forecast in Portugal during fire seasons Authors: Campos, Cátia; Couto, Flavio Tiago; Santos, Filippe L. M.; Rio, João; Ferreira, Teresa; Purificação, Carolina; Salgado, Rui Abstract: Portugal is one of the European countries that faces significant challenges with wildfires. While lightning-triggered natural fires constitute a minority compared to anthropogenic ones, accurate forecasting of lightning occurrences is crucial for effective prevention. The study assesses the ECMWF model's capability to predict lightning in Portugal over four fire seasons [2019-2022]. Observed lightning data was obtained from the national lightning detector network, aggregated into 0.5° and 1° resolutions over 3-hour periods. The evaluation employs statistical indices from a contingency table to analyze the model's performance. Results indicate an overestimation of lightning occurrences by the ECMWF model, with a Bias greater than 1. The success rate for lightning prediction was 57.7% for a horizontal resolution of 1° and 49% for 0.5°. Additionally, the temporal analysis reveals a time lag between both data, with the model starting to predict lighting before its occurrence and finishing the prediction earlier. These findings are complemented by analyzing the spatial lightning distribution, which led us to identify some weather patterns associated with lightning activity during the study period. For instance, lightning activity was associated with the Iberian thermal low development overlapped by an Upper Level Low and the passage of large-scale features, such as frontal systems. The insights gained from this study have implications for the ECMWF lightning forecast applicability in the context of forecasting natural forest fires in Portugal. The research was funded by the European Union through the CILIFO project (0753-CILIFO-5-E) and also by national funds through FCT Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P. under the PyroC.pt project (PCIF/MPG/0175/2019). 2024-03-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10174/38814 Title: Towards a better understanding of pyroconvective clouds using Meso-NH/ForeFire coupled model Authors: Couto, Flavio Tiago; Campos, Cátia; Filippi, Jean-Baptiste; Baggio, Roberta; Purificação, Carolina; Santos, Filippe L. M.; Salgado, Rui Abstract: In 2017, Portugal was affected by several mega-fire episodes, which led the convective clouds formation, i.e., pyroCumulus (pyroCu) or pyroCumulonimbus (pyroCb). The pyroCb plays a crucial role in the fire front evolution through feedback processes between the atmosphere and the fire, including increased burn and spread rates by surface wind speed and direction variations. In order to investigate the pyro-convective activity during mega-fire events, numerical simulations were performed with the Meso-NH atmospheric model coupled to the ForeFire fire propagation model. The present study considers the mega-fires occurred in Pedrógão Grande and Góis on June 17, 2017, and in Quiaios on October 15, 2017. The experiments were configured into three nested domains with horizontal resolution of 2000 m (600 km × 600 km), 400 m (120 km × 120 km) and 80 m (24 km × 24 km) for the innermost model. The vertical resolution is the same for all the nested domains, with 50 levels and a first level above the ground at 30 m height. Initial and lateral boundary conditions for the outer domain were provided by ECMWF analysis, with updates every 6 h. Heat and water vapour were emitted into the atmosphere using the ForeFire model. In this case, the fire front evolution is directly imposed from a pre-defined time of arrival map (one-way coupling) and obtained from official reports. The results from the simulation of 80 m horizontal resolution showed that in the Pedrógão Grande mega-fire, the violent fire-driven convection manifested as a pyroCb cloud. The convective column penetrated the upper troposphere, and an intense outflow originated from the pyroCb cloud. In Quiaios mega-fire, the simulation also well represented the pyro-convection phenomenon, characterised by a northward-oriented smoke plume and the development of a pyroCu cloud. This study has provided important insights into the numerical modelling of pyroconvective clouds using Meso-NH/ForeFire simulations. This study was funded by national funds through FCT-Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P. under the PyroC.pt project (Ref. PCIF/MPG/0175/2019). 2024-03-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10174/38811 Title: Meteorological environments leading to two large fires in Southern Portugal Authors: Purificação, Carolina; Campos, Cátia; Henkes, Alice; Kartsios, Stergios; Couto, Flavio Tiago Abstract: The study is a step forward in the characterization of meteorological environments that favour the evolution of large and extreme fires in Southern Portugal. The region has some fire-prone areas which are recognized by the mega fires occurred in 2003, 2005, and 2018. Two numerical simulations were performed using the Meso-NH non-hydrostatic research model and used to investigate in detail the atmospheric environments of two large fires that occurred on 18th July 2012 and 19th June 2020. The simulations were configured using two nested domains with a 375 km × 375 km grid domain (D1) at 2.5 km horizontal resolution and a 150 km × 150 km domain (D2) at 500 m resolution added before the start of the fires. The vertical grid was configured with 50 stretched levels following the terrain. The initial and boundary conditions are provided by the 6-hourly operational ECMWF analyses. The large-scale circulation has been characterised using data obtained from the ECMWF's Meteorological Archival and Retrieval System. In addition to the large-scale circulation, namely the positioning of the Azores anticyclone and the thermal low development over the Iberian Peninsula, the results have shown the important role played by regional orography in creating favourable fire weather conditions. For instance, the high-resolution simulations showed the high daytime temperatures and sometimes overnight, low humidity, and strong wind gusts that favour fire spread. In July 2012, the typical sea breeze circulation affected the fire evolution, whereas the intense downslope winds favoured the fire spread in June 2020. The study brings useful guidelines for interpreting the impact of different mesoscale environments that may produce large fires, namely the orographic effects that can increase the fire susceptibility and vulnerability of some regions. This study was funded by national funds through FCT-Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P. under the PyroC.pt project (Ref. PCIF/MPG/0175/2019). 2024-03-31T23:00:00Z