Featured Image Archive
November 14, 2011 - Eruption of Nyamuragira Volcano, Democratic Republic of Congo
The featured image shows the volcanic eruption of the Nyamragira Volcano in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The volcano erupted on November 6, 2011 and the lava is flowing north, away from populated areas.
Image courtesy of Jeff Schmaltz, NASA LANCE Rapid Response. Content courtesy of NASA Earth Observatory.
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September 29, 2011 - Fires in the Northern Territory, Australia
The featured image shows large fires (outlined in red) and smoke near Alice Springs, Australia, as captured by MODIS on NASA's Aqua satellite. Last summer's heavy rains encouraged the prolific growth of grasses and with the onset of the winter season, the grasses have dried out and are providing abundant fuel for fires. Sparks from lightning strikes in these areas can cause very large fires.
Image courtesy of Jeff Schmaltz, NASA LANCE Rapid Response. Content courtesy of Holli Riebeek, NASA Earth Observatory.
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August 24, 2011 - Fires in Bolivia and Brazil
The featured image shows fires (outlined in red) and smoke in Eastern Bolivia and Rondonia, Western Brazil. The typical fishbone pattern of deforestation and land clearing is evident in this MODIS true color image taken by NASA's Aqua satellite.
Image courtesy of Jeff Schmaltz, NASA LANCE Rapid Response. Content courtesy of Jeff Schmaltz and Rebecca Lindsey, NASA Earth Observatory.
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July 14, 2011 - Fires in Eastern Russia
The featured image shows smoke emanating from fires in Eastern Russia as captured by MODIS on board NASA's Aqua satellite. The fires are located in the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic, which has experienced a large number of fires this summer. According to RIA Novosti, wildfires often occur in the dry and hot summer seasons but are usually human induced.
Image courtesy of Jeff Schmaltz, NASA LANCE Rapid Response. Content courtesy of Jeff Schmaltz, Holli Riebeek, NASA Earth Observatory, RIA Novosti.
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June 14, 2011 - Fires in Arizona and New Mexico, USA
The featured image shows fires burning in Arizona and New Mexico as captured by MODIS on board NASA's Terra satellite. The image shows the Wallow fire, now classified as the largest wildfire in Arizona history. The fire started on May 29, 2011 and is thought to have been ignited by a campfire. It has burned 487,016 acres and has moved across the state border into New Mexico. The second fire further to the south, is the Horseshoe Two fire, which started on May 8, 2011. This fire is also thought to be human caused and has burned 184,198 acres. It is currently moving along two distinct fronts, to the north and the south.
Image courtesy of Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Content courtesy of Jeff Schmaltz, Holli Riebeek, NASA Earth Observatory, InciWeb and The Washington Post.
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May 20, 2011 - Fires in Mexico
The featured image shows fires burning in Mexico as captured by MODIS on board NASA's Aqua satellite. The image shows fires burning across the country, as indicated by the red dots. Smoke is seen emanating from some fires and a smoky haze is seen over the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean.
Image courtesy of Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Content courtesy of Holli Riebeek, NASA Earth Observatory
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April 18, 2011 - Fires in Texas, USA
The featured image shows fires burning in Texas as captured by MODIS on board NASA's Aqua satellite. The image shows fires burning, outlined in red, smoke plumes blowing to the north east, and large burn scars. As of April 21, the Rockhouse fire has burned 202,150 acres, the Wildcat fire has burned 159,308 acres, the PK complex fire, including PK West and Jackson Ranch, have burned 147,973 acres. As of April 19, the Swenson fire has burned 122,500 acres and the PK East fire has burned 10,996 acres. It is reported that more than 1 million acres of land have burned in Texas due the lack of rain and warm, dry winds.
Image courtesy of Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Content courtesy of Holli Riebeek, NASA Earth Observatory
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March 22, 2011 - Fires in Myanmar
The featured image shows fires burning in Myanmar on March 22, 2011 as detected by the Aqua satellite. Fires frequently occur during the dry season, due to accidental wildfires and intentionally set fires to clear brush.
Image courtesy of Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team.
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February 19, 2011 - Fires in Maryland and Virginia, USA
The featured image shows brush fires burning in Maryland and Virginia due to high winds and dry conditions. Wind gusts reached up to 50 miles per hour (80 kilometers per hour).
Image courtesy of Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Content courtesy of Holli Riebeek, NASA Earth Observatory.
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January 29, 2011 - Fires in the Southern Plains, Oklahoma, USA
The featured image shows fires burning in the Southern Plains of Oklahoma due to warm, windy weather and drought conditions.
