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  • [♪ INTRO]

  • Wildfires -- sometimes called bushfires -- are uncontrolled fires

  • that burn through vegetation in areas like forests and grasslands.

  • And they're a perfectly natural part of many ecosystems.

  • Many forests actually need wildfires to survive -- they add

  • important nutrients back into the soil, and they can be required

  • for seed germination and growth.

  • Unfortunately, thanks to climate change, land use, and other factors,

  • many regions are experiencing longer, more dangerous wildfire seasons,

  • with longer-lasting, more frequent blazes.

  • So researchers are working hard to fight wildfires,

  • both as they rage and before they start, with the power of technology.

  • Here are four super high-tech ways we're trying to stop wildfires

  • in their tracks.

  • And one that's... a bit simpler.

  • One way tech can help us tackle wildfires is by improving

  • existing firefighting technologies.

  • In the case of chemical flame retardants, that means

  • making them... stickier.

  • Right now, firefighters use more than 100 million gallons

  • of chemical flame retardantslike ammonium polyphosphate,

  • or APPto extinguish out-of-control blazes each year.

  • Firefighters apply APP to vegetation that's in the way of

  • an advancing wildfire, often by dropping it out of

  • specially-equipped planes.

  • The APP adheres to plants and creates a protective chemical coating.

  • As the APP burns, it releases water vapor, which helps

  • extinguish the flames.

  • It also leaves behind a black, fire-resistant charcoal residue

  • that protects the vegetation from burning.

  • So while it might look like a fire has burned APP-treated plants

  • to a crisp, it actually hasn't.

  • The goal of APP is to prevent wildfires from consuming the fuel

  • they need to keep growingbecause when there's no more fuel,

  • there's no more fire.

  • So if APP can put out a wildfire, what's the big problem?

  • Well, while it does work, it's most effective at minimizing

  • the damage from fires that have already broken out.

  • That's because APP is water soluble and can be washed off

  • of plants easily.

  • High winds can blow it off, too.

  • So while APP is a great tool for fighting fires, it's not realistic

  • to use it for season-long fire prevention.

  • But scientists are working to change that by combining APP

  • with viscoelastic fluids.

  • A viscoelastic fluid is unique because it can behave both

  • like an elastic solid and a viscous liquid.

  • In other words, a viscoelastic fluid is both stretchy and sticky,

  • kind of like bread dough.

  • In a 2019 study, scientists at Stanford University announced

  • that they had developed a type of viscoelastic fluid that

  • combines plant-derived cellulose with colloidal silica particles.

  • The result is what its inventors have dubbedmolecular velcro,”

  • thanks to its ability to stick to plants way better than APP alone.

  • When you mix this viscoelastic fluid with APP, 50% more

  • fire retardant sticks to vegetation, and it can stay put

  • even after a half inch of rainfall.

  • In fact, in the researchers' tests, grass treated with this

  • mixture justwouldn't catch on fire.

  • And even better: they think it's environmentally safe enough

  • to leave on plants long-term.

  • They hope this new viscoelastic fluid will one day

  • let firefighters protect vulnerable areas -- like steep inclines,

  • roadways, and man-made structures -- before wildfires ever break out.

  • Next updrones!

  • Drones are the poster child for flashy tech.

  • And they're helping fight fires too -- in more ways

  • than you might expect.

  • Because drones are remotely operated, they're able to fly

  • into dangerous areas where it's not safe for people

  • or even aircraft to travel.

  • But scientists are also developing drones that can

  • fight fire with fireliterally.

  • Lighting a fire to fight a fire is called a backfire.

  • To do that, firefighters first create a containment line

  • in front of a wildfire to keep it from moving past a certain point.

  • Containment lines can be a naturally occurring barrier,

  • like a river. Often, though, they're artificial trenches.

  • Then, you have to light the backfire.

  • Which is where the flashy tech comes in.

  • Drones equipped with a system called IGNIS can swoop in

  • and set a new fire on the wildfire side of the containment line.

  • The backfire consumes fuel that is in the path of the

  • original wildfire, and because fires need fuel to burn,

  • the backfire prevents the wildfire from spreading.

  • The IGNIS-equipped drones light backfires by dropping spheres

  • the size of ping pong balls, called Dragon Egg spheres,

  • wherever firefighters want the new fires to start.

  • The Dragon Eggs are injected with a chemical called glycol

  • right before they're released from the drone, which causes

  • a chemical reaction that ignites 30 seconds after

  • the Dragon Egg is released.

  • That ensures that the Dragon Eggs catch fire after they've

  • reached the ground.

  • The IGNIS system typically carries around 400 Dragon Egg spheres,

  • and it can drop them at a rate of up to 120 spheres per minute.

  • That lets one IGNIS-equipped drone ignite several hundred hectares

  • of land every hour, which helps firefighters start a backfire

  • quickly and safely.

  • These fire-starting drones can also set controlled burns,

  • which firefighters and foresters use to safely remove

  • accumulated leaves, limbs, grass, and debris that

  • can fuel dangerous wildfires.

  • And, drones can even help restore burned areas.

  • Drones fitted with seed distribution systems can help

  • reseed deforested areas far away from people, which can help

  • forests recover from fires faster.

  • Researchers have developed drones that are specifically designed

  • to help replant wildfire-ravaged areas quickly and efficiently.

  • First, one set of drones creates a 3D map of an area,

  • and once that's done, the seeding drones get to work.

  • Each drone can carry about 26 kilograms of seed vessels,

  • which are small cubes containing a mixture of soil,

  • fertilizer, and tree seeds.

