Roughly 438 miles (705 km) above the Earth, the Moderate Resolution ImagingSpectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite openedits Earth-view door on June 24 and took its first look at our planet. The aboveimage was taken by the MODIS instrument on August 12, 2002, a month and a halfafter “first light.”
The image shows the Biscuit Fire, formed by the convergence of theFlorence Fire and the Sour Biscuit Fire.The fire was sparked by lightning in the KlamathMountains in Oregon and has burned over the state line into California,consuming over 375,000 acres as of August 14th, 2002. Actively burningareas are marked with red outlines.
Like its twin launched aboard NASA’s Terra satellite in 1999, Aqua MODISsees almost the entire surface of our planet every day in 36 channels rangingfrom visible to thermal infrared wavelengths. On a daily basis, Terra descendsacross the equator at 10:30 a.m. local time, while Aqua ascends acrossthe equator at 1:30 p.m.
With the launch of the Aqua instrument, scientists will be able to conduct themost comprehensive daily examination of our planet by combining data from twoMODIS instruments on sister satellites in Earth’s orbit. Researchers will beable to observe land, ocean, and atmospheric phenomena in the afternoon withAqua and in the morning with Terra. The instrument will make it possible toobserve rapid, time-varying phenomena like clouds, water vapor, and fire. Thedifferent timing of the satellites’ pole-to-pole orbits enables scientiststo focus on different aspects of the Earth’s climate system and to seechanges within the system during the course of a day.
Among other things, Aqua MODIS will dramatically improve scientists’ability to monitor the daily cycles of the large-scale burning ofplant biomass in regions all across the planet. Scientistswill be able to better sample fire activity and improve theirchances of obtaining cloud free observations of the surface. With such coverage, researcherscan gather more data on how fast and in which direction fires are spreading aswell as information on how severely a given fire may affect air quality ofdownwind urban areas.
For more information and images, read:Instrument Aboard NASA’s Aqua Satellite Joins Twin toBegin Comprehensive Global Coverage
References & Resources
Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
