EnvirocastTM TV for Tuesday December 2, 2003

Ash Plumes From Burn Scars in Southern California



Background

  

Images

The images on the right were taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA's Terra satellite. They show plumes of dust and ashes from the burn scars in Southern California on November 27, 2003.

Plumes of dust and ashes from the burn scars in Southern California, in natural and false color views

Note: The animation above shows how you can use the images below in your weathercast to show how the dust plumes look from views of natural and false color images.  Save each of the still images to your right at the appropriate resolution for your system (either 720x486 or 640x480) and dissolve from one to another in sequence to achieve the above effect.

 

False-Color and Natural-Color Images of Ash Plumes in Southern California:

Annotated Limited Annotation No Annotation
False Color NTSC 720x486
NTSC 640x480
Natural Color NTSC 720x486
NTSC 640x480

Environmental Impacts:

  • October’s massive wildfires in Southern California stripped the ground of the vegetation that holds dirt in place. The freshly exposed soil and the overlying ashes are vulnerable to winds, as shown in these MODIS images.

 

  • From the false color images, we can see a red plume of dust and ash is blowing over the Pacific Ocean and San Clemente Island. In these images, newly burned areas appear red while vegetation is green, water is black, and clouds are light blue.

 

  • The dust is clearly coming from the burn scar left by the Cedar fire near San Diego. (for more information about Cedar fires, and burn scares in southern California, please see related EnvirocastTM TV updates:

 

  • The Southern California wildfires in late October 2003 destroyed more than 3,600 homes and killed 24 people. California's last catastrophic wildfire, in 1991 in the Oakland Hills, destroyed 3,175 homes and apartments.

 

 

Supplementary Material:

NASA's MODIS sensor:

  • 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 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.


Image NTSC 720x486 031202_01_tva.jpg shows the MODIS false-color  image of ash plumes from the burn scars in Southern California on November 27, 2003.
Image NTSC 720x486 031202_03_tva.jpg is the same as above, with limited annotation.
Image NTSC 720x486 031202_05_tva.jpg is the same as above, with no map symbols.
Image NTSC 720x486 031202_07_tva.jpg is the same as above, with no annotation.
Image NTSC 720x486 031202_02_tva.jpg shows the MODIS natural-color  image of ash plumes from the burn scars in Southern California on November 27, 2003.
Image NTSC 720x486 031202_04_tva.jpg is the same as above, with limited annotation.
Image NTSC 720x486 031202_06_tva.jpg is the same as above, with no map symbols.
Image NTSC 720x486 031202_08_tva.jpg is the same as above, with no annotation.
Image NTSC 640x480 031202_01_tvb.jpg shows the MODIS false-color  image of ash plumes from the burn scars in Southern California on November 27, 2003.
Image NTSC 640x480 031202_03_tvb.jpg is the same as above, with limited annotation.
Image NTSC 640x480 031202_05_tvb.jpg is the same as above, with no map symbols.
Image NTSC 640x480 031202_07_tvb.jpg is the same as above, with no annotation.
Image NTSC 640x480 031202_02_tvb.jpg shows the MODIS natural-color  image of ash plumes from the burn scars in Southern California on November 27, 2003.
Image NTSC 640x480 031202_04_tvb.jpg is the same as above, with limited annotation.
Image NTSC 640x480 031202_06_tvb.jpg is the same as above, with no map symbols.
Image NTSC 640x480 031202_08_tvb.jpg is the same as above, with no annotation.
 

Related EnvirocastTM TV Updates:

 

To save the above TV-ready images from this page, simply right-click on the thumbnail version and choose "Save Target As..." (Internet Explorer) or "Save Image..." (Netscape) to save it to your computer's hard drive.

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