  • The drones then drop the seed vessels over the fire-ravaged area.

  • Right now, each drone can plant about one third of a hectare

  • each flight, and a full swarm of five drones can plant

  • about 16 hectares a day.

  • That means a single drone swarm could replant an area

  • the size of New York's Central Park in just three weeks.

  • So, sorry, Johnny Appleseedit looks like you might have been replaced.

  • Artificial intelligence is also adding some seriously

  • high-tech juice to our wildfire-prevention kit.

  • For instance, in a 2017 paper, one group of scientists proposed

  • an AI technology, called Particle Swarm Optimized Neural Fuzzy,

  • or PSO-NF.

  • Now, while that name might tell computer scientists everything

  • they need to know, for the rest of us, that basically means

  • that the AI calculates an environment's susceptibility to wildfires --

  • specifically, a tropical forest.

  • It does this by taking important environmental data points

  • like land use, elevation, temperature, rainfall, and wind speed.

  • Then, it builds a Geographic Information System, or GIS, database.

  • A GIS database compiles, stores, and analyzes all sorts of

  • geographical data, like surface elevation, vegetation types

  • and densities, and even the location of man-made structures

  • like buildings and streets.

  • Once researchers build a GIS database of a specific area,

  • the PSO-NF AI can then analyze the data and look for patterns,

  • which allow it to predict when and where wildfires could break out.

  • A tech company in California is developing AI technology

  • that detects wildfires as soon as they start.

  • To do this, an AI program analyzes satellite images

  • to monitor fire-prone areas.

  • The AI searches for wildfire signs that are invisible

  • to the naked eye, like temperature spikes, smoke, or hotspots.

  • Once the AI spots the warning signs of a fire, it alerts

  • the authorities so they can respond before the blaze

  • grows out of control.

  • Eventually, this technology will be able to scan California's

  • 33 million acres of forest every 10 minutes as a first line

  • of defense against potentially devastating wildfires.

  • So AI can help us predict wildfires and spot them

  • as soon as they start -- or even before.

  • But what about when they're already burning out of control?

  • Another group of scientists at the University of California

  • San Diego have developed an AI technology called Firemap

  • that's helping firefighters predict the path of a wildfire

  • in real time.

  • Firemap uses satellite imaging to get a better understanding

  • of the development, terrain, and even vegetation of an area,

  • which it uses to calculate how a fire might move

  • through that specific location.

  • It also connects to hundreds of remote weather stations

  • so it can include pertinent weather data, like wind speed

  • and wind direction, into its calculations.

  • The program then uses the data to create a model that can predict

  • the movement of an active blaze.

  • That way, firefighters can deploy emergency workers and supplies

  • to where they're needed most.

  • But even with all of these remote technologies,

  • fighting wildfires still requires sending lots of people

  • into pretty dangerous situations.

  • The unpredictability of wildfires makes them especially dangerous

  • for firefighters, since conditions can go from safe to deadly

  • within minutes.

  • But we might be able to help them do their jobs

  • and stay safe through the use of augmented reality.

  • Being able to see through smoke, for example,

  • would be a huge deal.

  • A new augmented reality technology called C-Thru gives

  • firefighters a heads-up display inside their facemasks.

  • The C-Thru system uses a thermal camera to map the terrain

  • in front of a firefighter in real time, even

  • in the smokiest conditions.

  • An on-board computer then turns the data into outlines

  • of the surrounding area and anybody within it, which is then sent

  • to the mask's display.

  • So even if it's dark, smokey, or both, they can hopefully see

  • well enough to make it back to safety.

  • This AR technology is actually being developed for structural fires,

  • like burning buildings, but it's being adapted

  • for fighting wildfires, too.

  • But not all solutions have to be high-tech --

  • sometimes going old-school is best.

  • And this one's really old school.

  • It's the small but mighty... goat.

  • One of the best ways to prevent wildfires from getting out of control

  • is to limit the amount of fuel the fires have --

  • stuff like fallen leaves, grasses, and other underbrush.

  • But it can be hard for humans to clear out vegetation

  • in areas with rough terrain or steep inclines.

  • That's why some states have turned to goats to keep wildfire fuel

  • to a minimum.

  • Goats are tiny, efficient mulchers that can chew through

  • underbrush in places that weed whackers and mowers can't reach.

  • In fact, one goat can eat up to four and a half pounds of vegetation

  • a daymaking them fuzzy, adorable vegetation decimators.

  • And as an added bonus, the goats leave behind

  • some pretty great fertilizer too.

  • So while goats can't fly over wildfires or predict where one

  • will crop up next, they can provide an eco-friendly, low-cost,

  • highly cute option for keeping wildfire-feeding

  • vegetation under control.

  • Unfortunately, many of these technologies are still in development

  • and not ready for widespread use.

  • And even if they were widely available, they don't address

  • the real underlying causes of wildfires: things like

  • climate change and poor land management.

  • But until we can bring those structural issues under control,

  • we'll at least have help from fire-starting drones and hungry goats.

  • Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow, which was brought

  • to you with the help of our patrons.

  • If you want to help us make great videos to help the whole

  • Internet just get a little bit smarter, you can get started over at patreon.com/scishow.

  • [♪ OUTRO]

[♪ INTRO]

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山火事を止める4つのハイテクな方法(そして1つのローテクな方法 (4 High-Tech Ways To Stop Wildfires (And 1 Low-Tech One))

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    林宜悉 に公開 2021 年 01 月 14 日
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