In central South America, hundreds of fires were burning in the diverse landscapes of Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina on August 28, 2005. This image spans the heart of the continent, from Amazon rainforests near the top of the scene to the savannas of southeastern Brazil. The image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite, and active fire detections made by the sensor are marked with red dots. Fire serves a variety of purposes in land management practices in South America, including renewal of pasture, burning of crop stubble, and the clearing of natural vegetation to make way for people.
The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions.
References & Resources
NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center.
