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Browse All : Images of Australia from 2006

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Astronomers Find Smallest Ex …
Title Astronomers Find Smallest Extrasolar Planet Yet Around Normal Star
Hubble Captures a "Five-Star …
Title Hubble Captures a "Five-Star" Rated Gravitational Lens
Hubble Captures a "Five-Star …
Title Hubble Captures a "Five-Star" Rated Gravitational Lens
Hubble Sees Faintest Stars i …
Title Hubble Sees Faintest Stars in a Globular Cluster
Hubble Sees Faintest Stars i …
Title Hubble Sees Faintest Stars in a Globular Cluster
Hubble Sees Faintest Stars i …
Title Hubble Sees Faintest Stars in a Globular Cluster
Hubble Sees Faintest Stars i …
Title Hubble Sees Faintest Stars in a Globular Cluster
Hubble Sees Faintest Stars i …
Title Hubble Sees Faintest Stars in a Globular Cluster
Hubble Captures a "Five-Star …
Title Hubble Captures a "Five-Star" Rated Gravitational Lens
Hubble Sees Faintest Stars i …
Title Hubble Sees Faintest Stars in a Globular Cluster
Hubble Sees Faintest Stars i …
Title Hubble Sees Faintest Stars in a Globular Cluster
Global Rotation of SeaWiFS B …
Title Global Rotation of SeaWiFS Biosphere Decadal Average without Land
Abstract The SeaWiFS instrument aboard the Seastar satellite has been collecting ocean data since 1997. By monitoring the color of reflected light via satellite, scientists can determine how successfully plant life is photosynthesizing. A measurement of photosynthesis is essentially a measurement of successful growth, and growth means successful use of ambient carbon. This animation shows an average of 10 years worth of SeaWiFS data. Dark blue represents warmer areas where there tends to be a lack of nutrients, and greens and reds represent cooler nutrient-rich areas which support life. The nutrient-rich areas include coastal regions where cold water rises from the sea floor bringing nutrients along and areas at the mouths of rivers where the rivers have brought nutrients into the ocean from the land.
Completed 2007-04-16
Global Rotation of SeaWiFS B …
Title Global Rotation of SeaWiFS Biosphere Decadal Average with Land
Abstract The SeaWiFS instrument aboard the Seastar satellite has been collecting ocean data since 1997. By monitoring the color of reflected light via satellite, scientists can determine how successfully plant life is photosynthesizing. A measurement of photosynthesis is essentially a measurement of successful growth, and growth means successful use of ambient carbon. This animation shows an average of 10 years worth of SeaWiFS data. Dark blue represents warmer areas where there tends to be a lack of nutrients, and greens and reds represent cooler nutrient-rich areas which support life. The nutrient-rich areas include coastal regions where cold water rises from the sea floor bringing nutrients along and areas at the mouths of rivers where the rivers have brought nutrients into the ocean from the land.
Completed 2007-04-16
MODIS Sea Surface Temperatur …
Title MODIS Sea Surface Temperature Time Series Data Shows Increased Temperatures in Great Barrier Reef - Wide View
Abstract Coral bleaching may be one of the greatest threats to the Great Barrier Reef. Coral bleaching is a stress response that often occurs when the surrounding waters become too warm for the corals. In the stressful situation, the corals expel their brownish zooxanthellae and lose their color. Zooxanthellae are unicellular yellow-brown algae that make it possible for the corals to grow and reproduce quickly enough to create reefs. Without the zooxanthellae, the coral cannot obtain sufficient nourishment. If conditions remain difficult, the corals may die. Major coral bleaching incidents on the Great Barrier Reef in 1998 and 2002 led to widespread death of corals in some areas. Researchers in the Barrier reef of Australia are using NASA's resources to help identify troubled coral. Currently, the most severe coral bleaching occurs over inshore reefs where the Sea Surface Temperatures are showing increased temperatures.
Completed 2005-02-28
MODIS Sea Surface Temperatur …
Title MODIS Sea Surface Temperature Time Series Data Shows Increased Temperatures in Great Barrier Reef - Wide View
Abstract Coral bleaching may be one of the greatest threats to the Great Barrier Reef. Coral bleaching is a stress response that often occurs when the surrounding waters become too warm for the corals. In the stressful situation, the corals expel their brownish zooxanthellae and lose their color. Zooxanthellae are unicellular yellow-brown algae that make it possible for the corals to grow and reproduce quickly enough to create reefs. Without the zooxanthellae, the coral cannot obtain sufficient nourishment. If conditions remain difficult, the corals may die. Major coral bleaching incidents on the Great Barrier Reef in 1998 and 2002 led to widespread death of corals in some areas. Researchers in the Barrier reef of Australia are using NASA's resources to help identify troubled coral. Currently, the most severe coral bleaching occurs over inshore reefs where the Sea Surface Temperatures are showing increased temperatures.
Completed 2005-02-28
MODIS Sea Surface Temperatur …
Title MODIS Sea Surface Temperature Time Series Data Shows Increased Temperatures in Great Barrier Reef - Wide View
Abstract Coral bleaching may be one of the greatest threats to the Great Barrier Reef. Coral bleaching is a stress response that often occurs when the surrounding waters become too warm for the corals. In the stressful situation, the corals expel their brownish zooxanthellae and lose their color. Zooxanthellae are unicellular yellow-brown algae that make it possible for the corals to grow and reproduce quickly enough to create reefs. Without the zooxanthellae, the coral cannot obtain sufficient nourishment. If conditions remain difficult, the corals may die. Major coral bleaching incidents on the Great Barrier Reef in 1998 and 2002 led to widespread death of corals in some areas. Researchers in the Barrier reef of Australia are using NASA's resources to help identify troubled coral. Currently, the most severe coral bleaching occurs over inshore reefs where the Sea Surface Temperatures are showing increased temperatures.
