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National Map Showing Habitat …
Title National Map Showing Habitat Suitability for Tamarisk Invasion
Abstract The spread of invasive species is one of the most daunting environmental, economic, and human-health problems facing the United States and the World today. It is one of several grand challenge environmental problems being addressed by NASA's Science Mission Directorate through a national application partnership with the US Geological Survey. NASA and USGS are working together to develop a National Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS) for the management and control of invasive species on Department of Interior and adjacent lands. The system provides a framework for using USGS's early detection and monitoring protocols and predictive models to process MODIS, ETM+, ASTER and commercial remote sensing data, to create on-demand, regional-scale assessments of invasive species likely habitats. Recent work on the Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS) project has shown the importance of remotely-sensed time-series data in geostatistical models for mapping the distribution of Tamarisk and other invasive plant species. This video shows the habitat suitability for a Tamarisk invasion in the continental United States. Red indicates areas that are highly suitable and yellow indicates areas which are less suitable. Texas, New Mexico, and Nevada are the most highly suitable states. Utah and Arizona have the next greatest risk. California, Arizona, Montana, Colorado, Oregon, Ohio, Wyoming, and Florida also have a significant risk.
Completed 2005-10-18
National Map Showing Habitat …
Title National Map Showing Habitat Suitability for Tamarisk Invasion
Abstract The spread of invasive species is one of the most daunting environmental, economic, and human-health problems facing the United States and the World today. It is one of several grand challenge environmental problems being addressed by NASA's Science Mission Directorate through a national application partnership with the US Geological Survey. NASA and USGS are working together to develop a National Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS) for the management and control of invasive species on Department of Interior and adjacent lands. The system provides a framework for using USGS's early detection and monitoring protocols and predictive models to process MODIS, ETM+, ASTER and commercial remote sensing data, to create on-demand, regional-scale assessments of invasive species likely habitats. Recent work on the Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS) project has shown the importance of remotely-sensed time-series data in geostatistical models for mapping the distribution of Tamarisk and other invasive plant species. This video shows the habitat suitability for a Tamarisk invasion in the continental United States. Red indicates areas that are highly suitable and yellow indicates areas which are less suitable. Texas, New Mexico, and Nevada are the most highly suitable states. Utah and Arizona have the next greatest risk. California, Arizona, Montana, Colorado, Oregon, Ohio, Wyoming, and Florida also have a significant risk.
Completed 2005-10-18
National Map Showing Habitat …
Title National Map Showing Habitat Suitability for Tamarisk Invasion
Abstract The spread of invasive species is one of the most daunting environmental, economic, and human-health problems facing the United States and the World today. It is one of several grand challenge environmental problems being addressed by NASA's Science Mission Directorate through a national application partnership with the US Geological Survey. NASA and USGS are working together to develop a National Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS) for the management and control of invasive species on Department of Interior and adjacent lands. The system provides a framework for using USGS's early detection and monitoring protocols and predictive models to process MODIS, ETM+, ASTER and commercial remote sensing data, to create on-demand, regional-scale assessments of invasive species likely habitats. Recent work on the Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS) project has shown the importance of remotely-sensed time-series data in geostatistical models for mapping the distribution of Tamarisk and other invasive plant species. This video shows the habitat suitability for a Tamarisk invasion in the continental United States. Red indicates areas that are highly suitable and yellow indicates areas which are less suitable. Texas, New Mexico, and Nevada are the most highly suitable states. Utah and Arizona have the next greatest risk. California, Arizona, Montana, Colorado, Oregon, Ohio, Wyoming, and Florida also have a significant risk.
Completed 2005-10-18
National Map Showing Habitat …
Title National Map Showing Habitat Suitability for Tamarisk Invasion
Abstract The spread of invasive species is one of the most daunting environmental, economic, and human-health problems facing the United States and the World today. It is one of several grand challenge environmental problems being addressed by NASA's Science Mission Directorate through a national application partnership with the US Geological Survey. NASA and USGS are working together to develop a National Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS) for the management and control of invasive species on Department of Interior and adjacent lands. The system provides a framework for using USGS's early detection and monitoring protocols and predictive models to process MODIS, ETM+, ASTER and commercial remote sensing data, to create on-demand, regional-scale assessments of invasive species likely habitats. Recent work on the Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS) project has shown the importance of remotely-sensed time-series data in geostatistical models for mapping the distribution of Tamarisk and other invasive plant species. This video shows the habitat suitability for a Tamarisk invasion in the continental United States. Red indicates areas that are highly suitable and yellow indicates areas which are less suitable. Texas, New Mexico, and Nevada are the most highly suitable states. Utah and Arizona have the next greatest risk. California, Arizona, Montana, Colorado, Oregon, Ohio, Wyoming, and Florida also have a significant risk.
Completed 2005-10-18
National Map Showing Habitat …
Title National Map Showing Habitat Suitability for Tamarisk Invasion
Abstract The spread of invasive species is one of the most daunting environmental, economic, and human-health problems facing the United States and the World today. It is one of several grand challenge environmental problems being addressed by NASA's Science Mission Directorate through a national application partnership with the US Geological Survey. NASA and USGS are working together to develop a National Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS) for the management and control of invasive species on Department of Interior and adjacent lands. The system provides a framework for using USGS's early detection and monitoring protocols and predictive models to process MODIS, ETM+, ASTER and commercial remote sensing data, to create on-demand, regional-scale assessments of invasive species likely habitats. Recent work on the Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS) project has shown the importance of remotely-sensed time-series data in geostatistical models for mapping the distribution of Tamarisk and other invasive plant species. This video shows the habitat suitability for a Tamarisk invasion in the continental United States. Red indicates areas that are highly suitable and yellow indicates areas which are less suitable. Texas, New Mexico, and Nevada are the most highly suitable states. Utah and Arizona have the next greatest risk. California, Arizona, Montana, Colorado, Oregon, Ohio, Wyoming, and Florida also have a significant risk.
