Media Update for Thurssday, June 26, 2003

Envirocast^TM TV for Thursday, June 26, 2003

New MODIS Images of Wildfires in Arizona and New Mexico

Arizona and New Mexico Wildfires

This image of the wildfires burning in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico was taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard NASA's Terra satellite on June 25, 2003 at 20:30 UTC (4:30 PM EDT, 1:30 PM MST).

The red areas indicate thermal detections of very hot areas that were made by MODIS and show the fire locations.

Firefighters are getting a bit of a break today as high pressure builds over the western U.S., resulting in less gusty winds.
Although the approaching summer monsoon season will mean more humid conditions and more frequent thunderstorms in the area, some official are concerned about the possibility of flooding in fire-damaged areas.

Updated Information on Selected Fires:

The Helen's 2 fire in Arizona has burned 3,100 acres and is 40 percent contained
The Aspen fire in Arizona has burned 30,200 acres and is 35 percent contained
The Seco fire in New Mexico has burned 5,000 acres and is 5 percent contained

Environmental Facts on Biomass Burning and Wildfires:

Globally, biomass burning is responsible for as much as 10 per cent of gross carbon dioxide and 38 per cent of ground-level ozone in our atmosphere.
While most biomass burning is caused by humans, wildfires ignited by lightning (which is though to be the cause of the Arizona fires) is responsible for only a small percentage.

Close-up MODIS Airborne Simulator Images of Aspen Fire in Arizona

These close-up images of the Aspen wildfire burning on top of Mount Lemmon north of Tucson, Arizona were taken by the MODIS Airborne Simulator images aboard NASA’s ER-2 Aircraft on June 24, 2003.

The image on the left shows the fire, smoke and surrounding terrain in true color, while the image on the right is a false color infrafed image that reveals some of the surface detail.

In the false-color image:

Untouched vegetated land surface appears green
Bare rock and land surface look orange-brown
The smoldering scar left by recently-burned areas shows up as crimson
The actively-burning fire front is the bright red-orange ribbon around the burn scar’s perimeter
The most intense fire fronts visible in this image can be seen both to the north and south of the burned area, as well as along much of the western perimeter

Arizona and New Mexico Wildfires		Close-up MODIS Airborne Simulator Images of Aspen Fire in Arizona
	Image NTSC 720x486 030625_01_tva.jpg shows the wildfires burning in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico on June 25, 2003, with annotations and an inset map showing the location.		Image NTSC 720x486 030625_04_tva.jpg shows true and false color close-ups of the Aspen wildfire burning in southeastern Arizona on June 24, 2003, with annotations.
	Image NTSC 720x486 030625_02_tva.jpg is the same as above, but with limited annotations no inset map.		Image NTSC 720x486 030625_05_tva.jpg is the same as above, but with limited annotations.
	Image NTSC 720x486 030625_03_tva.jpg is the same as above, but with no annotations.		Image NTSC 720x486 030625_06_tva.jpg is the same as above, but with no annotations.

	Image NTSC 640x480 030625_01_tvb.jpg shows the wildfires burning in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico on June 25, 2003, with annotations and an inset map showing the location.		Image NTSC 640x480 030625_04_tvb.jpg shows true and false color close-ups of the Aspen wildfire burning in southeastern Arizona on June 24, 2003, with annotations.
	Image NTSC 640x480 030625_02_tvb.jpg is the same as above, but with limited annotations no inset map.		Image NTSC 640x480 030625_05_tvb.jpg is the same as above, but with limited annotations.
	Image NTSC 640x480 030625_03_tvb.jpg is the same as above, but with no annotations.		Image NTSC 640x480 030625_06_tvb.jpg is the same as above, but with no annotations.

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