Completed 2005-02-28
SeaWiFS Biosphere Global Rot …
Title SeaWiFS Biosphere Global Rotation from 1997 to 2006
Abstract The SeaWiFS instrument aboard the Seastar satellite has been collecting ocean data since 1997. By monitoring the color of reflected light via satellite, scientists can determine how successfully plant life is photosynthesizing. A measurement of photosynthesis is essentially a measurement of successful growth, and growth means successful use of ambient carbon. This animation represents nearly a decade's worth of data taken by the SeaWiFS instrument, showing the abundance of life in the sea. Dark blue represents warmer areas where there is little life due to lack of nutrients, and greens and reds represent cooler nutrient-rich areas. The nutrient-rich areas include coastal regions where cold water rises from the sea floor bringing nutrients along and areas at the mouths of rivers where the rivers have brought nutrients into the ocean from the land.
Completed 2007-04-16
MODIS Sea Surface Temperatur …
Title MODIS Sea Surface Temperature around the Australian Continent
Abstract The earliest technique for measuring Sea Surface Temperature (SST) was dipping a thermometer into a bucket of water. The first automated technique for determining SST was accomplished by measuring the temperature of water in the intake port of large ships. A large network of coastal buoys in U.S. waters is maintained by the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC). Since about 1990, there has also been an extensive array of moored buoys maintained across the equatorial Pacific Ocean designed to help monitor and predict the El Niño phenomenon. Since the 1980s satellites have been increasingly utilized to measure SST and have provided an enormous leap in our ability to view the spatial and temporal variation in SST. The satellite measured SST provides both a synoptic view of the ocean and a high frequency of repeat views, allowing the examination of basin-wide upper ocean dynamics not possible with ships or buoys. For example, a ship traveling at 10 knots (20 km/h) would require 10 years to cover the same area a satellite covers in two minutes. This animation uses SST data taken at nighttime from the MODIS/Aqua and MODIS/Terra satellites. This data has many important applications that permit scientists to use ocean temperatures to observe ocean circulation and locate major ocean currents. Ocean current analysis can facilitate ocean transportation. Additionally, by using SST, scientists can monitor changes in ocean temperatures and relate these to weather and climate changes like coral bleaching around the Great Barrier Reef. Finally, the SST changes have many important biological implications for hospitable/inhospitable conditions for many organisms including species of plankton, seagrasses, shellfish, fish, coral, and mammals.
Completed 2005-02-28
Floods in Northern Australia
Title Floods in Northern Australia
Description Floods swept across Australia's Northern Territory as the six-month rainy season drew to a close in April 2006. Worst-affected was the city of Katherine, where water from an overflowing Katherine River reached up to the roofs of houses in some areas, reported the Australian Broadcast Corporation (ABC). The floods around Katherine had largely subsided when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite acquired the top image on April 10, 2006, but the nearby Daly River was still swollen. Though not visible in this image, the city of Katherine sits along the Katherine River near the point where the label meets the river. The only clear signs of human habitation are brilliant green squares created by agriculture along both rivers. In addition to farm fields, large pools of flood water, inky black in this image, also line the banks of the Daly River. According to ABC News, the river was still rising on April 10, and those who lived in the town of Daly River near the river's mouth, were preparing to evacuate. The lower image, from March 1, 2006, shows the river basin earlier in the rainy season before the floods set in. To track the floods, see the MODIS Rapid Response Web site, where daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?Australia2/2006098 ] of Australia are available. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC.
Floods in Northern Australia
Title Floods in Northern Australia
Description Floods swept across Australia's Northern Territory as the six-month rainy season drew to a close in April 2006. Worst-affected was the city of Katherine, where water from an overflowing Katherine River reached up to the roofs of houses in some areas, reported the Australian Broadcast Corporation (ABC). The floods around Katherine had largely subsided when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite acquired the top image on April 10, 2006, but the nearby Daly River was still swollen. Though not visible in this image, the city of Katherine sits along the Katherine River near the point where the label meets the river. The only clear signs of human habitation are brilliant green squares created by agriculture along both rivers. In addition to farm fields, large pools of flood water, inky black in this image, also line the banks of the Daly River. According to ABC News, the river was still rising on April 10, and those who lived in the town of Daly River near the river's mouth, were preparing to evacuate. The lower image, from March 1, 2006, shows the river basin earlier in the rainy season before the floods set in. To track the floods, see the MODIS Rapid Response Web site, where daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?Australia2/2006098 ] of Australia are available. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC.
Floods in Northern Australia
Title Floods in Northern Australia
Description Floods swept across Australia's Northern Territory as the six-month rainy season drew to a close in April 2006. Worst-affected was the city of Katherine, where water from an overflowing Katherine River reached up to the roofs of houses in some areas, reported the Australian Broadcast Corporation (ABC). The floods around Katherine had largely subsided when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite acquired the top image on April 10, 2006, but the nearby Daly River was still swollen. Though not visible in this image, the city of Katherine sits along the Katherine River near the point where the label meets the river. The only clear signs of human habitation are brilliant green squares created by agriculture along both rivers. In addition to farm fields, large pools of flood water, inky black in this image, also line the banks of the Daly River. According to ABC News, the river was still rising on April 10, and those who lived in the town of Daly River near the river's mouth, were preparing to evacuate. The lower image, from March 1, 2006, shows the river basin earlier in the rainy season before the floods set in. To track the floods, see the MODIS Rapid Response Web site, where daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?Australia2/2006098 ] of Australia are available. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC.
