Biomass Smoke Events Database

This database is for creating and extending a list of validated bushfire smoke events in Australian cities.

License: CC BY 4.0, see REFERENCES section below for citations

Please contribute your validated events data back to the Extreme Weather Events collaboration. https://github.com/swish-climate-impact-assessment/biomass_smoke_events_db

Installation instructions

• Download http://www.web2py.com/init/default/download. Get the binaries for the Python 2.7 version not the source code. This runs on windows, linux and mac. It requires no installation, just unzip the files to the location you want to work on the biomass smoke databse (e.g. MyDocuments/projects/bushfires or something)
• Clone or Download this github repo as a zip
• Unzip and put the files within this repo into a new folder: applications/biomass_smoke_events_db of your web2py downloaded folder (note that the github zip may be called biomass_smoke_events_db-master.zip so you will need to edit the name and remove -master)
• run the web2py program as per the instructions for your OS
• use a web browser to visit the local website http://127.0.0.1:8000/biomass_smoke_events_db (note that the port:8000 used in the example here can change depending on how you start web2py)
• in the top right, you have to register by clicking sign up so that you can enter data (this is a default setting of web2py apps, and is only used on your local computer so you can use any name and passcode)
• the references are added first, and then the events that reference validates are added
• Alternatively there are instructions on how to use R to do the download and install the Web2py database software and this app here: https://github.com/swish-climate-impact-assessment/biomass_smoke_events_db/blob/master/static/install.R

Using R codes

• The database is designed to be used with R
• This is the best way to import new air pollution data and calculate events using the associated R package https://github.com/swish-climate-impact-assessment/BiosmokeValidatedEvents

Simple instructions for R interface:

library(RSQLite)  
drv <- dbDriver("SQLite")
con <- dbConnect(drv, dbname = "path/to/web2py/applications/biomass_smoke_events_db/databases/storage.sqlite")

# GET BUSHFIRE SMOKE EVENTS TIME SERIES
qc  <- dbGetQuery(con , "select * from biomass_smoke_reference")
str(qc)
qc2  <- dbGetQuery(con , "select * from biomass_smoke_event")

# GET POLLUTION DATA
extract_obs <- dbGetQuery(ch, "select * 
from combined_pollutants")
str(extract_obs)
table(extract_obs$site)

Please see the R script in folder static/get_events_and_timeseries.R for a worked example.

History

This database comes originally from the work written up at:

• Johnston, F. H., Hanigan, I. C., Henderson, S. B., Morgan, G. G., Portner, T., Williamson, G. J., & Bowman, D. M. J. S. (2011). Creating an Integrated Historical Record of Extreme Particulate Air Pollution Events in Australian Cities from 1994 to 2007. Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 61(4), 390–398. http://doi.org/10.3155/1047-3289.61.4.390

• Ivan C. Hanigan 1,2,3,* , Geoffrey G. Morgan 1,2, Grant J. Williamson 4 , Farhad Salimi 1,2, Sarah B. Henderson 5 , Murray R. Turner 6 , David M. J. S. Bowman 4 and Fay H. Johnston 2,7 (2018). Extensible Database of Validated Biomass Smoke Events for Health Research. Fire, 1, 50; http://doi.org/10.3390/fire1030050

Recommended Citation:

• Hanigan, I. (Creator), Morgan, G. (Creator), Williamson, G. (Creator), Salimi, F. (Creator), Henderson, S. (Creator), Turner, M. (Creator), Bowman, D. M. J. S. (Creator), Johnston, F. H. (Creator) (5 Aug 2015). The Biomass Smoke Validated Events Database. ANU. 10.4225/64/59276c30b3a01 Data retrieved from Centre for Air pollution, energy and health Research. https://github.com/swish-climate-impact-assessment/biomass_smoke_events_db