Image courtesy of Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Content courtesy of Holli Riebeek, NASA Earth Observatory
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December 2, 2010 - Forest fire in Northern Israel, MODIS image
The featured image shows a large forest fire that broke out in the Carmel forest near the northern city of Haifa. The image was captured by the MODIS sensor on board the Aqua satellite at 12:10pm local time. The Terra satellite flew over about an hour and a half earlier but did not detect the fire. Strong winds have caused the fire to spread quickly and thousands have been forced to evacuate their homes. Approximately 4,000 hectares has been burned and international firefighting crews, equipment and fire fighting planes from countries such as Turkey, Cyprus, Egypt, Jordan, France, U.K., Croatia, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Russia, Spain and Romania have arrived to help combat the fire.
The larger MODIS Rapid Response image subset in varying resolutions can be viewed and downloaded here.
Image courtesy of Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Content courtesy of Holli Riebeek, NASA Earth Observatory, and news articles from Voice of America and Reuters.
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October 15, 2010 - Fires in Botswana, MODIS image
The featured image shows fires burning near the Okavango Delta in Botswana. The image was captured by the MODIS sensor on board the Terra satellite. Large burn scars are evident south east of the delta and the fires are still spreading at the edges. There is evidence of older burn scars to the west and south of the delta.
The larger MODIS Rapid Response image subset in varying resolutions can be viewed and downloaded here.
Image courtesy of Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team.
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September 19, 2010: Fires in Utah, MODIS image
The featured image was captured by the MODIS sensor on board the Aqua satellite and it shows fires burning in central Utah. The lower left cluster of areas outlined in red are known as the Twitchell Canyon Fire. The second large fire, in the top right corner, is the Coffee Pot Fire. Both the fires were ignited by lightning but low humidity and strong winds have the potential to create hazardous fire conditions.
To read the full story, please refer to the original article on the NASA Earth Observatory website.
The larger MODIS Rapid Response image subset can be viewed and downloaded here.
Image courtesy of Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Content courtesy of Holli Riebeek, NASA Earth Observatory
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August 23, 2010: Fires in South America, MODIS image
The featured image was captured by the MODIS sensor on board the Aqua satellite. It shows fires burning mostly in Bolivia, but there are fires also burning in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. The smoke from the fires are spreading along the eastern side of the Andes Mountains, as reported by NASA's Earth Observatory.
To read the full story, please refer to the original article on the NASA Earth Observatory website.
The larger MODIS Rapid Response image subset can be viewed and downloaded here.
Image courtesy of Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Content courtesy of Holli Riebeek, NASA Earth Observatory.
August 1, 2010: Fires in Eastern Siberia, MODIS image
The featured image shows intense fires burning in the boreal forests of eastern Siberia, as reported by NASA's Earth Observatory, with thick brown smoke covering northeastern Siberia and flowing over the Bering Strait and reaching northern Alaska. This image was captured by the MODIS sensor on board the Aqua satellite and provided by MODIS Rapid Response.
To read the full story, please refer to the original article on the NASA Earth Observatory website.
The larger MODIS Rapid Response image subset can be viewed and downloaded here.
Image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Content courtesy of Holli Riebeek, NASA Earth Observatory.
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June 22, 2010: Shultz Fire near Flagstaff, AZ, USA, MODIS image
The featured image shows a large fire north of Flagstaff, Arizona, as reported by NASA's Earth Observatory and Inciweb, with smoke plumes extending northwest for over 100 kilometers. This image was captured by the MODIS sensor on board the Aqua satellite and provided by MODIS Rapid Response.
To read the full story, please refer to the original article on the NASA Earth Observatory website.
The larger MODIS Rapid Response image subset can be viewed and downloaded here.
Image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Content courtesy of Rebecca Lindsey, NASA Earth Observatory and InciWeb.
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April 5, 2010: Large fire in Central Chile, MODIS image
The featured image shows a large fire in central Chile, with a smoke plume extending over large portions of the Bio Bio and northern Arucania provinces, as reported by the NASA Earth Observatory. This image was captured by the MODIS sensor on board the Aqua satellite and provided by MODIS Rapid Response.
To view the full story, please click on this link which will show the original article and images on the NASA Earth Observatory website.
The larger MODIS Rapid Response image subset can be viewed and downloaded here.
Image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Content courtesy of Rebecca Lindsey, NASA Earth Observatory.
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March 5, 2010: Fires and widespread smoke in Southeast Asia, MODIS image
The featured image shows numerous fires and widespread smoke across a large area of Southeast Asia over Burma, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and part of Mekong region of China. This image captured by the MODIS sensor on board the Aqua satellite shows clearly how numerous fires - mostly small land-use ones - over a large area can create widespread air quality problems.
