Browse All : Terra and Earth of Canada

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China Dust Storm seen by Ter …
Title China Dust Storm seen by Terra/MODIS and Earth Probe/TOMS in April of 2001
Abstract A thick shroud of dust appears over China on April 6-7, 2001. The densest portion of the aerosol pollution travels east over China, Russia, Japan, the Pacific Ocean, Canada, and The United States.
Completed 2003-12-01
China Dust Storm seen by Ter …
Title China Dust Storm seen by Terra/MODIS and Earth Probe/TOMS in April of 2001
Abstract A thick shroud of dust appears over China on April 6-7, 2001. The densest portion of the aerosol pollution travels east over China, Russia, Japan, the Pacific Ocean, Canada, and The United States.
Completed 2003-12-01
China Dust Storm seen by Ter …
Title China Dust Storm seen by Terra/MODIS and Earth Probe/TOMS in April of 2001
Abstract A thick shroud of dust appears over China on April 6-7, 2001. The densest portion of the aerosol pollution travels east over China, Russia, Japan, the Pacific Ocean, Canada, and The United States.
Completed 2003-12-01
China Dust Storm seen by Ter …
Title China Dust Storm seen by Terra/MODIS and Earth Probe/TOMS in April of 2001
Abstract A thick shroud of dust appears over China on April 6-7, 2001. The densest portion of the aerosol pollution travels east over China, Russia, Japan, the Pacific Ocean, Canada, and The United States.
Completed 2003-12-01
China Dust Storm seen by Ter …
Title China Dust Storm seen by Terra/MODIS and Earth Probe/TOMS in April of 2001
Abstract A thick shroud of dust appears over China on April 6-7, 2001. The densest portion of the aerosol pollution travels east over China, Russia, Japan, the Pacific Ocean, Canada, and The United States.
Completed 2003-12-01
China Dust Storm seen by Ter …
Title China Dust Storm seen by Terra/MODIS and Earth Probe/TOMS in April of 2001
Abstract A thick shroud of dust appears over China on April 6-7, 2001. The densest portion of the aerosol pollution travels east over China, Russia, Japan, the Pacific Ocean, Canada, and The United States.
Completed 2003-12-01
China Dust Storm seen by Ter …
Title China Dust Storm seen by Terra/MODIS and Earth Probe/TOMS in April of 2001
Abstract A thick shroud of dust appears over China on April 6-7, 2001. The densest portion of the aerosol pollution travels east over China, Russia, Japan, the Pacific Ocean, Canada, and The United States.
Completed 2003-12-01
China Dust Storm seen by Ter …
Title China Dust Storm seen by Terra/MODIS and Earth Probe/TOMS in April of 2001
Abstract A thick shroud of dust appears over China on April 6-7, 2001. The densest portion of the aerosol pollution travels east over China, Russia, Japan, the Pacific Ocean, Canada, and The United States.
Completed 2003-12-01
China Dust Storm seen by Ter …
Title China Dust Storm seen by Terra/MODIS and Earth Probe/TOMS in April of 2001
Abstract A thick shroud of dust appears over China on April 6-7, 2001. The densest portion of the aerosol pollution travels east over China, Russia, Japan, the Pacific Ocean, Canada, and The United States.
Completed 2003-12-01
China Dust Storm seen by Ter …
Title China Dust Storm seen by Terra/MODIS and Earth Probe/TOMS in April of 2001
Abstract A thick shroud of dust appears over China on April 6-7, 2001. The densest portion of the aerosol pollution travels east over China, Russia, Japan, the Pacific Ocean, Canada, and The United States.
Completed 2003-12-01
China Dust Storm seen by Ter …
Title China Dust Storm seen by Terra/MODIS and Earth Probe/TOMS in April of 2001
Abstract A thick shroud of dust appears over China on April 6-7, 2001. The densest portion of the aerosol pollution travels east over China, Russia, Japan, the Pacific Ocean, Canada, and The United States.