Completed 2005-10-18
Day Fire in Southern Califor …
Title Day Fire in Southern California
Description A shift in the winds affecting the Day Fire [ http://www.inciweb.org/incident/475/ ] northwest of Los Angeles swept smoke to the northeast on September 19, 2006. On the previous day, winds had pushed a thick plume of smoke westward over the Pacific Ocean. This pair of images of the fire on September 19 was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite. The natural-color image at top is similar to a digital photo, and uses only visible light. The image at bottom has been enhanced with MODIS' observations of shortwave- and near-infrared light to make the burned areas (deep red) stand out from unburned vegetation (green). In both images the actively burning parts of the fire are outlined in red. In the false-color image, bright pink glows within the fire perimeters are probably areas of open flame. According to the September 20 report from the National Interagency Fire Center, [ http://www.nifc.gov/information.html ] the Day Fire was 93,339 acres and 20 percent contained. Parts of the Angeles and Los Padres National Forests were closed, and evacuations and road closures in the area continued. The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides daily images of the entire western United States at additional resolutions. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA5 ] NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center
Hurricane Henriette
Title Hurricane Henriette
Description Only the third hurricane of the relatively quiet 2007 eastern Pacific hurricane season, Hurricane Henriette was also the first hurricane of the season to make landfall. Henriette skimmed up the Mexican coastline as it developed between August 30 and September 4, 2007. The National Hurricane Center [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ ] predicted that the storm would come ashore over Baja California on September 4 as a strengthening Category 1 hurricane before traveling north through Mexico and into the United States. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image of Henriette at 2:10 p.m. local time (21:10 UTC) on September 3. At that time Henriette was still a tropical storm with sustained winds of 110 kilometers per hour (70 miles per hour). Though not as powerful as Hurricane Felix, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14483 ] which was pounding Central America from the Caribbean, Henriette had caused at least six deaths in Mexico before coming ashore. The outer bands of the storm inundated Acapulco with heavy rain that caused deadly flooding and landslides, reported the Associated Press on September 4. You can download a 250-meter-resolution KMZ file of Hurricane Henriette [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Sep2007/henriette_amo_2007246.kmz ] suitable for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/ ] NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team.
Hurricane Paul
Title Hurricane Paul
Description Hurricane Paul formed on October 21, 2006, in the eastern Pacific near the coast of Mexico. It grew quickly to hurricane strength as it spun off the coast near Baja California for the next several days. The sixteenth named storm of the Pacific storm season, Paul remained offshore as of October 24, though residents of southern Baja California were eyeing it warily for signs it might shift and come ashore there. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on October 23, 2006, at 12:30 p.m. local time (20:30 UTC). Paul at the time of this image was a small, well-defined swirl. However, cloud patterns over a wide area appear to be under the storm's influence, with clouds reaching as far as southern Baja. Winds around the center of Hurricane Paul were whipping around at 160 kilometers per hour (100 miles per hour), according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center. [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/ ] In 2005, the record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season was the focus of attention, with the number of named storms exhausting the letters of the alphabet. But as of late October 2006, the hurricane activity in the eastern Pacific Ocean was outpacing the Atlantic: 16 named storms (9 of them hurricanes) versus 9 named storms (5 of them hurricanes). On average, the eastern Pacific Ocean experiences more tropical storms and hurricanes than the Atlantic Basin, 16.4 compared to 10.1. Powerful hurricanes in the eastern Pacific rarely make landfall in the western United States. Persistent easterly winds not only tend to steer storms away from the coast, but they also "shove" the ocean's surface water westward, away from the coast, allowing cool water to well up to replace it. The cool water weakens any storms that do approach the coast. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team.
Fires Across the United Stat …
Title Fires Across the United States
Description This expansive image of the United States was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS) on NASA?s Terra and Aqua satellites. The left hand portion of the image comes from Aqua MODIS observations captured on the afternoon of October 22, 2003, while the right hand part of the image is from Terra MODIS observations captured a few hours earlier. Several geographic regions are experiencing fires, which were detected by the sensors and are marked with red dots. At upper left, fires are still burning across the Northern Rockies, the highest concentration is in Idaho, with additional fires in Montana to its east, and southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon, to the west. In the Southwest, fires are burning in southern California near Los Angeles (gray patch right at edge of image to the north of the Baja Peninsula), as well as in the arc of mountains running through Arizona. At top center, fires are scattered across the northern Great Plains, from North Dakota and across the United States? border into Canada. Far to the south, dozens more fires are burning in the Mississippi River Valley in Mississippi (against right edge), Louisiana (to the west) and Arkansas (north of Louisiana). The high-resolution image provided above is 2 kilometers per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at MODIS? maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Fires Across the United Stat …
Title Fires Across the United States
Description This expansive image of the United States was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS) on NASA?s Terra and Aqua satellites. The left hand portion of the image comes from Aqua MODIS observations captured on the afternoon of October 22, 2003, while the right hand part of the image is from Terra MODIS observations captured a few hours earlier. Several geographic regions are experiencing fires, which were detected by the sensors and are marked with red dots. At upper left, fires are still burning across the Northern Rockies, the highest concentration is in Idaho, with additional fires in Montana to its east, and southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon, to the west. In the Southwest, fires are burning in southern California near Los Angeles (gray patch right at edge of image to the north of the Baja Peninsula), as well as in the arc of mountains running through Arizona. At top center, fires are scattered across the northern Great Plains, from North Dakota and across the United States? border into Canada. Far to the south, dozens more fires are burning in the Mississippi River Valley in Mississippi (against right edge), Louisiana (to the west) and Arkansas (north of Louisiana). The high-resolution image provided above is 2 kilometers per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at MODIS? maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Fires in Northern California
Title Fires in Northern California
Description Several large wildfires were burning in Northern California on August 1, 2006, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite passed overhead and captured this image. Places where MODIS detected actively burning fire are outlined in red. Smoke hangs over the forested mountains. Firefighters in the area had their hands full with numerous blazes that were threatening residences, communications infrastructure, old growth forest, wildlife habitat, and cultural resources. According to reports form the National Interagency Fire Center on August 2, 2006, the 3,450-acre Orleans Complex Fire was threatening a municipal water supply. Challenges at the 6,450-acre Uncles Fire included steep terrain, limited access roads, and poor visibility from smoke that was lingering near the ground. The 4,805-acre Hunter Fire was threatening spotted owl habitat and fisheries. The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides daily images of this area at additional resolutions. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA1 ] Additional information on fires in the United States is available from the National Interagency Fire Center. [ http://nifc.gov/information.html ] NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center
