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ESA 2026 Fire Metabolism Storyboard

Source: ESA 2026 Fire Metabolism.pdf, a 12-slide Keynote export created on July 16, 2026.

Talk Arc

  1. When wildfire becomes metabolic. Introduce dimensional alignment and the rise of extreme wildfire.
  2. Is it spread or is it growth? Define spread as motion and growth as metabolism.
  3. Wildfires do not follow diffusion. Contrast predicted diffusion-like behavior with observed organized growth.
  4. Growth changes the rules. Larger systems cannot simply become larger; geometry changes as systems scale.
  5. Growth discovers form. Across nature, growth creates shape through constraint.
  6. Growth folds boundaries. Boundary folding increases exchange.
  7. Growth needs more exchange. Diffusion becomes limiting and transport networks organize.
  8. Biology solved this problem. Biological transport systems improve exchange under scaling constraints.
  9. Life and fire share the same solution. Life builds capture; fire builds release.
  10. This changes how we predict wildfire. Geometry reveals rules and growth stage can determine the future.
  11. A new theory of wildfire. Fire is fire in reverse: a transport system exporting energy through a dynamic boundary.
  12. Fire is life in reverse. Synthesize the analogy and prediction framework.

Animation Targets

  • Animate the spread-vs-growth distinction as motion through space versus metabolic expansion.
  • Show diffusion-like predictions diverging from observed organized wildfire growth.
  • Morph simple shapes into folded boundaries to show why exchange surface matters.
  • Build transport networks progressively from local exchange limits.
  • Connect biological allometry to fire perimeter geometry using matched visual grammar.
  • End with a synthesis animation that maps life processes to fire processes in reverse.

Working Notes

  • Keep the PDF and Keynote source outside git unless a compressed, intentionally curated version is needed for the website.
  • Store draft frames and large renders under outputs/; only promote final web-ready assets into docs/assets/.
  • Prefer scriptable figure generation over manual exports so long runs can be resumed, inspected, and repeated.