NASA MODIS Image of the Day: September 9, 2011 – Fires and smoke in central South America
Fires burned throughout Bolivia in early September 2011.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image on September 2, 2011.
Red outlines indicate areas where MODIS has detected high surface temperatures associated with actively burning fires. In many places, the smoke from these blazes is thick enough to completely hide the land surface below from the satellite sensor’s view. In general, the smoke plumes blow toward the west and northwest. In the upper edge of the image, just to the east of the heaviest smoke, a linear pattern of green stripes and tan land can be seen. This pattern is typical of a logging operation. At higher resolutions, it is clear that the tan land along the eastern side of the smoke is being heavily logged. The green indicates remaining trees, while the tan is deforested land. A large cluster of fires dots the center of the image. In this area, the fires appear to be burning in an area of logging and forest edge. In logging operations, it is common to gather waste and stumps in large piles, then use fire to clear the debris. These fires can escape and burn out of control. In addition, fire is often used to clear land of forest, brush or crop residue. The cleared land may then be used for pasture, agriculture or development.