Fires in Northern California
Title Fires in Northern California
Description In the Klamath Mountains of northern California, two fire complexes were billowing thick smoke on August 15, 2006, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite passed overhead and captured this image. Places where MODIS detected actively burning fire are outlined in red, and gray-white smoke spreads eastward. Both the Orleans and Bar Fires are complexes made of several individual blazes. According to the National Interagency Fire Center [ http://www.nifc.gov/information.html ] report from August 16, the total estimated area for the Orleans Complex Fire was 11,000 acres. The estimated area for the Bar Complex was 15,160 acres. The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides twice-daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA1/ ] of the entire western United States at additional resolutions. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center
Fires in Northern California
Title Fires in Northern California
Description In the mountains of northern California, several fires that began in July 2006 continued to burn at the end of August. This image of the region around the junction of the Klamath and Trinity Rivers shows the Uncles Complex Fire and the Bar Complex Fire on August 30, 2006. The image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite. Places where the sensor detected actively burning fire are outlined in red. Plumes of gray smoke drift southward. According to the daily report from the National Interagency Fire Center [ http://www.nifc.gov/information.html ] on August 31, the Bar Complex continued to threaten residences and historic mining sites, it was about 26,000 acres and 62 percent contained. The Uncles Complex was burning in old growth timber and threatening cabins, the blaze was about 17,000 acres and 35 percent contained. This image has a spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The large image shows a wider area at the same resolution. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides images of the entire western United States at additional resolutions. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA1 ] NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center
Fires in Northern California
Title Fires in Northern California
Description Strong winds fueled the Bar Complex Fire in Northern California on September 13, 2006. The fire started as two separate fires on July 24, 2006, when lightning struck the ground in Shasta Trinity National Forest. By September 13, the fires (known jointly as the Bar Complex) had burned 50,826 acres and were 49 percent contained at a cost of 32.3 million dollars, said the National Interagency Fire Center's Incident Report. [ http://www.inciweb.org/incident/357/ ] The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this photo-like image of the fires at 2:25 p.m., local time, on September 13. Dense smoke is blowing east of the fires (outlined in red) on strong winds. The Bar Complex Fire forms a long wall through the dark green, forest-covered Klamath Mountains. To its north burns the smaller Uncles Complex Fire, which was threatening historical structures and cultural resources, said the National Interagency Fire Center. [ http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/nfn.html ] East of both fires is the snow-capped Mt. Shasta, one of the largest volcanoes in the Cascade Range. Fire activity was high throughout the western United States on September 13. Numerous large fires can be seen in the large image, which is provided at MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. Daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA1 ] of the region are provided by the MODIS Rapid Response Team. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC.
Fires in Northern Mexico
Title Fires in Northern Mexico
Description Thick plumes of smoke wafted west over the Pacific Ocean on powerful winds on November 19, 2005. The smoke was pouring from wildfires, marked with red boxes, burning just south of Tijuana, Mexico. Fire is a natural part of the ecosystem in the shrub lands of northern Baja California, particularly in the fall, when hot, dry Santa Ana winds blow from the east. The winds sweep dry air from the Sonora Desert of northern Mexico, Arizona, and New Mexico out over the Pacific Ocean. The winds dry out plants, making them more prone to wildfire. Once a fire starts, the fast-blowing winds can easily fan the flames into an uncontrollable wildfire. In Baja California, such fires are often allowed to burn themselves out. To the north, in the United States, state and federal land management agencies control fires near populated areas more aggressively, stamping out the fires as quickly as possible. However, such tight control may eventually result in larger fires because dead wood, weeds, other fuels accumulate between infrequent burnings. The Santa Ana winds were blowing strongly on November 19, 2005, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite acquired this image. The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for Southern California, warning of warm, windy weather that would allow small fires to explode out of control quickly. On November 18, Santa Ana winds gusting past 50 miles per hour drove a rapid-growing fire [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13260 ] in the mountains around Ventura, California. It is likely that similar conditions fueled the fires just south of the border as well. The large image provided above is at MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The image is available in additional resolutions from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. The team also provides daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA5 ] of the region. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC
Fires in the Western United …
Title Fires in the Western United States
Description The western United States was wilting under widespread hot temperatures in late July 2006. In blazing heat, firefighters were working to contain numerous wildfires in several Western states, including Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, and Idaho. This image of the area was captured on July 27 by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite. Places where MODIS detected actively burning fires are marked in red. Four of the largest blazes (as of July 28) have been labeled: the 12,000-acre Tripod Fire in Washington, the 28,958-acre Foster Gulch Complex near the Oregon-Idaho state line, the 4,550-acre Sage Fire in California, and the 30,000-acre Winters Fire in northern Nevada. For more information on fires in the United States, visit the National Interagency Fire Center [ http://www.nifc.gov/information.html ] Website. The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions, including MODIS' maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center
Fires in the Western United …
Title Fires in the Western United States
Description Clear skies over most of the western United States on the afternoon of September 6, 2006, revealed numerous large fires burning in several states. This image of the area from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite shows places where the sensor detected actively burning fires marked in red. Numerous fires were burning in the mountains of north-central Washington, including the Tripod Complex Fire, which had grown to nearly 165,000 acres, according to the September 7 report from the National Interagency Fire Center. [ http://www.nifc.gov/nicc ] In the state's southeastern corner, another large fire, the Columbia Complex, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13804 ] had grown to just over 96,000 acres. In northern Nevada, a season of heightened fire activity [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13786 ] continued with the Sheep Fire, which was over 129,000 acres as of September 7. (To the northeast, clouds hide the 80,000-acre Amazon Fire, which was visible in the previous day's [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13837 ] image.) Meanwhile, a line of fires stretches across the mountains of northern California. The Pigeon Fire and the Bar Complex were both burning in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. The Pigeon Fire was smaller—5,300 acres—but extremely active, forcing evacuations and road closures. The Bar Complex was nearly 33,000 acres and threatening structures and watersheds. Previous images of these fires are also available in the Fires in Northern California [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13825 ] event. The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA1 ] of the area in a variety of resolutions and formats, including an infrared-enhanced version that highlights burned areas. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center.
