Large fires were scorching the savannas of northern Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula in mid-November 2006. When the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite passed overhead on November 20, 2006, the sensor detected dozens of active fire locations (marked in red). The burn scars the fires have left behind are dark brown compared to the unburned savannas. Frequent fire is part of what maintains the tropical savanna ecosystem. The area experiences both naturally occurring (lightning-triggered) fires as well as prescribed fires set by traditional Aboriginal land owners, farmers, and ranchers.
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 through a clickable map.
References & Resources
NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center.
