Earth  ID: 3872

South American Fire Observations and MODIS NDVI

Visualizations by Lori Perkins Released on October 18, 2011
From space, we can understand fires in ways that are impossible from the ground. NASA research has contributed to much improved detection of fire for scientific purposes using satellite remote sensing and geographic information systems. This visualization of South America shows fire observations made by MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments on board the Terra and Aqua satellites . South America exhibits a steady flickering of fire across much of the Amazon rainforest with peaks of activity in September and November. Almost all of the fires in the Amazon are the direct result of human activity, including slash-and-burn agriculture, because the high moisture levels in the region prevent inhibit natural fires from occurring.

More information on the Fire Information for Resource Management (FIRMS) is available at http://maps.geog.umd.edu/firms/.

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This animation shows fires over MODIS NDVI in South America from July 2002 through July 2011. The still image seen here is from July 15, 2007 where fires scorched more than 3 million acres. Naturally ocurring fires are not uncommon in the drier forests and grasslands of South America, but this type of intense, continent-spanning fire activity is almost certainly a product of human activities.
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Active fires and vegetation index for July 15, 2002.
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Active fires and vegetation index for September 15, 2002.
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Active fires and vegetation index for December 15, 2002.
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Active fires and vegetation index for March 15, 2003.
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Active fires and vegetation index for July 15, 2003.
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Active fires and vegetation index for September 15, 2003.
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Active fires and vegetation index for December 15, 2003.
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Active fires and vegetation index for March 15, 2004.
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Active fires and vegetation index for December 15, 2004.
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Active fires and vegetation index for July 15, 2004.
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Active fires and vegetation index for September 15, 2004.
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Active fires and vegetation index for March 15, 2005.
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Active fires and vegetation index for July 15, 2005.
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Active fires and vegetation index for September 15, 2005.
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Active fires and vegetation index for December 15, 2005.
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Active fires and vegetation index for March 15, 2006.
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Active fires and vegetation index for July 15, 2006.
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Active fires and vegetation index for September 15, 2006.
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Active fires and vegetation index for December 15, 2006.
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Active fires and vegetation index for March 15, 2007.
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Active fires and vegetation index for July 15, 2007.
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Active fires and vegetation index for September 15, 2007.
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Active fires and vegetation index for December 15, 2007.
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Active fires and vegetation index for March 15, 2008.
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Active fires and vegetation index for July 15, 2008.
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Active fires and vegetation index for September 15, 2008.
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Active fires and vegetation index for December 15, 2008.
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Active fires and vegetation index for March 15, 2009.
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Active fires and vegetation index for July 15, 2009.
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Active fires and vegetation index for September 15, 2009.
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Active fires and vegetation index for December 15, 2009.
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Active fires and vegetation index for March 15, 2010.
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Active fires and vegetation index for July 15, 2010.
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Active fires and vegetation index for September 15, 2010.
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Active fires and vegetation index for December 15, 2010.
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Active fires and vegetation index for March 15, 2011.
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Active fires and vegetation index for July 15, 2011.
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Colortable showing MODIS fire pixels. The number colorized is MODIS MCD14ML T21 Brightness temperature minus the T31 Brightness temperature.
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Colortable showing the MODIS MYD13C1 product of composite 16 day Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI).
 

Related

Forecasting South American Fires

Visualization Credits

Lori Perkins (NASA/GSFC): Lead Animator
Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC): Animator
Kayvon Sharghi (USRA): Producer
Chris Justice (University of Maryland): Scientist
Louis Giglio (SSAI): Scientist
Luigi Boschetti Ph.D. (University Of Maryland College Park): Scientist
Adam P Voiland (Wyle Information Systems): Writer
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3872

Mission:
Terra

Data Used:
Terra and Aqua/MODIS/Fire Location
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
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.

Dates of Data Used:
2002/07/01 - 2011/07/30

This item is part of these series:
Fires
Multisensor Fire Observations
NDVI
Agriculture Animations - Fires

Keywords:
DLESE >> Atmospheric science
DLESE >> Forestry
SVS >> HDTV
DLESE >> Natural hazards
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Biosphere >> Ecological Dynamics >> Fire Occurrence
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Human Dimensions >> Natural Hazards >> Fires
SVS >> Hyperwall
SVS >> For Educators
SVS >> Ecosystems
SVS >> Natural Disaster
NASA Science >> Earth
NASA Earth Science Focus Areas >> Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems

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