Earth  ID: 10851

A Look Back at a Decade of Fires

Released on October 20, 2011
For more than a decade, instruments on Terra and Aqua, two of NASA's flagship Earth-observing satellites, have scanned the surface of our planet for fires four times a day. The instruments, both Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS), have revolutionized what scientists know about fire's role in land cover change, ecosystem processes, and the global carbon cycle by allowing researchers to map the characteristics and global distribution of fires in remarkable detail. The collection of videos below provides perspective on how global fires impact humans and our planet.
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Fire observations from around the world taken over nearly 10 years are shown in this visualization of NASA satellite data.

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UC Irvine scientist Jim Randerson talks about how fires influence climate.

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NASA scientist Amber Soja talks about the impact of fire on human health and air quality.

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University of Maryland scientist Chris Justice explains how some fires are essential to maintaining the ecosystem.

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Related

The Geography Of Fire
Global Fire Observations and MODIS NDVI

For More Information

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/fires/main/modis-10.html

Credits

Lori Perkins (NASA/GSFC): Lead Animator
Kayvon Sharghi (USRA): Video Editor
Chris Justice (University of Maryland): Interviewee
Amber Soja (NASA/LaRC): Interviewee
Jim Randerson (University of California, Irvine): Interviewee
Jefferson Beck (USRA): Narrator
Kayvon Sharghi (USRA): Producer
Chris Justice (University of Maryland): Scientist
Louis Giglio (SSAI): Scientist
Luigi Boschetti Ph.D. (University Of Maryland College Park): Scientist
Rob Andreoli (Advocates in Manpower Management, Inc.): Videographer
Kayvon Sharghi (USRA): Writer
Adam P Voiland (Wyle Information Systems): Writer
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10851

Mission:
Terra

Data Used:
Terra and Aqua/MODIS/Fire Location
June 2002 through July 2011
Credit:
Fire location data courtesy of MODIS Rapid Response Project (NASA/GSFC and University of Maryland - http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov)
view all stories where this data set is used
Terra and Aqua/MODIS/Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) also referred to as: NDVI
NASA - June 2002 through July 2011
view all stories where this data set is used
Terra and Aqua/MODIS/Pixel Reliability (value=2) also referred to as: Ice and Snow
Analysis
view all stories where this data set is used
Note: While we identify the data sets used in these visualizations, we do not store any further details nor the data sets themselves on our site.

This item is part of these series:
Fires
Narrated Movies

Goddard TV Tape:
G2011-110 -- NASA.gov Fires Package

Keywords:
SVS >> Fire Management
SVS >> HDTV
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Atmosphere >> Air Quality
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Human Dimensions >> Natural Hazards >> Fires
SVS >> Hyperwall
DLESE >> Narrated
SVS >> Biosphere >> Ecological Dynamics >> Fire Occurrence
NASA Science >> Earth

GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0