NOTE: Credit for use of IKONOS images should include "Courtesy of Space Imaging" or similar and must include the Space Imaging logo.

MODIS images show burn scars northwest of Los Angeles:

For more related information about these images:

November 14, 2003 - Burn Scars Northwest of Los Angeles.

	Compare with Sacramento	Compare with D.C.
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ASTER False-Color image of Simi Valley Area:

For more related information about these images:

November 14, 2003 - Burn Scars Northwest of Los Angeles. (view of the Santa Monica hills using a different set of ASTER bands to emphasis different details)

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• The image above shows burn scars around Lake Piru in the Santa Susana Mountains, northwest of Los Angeles. The earlier image shows the same area on September 22, 2003, prior to when the fires swept through. In the earlier image, healthy vegetation appears green, and naturally bare ground (or ground with sparse vegetation) appears pink. A few weeks later, fire has transformed the scene.

• The areas to the east and northeast of the lake appear unchanged, while the entire left and lower right portions of the scene exhibit the deep red color that burned areas take on in false-color images made from satellite observations. In the November 2, 2003, image, the northern end of the lake is quite turbid, which could have been caused by ash and fire debris.

• These false-color ASTER image composites were created using shortwave infrared, near infrared, and green wavelengths (ASTER bands 5, 3, and 1).

Environmental Impacts:

• The flames of the Cedar Fire engulfed the mountain city of Alpine, in Southern California. The fire consumed the trees and brush surrounding the city, and in some places, entire neighborhoods burned. The extent of the fire is clear in these Ikonos images taken on November 8, 2003. The true-color images, show blackened land completely surrounding Alpine’s suburban neighborhoods. In the false color images, living vegetation is red while burned areas appear bright green. The only areas which are not burned are landscaped patches around homes or businesses.

• The high-resolution image above gives a broader view of the scene in false-color and shows just how little vegetation escaped the flames.

• The unburned areas are a testament to the efforts of firefighters to protect structures. But despite their best efforts, many lost homes in this area, including Congressman Duncan Hunter. Hunter’s district contains almost all of the Cedar Fire.

Supplementary Material:

NASA's MODIS sensor:

• MODIS (or Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) is a key instrument aboard the Terra (EOS AM) and Aqua (EOS PM) satellites.

• Terra MODIS and Aqua MODIS are viewing the entire Earth's surface every 1 to 2 days, acquiring data in 36 spectral bands, or groups of wavelengths. These data will improve our understanding of global dynamics and processes occurring on the land, in the oceans, and in the lower atmosphere.

• MODIS is playing a vital role in the development of validated, global, interactive Earth system models able to predict global change accurately enough to assist policy makers in making sound decisions concerning the protection of our environment.

• There is a 6-minute QuickTime Movie describing MODIS and its mission:

hi-resolution version (34 MB), faster-downloading version (3.5 MB)

NASA's ASTER Sensor:

• ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) is an imaging instrument that is flying on Terra.

• ASTER is a cooperative effort between NASA and Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Earth Remote Sensing Data Analysis Center (ERSDAC). ASTER will be used to obtain detailed maps of land surface temperature, emissivity, reflectance and elevation.

• ASTER consists of three different subsystems; the Visible and Near Infrared (VNIR), the Shortwave Infrared (SWIR), and the Thermal Infrared (TIR).

NASA's TERRA Satellite:

• The Terra spacecraft (formally known as EOS-AM) was successfully launched on Saturday, December 19, 1999 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in Lompoc, California. It is flying at an altitude of 705 km (438 miles) observing the Earth. The life expectancy of the Terra mission is 6 years. It will be followed in later years by other EOS spacecraft that take advantage of new developments in remote sensing technologies. [Terra 3D Animation], [Animation showing Terra Orbit]

• Terra's orbit around the Earth is timed so that it passes from north to south across the equator in the morning, and thus it passes over us at the same local time every day, approximately 10:30-10:45 a.m.

NASA's AQUA Satellite:

• Aqua, Latin for water, is a NASA Earth Science satellite mission collecting about the Earth's water cycle, including evaporation from the oceans, water vapor in the atmosphere, clouds, precipitation, soil moisture, sea ice, land ice, and snow cover on the land and ice. The Aqua spacecraft (formally known as EOS-PM) was successfully launched on May 4, 2002 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in Lompoc, California. t is flying at an altitude of 705 km (438 miles) observing the Earth, and the life expectancy is 6 years. [Aqua's Orbit], [Animation of MODIS Observing the Earth]

• Aqua passes south to north over the equator in the afternoon, and thus it passes over us at the same local time every day, approximately 1:30 p.m.