Floods in Northern Australia
Title Floods in Northern Australia
Description Northern Australia typically experiences two seasons: wet and dry. The six-month rainy season was wrapping up when torrential rains triggered extensive floods in the Northern Territory in early April 2006. Dark rivers of water measuring kilometers across snaked towards the coast on April 8, 2006, top image, to cover land that had been dry one month earlier. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the top image, while MODIS on the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite acquired the lower image. Both images show the northern tip of Australia's Northern Territory in false color to highlight the presence of water. In these images, water is black and dark blue, clouds are pale blue, and vegetation is green. Not only did the rain trigger floods, but it also nourished plants. Vegetation is far denser in the top image than it had been in March.Daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?Australia2/2006098 ] of Australia are available from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC.
Floods in Northern Australia
Title Floods in Northern Australia
Description Northern Australia typically experiences two seasons: wet and dry. The six-month rainy season was wrapping up when torrential rains triggered extensive floods in the Northern Territory in early April 2006. Dark rivers of water measuring kilometers across snaked towards the coast on April 8, 2006, top image, to cover land that had been dry one month earlier. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the top image, while MODIS on the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite acquired the lower image. Both images show the northern tip of Australia's Northern Territory in false color to highlight the presence of water. In these images, water is black and dark blue, clouds are pale blue, and vegetation is green. Not only did the rain trigger floods, but it also nourished plants. Vegetation is far denser in the top image than it had been in March.Daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?Australia2/2006098 ] of Australia are available from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC.
Floods in Western Australia
Title Floods in Western Australia
Description As cyclones go, Cyclone Emma [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php 3?img_id=13385 ] was weak, forming just before coming ashore with winds gusting to less than 90 kilometers per hour (56 miles per hour). The storm did, however, drape itself over the whole of Western Australia on March 1, 2006, bringing a deluge of rain. In the midst of its wet season, the region was already soggy when Emma came ashore, and the storm's heavy rains triggered widespread flooding. Water spilled out of river basins and filled seasonal lakes across the state on March 2, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite took the top image. In this image, the rivers and streams in the Murchison and Gascoyne River Basins have expanded into satiny ribbons of dark blue, with pale blue streaks formed by muddy channels. These rivers are in central Western Australia, east of Shark Bay and well inland from where the storm first struck, but similar floods are apparent throughout the state in the large image. In the ten days that passed between when the top and the bottom images were taken, plants have clearly flourished with the late summer rains. The brushes of green on the arid tan and pink landscape expanded, particularly around the rivers, which almost appear to be glowing in a halo of green by March 2. Popcorn clouds drifting over the flood region are pale blue in this false-color satellite image. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team and the Goddard Earth Sciences DAAC.
Floods in Western Australia
Title Floods in Western Australia
Description Although eight days had passed since Cyclone Emma drenched northwestern Australia, flooding was more dramatic than it had been immediately after the storm came ashore on March 1, 2006. By March 8, top image, upstream floodwater had swollen the web of rivers in the center of the image and spread across the dry landscape. Additional flooding is apparent near the shore along the top of the image, and the cloud of bright blue offshore indicates that mud-laden water is draining into the Indian Ocean. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the floods had stranded or killed cattle in the rural region.Daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?Australia1/ ] of northwestern Australia are available from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC.
Floods in Western Australia
Title Floods in Western Australia
Description Although eight days had passed since Cyclone Emma drenched northwestern Australia, flooding was more dramatic than it had been immediately after the storm came ashore on March 1, 2006. By March 8, top image, upstream floodwater had swollen the web of rivers in the center of the image and spread across the dry landscape. Additional flooding is apparent near the shore along the top of the image, and the cloud of bright blue offshore indicates that mud-laden water is draining into the Indian Ocean. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the floods had stranded or killed cattle in the rural region.Daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?Australia1/ ] of northwestern Australia are available from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC.
Floods in Western Australia
Title Floods in Western Australia
Description The largest flood on record on Australia's Murchison River was expected to peak at the river's mouth on March 16, 2006, reported the Australian Broadcasting Corporation [ http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200603/s1592969.htm ]. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the top image on the afternoon of March 16. On the right side of the image, the upper reaches of the Murchison River are clearly flooded with a wide blue band expanding out from the river's normal banks. As it enters Kalbarri National Park, the river winds through deep gorges that prevented it from spreading out. Only when it reaches the coast is the river wide again. A bright blue fan of sediment pours from the mouth of the river where mud-laden flood water is draining into the Indian Ocean. The river overflowed after Cyclone Emma inundated the basin with heavy rain on March 1. The excess water took 15 days to drain to the ocean. The floods near the shore threatened the city of Kalbarri, which sits just south of the river. The floods may also have caused damage to Kalbarri National Park, which is centered around the river and the 80 kilometers of gorges it has cut in the red rock. Even without superimposed borders, the park's southern boundary is clearly evident in this image. To the south of the river, a stark line separates the green park from the tan and pink land outside the park. The park's western border is the Indian Ocean. The park's northern and eastern borders are not visible. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?Australia4/2006075 ] of Western Australia. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC.