Completed 2003-12-01
MODIS White Sky Albedo Unwra …
Title MODIS White Sky Albedo Unwraps to False Color Albedo Flat Map
Abstract The MODIS instrument, flying aboard NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites, measures albedo. Albedo measures the proportion of incoming solar radiation reaching a surface that is reflected back to the atmosphere and to space. For an unchanging surface, albedo can vary somewhat, depending on the sky and atmospheric conditions. This image maps the white-sky albedo, which is the albedo under conditions of a uniform, dense cloud cover, in which downwelling light energy comes uniformly from all directions. The color bar indicates the albedo value ranging from 0.0 to 0.4 over the Earth's land surfaces. Areas colored red show the brightest, most reflective regions, yellows and greens are intermediate values, and blues and violets show relatively dark surfaces. White indicates no data is available. Typically, vegetated surfaces and water have low albedos, while soil and urban surfaces have somewhat higher values. Note that solar energy that is not reflected away from a surface is absorbed by that surface. Thus, albedo also provides information about the amount of energy absorbed by a surface. Since this energy serves to heat the soil and the air just above the surface, albedo is an important factor in weather and climate studies, and especially is important for modeling of weather and climate on scales of days to years. This image was produced using data composited over a 16-day period, from April 7-22, 2002.
Completed 2002-07-01
Canadian Smoke Invades the E …
Title Canadian Smoke Invades the East Coast
Abstract Smoke from multiple large wildfires in Canada blanketed the Great Lakes and eastern United States. The enormous smoke plume was almost 200 miles wide. The thick pall affected air quality from New York, to Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. and blocked the sunlight cooling the East Coast. The first image was taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite on July 7, 2002. The second image comes from NASA's Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) on the Earth Probe Satellite.
Completed 2004-05-13
Canadian Smoke Invades the E …
Title Canadian Smoke Invades the East Coast
Abstract Smoke from multiple large wildfires in Canada blanketed the Great Lakes and eastern United States. The enormous smoke plume was almost 200 miles wide. The thick pall affected air quality from New York, to Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. and blocked the sunlight cooling the East Coast. The first image was taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite on July 7, 2002. The second image comes from NASA's Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) on the Earth Probe Satellite.
Completed 2004-05-13
Canadian Smoke Invades the E …
Title Canadian Smoke Invades the East Coast
Abstract Smoke from multiple large wildfires in Canada blanketed the Great Lakes and eastern United States. The enormous smoke plume was almost 200 miles wide. The thick pall affected air quality from New York, to Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. and blocked the sunlight cooling the East Coast. The first image was taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite on July 7, 2002. The second image comes from NASA's Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) on the Earth Probe Satellite.
Completed 2004-05-13
Carbon Monoxide from Canadia …
Title Carbon Monoxide from Canadian Fires
Description Fires in central [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13692 ] and western [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13690 ] Canada impacted air quality in late June and early July 2006. Smoke includes carbon monoxide, [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_monoxide ] a gas that is toxic in high concentrations. The Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) sensor on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] satellite measured carbon monoxide between June 29 and July 5, 2006. This image maps the carbon monoxide that accumulated over the area during that period. MOPITT measures carbon monoxide in parts per billion by volume (ppbv). A measurement of 100 ppbv means that out of every billion air molecules in the air column, 100 of them are carbon monoxide. In this image, the colors indicate the carbon monoxide concentrations, ranging from 0 (blue) to 300 (red). These measurements indicate the carbon monoxide concentration at approximately 3 kilometers above the Earth's surface. Accumulations of carbon monoxide in excess of 150 ppbv are widespread, with small areas of concentrations near 300 ppbv. Patches of gray indicate areas where MOPITT could not collect data, likely due to clouds. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the University of Toronto MOPITT Teams [ http://www.eos.ucar.edu/mopitt/ ]
Heat Wave in North America
Title Heat Wave in North America
Description Scorching summer sun, burning pavement, stinging sweat—normal for July. But in July 2006, temperatures climbed above average levels for the previous six years and stayed warm for several days. During mid-July, a heat wave settled over most of the United States, with air temperatures soaring past 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius). Land surface temperatures climbed as well, as this image shows. Most of the United States and portions of Canada and Mexico were much warmer than they had been during the same period from 2000 to 2005. Deep red across the Midwest indicates that land surface temperatures were as much as 10 degrees Celsius warmer than the six-year average, and with the exception of the Pacific Northwest and a few other isolated region, the rest of the country was also warmer than average. The heat wave continued past the period shown here, through the end of July. In California alone, the heat killed at least 126 people, reported Reuters on July 29. This image was created from data collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite between July 12 and July 19, 2006. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of Zhengming Wan, MODIS Land Surface Temperature Group, Institute for Computational Earth System Science [ http://www.icess.ucsb.edu/ ], University of California, Santa Barbara.
