Multisensor Fire Observations

  • Released Monday, November 3, 2003
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From space, we can understand fires in ways that are impossible from the ground. New Earth-observing satellites capture the significant impact of fires on our planet. In this animation of fires around the globe in 2002, each red dot marks a new fire. Dots change color to yellow after a few days and to black when fires burn out. From brush fires in Africa to forest fires in North America, satellites are locating every significant fire on Earth to within one kilometer. In the summer and fall burning seasons, particularly destructive fires occurred in Colorado, Arizona, and Oregon.

The full 5 minute multisensor fire animation with audio and annotations

Complete transcript available.

High resolution thermal data for the Biscuit Fire measured on August 14, 2002, by the ASTER instrument on the Terra satellite. Bright purple regions represent currently active fire regions, while dark purple regions are older burned areas. The red and yellow areas represent the fire incidence data for the same day from the MODIS instrument.

High resolution thermal data for the Biscuit Fire measured on August 14, 2002, by the ASTER instrument on the Terra satellite. Bright purple regions represent currently active fire regions, while dark purple regions are older burned areas. The red and yellow areas represent the fire incidence data for the same day from the MODIS instrument.

A view of the region around Denver, Colorado, on June 9, 2002, during the Hayman fire. Both the reddish image and the 3D smoke plume are measurements from the MISR instrument on Terra. The Hayman fire is located at the leftmost end of the smoke plume, represented in red from MODIS fire incidence data. The regions in purple are regions of large population density, and Denver is right underneath the right end of the plume.

A view of the region around Denver, Colorado, on June 9, 2002, during the Hayman fire. Both the reddish image and the 3D smoke plume are measurements from the MISR instrument on Terra. The Hayman fire is located at the leftmost end of the smoke plume, represented in red from MODIS fire incidence data. The regions in purple are regions of large population density, and Denver is right underneath the right end of the plume.

Fire incidence data over Africa, Asia, and Europe as measured by the MODIS instrument on the Terra satellite on June 26, 2002.

Fire incidence data over Africa, Asia, and Europe as measured by the MODIS instrument on the Terra satellite on June 26, 2002.

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio, the ESDIS Science Operations Office and the MODIS Rapid Response Team (http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov)

Full Animation Credits:

Designed by
ESDIS Science Operations Office
Earth Science Data and Information Systems
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
William C. North, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Jennifer Farnham, Global Science and Technology, Inc.
Dr. Fred J. Gunther, Computer Sciences Corporation
Dr. Brian Krupp, Global Science and Technology, Inc.
Rosemarie Slaughter, Computer Sciences Corporation

Produced by
Scientific Visualization Studio
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov

Directed by
Dr. Horace Mitchell, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Lead Animator
Cynthia Starr, Global Science and Technology, Inc.

Contributors
Randall Jones, Global Science and Technology, Inc.
Alex Kekesi, Global Science and Technology, Inc.
Kevin Mahoney, Computer Sciences Corporation
Marte Newcombe, Global Science and Technology, Inc.
Lori Perkins, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Gregory Shirah, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Eric Sokolowsky, Global Science and Technology, Inc.
James W. Williams, Global Science and Technology, Inc.

Written by
Jarrett Cohen, Global Science and Technology, Inc.

Narrated by
Michael Starobin, Honeywell Technology Solutions, Inc.

Edited by
Stuart A. Snodgrass, Global Science and Technology, Inc.

Narration Recorded by
Fred Kemman, Honeywell Technology Solutions, Inc.

Music
"Sarabande - Earth Connection"
by
Robert Hitz, pianist/composer

Fire location data courtesy of the
MODIS Land Rapid Response Project
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
and the
University of Maryland
Chris Justice, University of Maryland
Ed Masuoka, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Louis Giglio, Science Systems and Applications, Inc.
Jacques Descloitres, Science Systems and Applications, Inc.
Robert Sohlberg, University of Maryland
Missy Crisologo, University of Maryland

Blue Marble MODIS data composite courtesy of
MODIS Science Team
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
and the
NASA Earth Observatory
Reto Stockli, Science Systems and Applications, Inc.

Topography data courtesy of
United States Geological Survey

Cloud data courtesy of
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Population data courtesy of
Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center

All other data courtesy of
NASA

NASA EOSDIS and other EOSDIS data distributed by NASA's
Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) Alliance
http://nasadaacs.eos.nasa.gov

Sponsored by
ESDIS Science Operations Office
Earth Science Data and Information Systems
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Vanessa L. Griffin, Manager

This page was originally published on Monday, November 3, 2003.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:56 PM EDT.

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