Fires North of Russia's Lake …
Title Fires North of Russia's Lake Baikal
Description Forest fires were burning across a broad swath of the Central Siberian Plateau on July 24, 2006, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite passed overhead and captured this image. Places where the sensor detected actively burning fires are marked in red. A shroud of smoke spreads over thousands of square kilometers of Russia. In the center of the image, the smoke has a brownish tinge. The city of Ust'-Ilimsk, normally visible as a tan spot along the Angara River, is completely hidden by smoke. The scene spans the plateau from Russia's Irkutsk region in the south to the Arctic Ocean in the north. Lake Baikal would be just outside the lower right corner of the scene. This comparison might be helpful in understanding the scale of the event: if the above image covered the United States, the scene would stretch from California to the New Mexico-Texas state line, and it would reach more than a hundred miles both north and south of the borders of the United States. The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2006205-0724/Russia.A2006205.0610 ] at additional resolutions. NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center.
Winter Storms Lash the Weste …
Title Winter Storms Lash the Western United States
Description Between late December 2004 and mid-January 2005, many places in the U.S. West received snowfall daily. The area around Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, for example, received snow every day from December 24 through January 11, and had accumulations around 19 feet. The rapid accumulation of such large amounts of snow increases avalanche risk, and land managers at ski resorts and state and national parks have been busy assessing snow pack stability and setting off explosives at avalanche- prone locations to release snow and to test the stability of the snow layers. This pair of images uses visible and short-wave infrared observations form the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors on NASA?s Terra and Aqua satellites to show the widespread snow cover in California, Nevada, and Utah on January 12, 2005 (top), compared to December 23, 2004 (bottom). Snow appears bright blue, water appears deep blue, vegetation appears bright green, and clouds appear white. In addition to the widespread blanket of snow stretching all the way across the January 12 image, a few areas of standing water appear more clearly than in the December image. Water on the ground increased in the northern end of the California Central Valley, as well as in the salt pans to the west-southwest of the Great Salt Lake. The high-resolution image provided above is the January 12 image at a spatial resolution of 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides both images at additional resolutions and color combinations: January 12, 2005, and December 23, 2004. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA1/2004358 ] Image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center
Winter Storms Lash the Weste …
Title Winter Storms Lash the Western United States
Description Heavy snow covered most of the western United States on January 12, 2005, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA?s Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image. Much of the snow has fallen in a series of storms that started at the end of December. Between December 27 and January 3, 12 to 14 feet (3.7 to 4.3 meters) of snow fell on the Sierra Nevada around Lake Tahoe, and additional snow has fallen since that time. Heavy snow has also fallen on the mountains of Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. As this image shows, the snow is not confined to the mountains. The valleys are also draped in white. Tucked between two mountain ranges, Cache Valley in northern Utah received up to 20 inches (0.51 m) of snow between January 8 and January 12?enough snow to cause trees and power lines to topple and roofs to bow. Not all of the white seen in the true-color image (top) can be attributed to snow. Clouds also cover parts of the region. The false-color image helps distinguish between cloud and snow. Created using visible and infrared wavelengths of energy, the image shows snow and ice as a turquoise blue and warmer water clouds as white. High ice clouds, such as those covering southwestern Colorado, are also turquoise. Vegetation is bright green, and water is dark blue and black. Because water stands out more clearly in the false-color image, floods are also visible. In this image, water has accumulated on the Bonneville Salt Flats west of the Great Salt Lake in northern Utah. Formerly part of a massive lake bed, the Salt Flats consist of a broad, flat plain that is crusted with a deposit of salty minerals and devoid of vegetation. Winter precipitation typically covers the plain with a light layer of water that evaporates in the spring and summer. The ground is bare in the southwest, where the precipitation has fallen as rain. Devastating floods have raged along the rivers of southwestern Utah, northwestern Arizona, and southeastern Nevada, destroying bridges, roads, and homes. In southern California, the rain has triggered widespread floods and a deadly mudslide. Destructive though the floods may be, they are not clearly visible in this image. Despite the problems the storms have caused, the snowfall is a boon to the parched west, where a prolonged drought has drained reservoirs over the past four years. In the western United States, as in many semi-arid regions, the water supply depends on snow melt flowing down from the mountains during the summer. Currently, the snowpack water content (the amount of water stored in mountain snow) is 150 percent of normal in much of the Southwest, reports a scientist from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center. [ http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2005/s2364.htm ], The snow could start to relieve the drought as long as a warm spring does not melt the snow too early. NASA image courtesy MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. The images are available in additional resolutions [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/mosaic.php?USA.2005012.aqua.721.4km ].