Drought on the Great Plains
Title Drought on the Great Plains
Description Across the Great Plains of the United States and Canada, devastating drought spread across grasslands and croplands in summer 2006. Poor winter snowfall and a blisteringly hot summer [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13742 ] following several years of dry conditions have created a dire situation for many farmers and ranchers across the region. According to a recent article [ http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/29/us/29drought.html?ex=1157688000&en=13a216546b7d4243&ei=5070 ] on the New York Times Website, many people are comparing the conditions to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. The widespread drought conditions are obvious in this vegetation anomaly image based on data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] satellite. Places where vegetation is healthier or more abundant than average are green, places where vegetation is about the same as average are pale yellow, and places where vegetation is not as healthy or abundant as average are brown. Gray patches show where no data were available, probably because of persistent clouds. One of the most common satellite-based vegetation maps is a scale, or index, of vegetation greenness called the "NDVI," short for Normalized Difference Vegetation Index. This image compares NDVI values from July 28-August 12, 2006, to the average values from 2001-2005. Vegetation was faring worst along the Missouri River through North and South Dakota, but below-average vegetation conditions stretch across parts of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, northwestern Nebraska, and Minnesota as well. The plains of Canada's Saskatchewan and Manitoba provinces were suffering drought, too. A few small pockets of green in the image reveal where vegetation greenness values observed by MODIS were higher than average: the mountains of north-central Colorado, southeastern Nebraska, and the Red River Valley. The Red River Valley experienced widespread snowfall and heavy rains in the spring of 2006, leading to significant flooding. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13500 ] The early-season moisture may have helped the vegetation in the area withstand the hot summer. According to the August 29, 2006, update from the U.S. Drought Monitor, [ http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html ] most of the Northern Great Plains, as well as much of Oklahoma and Texas, was still in the midst of drought, with many areas falling into the highest category: exceptional drought. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided by Inbal Reshef as part of the Global Agricultural Monitoring Project [ http://www.pecad.fas.usda.gov/glam.cfm ] between NASA, USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), and the University of Maryland.
Heavy Snow in U.S. Midwest
Title Heavy Snow in U.S. Midwest
Description A severe winter storm hammered the Midwestern United States on December 1, 2006. According to news reports, the storm iced roads, canceled flights, broke tree branches, left more than two million homes and businesses without electricity, and temporarily shut down part of Interstate 40 in central Oklahoma. Several deaths were linked to the storm, including deaths from traffic accidents and carbon monoxide poisoning. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] flying onboard NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image of the storm's aftermath on December 3, 2006. By the time MODIS took this picture, the storm had moved off to Canada, and skies over the U.S. Midwest had largely cleared. In this image, the lingering snow looks like a giant finger-paint smear of white on a tan background. Streaks of clouds hover in the east, and lighter cloud cover remains in the north. Besides power outages, the storm caused headaches for air travelers, according to The New York Times. Freezing rains followed by snowflakes built up thick ice at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights. Besides heavy snow and grounded flights, O'Hare International Airport in Chicago saw the unusual occurrence of a lightning strike to a cargo plane. Although rare, thundersnow [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thundersnow ] can mix electrical storm activity with snow rather than rain. A 250-meter-resolution KMZ file [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/Images/UnitedStates.A2006337.1710.250m.kmz ] of the snow storm is available for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html ] NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center
Hurricane Isaac
Title Hurricane Isaac
Description On September 30, Hurricane Isaac became the fifth hurricane of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. Beginning as a tropical depression (area of low air pressure) three days earlier, Isaac formed in the central Atlantic Ocean far from any land. Isaac initially headed northeast on a track towards Bermuda, picking up power to become a hurricane. But Hurricane Isaac never posed a threat to the island, as it veered onto a more northerly track as the storm became more organized and powerful. As of October 2, 2006, Isaac was headed north and slightly east in the general direction of the Canadian Maritime Provinces. However, it was expected to curve off farther east and to avoid coming ashore in Canada. The hurricane was losing power as it traveled north and was downgraded to a tropical storm by midday on October 2. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on October 1 2006, at 12:35 p.m. local time (14:35 UTC). Isaac is a small and well-formed—a tight ball of spiraling clouds around a well-defined eye filled with clouds (a "closed" eye). According to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center, Isaac had sustained winds reaching as high as 120 kilometers per hour (75 miles per hour). NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team.
