Yellowstone Burn Recovery
In this time-lapse video, a series of false-color images collected by USGS-NASA Landsat satellites from 1987 to 2018 show the burning and gradual regeneration of Yellowstone's forests following the 1988 fire season. Watch as burn scars (dark red) quickly replace large expanses of healthy green vegetation (dark green) by 1989. Notice how the scars slowly fade over time as new vegetation begins to grow and heal the landscape.
For complete transcript, click here.
Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.
In the time-lapse video below, a series of false-color images collected by USGS-NASA Landsat satellites from 1987 to 2018 show the burning and gradual regeneration of Yellowstone's forests following the 1988 fire season. Watch as burn scars (dark red) quickly replace large expanses of healthy green vegetation (dark green) by 1989. Notice how the scars slowly fade over time as new vegetation begins to grow and heal the landscape.
Landsat Project Scientist Jeff Masek has been studying the recovery of the forest after the 1988 Yellowstone fires. In the video below, he talks about how Landsat satellites detect the burn scars from space and distinguish them from healthy, un-burned forest and from new growth.
Landsat Project Scientist Jeff Masek has been studying the recovery of the forest after the 1988 Yellowstone fires. In this video, he talks about how Landsat satellites detect the burn scars from space and distinguish them from healthy, un-burned forest and from new growth.
For complete transcript, click here.
Complete transcript available.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight CenterImages used from NASA's Earth Observatory:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WorldOfChange/yellowstone.phpLandsat is a joint program of NASA and USGS:
http://landsat.usgs.gov
http://www.nasa.gov/landsat
Video editor
- Matthew Radcliff (KBRwyle)
Scientist
- Jeffrey Masek (NASA/GSFC)
Interviewee
- Jeffrey Masek (NASA/GSFC)
Producer
- Matthew Radcliff (KBRwyle)
Videographer
- Matthew Radcliff (KBRwyle)
Missions
This visualization is related to the following missions:Series
This visualization can be found in the following series:Tapes
This visualization originally appeared on the following tapes:- None
Related pages
Yellowstone Fire: Then and Now
Nov. 5, 2019, 7 a.m.
Read moreSatellite images reveal a drastic change over the 30 years since the 1988 Yellowstone fires. || Learn how Landsat satellites detect burn scars from space. || False color images taken by Landsat satellites show the gradual regrowth of Yellowstone’s forests from 1987 to 2018. || This Landsat satellite image was taken on August 5, 1987 before the fire occurred. The dark and light greens show healthy forest. || This false color image from August 2, 1989 reveals swaths of burned land, shown in red. || Twenty-two years later, much of the burned areas have faded to tan and new growth is indicated by patches of light green.
Yellowstone's Burn Scars
Nov. 16, 2011, 7 p.m.
Read moreSatellite images show the recovery of Yellowstone National Park following its most intense fire season in history. || New burn scars (dark red) created by less severe fires over the years can be seen in addition to the scars left behind by the 1988 fire season. || NASA Landsat project scientist Jeff Masek talks about the recovery of Yellowstone and how Landsat satellites detect its burn scars from space. || This multi-colored animation shows the different fires that ignited, combined and spread throughout Yellowstone from Jun. 30 to Oct. 2, 1988. || Flames and smoke rise above the treetops in Mirror Plateau in Yellowstone during the 1988 fires. || Astronauts aboard the International Space Station captured this photo of fires burning in Yellowstone National Park on Sep. 24, 2009.