Winter Storms Lash the Weste …
Title Winter Storms Lash the Western United States
Description Heavy snow covered most of the western United States on January 12, 2005, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA?s Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image. Much of the snow has fallen in a series of storms that started at the end of December. Between December 27 and January 3, 12 to 14 feet (3.7 to 4.3 meters) of snow fell on the Sierra Nevada around Lake Tahoe, and additional snow has fallen since that time. Heavy snow has also fallen on the mountains of Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. As this image shows, the snow is not confined to the mountains. The valleys are also draped in white. Tucked between two mountain ranges, Cache Valley in northern Utah received up to 20 inches (0.51 m) of snow between January 8 and January 12?enough snow to cause trees and power lines to topple and roofs to bow. Not all of the white seen in the true-color image (top) can be attributed to snow. Clouds also cover parts of the region. The false-color image helps distinguish between cloud and snow. Created using visible and infrared wavelengths of energy, the image shows snow and ice as a turquoise blue and warmer water clouds as white. High ice clouds, such as those covering southwestern Colorado, are also turquoise. Vegetation is bright green, and water is dark blue and black. Because water stands out more clearly in the false-color image, floods are also visible. In this image, water has accumulated on the Bonneville Salt Flats west of the Great Salt Lake in northern Utah. Formerly part of a massive lake bed, the Salt Flats consist of a broad, flat plain that is crusted with a deposit of salty minerals and devoid of vegetation. Winter precipitation typically covers the plain with a light layer of water that evaporates in the spring and summer. The ground is bare in the southwest, where the precipitation has fallen as rain. Devastating floods have raged along the rivers of southwestern Utah, northwestern Arizona, and southeastern Nevada, destroying bridges, roads, and homes. In southern California, the rain has triggered widespread floods and a deadly mudslide. Destructive though the floods may be, they are not clearly visible in this image. Despite the problems the storms have caused, the snowfall is a boon to the parched west, where a prolonged drought has drained reservoirs over the past four years. In the western United States, as in many semi-arid regions, the water supply depends on snow melt flowing down from the mountains during the summer. Currently, the snowpack water content (the amount of water stored in mountain snow) is 150 percent of normal in much of the Southwest, reports a scientist from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center. [ http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2005/s2364.htm ], The snow could start to relieve the drought as long as a warm spring does not melt the snow too early. NASA image courtesy MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. The images are available in additional resolutions [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/mosaic.php?USA.2005012.aqua.721.4km ].
Day Fire in Southern Califor …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
A shift in the winds affecti …
Day_fire_AMO_2006262
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2006-09-19
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier Day_fire_AMO_2006262
Green-up in California Burne …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
In late October 2007, a eart …
ge_08792
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date ? 10/28/2007
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier ge_08792
Green-up in California Burne …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
In late October 2007, a eart …
ge_08792
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date ? 10/28/2007
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier ge_08792
Green-up in California Burne …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
In late October 2007, a eart …
ge_08792
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date ? 10/28/2007
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier ge_08792
Green-up in California Burne …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
In late October 2007, a eart …
ge_08792
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date ? 10/28/2007
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier ge_08792
Green-up in California Burne …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
In late October 2007, a eart …
ge_08792
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date ? 10/28/2007
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier ge_08792
Green-up in California Burne …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
In late October 2007, a eart …
ge_08792
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date ? 10/28/2007
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier ge_08792
Green-up in California Burne …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
In late October 2007, a eart …
ge_08792
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date ? 10/28/2007
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier ge_08792
Fires in Northern California …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Strong winds fueled the Bar …
BarComplex_AMO_2006256
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2006-09-13
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier BarComplex_AMO_2006256
Fires North of Russia's Lake …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Forest fires were burning ac …
Russia.AMO2006205
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2006-07-24
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier Russia.AMO2006205
Fires in Northern California …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
In the Klamath Mountains of …
USA1_AMO_2006227
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2006-08-15
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier USA1_AMO_2006227
Fires in Northern California …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
In the mountains of northern …
USA1_AMO_2006242
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2006-08-30
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier USA1_AMO_2006242
Fires Across the United Stat …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
This expansive image of the …
UnitedStates.A2003295
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2003-10-22
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier UnitedStates.A2003295
Fires Across the United Stat …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
This expansive image of the …
UnitedStates.A2003295
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2003-10-22
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier UnitedStates.A2003295
Winter Storms Lash the Weste …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Between late December 2004 a …
ca_snow.TMOA2005012
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2005-01-12
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier ca_snow.TMOA2005012
Fires in the Western United …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
The western United States wa …
West_fires.AMO2006208
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2006-07-27
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier West_fires.AMO2006208
Fires in Northern Mexico: Na …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Thick plumes of smoke wafted …
Mexico_AMO_2005323
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2005-11-19
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier Mexico_AMO_2005323
NASA Launches Aura Satellite …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima …
Aura_launch
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2004-07-15
creator NASA -- NASA images and animations of Aura satellite by Jesse Allen and Reto Stöckli, Earth Observatory. Photo of Delta II rocket courtesy Boeing/Thom Baur.
identifier Aura_launch
Fires in Northern California …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Several large wildfires were …
USA1_AMO_2006213
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2006-08-01
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier USA1_AMO_2006213
Fires in the Western United …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Clear skies over most of the …
USA1_AMO_2006249
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2006-09-06
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier USA1_AMO_2006249
AIRS Storm Front Approaching …
PIA07938
Sol (our sun)
Atmospheric Infrared Sounder …