Fires in Central Canada
Title Fires in Central Canada
Description Smoke continued to pour from fires in central and western Canada in the first week of July. This image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] satellite on July 5, 2006, shows thick gray smoke hanging over Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, as well as a brownish-tinged plume of smoke reaching across the image from Alberta and Northwest Territories to the Hudson Bay. Clouds are bright white, and places where MODIS detected actively burning fires are marked in red. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidresponse.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team.
Smoke from Alaska Fires
Title Smoke from Alaska Fires
Description This large-scale image was made by stitching together four images collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments aboard both the Terra and Aqua satellites. The mosaic shows the extent to which smoke from fires burning in Alaska has spread all the way across Canada and into the Great Lakes region of the United States. The high-resolution version available here is 1 kilometer per pixel. NASA image by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data courtesy MODIS Rapid Response
Smoke from Alaska Fires
Title Smoke from Alaska Fires
Description This large-scale image was made by stitching together four images collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments aboard both the Terra and Aqua satellites. The mosaic shows the extent to which smoke from fires burning in Alaska has spread all the way across Canada and into the Great Lakes region of the United States. The high-resolution version available here is 1 kilometer per pixel. NASA image by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data courtesy MODIS Rapid Response
Smoke from Canadian Fires Bl …
Title Smoke from Canadian Fires Blankets Eastern U.S.
Description These images from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) illustrate the abundance of smoke over the northeastern United States from fires burning in Qu?bec on July 6, 2002. The images at left and center are natural color views acquired by MISR's vertical-viewing (nadir), and 70-degree forward-viewing cameras, respectively. Although smoke is visible in the nadir image, the oblique view angle greatly enhances the appearance of smoke. The abundance of atmospheric particulates (aerosols) can be derived from the variation of scene brightness and contrast as a function of observation angle, and is displayed by the map of aerosol optical depth on the right. Using the current automated algorithms, reliable retrievals are not feasible for land areas covered by aerosols which totally obscure the underlying surface. In these areas, no retrievals were obtained (shown in dark gray) or a sporadic false result was returned (shown in red). Areas where clouds were successfully screened are also shown in dark gray. Elevated aerosol amounts (shown in blue-green and green) are visible over New York City and the Atlantic Ocean. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer views almost the entire Earth every 9 days. These images were acquired during Terra orbit 13562 and cover an area of about 380 kilometers x 916 kilometers. Image courtesy NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov/ ]
Ayles Ice Shelf, Ellesmere I …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
On August 13, 2005, the remo …
ayles_tmo_2005225
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2005-08-13
creator NASA -- NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center
identifier ayles_tmo_2005225
Haze over the Eastern United …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Thick haze streamed from Nor …
atlantic_mop_2006219
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2006-08-07
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier atlantic_mop_2006219
First Snow in US Northeast: …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
A string of storms brought t …
UnitedStates_TMO_2007340
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2007-12-06
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier UnitedStates_TMO_2007340
Smoke Soars to Stratospheric …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
1137 kilometers, and utilize …
PIA04365
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2001-05-23
creator NASA -- Image courtesy NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov/ MISR Team. Text by Clare Averill (Raytheon/JPL), Jennifer Logan (Harvard University). Oblique-cameras heights processing by Catherine Moroney (JPL).
identifier PIA04365
Fires in Central Canada: Nat …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Smoke continued to pour from …
centcanada_tmo_2006186
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2006-07-05
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier centcanada_tmo_2006186
Hurricane Isaac: Natural Haz …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
On September 30, Hurricane I …
isaac_tmo_2006274
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2006-10-01
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier isaac_tmo_2006274
Fires and Smoke Across South …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
The skies over the heart of …
samerica_amo_2007252
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2007-09-09
creator NASA -- NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ MODIS Rapid Response team.