Floods in Western Australia
Title Floods in Western Australia
Description The Murchison River of central Western Australia was still grossly swollen on March 12, 2006, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the top image. The flooding started when Cyclone Emma dumped heavy rain over the river basin on March 1. Since then, the glut of flood water has steadily made its way downstream, making the river bulge as it went. On March 9, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the river was at its highest level on record, expanding to more than ten kilometers wide in places. In the days following March 12, the flood water was expected to drain into the Indian Ocean through Kalbarri National Park and the city of Kalbarri. In the image, the flood-widened river is a ribbon of blue, particularly in the southwestern reaches of the river. In these areas, the river had been a barely discernable blue line on February 20, lower image, before the cyclone hit. The large images have a resolution of 500 meters per pixel. They are available in additional resolutions [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?Australia4/2006071/Australia4.2006071.terra.721 ], including MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel, from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC.
Floods in Western Australia
Title Floods in Western Australia
Description The Murchison River of central Western Australia was still grossly swollen on March 12, 2006, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the top image. The flooding started when Cyclone Emma dumped heavy rain over the river basin on March 1. Since then, the glut of flood water has steadily made its way downstream, making the river bulge as it went. On March 9, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the river was at its highest level on record, expanding to more than ten kilometers wide in places. In the days following March 12, the flood water was expected to drain into the Indian Ocean through Kalbarri National Park and the city of Kalbarri. In the image, the flood-widened river is a ribbon of blue, particularly in the southwestern reaches of the river. In these areas, the river had been a barely discernable blue line on February 20, lower image, before the cyclone hit. The large images have a resolution of 500 meters per pixel. They are available in additional resolutions [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?Australia4/2006071/Australia4.2006071.terra.721 ], including MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel, from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC.
Grampians National Park, Vic …
Title Grampians National Park, Victoria
Description In Victoria, Australia, near the southeastern tip of the continent, sandstone mountains rise above the surrounding farmland. A 19th-century surveyor named the mountains after those in his native Scotland: Grampians. In 1984, the mountains were declared a national park. Covering 1,700 square kilometers (656 square miles), the park is home to a variety of plants and animals, many of which live nowhere else. On December 15, 2000, the Landsat 7 satellite captured this image of Grampians National Park and its surroundings in Victoria, Australia. Marked by sharp ridges, the park's sandstone mountains range in color from charcoal gray to reddish tan. Around the park is farmland—tiny rectangles of buff, beige, and brick red. Several bodies of water dot the region. The meandering water body west of the park is bordered by beige, indicative of low water levels. Along the eastern edge of the park is Halls Gap, generally used as a park entrance. East of the park is the town of Ararat. December and January fall within the Australian summer, when extremely hot, dry conditions can spark fires. A little more than five years after Landsat took this picture, a fire [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13316 ] burned nearly half the park. As its native plant species are well-adapted to fire, the vegetation appeared well on its way to recovery 12 months later, as reported on the park Web site. [ http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/resources/mresources/gramps/gramps-fire-pics.htm ] In early January 2007, a much smaller fire broke out near the park's northern end, but was quickly contained. According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, residents near the park hoped for a complete ban on campfires throughout the summer to avoid another massive blaze like the January 2006 fire. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided by the University of Maryland's Global Land Cover Facility. [ http://www.landcover.org/ ]
Drought in Australia
Title Drought in Australia
Description Long-term drought persisted throughout Australia when the normally rainy winter month of August yielded little rain. Most of southern and central Australia received below-average rainfall during the winter, and parts of South Australia and New South Wales recorded their lowest rainfall totals since record-keeping began, said the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics (ABARE) in their September 2007 Crop Report [ http://www.abareconomics.com/publications_html/cr/cr_07/cr07_sept.pdf ] (pdf). This vegetation anomaly image shows the impact of the dry winter on southwestern Australia's grain belt. Though Western Australia received more rain than other parts of the country, conditions were still dry. Regions where plants were growing more slowly or producing fewer leaves than average (as measured between 2000 and 2006) are brown, while better-than-average conditions are green. A sprinkling of green is scattered across crop areas in the south, where ABARE reported that rain fell, while a strip of dark brown points to poor conditions in the northwest. This location, too, corresponds with ABARE reports of scant rainfall in the north. The image was made with data collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite between August 13 and August 28, 2007. Rainfall in early September stabilized the winter crops, leading to a predicted yield of 8.7 million tons in the 2007-2008 growing season, an increase from crops produced in 2006-2007, said ABARE. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided by Inbal Reshef, Global Agricultural Monitoring Project [ http://www.pecad.fas.usda.gov/glam.cfm ].