Title AIRS Storm Front Approaching California (animation)
Original Caption Released with Image Click on the image for the AIRS Storm Front Approaching California Animation NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder instrument is able to peel back cloud cover to reveal 3-D structure of a storm's water vapor content, information that can be used to improve weather forecast models. In this animation the initial visible cloud image series shows a front moving toward the West Coast of the United States as a low pressure area moves into the Pacific Northwest. The "Pineapple Express," a stream of moisture that originates in the tropics South of Hawaii and usually crosses Mexico to enter New Mexico and Texas, has shifted Westward and is also visible moving into Baja California. The area preceding the front appears to be relatively clear in the visible images. As the view shifts from the visible to the infrared wavelengths which highlight water vapor, we see both cloud areas contain heavy burdens of moisture. The area which appears clear in the visible images is seen to contain water vapor near the coastline as well. The viewpoint then rotates so that we can see the vertical cross section of the fronts. The variability of the vertical extent of water vapor and the amount is now clearly visible. The storm moving in from the Gulf of Alaska is more heavily laden with water vapor than that moving in from the Southwest. The moisture is concentrated in the lower atmosphere. The colors indicate the amount of water vapor present. Blue areas denote low water vapor content, green areas are medium water vapor content, red areas signify high water vapor content. The vertical grid for the final frame ranges from 250 millibar pressure at the top to 1000 millibar pressure at the bottom. The top is about 10 km (6.2 miles) above the surface of the Earth. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder Experiment, with its visible, infrared, and microwave detectors, provides a three-dimensional look at Earth's weather. Working in tandem, the three instruments can make simultaneous observations all the way down to the Earth's surface, even in the presence of heavy clouds. With more than 2,000 channels sensing different regions of the atmosphere, the system creates a global, 3-D map of atmospheric temperature and humidity and provides information on clouds, greenhouse gases, and many other atmospheric phenomena. The AIRS Infrared Sounder Experiment flies onboard NASA's Aqua spacecraft and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., under contract to NASA. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
Flooding Resulting From Hurr …
PIA00365
Sol (our sun)
Atmospheric Infrared Sounder …
Title Flooding Resulting From Hurricane Isidore, Comparing Data from September 12 and 28, 2002
Original Caption Released with Image Extent of Flooding due to Hurricane Isidore revealed in images from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounding System (AIRS) on Aqua Tropical Storm Isidore was born in mid-September north of Venezuela. It subsequently hit Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 3 hurricane and came ashore near New Orleans on September 26th packing winds just below hurricane strength. Around the time of September 27, the storm was downgraded to a tropical depression as the system moved into Tennessee. At the time the Aqua spacecraft first passed over Isidore, it was classified as a Category 3 (possibly 4) hurricane, with minimum pressure of 934 mbar, maximum sustained wind speeds of 110 knots (gusting to 135) and an eye diameter of 20 nautical miles. Isidore was later downgraded to a Tropical Storm and then a Tropical Depression as it lost energy. Figures 1 and 2, two images from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites show no significant weather systems over the southeastern United States on September 12 and September 28 (16 days apart). However, the microwave component of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder Experiment on NASA's Aqua spacecraft shows a striking difference. The difference in the two microwave images (figures 3 and 4) from the AIRS Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit is primarily due to flooding after Tropical Storm Isidore. Water has a very low surface emissivity at this frequency, and that causes surface water to appear very cold (even though it is not). Land appears relatively warm (well above freezing - 273 K, even at night as seen is these images), but if there is standing water, the apparent temperature drops precipitously. Figure 4, taken just about a day after the remnants of Isidore passed over the southeast, shows heavy flooding along the Mississippi, especially in the states of Mississippi and Tennessee, but other states are also affected. The spatial resolution of the AMSU-A instrument is relatively large (each measurement spot is about 25 miles in diameter at the center of the swath), but the enormous thermal contrast in the microwave between land and water makes even small flooded areas stand out., Figure 5: Difference image, 9/12 and 9/28) The Aqua spacecraft has an exact 16-day repeat cycle, that is why the pre-Isidore image is 16 days prior to the post-Isidore image. They have exactly the same coverage, which makes it possible to obtain a difference image (figure 5). The difference image is the difference between the September 28 and September 12 images shown. In the difference image, white indicates no difference at all, green is very little difference, blue/purple indicates primarily heavy flooding. Red indicates warming likely due to warmer weather. (The straight lines on the right and left edges of the difference image are caused by slight differences between the two repeat passes of Aqua). The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder Experiment, with its visible, infrared, and microwave detectors, provides a three-dimensional look at Earth's weather. Working in tandem, the three instruments can make simultaneous observations all the way down to the Earth's surface, even in the presence of heavy clouds. With more than 2,000 channels sensing different regions of the atmosphere, the system creates a global, 3-D map of atmospheric temperature and humidity and provides information on clouds, greenhouse gases, and many other atmospheric phenomena. The AIRS Infrared Sounder Experiment flies onboard NASA's Aqua spacecraft and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., under contract to NASA. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
Flooding Resulting From Hurr …
PIA00365
Sol (our sun)
Atmospheric Infrared Sounder …
Title Flooding Resulting From Hurricane Isidore, Comparing Data from September 12 and 28, 2002
Original Caption Released with Image Extent of Flooding due to Hurricane Isidore revealed in images from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounding System (AIRS) on Aqua Tropical Storm Isidore was born in mid-September north of Venezuela. It subsequently hit Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 3 hurricane and came ashore near New Orleans on September 26th packing winds just below hurricane strength. Around the time of September 27, the storm was downgraded to a tropical depression as the system moved into Tennessee. At the time the Aqua spacecraft first passed over Isidore, it was classified as a Category 3 (possibly 4) hurricane, with minimum pressure of 934 mbar, maximum sustained wind speeds of 110 knots (gusting to 135) and an eye diameter of 20 nautical miles. Isidore was later downgraded to a Tropical Storm and then a Tropical Depression as it lost energy. Figures 1 and 2, two images from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites show no significant weather systems over the southeastern United States on September 12 and September 28 (16 days apart). However, the microwave component of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder Experiment on NASA's Aqua spacecraft shows a striking difference. The difference in the two microwave images (figures 3 and 4) from the AIRS Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit is primarily due to flooding after Tropical Storm Isidore. Water has a very low surface emissivity at this frequency, and that causes surface water to appear very cold (even though it is not). Land appears relatively warm (well above freezing - 273 K, even at night as seen is these images), but if there is standing water, the apparent temperature drops precipitously. Figure 4, taken just about a day after the remnants of Isidore passed over the southeast, shows heavy flooding along the Mississippi, especially in the states of Mississippi and Tennessee, but other states are also affected. The spatial