identifier samerica_amo_2007252
Smoke from Alaska Fires: Nat …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
This large-scale image was m …
modis_canada_18jul04
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2004-07-18
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier modis_canada_18jul04
Carbon Monoxide from Canadia …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Fires in earthobservatory.na …
centcanda_mop_2006186
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2006-07-05
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier centcanda_mop_2006186
Ellesmere Island National Pa …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
The northeastern corner of E …
aster_ellesmere_04aug03
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2003-08-04
creator NASA -- Data made available by NASA/GSFC/MITI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ASTER Science Team
identifier aster_ellesmere_04aug03
Drought on the Great Plains: …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
Across the Great Plains of t …
nplainsndvia_tmo_2006209
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2006-08-12
creator NASA -- NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided by Inbal Reshef as part of the www.pecad.fas.usda.gov/glam.cfm Global Agricultural Monitoring Project between NASA, USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), and the University of Maryland.
identifier nplainsndvia_tmo_2006209
Heat Wave in North America: …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Scorching summer sun, burnin …
nalstanom_tmo_2006193
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2006-07-19
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier nalstanom_tmo_2006193
Heat Wave in North America: …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Scorching summer sun, burnin …
nalstanom_tmo_2006193
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2006-07-19
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier nalstanom_tmo_2006193
Heavy Snow in U.S. Midwest: …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
A severe winter storm hammer …
midwest_tmo_2006337
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2006-12-03
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier midwest_tmo_2006337
MISR Sees a Cloud's Reflecti …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
MISR images of the southeast …
misr_canada
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2000-03-06
creator NASA -- Image by NASA/GSFC/JPL, MISR Science Team
identifier misr_canada
Smoke Signals from the Alask …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
Large, lightning-induced fir …
PIA04363
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2004-06-30
creator NASA -- Image courtesy NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov/ MISR Team and Dominic Mazzoni (JPL). Text by Clare Averill (Raytheon/JPL).
identifier PIA04363
Millennium Open Pit Mine, Al …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
The United States imports mo …
millenium_ast_2007212
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2007-07-31
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier millenium_ast_2007212
MISR View of Georgian Bay, O …
PIA02615
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR …
Title MISR View of Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada
Original Caption Released with Image MISR images of the southeast portion of Georgian Bay in Ontario, Canada, acquired on March 6, 2000, during Terra orbit 1155. The color image is from the nadir (vertical) camera, and highlights a cloud to the southwest of Christian Island. In this view, the shadow cast by the cloud on the water is visible just north of the cloud itself. Bright areas in the image are either cloud or ice, an example of the latter is the frozen Lake Simcoe. The eight monochrome images are red band data from the off-nadir cameras. Starting with the one in the upper right and moving counterclockwise, the images progress from the most forward-viewing to the most aftward-viewing camera. Thus, the top (bottom) row of monochrome images are views acquired forward (aftward) of vertical. The apparent displacement of the cloud from south to north as the view progresses from forward to aftward is primarily a geometric parallax effect due to the cloud's elevation above the surface. In each image in the top row, a fainter feature with the same shape as the cloud is visible within Georgian Bay. The feature and the cloud itself approach one another as the view angle becomes less oblique. The feature is present only in the water, and disappears over the land surface of Christian Island. What is it? We are observing reflections of the cloud in the water. Their positions are dictated by the law of reflection, which states that the angle relative to the vertical of the reflected rays is the same as the angle of the incident rays. Therefore, the apparent location of a reflection relative to the cloud changes as a function of camera view angle. Unlike water, land does not act as a good mirror. Also, in the aftward views the reflections are less visible because they are blocked by the southern extension of the cloud. Reflections of this sort are not visible in conventional vertical imagery because in that case they lie directly underneath the cloud, and are consequently obscured. MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology. For more information: http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov
Multi-angle Images of Hudson …
PIA02603
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR …
Title Multi-angle Images of Hudson Bay and James Bay, Canada, 24 February 2000
Original Caption Released with Image At left is a true-color image from the downward-looking (nadir)camera on the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument on NASA's Terra satellite. The false-color image at right is a composite of red band data taken by the MISR forward 45.6-degree, nadir, and aftward 45.6-degree cameras, displayed in blue, green, and red colors, respectively. Color variations in the left image highlight spectral (true-color) differences, whereas those in the right image highlight differences in angular reflectance properties. The purple areas in the right image are low cloud, and light blue at the edge of the bay is due to increased forward scattering by the fast (smooth)ice. The orange areas are rougher ice, which scatters more light in the backward direction. This example illustrates how multi-angle viewing can distinguish physical structures and textures. Data for all channels are presented in a Space Oblique Mercator map projection to facilitate their co-registration. The images are about 400 km (250 miles) wide with a spatial resolution of about 275 meters (300 yards). North is toward the top. MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology.
