Images
October 10, 2010 - Fires in the lower Mississippi Valley
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Dozens of active fires burn in the lower Mississippi Valley on October 4, 2010, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite passed overhead. Fires in this area are frequent, but usually stay relatively small and often go unnoticed by the national news media, unlike the large, dramatic Western blazes. Yet a greater number of fires occur each year in the Mississippi Valley, the Plains and the Southeast than occur in the West.
The states seen in this image are delineated by black boundary lines which have been overlayed on the MODIS image. From north to south, and west to east, the states are: Missouri and Kentucky; Oklahoma, Arkansas and Tennessee; Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and a bit of the Florida panhandle.
The Mississippi River runs vertically down the center of the image. It is surrounded by a fertile floodplain, which appears tan in this image. Despite the potential for flooding, this area is an important agricultural area. The fires in these areas are most likely a result of burning stubble from fields after harvest, or other agricultural uses.
According to the University of Maryland Baltimore County’s U.S. Air Quality report, the lower Mississippi area is parched, with only a few tenths of an inch precipitation reported in the last month. High winds in the last week increased the fire danger and, as of October 9, 2010, burning permits are now being cancelled.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 10/04/2010
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Dozens of active fires burn in the lower Mississippi Valley on October 4, 2010, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite passed overhead. Fires in this area are frequent, but usually stay relatively small and often go unnoticed by the national news media, unlike the large, dramatic Western blazes. Yet a greater number of fires occur each year in the Mississippi Valley, the Plains and the Southeast than occur in the West.
The states seen in this image are delineated by black boundary lines which have been overlayed on the MODIS image. From north to south, and west to east, the states are: Missouri and Kentucky; Oklahoma, Arkansas and Tennessee; Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and a bit of the Florida panhandle.
The Mississippi River runs vertically down the center of the image. It is surrounded by a fertile floodplain, which appears tan in this image. Despite the potential for flooding, this area is an important agricultural area. The fires in these areas are most likely a result of burning stubble from fields after harvest, or other agricultural uses.
According to the University of Maryland Baltimore County’s U.S. Air Quality report, the lower Mississippi area is parched, with only a few tenths of an inch precipitation reported in the last month. High winds in the last week increased the fire danger and, as of October 9, 2010, burning permits are now being cancelled.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 10/04/2010
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