resolution of the AMSU-A instrument is relatively large (each measurement spot is about 25 miles in diameter at the center of the swath), but the enormous thermal contrast in the microwave between land and water makes even small flooded areas stand out., Figure 5: Difference image, 9/12 and 9/28) The Aqua spacecraft has an exact 16-day repeat cycle, that is why the pre-Isidore image is 16 days prior to the post-Isidore image. They have exactly the same coverage, which makes it possible to obtain a difference image (figure 5). The difference image is the difference between the September 28 and September 12 images shown. In the difference image, white indicates no difference at all, green is very little difference, blue/purple indicates primarily heavy flooding. Red indicates warming likely due to warmer weather. (The straight lines on the right and left edges of the difference image are caused by slight differences between the two repeat passes of Aqua). The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder Experiment, with its visible, infrared, and microwave detectors, provides a three-dimensional look at Earth's weather. Working in tandem, the three instruments can make simultaneous observations all the way down to the Earth's surface, even in the presence of heavy clouds. With more than 2,000 channels sensing different regions of the atmosphere, the system creates a global, 3-D map of atmospheric temperature and humidity and provides information on clouds, greenhouse gases, and many other atmospheric phenomena. The AIRS Infrared Sounder Experiment flies onboard NASA's Aqua spacecraft and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., under contract to NASA. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
Flooding Resulting From Hurr …
PIA00365
Sol (our sun)
Atmospheric Infrared Sounder …
Title Flooding Resulting From Hurricane Isidore, Comparing Data from September 12 and 28, 2002
Original Caption Released with Image Extent of Flooding due to Hurricane Isidore revealed in images from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounding System (AIRS) on Aqua Tropical Storm Isidore was born in mid-September north of Venezuela. It subsequently hit Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 3 hurricane and came ashore near New Orleans on September 26th packing winds just below hurricane strength. Around the time of September 27, the storm was downgraded to a tropical depression as the system moved into Tennessee. At the time the Aqua spacecraft first passed over Isidore, it was classified as a Category 3 (possibly 4) hurricane, with minimum pressure of 934 mbar, maximum sustained wind speeds of 110 knots (gusting to 135) and an eye diameter of 20 nautical miles. Isidore was later downgraded to a Tropical Storm and then a Tropical Depression as it lost energy. Figures 1 and 2, two images from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites show no significant weather systems over the southeastern United States on September 12 and September 28 (16 days apart). However, the microwave component of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder Experiment on NASA's Aqua spacecraft shows a striking difference. The difference in the two microwave images (figures 3 and 4) from the AIRS Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit is primarily due to flooding after Tropical Storm Isidore. Water has a very low surface emissivity at this frequency, and that causes surface water to appear very cold (even though it is not). Land appears relatively warm (well above freezing - 273 K, even at night as seen is these images), but if there is standing water, the apparent temperature drops precipitously. Figure 4, taken just about a day after the remnants of Isidore passed over the southeast, shows heavy flooding along the Mississippi, especially in the states of Mississippi and Tennessee, but other states are also affected. The spatial resolution of the AMSU-A instrument is relatively large (each measurement spot is about 25 miles in diameter at the center of the swath), but the enormous thermal contrast in the microwave between land and water makes even small flooded areas stand out., Figure 5: Difference image, 9/12 and 9/28) The Aqua spacecraft has an exact 16-day repeat cycle, that is why the pre-Isidore image is 16 days prior to the post-Isidore image. They have exactly the same coverage, which makes it possible to obtain a difference image (figure 5). The difference image is the difference between the September 28 and September 12 images shown. In the difference image, white indicates no difference at all, green is very little difference, blue/purple indicates primarily heavy flooding. Red indicates warming likely due to warmer weather. (The straight lines on the right and left edges of the difference image are caused by slight differences between the two repeat passes of Aqua). The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder Experiment, with its visible, infrared, and microwave detectors, provides a three-dimensional look at Earth's weather. Working in tandem, the three instruments can make simultaneous observations all the way down to the Earth's surface, even in the presence of heavy clouds. With more than 2,000 channels sensing different regions of the atmosphere, the system creates a global, 3-D map of atmospheric temperature and humidity and provides information on clouds, greenhouse gases, and many other atmospheric phenomena. The AIRS Infrared Sounder Experiment flies onboard NASA's Aqua spacecraft and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., under contract to NASA. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
Flooding Resulting From Hurr …
PIA00365
Sol (our sun)
Atmospheric Infrared Sounder …
Title Flooding Resulting From Hurricane Isidore, Comparing Data from September 12 and 28, 2002
Original Caption Released with Image Extent of Flooding due to Hurricane Isidore revealed in images from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounding System (AIRS) on Aqua Tropical Storm Isidore was born in mid-September north of Venezuela. It subsequently hit Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 3 hurricane and came ashore near New Orleans on September 26th packing winds just below hurricane strength. Around the time of September 27, the storm was downgraded to a tropical depression as the system moved into Tennessee. At the time the Aqua spacecraft first passed over Isidore, it was classified as a Category 3 (possibly 4) hurricane, with minimum pressure of 934 mbar, maximum sustained wind speeds of 110 knots (gusting to 135) and an eye diameter of 20 nautical miles. Isidore was later downgraded to a Tropical Storm and then a Tropical Depression as it lost energy. Figures 1 and 2, two images from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites show no significant weather systems over the southeastern United States on September 12 and September 28 (16 days apart). However, the microwave component of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder Experiment on NASA's Aqua spacecraft shows a striking difference. The difference in the two microwave images (figures 3 and 4) from the AIRS Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit is primarily due to flooding after Tropical Storm Isidore. Water has a very low surface emissivity at this frequency, and that causes surface water to appear very cold (even though it is not). Land appears relatively warm (well above freezing - 273 K, even at night as seen is these images), but if there is standing water, the apparent temperature drops precipitously. Figure 4, taken just about a day after the remnants of Isidore passed over the southeast, shows heavy flooding along the Mississippi, especially in the states of Mississippi and Tennessee, but other states are also affected. The spatial resolution of the AMSU-A instrument is relatively large (each measurement spot is about 25 miles in diameter at the center of the swath), but the enormous thermal contrast in the microwave between land and water makes even small flooded areas stand out., Figure 5: Difference image, 9/12 and 9/28) The Aqua spacecraft has an exact 16-day repeat cycle, that is why the pre-Isidore image is 16 days prior to the post-Isidore image. They have exactly the same coverage, which makes it possible to obtain a difference image (figure 5). The difference image is the difference between the September 28 and September 12 images shown. In the difference image, white indicates no difference at all, green is very little difference, blue/purple indicates primarily heavy flooding. Red indicates warming likely due to warmer weather. (The straight lines on the right and left edges of the difference image are caused by slight differences between the two repeat passes of Aqua). The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder Experiment, with its visible, infrared, and microwave detectors, provides a three-dimensional look at Earth's weather. Working in tandem, the three instruments can make simultaneous observations all the way down to the Earth's surface, even in the presence of heavy clouds. With more than 2,000 channels sensing different regions of the atmosphere, the system creates a global, 3-D map of atmospheric temperature and humidity and provides information on clouds, greenhouse gases, and many other atmospheric phenomena. The AIRS Infrared Sounder Experiment flies onboard NASA's Aqua spacecraft and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., under contract to NASA. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
