Media Information

 
 
 
collection:
nasa new
mediatype:
image
collection:
nasa
collection:
nasaimageofthedaygal lery
title:
Spring Rains Quench Australian Drought: Image of the Day
description:
While winter approaches the Northern Hemisphere, Australia is welcoming a productive spring growing season. In 2002, drought kept crop production well below average in many parts of the country, but in 2003, much of the country is on track for a record or near-record grain harvest. Satellite images of vegetation greenness are a comprehensive and consistent way to track growing conditions of both natural vegetation and crops. By comparing the ratio of different kinds of energy reflected back to the satellite by the Earth's surface, scientists can tell where there is more or less vegetation: vegetation absorbs most visible wavelengths of light and reflects infrared. Scientists call that comparison the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, or NDVI. This image shows a satellite-based vegetation map comparing September 2003 to September 2002, and is made from data collected by the modis.gsfc.nasa.gov Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite. Deep green values show where vegetation was lusher this year, and brown values show where it was less lush. Large areas of deep green in both the East and the West reveal where this spring's vegetation is rebounding from last year's drought. In fact, according to news reports, Western Australia (left) is expecting a record 14-million-metric-to n grain harvest, while Victoria (southeast) and South Australia (to the west of Victoria) are expecting their second largest harvest on record. Even with most areas benefiting from the end of the drought, pockets of lower-than-last-year vegetation exist near the southeast coast at the border of Victoria and New South Wales (to the north). This is the Australia Capital Territory region around the city of Canberra -- a region that was earthobservatory.nas a.gov/NaturalHazards /natural_hazards_v2. php3?img_id=5639 devastated by wildfires in early 2003.
subject:
What -- Terra
subject:
Where -- Victoria
subject:
Where -- Australia
subject:
Where -- Canberra
what:
Terra
where:
Victoria
where:
Australia
where:
Canberra
identifier:
aust_ndvianom_0302
uploader:
gwilliam@archive.org
addeddate:
2011-06-30 23:28:59
publicdate:
2011-06-30 23:28:59
creator:
NASA -- Image by Reto Stockli, NASA Earth Observatory, based on data provided by the modis-land.gsfc.nasa .gov/ MODIS Land Science Team at NASA GSFC
ImageUID:
file:/home/lunaadmin /Source_download/201 106/1/aust_ndvianom_ 0302/aust_ndvianom_0 302_lrg.jpg
filename:
aust_ndvianom_0302_l rg.jpg
date:
2003
rights:
Public Domain
source:
year:
2003

Spring Rains Quench Australian Drought: Image of the Day