Green Summer and Icy Winter …
PIA02645
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR …
Title Green Summer and Icy Winter in James Bay
Original Caption Released with Image One year ago, in late February 2000, MISR began acquiring Earth imagery. Its "first light" images showed a frozen James Bay in the Ontario-Quebec region of Canada. These more recent nadir-camera views of the same area illuminate stark contrasts between summer and winter. The left-hand image was acquired on August 9, 2000 (Terra orbit 3427), and the right-hand image is from January 16, 2001 (Terra orbit 5757). James Bay lies at the southern end of Hudson Bay. It is named for the English explorer Thomas James, who first explored the area in 1631 while searching for the Northwest Passage. Visible in these images are some of the many rivers that flow into the bay, starting at the southern tip and moving clockwise on the western side are the Harricana, Moose, Albany, and Attawapiskat. The latter enters the bay just to the west of the large, crescent-shaped Akimiski Island. MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology.
Smoke Soars to Stratospheric …
PIA04365
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR …
Title Smoke Soars to Stratospheric Heights
Original Caption Released with Image A new look at smoke from the Chisholm forest fire, which ignited on May 23, 2001 about 160 kilometers north of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada, provides confirming evidence that dense smoke can reach the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. Scientists have postulated a link between fires in northern forests and the observed enhancements in stratospheric aerosols, but it is difficult to measure smoke aerosol heights directly. Here, height information for the Chisholm fire was retrieved using stereoscopic processing of data from multiple Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) cameras. These images were acquired on May 29, when the severity of the fire had begun to stabilize after a cold front and strong low-level winds caused rapid spread of flame and an eruption of large-scale convection on May 28. This dramatic event was studied in detail by M. Fromm and R. Servranckx, "Transport of forest fire smoke above the tropopause by supercell convection", Geophys. Res. Lett., vol. 30, no. 10 (2003). The two left-hand images are natural color views from MISR's nadir and 60° forward viewing cameras in which a pall of yellowish smoke is apparent both above the surface and above clouds in the top portion of the images. This area is near the junction of Canada's Keewatin region and Northwest Territory, and about 1200 km northward of the originalfire location. Lake Athabasca is at the lower left. The second panel from the right is MISR's standard stereo height product (derived from the nadir and the two 26° cameras), while the right-hand panel is a specially-generated product using MISR's 46° and 60° forward-pointing cameras. Because the smoke appears thicker at the oblique view angles, better areal coverage is obtained and the retrievals are less sensitive to the underlying cloud deck. The southern portion of the smoke cloud is at an altitude of about 3.5 km, however, the smoke further to the north has risen above the tropopause (which is at about 11 km altitude) and intruded into the lower stratosphere. These measurements indicate that smoke reaches heights of about 12-13 kilometers above sea level. The height fields pictured here are uncorrected for wind effects, wind-corrected heights (which have higher accuracy but sparser spatial coverage) for this smoke pall are about 0.5 km higher. The Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth continuously and every 9 days views the entire globe between 82° north and 82° south latitude. These data products were generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during Terra orbit 7695. The panels cover an area of 380 kilometers x 1137 kilometers, and utilize data from blocks 36 to 43 within World Reference System-2 path 40. MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. JPL is a division of the California Institute of, Technology.
Natural Color Mosaic of Nort …
PIA04361
Sol (our sun)
C-Band Interferometric Radar …
Title Natural Color Mosaic of North America
Original Caption Released with Image This natural-color image combines cloud-free data from over 500 Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) orbits with shaded relief Digital Terrain Elevation models from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and other sources. An astonishing diversity of geological features, ecological systems and human landscapes across North America is indicated within the image, which spans from 56N, 136W at the upper left to 16N 48W at lower right. In addition to the contiguous United States, the scene spans from British Columbia in the northwest to Newfoundland in the northeast, and extends eastward to the lonely Bermuda Islands and southward to the Bahamas, Cuba and Mexico. Draped in green, the eastern and central United States and Canada contrast with the vibrant geology that is laid bare across the arid portions of the southwestern United States and central Mexico. Along Mexico's east coast, the lush vegetation to the east of the Sierra Madre mountain range indicates the orographic rainfall gradient along this subtropical-tropical coast. In the high Rocky Mountains and in British Columbia's Coast Range, many peaks remain snow-covered year-round. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth continuously and every 9 days views the entire globe between 82 north and 82 south latitude. This data product was generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during years 2000 - 2004. The image is displayed in an Albers Conic Equal Area projection with the projection center at 36 North, 92 West. MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology.