Flooding Resulting From Hurr …
PIA00365
Sol (our sun)
Atmospheric Infrared Sounder …
Title Flooding Resulting From Hurricane Isidore, Comparing Data from September 12 and 28, 2002
Original Caption Released with Image Extent of Flooding due to Hurricane Isidore revealed in images from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounding System (AIRS) on Aqua Tropical Storm Isidore was born in mid-September north of Venezuela. It subsequently hit Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 3 hurricane and came ashore near New Orleans on September 26th packing winds just below hurricane strength. Around the time of September 27, the storm was downgraded to a tropical depression as the system moved into Tennessee. At the time the Aqua spacecraft first passed over Isidore, it was classified as a Category 3 (possibly 4) hurricane, with minimum pressure of 934 mbar, maximum sustained wind speeds of 110 knots (gusting to 135) and an eye diameter of 20 nautical miles. Isidore was later downgraded to a Tropical Storm and then a Tropical Depression as it lost energy. Figures 1 and 2, two images from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites show no significant weather systems over the southeastern United States on September 12 and September 28 (16 days apart). However, the microwave component of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder Experiment on NASA's Aqua spacecraft shows a striking difference. The difference in the two microwave images (figures 3 and 4) from the AIRS Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit is primarily due to flooding after Tropical Storm Isidore. Water has a very low surface emissivity at this frequency, and that causes surface water to appear very cold (even though it is not). Land appears relatively warm (well above freezing - 273 K, even at night as seen is these images), but if there is standing water, the apparent temperature drops precipitously. Figure 4, taken just about a day after the remnants of Isidore passed over the southeast, shows heavy flooding along the Mississippi, especially in the states of Mississippi and Tennessee, but other states are also affected. The spatial resolution of the AMSU-A instrument is relatively large (each measurement spot is about 25 miles in diameter at the center of the swath), but the enormous thermal contrast in the microwave between land and water makes even small flooded areas stand out., Figure 5: Difference image, 9/12 and 9/28) The Aqua spacecraft has an exact 16-day repeat cycle, that is why the pre-Isidore image is 16 days prior to the post-Isidore image. They have exactly the same coverage, which makes it possible to obtain a difference image (figure 5). The difference image is the difference between the September 28 and September 12 images shown. In the difference image, white indicates no difference at all, green is very little difference, blue/purple indicates primarily heavy flooding. Red indicates warming likely due to warmer weather. (The straight lines on the right and left edges of the difference image are caused by slight differences between the two repeat passes of Aqua). The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder Experiment, with its visible, infrared, and microwave detectors, provides a three-dimensional look at Earth's weather. Working in tandem, the three instruments can make simultaneous observations all the way down to the Earth's surface, even in the presence of heavy clouds. With more than 2,000 channels sensing different regions of the atmosphere, the system creates a global, 3-D map of atmospheric temperature and humidity and provides information on clouds, greenhouse gases, and many other atmospheric phenomena. The AIRS Infrared Sounder Experiment flies onboard NASA's Aqua spacecraft and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., under contract to NASA. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
Flooding Resulting From Hurr …
PIA00365
Sol (our sun)
Atmospheric Infrared Sounder …
Title Flooding Resulting From Hurricane Isidore, Comparing Data from September 12 and 28, 2002
Original Caption Released with Image Extent of Flooding due to Hurricane Isidore revealed in images from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounding System (AIRS) on Aqua Tropical Storm Isidore was born in mid-September north of Venezuela. It subsequently hit Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 3 hurricane and came ashore near New Orleans on September 26th packing winds just below hurricane strength. Around the time of September 27, the storm was downgraded to a tropical depression as the system moved into Tennessee. At the time the Aqua spacecraft first passed over Isidore, it was classified as a Category 3 (possibly 4) hurricane, with minimum pressure of 934 mbar, maximum sustained wind speeds of 110 knots (gusting to 135) and an eye diameter of 20 nautical miles. Isidore was later downgraded to a Tropical Storm and then a Tropical Depression as it lost energy. Figures 1 and 2, two images from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites show no significant weather systems over the southeastern United States on September 12 and September 28 (16 days apart). However, the microwave component of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder Experiment on NASA's Aqua spacecraft shows a striking difference. The difference in the two microwave images (figures 3 and 4) from the AIRS Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit is primarily due to flooding after Tropical Storm Isidore. Water has a very low surface emissivity at this frequency, and that causes surface water to appear very cold (even though it is not). Land appears relatively warm (well above freezing - 273 K, even at night as seen is these images), but if there is standing water, the apparent temperature drops precipitously. Figure 4, taken just about a day after the remnants of Isidore passed over the southeast, shows heavy flooding along the Mississippi, especially in the states of Mississippi and Tennessee, but other states are also affected. The spatial resolution of the AMSU-A instrument is relatively large (each measurement spot is about 25 miles in diameter at the center of the swath), but the enormous thermal contrast in the microwave between land and water makes even small flooded areas stand out., Figure 5: Difference image, 9/12 and 9/28) The Aqua spacecraft has an exact 16-day repeat cycle, that is why the pre-Isidore image is 16 days prior to the post-Isidore image. They have exactly the same coverage, which makes it possible to obtain a difference image (figure 5). The difference image is the difference between the September 28 and September 12 images shown. In the difference image, white indicates no difference at all, green is very little difference, blue/purple indicates primarily heavy flooding. Red indicates warming likely due to warmer weather. (The straight lines on the right and left edges of the difference image are caused by slight differences between the two repeat passes of Aqua). The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder Experiment, with its visible, infrared, and microwave detectors, provides a three-dimensional look at Earth's weather. Working in tandem, the three instruments can make simultaneous observations all the way down to the Earth's surface, even in the presence of heavy clouds. With more than 2,000 channels sensing different regions of the atmosphere, the system creates a global, 3-D map of atmospheric temperature and humidity and provides information on clouds, greenhouse gases, and many other atmospheric phenomena. The AIRS Infrared Sounder Experiment flies onboard NASA's Aqua spacecraft and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., under contract to NASA. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
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