Earth  ID: 10864

Yellowstone's Burn Scars

Story by Kayvon Sharghi | Visualizations by Eric Sokolowsky Released on November 17, 2011
There is a newer version of this story located here: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11029
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Satellite images show the recovery of Yellowstone National Park following its most intense fire season in history.
A combination of lightning, drought and human activity caused fires to scorch more than one-third of Yellowstone National Park in the summer of 1988. Within a year, burn scars cast a sharp outline on the 793,880 acres affected by fire, distinguishing wide sections of recovering forest, meadows, grasslands and wetlands from unburned areas of the park. After more than two decades, satellite instruments can still detect these scars from space. In the time-lapse video below, a collection of false-color images collected by USGS-NASA Landsat satellites from 1987 to 2011 show the burning and gradual regeneration of Yellowstone 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.
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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.
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NASA Landsat project scientist Jeff Masek talks about the recovery of Yellowstone and how Landsat satellites detect its burn scars from space.
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This multi-colored animation shows the different fires that ignited, combined and spread throughout Yellowstone from Jun. 30 to Oct. 2, 1988.
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Flames and smoke rise above the treetops in Mirror Plateau in Yellowstone during the 1988 fires.
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Astronauts aboard the International Space Station captured this photo of fires burning in Yellowstone National Park on Sep. 24, 2009.
 

Newer Version

Yellowstone Burn Recovery

Related Story

Wildfire Growth around Yellowstone National Park in 1988 (WMS)

For More Information

NASA.gov

Story Credits

Lead Visualizer/Animator:
Eric Sokolowsky (GST)

Visualizers/Animators:
Horace Mitchell (NASA/GSFC)
Steve Maher (NASA/GSFC)
Robert Simmon (Sigma Space Corporation)

Video Editor:
Matthew R. Radcliff (USRA)

Interviewee:
Jeffrey Masek (NASA/GSFC)

Producer:
Matthew R. Radcliff (USRA)

Lead Scientists:
Robert Stevens (USGS)
Jeffrey Masek (NASA/GSFC)

Videographer:
Matthew R. Radcliff (USRA)

Lead Writer:
Kayvon Sharghi (USRA)

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Image of 1988 Mirror Plateau fire courtesy of Jim Peaco, National Park Service
Image of fires burning in Yellowstone National Park on Sept. 24, 2009 courtesy of Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center.

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https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10864

Keywords:
SVS >> App
NASA Science >> Earth