Drought in Southeastern Aust …
Title Drought in Southeastern Australia
Description Global Agricultural Monitoring Project between NASA, USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), and the University of Maryland., Spring started warm and dry in much of Australia. In addition to high land surface temperatures [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17440 ] in September 2006, many of the country's agricultural areas were facing 6- to 12-month rainfall deficiencies that the Australian Bureau of Meteorology categorized as serious, severe, or lowest on record. In southern Western Australia, one of the country's prime wheat-growing regions, rainfall between April and September was less than half the average amounts. Parts of South Australia, much of Victoria, and south-central New South Wales had been racking up deficits for 9 to 12 months or longer. Severe drought had settled over many areas. This image shows the stress on vegetation—predominantly in croplands—in southeastern Australia. The image compares vegetation greenness data collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ], satellite between September 30 and October 15, 2006, to average greenness measured during the same 15-day period from 2000-2005. Satellite vegetation greenness is an indicator of the spatial extent, density, and health of vegetation at the Earth's surface. Places where the greenness was anomalously low are colored brown, places where vegetation was near average are yellow, and the few places where vegetation greenness was higher than average are green. Places where vegetation greenness couldn't be measured, perhaps due to clouds, are colored gray. A wide brown arc reaches from coastal South Australia, eastward through Victoria, and northward into New South Wales. In South Australia, the brown area covers cropland for barley, rapeseed, and wheat. In Victoria, the affected area includes those same crops plus sunflowers. All those same crops are grown in southern New South Wales, but the affected area also includes rice-growing areas. Farther north, closer to the border of Queensland, the brown arc of below-average vegetation conditions covers sorghum- and cotton-growing regions. The rainfall deficits and warm temperatures that are so strongly affecting croplands do not appear to be having as extreme an effect on natural vegetation. For example, at the border of South Australia and Victoria, several roughly rectangular areas show near-average vegetation conditions (yellow). The rectangles of comparatively normal vegetation trace out several National Parks. The brown arc extending from Victoria into New South Wales is inland of The Great Dividing Range Mountains, which follow the coastline of eastern and southeastern Australia. These mountains, home to many parks and protected areas, do a good job of ringing rainfall out of moist air coming in off the ocean, and this coastal area appears not as severely stressed as the inland crop-growing regions. Australia is prone to drought because of its geographic location. Much of Australia lies in a latitude belt that is under the influence of an atmospheric phenomenon known as the subtropical high. Just outside of the tropics in each hemisphere lies a swath of the globe where air frequently sinks toward the Earth's surface from higher in the atmosphere. The air warms and dries as it sinks, creating semi-permanent zones of high air pressure at the surface. These subtropical highs are areas of stable, warm, and dry air that favor clear skies and little rainfall. (In the Northern Hemisphere, several large deserts, including the Sahara, reside in the latitudes of the subtropical high.) Many drought episodes in the eastern and northern part of the Australia are linked to El Niño episodes. A relatively mild El Niño [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17419 ] was underway in late 2006. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided by Inbal Reshef as part of the
Drought in Southeastern Aust …
Title Drought in Southeastern Australia
Description Rainfall in southeastern Australia in 2006 was well below average, and average temperatures for the continent in November 2006 hit a record high. The climate punished vegetation across the region. In November 2006, observations of vegetation conditions captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] satellite revealed how vegetation was struggling across much of the region. The image compares conditions in 2006 to the average November conditions from 2000-2005. All the brown areas indicate less abundant vegetation than the average. Only small, faint areas of slightly above-average vegetation conditions (green) are visible in a few locations. Gray areas indicate patches of missing data, perhaps due to persistent clouds or extremely bright soils (such as dry, salt-covered lake beds.) In many cases, areas of natural vegetation fared better than agricultural lands, appearing yellowish (average) or very light brown (slightly below average). In some cases, the locations of national parks are as obvious as if their boundaries had been drawn on the map. For example, in western Victoria, where wheat and other cereal grains are grown, the Little Desert, Grampians (southeast of Little Desert, not labeled), and Otway National Parks stand out as yellow or even yellow-green patches amid the dark brown swath of the croplands. In eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales, the vegetation of the Great Dividing Range Mountains, which run through Alpine and Kosciuszko National Parks, appears to be far closer to average conditions for this time of year than the vegetation in the inland grain-growing areas. This difference isn't surprising since native vegetation is better adapted to Australia's regularly occurring dry spells, whereas crops often depend on irrigation that can be difficult to sustain in drought conditions. The difference in greenness between native vegetation and cropland may not just be because native vegetation is better adapted to drought, however. Research in southwestern Australia indicates that the replacement of dark-colored native vegetation with paler agricultural crops, such as wheat, has changed where rain falls. The large-scale, over-turning motion of heated air (convection) that produces rain clouds occurs less often over croplands than over native vegetation. Models and observations suggest that converting natural vegetation to croplands actually reduced the amount of rainfall in those areas. Perhaps a similar effect has taken place in the region pictured here, as well. 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, the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), and the University of Maryland.
Drought in Southeastern Aust …
Title Drought in Southeastern Australia
Description Deep red paints the coastal mountains of southeastern Australia, hangs over the continent's arid interior, and dots much of the rest of the land in this image, indicating that unusually high temperatures reigned in November 2006. According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, the monthly average temperature for the country hit a record high in November. The average temperature for the continent was 2.11 degrees Celsius warmer than average, with local temperatures rising more than 4 degrees C above average for the month in places. These abnormally high air temperatures are reflected in the extreme land surface temperatures shown in this image. The land is usually much warmer to the touch than the temperature recorded by a thermometer hanging above the ground, and so, during November, land surface temperatures in Australia were as much as 10 degrees Celsius above a five-year average. The greatest deviation from normal temperatures is shown in dark red in this image. Average temperatures are white, and cooler-than-average temperatures are blue. The temperature data were collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite. The temperature anomaly was greatest in the Great Dividing Range, which curves along the coasts of Victoria and New South Wales in southeast Australia. The heat and a lack of spring rain may have primed the mountains for devastating wildfires. By the end of December, several large wildfires [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14029 ] raced through the mountains, threatening local communities and clouding the skies over much of southeastern Australia with dense smoke. The high temperatures in the Great Dividing Range and elsewhere were just part of an unusually warm and dry spring, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13943 ] which in turn, was an extension of a dry year. Some of the dryness may be linked to a weak El Niñno in the Pacific Ocean. El Niñno is a regular climate pattern during which sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean near the equator heat up and trade winds weaken. Though the effects of El Niñno vary, the phenomenon often changes rainfall patterns around the world. In Australia, El Niñno often brings a dry winter and spring. It is also linked to an increase in the number of extreme fire days, during which conditions are hot, dry, and windy. 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.