As noted by the NASA Earth Observatory, the fires to the west in the image are less smoky, probably signifying smaller and drier fires burning agricultural residues. To the east of the image instead there seem to be larger fires elevating more smoke, which are probably fires burning into forested areas, whether accidentally or for land-clearing activities.
To get the full story please click on this link which will show the original article and images on the NASA Earth Observatory website.
The larger MODIS Rapid Response image subset can be viewed and downloaded here.
Image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Content courtesy of Rebecca Lindsey, NASA Earth Observatory.
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February 18, 2010: Bushfires in Western Australia, MODIS image
The featured image shows a series of large fires burning in the Lake Dundas Nature Reserve. The Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia (FESA) reported that there were no imminent threats to communities and private property, however 80,000 hectares (197,700 acres) of land had already burned. The billowing smoke is captured clearly in this MODIS image taken from the sensor onboard the NASA Aqua satellite. Clicking on this link will show the original article and images on the NASA Earth Observatory website.
The original MODIS Rapid Response image subset can be viewed and downloaded here.
Image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Content courtesy of Rebecca Lindsey, NASA Earth Observatory.
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January 7, 2010: Fires in Central Africa, MODIS image
The featured image, similar to the one we featured in December for West Africa, shows hundreds of fires in Central Africa, associated probably with burning of crop residues and crop and pasture maintenance. The fires detected are in an area of Central Africa covering Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and the Central African Republic. Clicking on the image, or on this link will show the larger 1km MODIS subset image.
The original MODIS Rapid Response image subset can be viewed and downloaded here.
Image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Content courtesy of Brandon Maccherone, MODIS Website.
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December 7, 2009: Hundreds of land-use fires in West Africa, MODIS image
The featured image shows many small to medium fires in West Africa. Only a fraction of the fires detected show visible smoke plumes. It is likely that most of the smaller fires are linked to agricultural activities such as clearing land for crops and pastures as well as burning agricultural residues form the past harvest. Clicking on the image, or on this link will show the larger 1km MODIS subset image.
The original MODIS Rapid Response image subset can be viewed and downloaded here.
Image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team.
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November 3, 2009: Oil Fire, Western India, MODIS image
The featured image shows a large oil fire, as scanned by MODIS and detected by the MYD14 Active fire detection product. The large black smoke plume blowing to the south-east is a clear indicator that this is not a biomass fire. Clicking on the image, or on this link will show the larger 1km MODIS subset image, which also shows a large concentration of biomass fires in north-western India, whith the resulting characterstic white-yellowish haze.
A more detailed description can be found on the Earth Observatory webpage. The original MODIS Rapid Response image subset can be viewed and downloaded here.
Courtesy of NASA Earth Observatory, Image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team.
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October 15, 2009: Fires and Smoke Plumes, North Korea, MODIS image
The featured image shows fires detected by the MYD14 Active fire detection product, overlayed on the related MODIS image. The image shows also vast smoke plumes which reach out eastward into the Sea of Japan. This MODIS image was captured by the sensor onboard the Aqua satellite on the 15th of October.
A larger image and more detailed description can be found on the Earth Observatory webpage.
Courtesy of NASA Earth Observatory, Image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team.
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October 12, 2009: Arnica Fire, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, ISS digital photograph
The featured image shows the Arnica fire as photographed by astronauts on-board the ISS on the 24th of September 2009. The image shows clearly the extent and magnitude of smoke plumes coming from forest fires, and is especially interesting in comparison with orthorectified MODIS imagery for a sense of scale.
A larger image and more detailed description can be found on the Earth Observatory webpage.
Courtesy of NASA Earth Observatory, image by ISS Astronauts using a Nikon D3 digital camera.
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September 27, 2009: Fires, smoke and dust - Queensland, Australia, MODIS image
The featured image shows active fires, smoke plumes and the residual dust still in the atmosphere from a recent large dust storm. The image was taken by the Aqua satellite using the MODIS sensor on the 27th of September.
A larger image and more detailed description can be found on the Earth Observatory webpage.
Courtesy of NASA Earth Observatory, Image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team.
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September 18, 2009: Burn Scar - Station Fire North of Los Angeles, CA, MODIS false color image
The Station fire burned in the north suburbs of Los Angeles starting in late August and was not fully contained until the 19th of September. During this long period of time, the fire spread over 650 square kilometers of land. While it was burning, smoke plumes were distinctly visible on MODIS imagery and fires were detected by the MODIS Active Fire algorithm.
The featured image shows the area in a 7-2-1 false color visualization, which clearly distinguishes the burned area (in red) from its surroundings. This type of visualization of MODIS satellite imagery can be utilized to estimate the area of land burned.
Courtesy of NASA Earth Observatory, Image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Back to top
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