Images
March 22, 2011 - Fires in Indochina
Tweet
Fires dotted the landscape across Indochina on March 14, 2011 when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer aboard the Aqua satellite passed over the region, capturing this true-color image. From the South China Sea in the east moving westward, the countries captured in this image are Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand.
Red hotspots indicate a local spike in temperature. When combined with billowing smoke plumes they indicate actively burning fires, as seen in this image. The entire landscape is also covered by a light gray haze, which is a smoky result of the fires in seen this image. It may also be a partial remnant of earlier fires in the region – similar fires have burned in Indochina since early January, 2011.
The location, widespread nature, and number of fires suggest that these fires were deliberately set to manage land. Farmers often use fire to return nutrients to the soil and to clear the ground of unwanted plants to improve pastureland or to control agricultural weeds. The agricultural burning season in Indochina usually runs from January, after the harvest of primary crops, until the next growing season begins in April or May.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 3/14/2011
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Fires dotted the landscape across Indochina on March 14, 2011 when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer aboard the Aqua satellite passed over the region, capturing this true-color image. From the South China Sea in the east moving westward, the countries captured in this image are Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand.
Red hotspots indicate a local spike in temperature. When combined with billowing smoke plumes they indicate actively burning fires, as seen in this image. The entire landscape is also covered by a light gray haze, which is a smoky result of the fires in seen this image. It may also be a partial remnant of earlier fires in the region – similar fires have burned in Indochina since early January, 2011.
The location, widespread nature, and number of fires suggest that these fires were deliberately set to manage land. Farmers often use fire to return nutrients to the soil and to clear the ground of unwanted plants to improve pastureland or to control agricultural weeds. The agricultural burning season in Indochina usually runs from January, after the harvest of primary crops, until the next growing season begins in April or May.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 3/14/2011
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