Dust Storm in the Simpson De …
Title Dust Storm in the Simpson Desert, Australia
Description High winds menaced Australia's residents in late September 2006, damaging buildings along the east coast and damaging crops and homes in South Australia. In the midst of this high-wind activity, a dust storm struck the Simpson Desert. Crossing the borders of three states (Northern Territory, Queensland, and South Australia), the Simpson Desert [ http://www.parks.sa.gov.au/simpson_cp/index.htm ] covers 170,000 square kilometers (about 65,000 square miles) and receives only slightly more rain than the Sahara Desert. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite took this picture on September 24, 2006. The MODIS sensor on the Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the storm a few hours [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2006267-0924/Australia.A2006267.0135.1km.jpg ] earlier. In this image, the dust appears as a buff-colored plume that contrasts with the characteristic deep red soil of Australia's outback. You can also download a 250 m resolution KMZ file [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Sep2006/Australia2.A2006267.0420.250m.kmz ] (1.2 MB) 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 ] at NASA GSFC
Dust Storm near Brisbane, Au …
Title Dust Storm near Brisbane, Australia
Description The dust storm that arose along the border between New South Wales and Queensland at the end of November had moved northward over the Coral Sea by the beginning of December. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] flying onboard NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image of the dust plume on December 1, 2006. The plume appears as a big beige splotch over the ocean, partially blocking the view of underlying clouds. Tiny red dots in Queensland are hotspots indicating fires. Some smoke from local fires might have mingled with the dust in this plume. In late 2006, extremely dry conditions in Australia contributed to both fires and dust storms. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center
Dust Storm near Brisbane, Au …
Title Dust Storm near Brisbane, Australia
Description On November 29, 2006, the Courier Mail news service in Australia reported that the source of "that eerie glow" in the Brisbane area resulted from dust. A dust storm originating along the border between New South Wales and Queensland clogged the skies over the region. 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 dust storm as it headed toward the Coral Sea on November 30. In this image, the dust appears as a pale tan plume sprawling over the land surface and the clouds along Australia's coast. Tiny red dots in the image are hotspots detected by MODIS, and they indicate fires. It is possible that smoke from local fires has mingled with the dust in this plume. Dry conditions contribute to both dust storms and fires. (A cluster of fires [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13994 ] burned just south of this storm.) According to the Reuters news service, Australia was already suffering from a drought widely regarded as the country's worst in a century. In early November, officials attending a water summit suggested that the drought might actually be the worst in 1,000 years. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center
Earthquake Raises Reefs in t …
Title Earthquake Raises Reefs in the Solomon Islands
Description The massive magnitude 8.1 earthquake [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17603 ] that jolted the Solomon Islands on April 1, 2007, permanently changed the shoreline on Ranongga Island, west of the epicenter. New beach was added to the western shore of the island when the earthquake lifted the island as much as three meters, exposing near-shore coral reefs, reported the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. [ http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200704/s1892185.htm ] The freshly exposed reefs are visible beneath a veil of clouds in the top image, acquired by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER [ http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on April 11, 2007. The lower image, taken on March 31, 2006, shows the island's former shoreline. Lush tropical vegetation is red in these images, while the exposed reef is dark grey. Water is black and clouds range from light blue lavender to white. The exposed reef adds tens of meters to most of the shoreline, and more than 150 meters at the tip of the spit of land shown in this image. The earthquake occurred along the plate boundary, where the Australia/Woodlark/Solomon Sea plates slide beneath the denser Pacific plate. Friction between the sinking (subducting) plates and the overriding Pacific plate led to the large earthquake on April 1, said the United States Geological Survey (USGS) summary of the earthquake. [ http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/eqinthenews/2007/us2007aqbk/#summary ] Large earthquakes are common in the region, though the section of the plate that produced the April 1 earthquake had not caused any quakes of magnitude 7 or larger since the early 20th century, said the USGS. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the NASA/GSFC/MITI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team. [ http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ]
Earthquake Raises Reefs in t …
Title Earthquake Raises Reefs in the Solomon Islands
Description The massive magnitude 8.1 earthquake [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17603 ] that jolted the Solomon Islands on April 1, 2007, permanently changed the shoreline on Ranongga Island, west of the epicenter. New beach was added to the western shore of the island when the earthquake lifted the island as much as three meters, exposing near-shore coral reefs, reported the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. [ http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200704/s1892185.htm ] The freshly exposed reefs are visible beneath a veil of clouds in the top image, acquired by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER [ http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on April 11, 2007. The lower image, taken on March 31, 2006, shows the island's former shoreline. Lush tropical vegetation is red in these images, while the exposed reef is dark grey. Water is black and clouds range from light blue lavender to white. The exposed reef adds tens of meters to most of the shoreline, and more than 150 meters at the tip of the spit of land shown in this image. The earthquake occurred along the plate boundary, where the Australia/Woodlark/Solomon Sea plates slide beneath the denser Pacific plate. Friction between the sinking (subducting) plates and the overriding Pacific plate led to the large earthquake on April 1, said the United States Geological Survey (USGS) summary of the earthquake. [ http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/eqinthenews/2007/us2007aqbk/#summary ] Large earthquakes are common in the region, though the section of the plate that produced the April 1 earthquake had not caused any quakes of magnitude 7 or larger since the early 20th century, said the USGS. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the NASA/GSFC/MITI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team. [ http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ]
