Northern Brazil Land Use Data Over Time
This data visualization begins with a wide view of Northern Brazil. While zooming in a little closer an image of the United States fades in to get the relative size of the region. Next we cycle through over three decades of transformation in the region showing land use change over time. Lastly, we fade in 2019 fire data to indicate how the data will continue to change into the upcoming year.
The Amazon has undergone major transformations throughout the past three decades (1985 - 2018). Working closely with their Brazilian counterparts, NASA scientists have mapped the entire country of Brazil to show different kinds of land use throughout the country. This data is based on the
As part of this research, we look at Northern Brazil and show how land use changed from 1985 to 2018. 2019 fire data is also used to show controlled burns in order to clear cut forest areas for other use.
This data visualization is the same as the one above, except it does not contain the colorbars, dates, or size comparisons. It is intended for editors who want to include their own graphics atop the data visualization.

Color map for the different land use classifications.
Match rendered year overlay for compositing.
Match rendered animation of the United States meant to be superimposed over Brazil as we zoom in to compare sizes. This overlay is meant for post production use only.
- Agricultural Engineering
- Agricultural Expansion
- Agricultural Lands
- Agricultural science
- Agriculture
- Amazonia
- Biology
- Biosphere
- Brazil
- Coastal Processes
- Deforestation
- Earth Science
- Environmental Impacts
- Environmental science
- Forest Composition/Vegetation Structure
- Forest Conservation
- Forest Harvesting and Engineering
- Forest Management
- Forest Science
- Forestry
- Habitat Conversion/fragmentation
- Human Dimensions
- Human geography
- Human Settlements
- Hydrology
- Hydrosphere
- Hyperwall
- Location
- Mangroves
- Oceans
- surface water
- Terrestrial Ecosystems
- Urban Areas
- Urbanization
- Urbanization/urban Sprawl
- Vegetation
- Water Channels
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio
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Data visualizers
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Alex Kekesi
(Global Science and Technology, Inc.)
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Greg Shirah
(NASA/GSFC)
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Alex Kekesi
(Global Science and Technology, Inc.)
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Producer
- Matthew R. Radcliff (USRA)
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Scientist
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Doug C. Morton
(NASA/GSFC)
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Doug C. Morton
(NASA/GSFC)
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Data provider
- Niels Andela (Science Collaborator)
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Technical support
- Laurence Schuler (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
- Ian Jones (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
Datasets used
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Fire Pixels [Suomi NPP: VIIRS]
ID: 1053 -
Biomass Map (MapBiomas)
ID: 1084MapBiomas Project is a multi-institutional initiative to generate annual land cover and use maps using automatic classification processes applied to satellite images.
This dataset can be found at: http://mapbiomas.org
See all pages that use this dataset
Note: While we identify the data sets used on this page, we do not store any further details, nor the data sets themselves on our site.
Release date
This page was originally published on Monday, April 19, 2021.
This page was last updated on Monday, January 13, 2025 at 12:13 AM EST.








![The Amazon is the largest tropical rainforest in the world, nearly as big as the continental United States. But every year, less of that forest is still standing. Today's deforestation across the Amazon frontier is tractors and bulldozers clearing large swaths to make room for industrial-scale cattle ranching and crops. Landsat satellite data is used to map land cover in Brazil with a historical perspective, going back to 1984.Music: Organic Circuit by Richard Birkin [PRS]; Into the Atmosphere by Sam Joseph Delves [PRS]; Ethereal Journey by Noé Bailleux [SACEM]; Wildfires by Magnum Opus [ASCAP]; Letter For Tomorrow by Anthony d’Amario [SACEM].Complete transcript available.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.](/vis/a010000/a013600/a013694/Amazon_clearing_poster.jpg)