Hierarchical clustering - Amazon rainforest burned between 1999-2010
Between 1999-2010, 33,000 square miles (85,500 square kilometers), or 2.8 percent of the Amazon rainforest burned down. This was found by NASA-led research. The main purpose of the research was to measure the extent of fire smolders under the forest canopy. The research found that burning forests destroys a much larger area compared to when forest lands are cleared for agriculture and cattle pasture. Yet, no correlation could be established between the fires and deforestation.
The answer to the query of no correlation between fires and deforestation lay in humidity data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite. The fire frequency coincides with low night-time humidity, which allowed the low-intensity surface fires to continue burning.
Getting ready
In order to perform hierarchical clustering, we shall be using a dataset collected on the Amazon rainforest, which burned from 1999-2010...