Magnitude 6.3 quake in centr …
Title Magnitude 6.3 quake in central Java
Description A powerful earthquake rattled Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia, in the early morning hours of May 27, 2006. The quake destroyed more than 60,000 houses in the city, and killed an estimated 6,234 people, reported the World Health Organization on June 6. Though Indonesia experiences frequent earthquakes, the May 27 quake was unusual in that it was centered about 10 kilometers under the Earth's surface, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Most earthquakes in Indonesia occur deep under the Earth's surface where the slab of the Earth's crust that carries Australia (the Australia Plate) sinks beneath the Sunda Plate on which the islands of Indonesia ride. Earthquakes occur in the sometimes-messy grind of colliding plates, but these are centered deep below the Earth's surface. The May 27 earthquake happened near the surface along a fault in the Sunda Plate, about 20 kilometers south-southeast of Yogyakarta. This image shows the topography of the landscape near the earthquake epicenter. Yogyakarta sits in a broad valley between two groups of roughly north-running mountains. The towering Merapi Volcano caps the northeast end of the valley. Behind it is the single peak of the Sundoro Volcano and a cluster of small peaks in the Dieng Volcano Complex. The Slamet and Cereme Volcanoes are west of Merapi in the upper-left corner of the image. The earthquake occurred along a fault east of the mountains that frame Yogyakarta to the east. The image was created from data collected by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. The earthquake is not the only geologic activity to threaten the region: the Merapi volcano was also rumbling at the end of May. The volcano sent clouds of hot gas and lava down its slopes on June 6, prompting the evacuation of 11,000 people, said news reports. The ASTER sensor on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured an image [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13628 ] of the volcano in action on June 6. The volcano had been showing signs of increased activity since April, but activity picked up after the May 27 earthquake. While volcanic activity and earthquakes are often connected, it is not clear if the May 27 earthquake is directly linked to Merapi's activity, said the USGS. The same underlying geologic processes may have triggered both events. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data provided courtesy of the Unviersity of Maryland's Global Land Cover Facility. [ http://www.landcover.org/ ]
Rainstorms in Central Austra …
Title Rainstorms in Central Australia
Description A persistent low-pressure system sat over Australia's "Red Center" for several days at the end of January and into February 2006, bringing rain to a landscape better known for its dry conditions and parched starkness. Storms are normal phenomena, however, in the Australian monsoon season (locally known as "The Wet"). The Australian Bureau of Meteorology reported moderate rain falling through most of the area, with occasional heavy rains of 20-40 millimeters (1-2 inches). While this amount is not an impressive-sounding quantity, sustained over several days, it amounted to considerable rain totals, and streambeds that are typically completely dry filled and overflowed, causing flooding in many areas. The satellite image shows the swirling clouds associataed with the low-pressure system. This image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite on February 1, 2006, at 01:50 UTC (10:50 a.m. local time). In the southern hemisphere, low-pressure systems develop spiral patterns that wind clockwise around the center of the system because of the rotation of the Earth. (Low-pressure systems spin counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere). This particular system was being fed moisture from the Indian Ocean, where warm seas evaporate water into the air. The moist air was then carried along in a low-pressure frontal system. Called a "monsoon trough," such systems typically bring intense rains of themselves. When the monsoon trough combines with low-pressure systems such as the one pictured here, heavy monsoon rains fall in northern Australia. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team.
Fires in New South Wales, Au …
Title Fires in New South Wales, Australia
Description Several large fires were burning in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia, on November 21, 2006. This image from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] shows the active fire locations outlined in red. Thick smoke blows eastward over the Tasman Sea. Northern Sydney is mostly hidden by clouds at bottom center of the scene. According to news reports, winds of 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph) were causing fires to spread rapidly. Towns in the mountainous area could be threatened as the fires continued to spread. The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides twice-daily images of the area at additional resolutions. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?Australia6/2006325 ] NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC.
Fires in New South Wales, Au …
Title Fires in New South Wales, Australia
Description Several large fires were burning in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia, on November 21, 2006. This image from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] shows the active fire locations outlined in red. Thick smoke blows eastward over the Tasman Sea. Northern Sydney is mostly hidden by clouds at bottom center of the scene. According to news reports, winds of 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph) were causing fires to spread rapidly. Towns in the mountainous area could be threatened as the fires continued to spread. The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides twice-daily images of the area at additional resolutions. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?Australia6/2006325 ] NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC.