Smoke Signals from the Alask …
PIA04363
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR …
Title Smoke Signals from the Alaska and Yukon Fires
Original Caption Released with Image . Some of the smoke from these fires was detected as far away as New Hampshire. These visualizations were captured on June 30th by the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) on NASA's Terra spacecraft. Here, MISR distinguishes clouds from smoke and retrieves heights and optical depths for the smoke -- information which will help to improve models of how smoke aerosols are transported. The images cover an area extending from the Mackenzie Bay in northwest Canada, through the Alaskan Interior and along the Alaska-Yukon border, south to the Wrangell Mountains. The first panel in the series is a natural-color image from MISR's 60° forward viewing camera. Smoke plumes notable along the right-hand edge are situated southwest of the Peel River in the Yukon Territory, and plumes extending west from the left-hand edge are situated in the vicinity of the Yukon River and the town of Eagle at the Alaska-Canada border. In the lower portion of the image, thick smoke obscures the Wrangell Mountain range. The next panel in the series is a stereoscopic height field, in which topography, smoke plumes and clouds are all being detected. Analysis indicates that most of the smoke and many low clouds are situated at heights between about 1 and 4 kilometers above the surface, while a few high clouds attained much greater altitudes. The third panel from the left is a smoke mask, in which the image is classified as either non-smoke, or as smoke with low confidence (lc) or high confidence (hc), represented by the blue, red and green pixels, respectively. Many of the actual smoke "plumes" were identified as high-confidence smoke, including parts of plumes in the Peel River region (upper right) and Yukon River/Alaska-Canada border region (left-hand edge). This smoke mask is produced by a computerized "machine-learning" classifier which detects smoke by examining the spectral, textural, and angular features in the radiances from three oblique-viewing MISR cameras. Ultimately, the classifier will be trained to identify plume-like shapes, thus making it possible to automatically isolate plume heights from the stereo product. The right-hand panel displays MISR's aerosol optical depth retrieval, in which the brightness and contrast changes of the surface at different view angles are used to measure the attenuation of sunlight as it passes through a column of the atmosphere. Increasing amounts of smoke aerosol appear as green, yellow, orange and red pixels, and clearer skies are indicated by blue pixels. Areas where the aerosol optical depth could not be retrieved, either because the smoke was too thick to see the surface contrast or because the presence of clouds precluded a retrieval, are shown in dark gray. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth continuously and every 9 days views the entire globe between 82 degrees north and 82 degrees south latitude. The non-animated data products were generated from a portion of the imagery acquired, Large lightning-induced fires were active in Alaska and the Yukon Territory from mid-June to mid-July, 2004. Thick smoke particles filled the air during these fires, prompting Alaskan officials to issue air quality warnings [ http://airnow.gov/ ], during Terra orbits 24123. The still panels cover an area of about 400 kilometers 898 kilometers, and use data from blocks 35 to 41 within World Reference System-2 path 64. MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology.
Western United States and So …
PIA04330
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR …
Title Western United States and Southwestern Canada
Original Caption Released with Image This natural-color image from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) captures the beauty of the western United States and Canada. Data from 45 swaths from MISR's vertical-viewing (nadir) camera were combined to create this cloud-free mosaic. The image extends from 48° N 128° W in the northwest, to 32°N, 104° W in the southeast, and has been draped over a shaded relief Digital Terrain Elevation Model from the United States Geological Survey. The image area includes much of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan in the north, and extends southward to California, Arizona and New Mexico. The snow-capped Rocky Mountains are a prominent feature extending through British Columbia, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. Many major rivers originate in the Columbia Plateau region of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The Colorado Plateau region is characterized by the vibrant red-colored rocks of the Painted Desert in Utah and Arizona, and in New Mexico, White Sands National Park is the large white feature in the Southeast corner of the image with the Malpais lava flow just to its North. The southwest is dominated by the Mojave Desert of California and Nevada, California's San Joaquin Valley, the Los Angeles basin and the Pacific Ocean. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth continuously from pole to pole, and every 9 days views the entire globe between 82 degrees north and 82 degrees south latitude. This data product was generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during 2000-2002. The panels utilize data from blocks 45 to 65 within World Reference System-2 paths 31 to 53. MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology.