Fires in New South Wales, Au …
Title Fires in New South Wales, Australia
Description On December 5, 2006, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite captured these images of fires in New South Wales' Pilliga natural areas. Places where MODIS detected active fires are outlined in red. In a photo-like, "natural-color" image, smoke from the large fires blocks the view of the landscape beneath. A "false-color" image, enhanced with shortwave- and near-infrared light that MODIS detected, penetrates the smoke and makes the burned area obvious. The deep red of the scorched area contrasts sharply with the unburned vegetation, which is bright green. The land surrounding the natural areas—a mixture of nature reserves and state forests—is agricultural land. The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides twice-daily images of the area in both natural and false color at additional resolutions. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/fas/?SEAustralia4 ] NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center
Fires in New South Wales, Au …
Title Fires in New South Wales, Australia
Description In northeastern New South Wales, a large fire flared up on November 29, 2006, and within a day it had scorched a large area in and around the Pilliga Nature Reserve and State Forests north of the town of Coonabarabran. This trio of images shows the area in photo-like natural color on the morning of November 30 (top), and in infrared-enhanced "false-color" (bottom) on November 29 and November 30. All the images were made from data collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] satellite. Places where the sensor detected actively burning fire are marked in red. In the photo-like image, a huge brownish-gray plume spreads northeast across the border between New South Wales and Queensland near Darling Downs. This plume is most likely dust, perhaps mingled with smoke. A dust storm was brewing over the headwaters of the Darling River on November 29. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?Australia6/2006333/Australia6.2006333.terra ] The same windy weather that lofted the dust could have driven the rapid spread of the fire. In the false-color images, unburned vegetation appears bright green, naturally bare or sparsely vegetated ground is pale beige, and burned areas are brick red. Within the red outlines marking the active fires, a bright pink glow often indicates open flame. The largest burned area is at least 25 kilometers wide (about 15.5 miles). According to a news report [ http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200611/s1800996.htm ] from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Website, a water-bombing helicopter was brought in to help the Rural Fire Service control the bushfire, which was said to be burning out of control within kilometers of the town of Coonabarabran. Crews are using bulldozers to create firebreaks. As of November 30, the firefighters had established containment lines northwest of the fire. In that town and other small towns in the region, residents were being advised to prepare their properties for the threat of fire. The high-resolution image above is a version of the photo-like image from November 30 at MODIS' maximum spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides twice-daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?Australia6 ] of the region in both photo-like and false-color versions at a variety of resolutions. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center
Fires in Northern Territory …
Title Fires in Northern Territory and Queensland
Description In late spring 2006, Australia appeared to be in the midst of an active fire season. Throughout the month of November, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] and Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellites captured numerous images of fires burning in northern Queensland's Cape York Peninsula, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13979 ] southern Queensland, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13977 ] New South Wales, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13982 ] and northwestern Australia. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13976 ] This image shows fires and large burn scars near the border of Northern Territory and Queensland on November 27, 2006. Places where Aqua MODIS detected actively burning fires are marked in red. Burned areas appear deep brown compared to the tan colors of the tropical savannas that dominate the landscape of the region. Fires, both natural and human-caused, have been part of the ecosystem here for hundreds, probably thousands of years. Traditional Aboriginal land owners, as well as private and government land owners, use fire to manage agricultural and natural ecosystems in the area. Use of prescribed fire early in the season reduces the risk of more severe fires later in summer. The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides twice-daily images of Australia at additional resolutions [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/ ] via a clickable map. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center
Fires in Northern Territory, …
Title Fires in Northern Territory, Australia
Description Across Australia's "Top End" scattered fires were burning on June 5, 2006, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite passed overhead. Places where MODIS detected actively burning fires are marked in red. These relatively early dry-season fires may be intentional burns set by people to reduce the risk of catastrophic fires later in the dry season, when the savannas' lush grasses become intensely dry and pose a severe fire risk. To read more about the role of fire in Australia's tropical savanna ecosystems, please visit the Website of the Tropical Savannas CRC. [ http://savanna.ntu.edu.au/information/ar/ar_fr.html ] 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 area at additional resolutions. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?AERONET_Jabiru ] NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center
Fires in Northern Territory, …
Title Fires in Northern Territory, Australia
Description Tropical climates, such as that experienced in the northernmost part of Northern Territory, Australia, are commonly thought of as having just two seasons—wet and dry. But Australian natives actually mark the turning of the year with six seasons. August is the start of "Gurrung," the end of the dry season. It is windless and hot, the land seems to go dormant. Earlier in the year, around April and May, aboriginal land mangers in the area would have set small-scale, controlled burns across a patchwork of the bush to stimulate new growth of vegetation and reduce the continuous expanses of fuel available for more devastating bushfires during Gurrung. The fires seen here may be natural or human-caused bushfires. This image of Northern Territory was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite on August 3, 2006. Places where MODIS detected actively burning fires are marked in red. A large cluster of fires is burning in Kakadu National Park, Austalia's largest land-based national park. Australian Aborigines have lived in this area for at least 40,000 years, using prescribed fire to sustain and carefully manage the tropical savanna landscape. The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center
Fires in Northern Territory, …
Title Fires in Northern Territory, Australia
Description In late August, the tropical savannas of northern Australia are drying out as the cool dry season progresses, and both natural and human-set (natural resource management) fires are common. This image of parts of Western Australia and Northern Territory shows scores of fires (red dots) burning across the Kimberley Plateau and Arnhem Land on August 31, 2006. Aboriginal tribes have used fire to maintain plant and animal communities in the region's tropical savannas for centuries. Australian scientists are working with Aborigines to figure out how to integrate traditional knowledge with modern natural resource management techniques. The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides images of all of Australia at additional resolutions [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/ ] through a clickable map. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center
Seasonal Floods in Queenslan …
Title Seasonal Floods in Queensland, Australia
Description Near the eastern border of Australia's dry interior, an intricate network of riverbeds and streams cut across the ancient clay soil, a floodplain that water forgot. Called the Channel Country, the region receives very little rain and only flows with water after summer monsoon rains drench the highland to its north and east. The slow-moving flood drains into the dry streams and rivers, pooling in sometimes-present lakes, such as Lake Yamma Yamma and Lake Eyre. One of the larger channel rivers is Cooper Creek, shown in these images collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on May 4, top, and April 24, 2006, bottom. These images show the channel system that is Cooper Creek as it fills with seasonal floods. On April 14, only the slightest hint of water, traces of green vegetation along the channels, can be seen in Cooper Creek. Lake Yamma Yamma is salt-pan white from mineral-sediment deposit left after its waters have evaporated time and time again. In the large image taken on April 14, the slow-moving flood fills the upstream reaches of Cooper Creek. By May 4, the flood reached the segment of the creek around Lake Yamma Yamma. Blue water defines the channels and has started to spill into the lake. The flood was welcome in the region, which has been in the grip of drought since 2002, reported the Australian Broadcasting Company. The land around Cooper Creek is primarily used as range for livestock. The large images provided above have a resolution of 500 meters per pixel. Daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/ ] of Australia are available from the MODIS Rapid Response Team in a variety of resolutions, including MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC.
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