Bay of Fundy
PIA01912
Sol (our sun)
ASTER
Title Bay of Fundy
Original Caption Released with Image The highest tides on Earth occur in the Minas Basin, the eastern extremity of the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, Canada, where the tide range can reach 16 meters when the various factors affecting the tides are in phase. The primary cause of the immense tides of Fundy is a resonance of the Bay of Fundy-Gulf of Maine system. The system is effectively bounded at this outer end by the edge of the continental shelf with its approximately 40:1 increase in depth. The system has a natural period of approximately 13 hours, which is close to the 12h25m period of the dominant lunar tide of the Atlantic Ocean. Like a father pushing his daughter on a swing, the gentle Atlantic tidal pulse pushes the waters of the Bay of Fundy-Gulf of Maine basin at nearly the optimum frequency to cause a large to-and-fro oscillation. The greatest slosh occurs at the head (northeast end) of the system. The high tide image (top) was acquired April 20, 2001, and the low tide image (bottom) was acquired September 30, 2002. The images cover an area of 16.5 by 21 km, and are centered near 64 degrees west longitude and 45.5 degrees north latitude. With its 14 spectral bands from the visible to the thermal infrared wavelength region, and its high spatial resolution of 15 to 90 meters (about 50 to 300 feet), ASTER images Earth to map and monitor the changing surface of our planet. ASTER is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched December 18, 1999, on NASA's Terra satellite. The instrument was built by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. A joint U.S./Japan science team is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and the data products. The broad spectral coverage and high spectral resolution of ASTER provides scientists in numerous disciplines with critical information for surface mapping, and monitoring of dynamic conditions and temporal change. Example applications are: monitoring glacial advances and retreats, monitoring potentially active volcanoes, identifying crop stress, determining cloud morphology and physical properties, wetlands evaluation, thermal pollution monitoring, coral reef degradation, surface temperature mapping of soils and geology, and measuring surface heat balance. The U.S. science team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Size: 16.5 by 21 kilometers (10.2 by 13 miles) Location: 45.4 degrees North latitude, 64 degrees West longitude Image Data: ASTER bands 3, 2, and 1 Original Data Resolution: 15 meters (49.2 feet) Dates Acquired: September 30, 2002
MISR's First Views of James …
PIA02450
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR …
Title MISR's First Views of James Bay, Canada
Original Caption Released with Image The first images taken by NASA's Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) on February 24, 2000, show the winter landscape of James Bay, Ontario, Canada from three of the instrument's nine cameras. The image at left captures the opening of MISR's cover and was recorded by the most oblique forward-viewing camera, which images the Earth at 70 degrees relative to a vertical plane. Several islands, including the crescent-shaped Akimiski Island, are visible in the frozen bay. The center image was acquired a few minutes later by the "nadir" camera, which looks straight down. The image on the right was taken seven minutes after the first image from the most oblique, aftward-viewing camera."These first pictures illustrate many of MISR's new and unique capabilities," said Dr. David J. Diner, MISR principal investigator of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA. "The instrument, operations system, and science data processing software are performing extremely well and the quality of the images, particularly at the very challenging oblique angles, is outstanding." An increased blue tint at the oblique angles is the result of scattering of light in the atmosphere. Contrast reversals and other color and brightness variations from one angle to another are also apparent, and are most likely due to varied surface geometries and textures. Observing such changes in image content and detail from space over a wide range of angles, almost simultaneously, is a novel approach for characterizing surface, atmospheric, and cloud characteristics. The MISR data will continue to provide unprecedented details about Earth's climate over the next six years. Capturing long, ribbon-like images, 400 kilometers (250 miles) wide, MISR can detect objects as small as 275 meters (900 feet) in diameter. The MISR instrument is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. MISR is flying on the Terra satellite, which is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD.
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