Envirocast® On-Line Feature of the Week -- November 8, 2007

Fall Colors in the Great Smoky Mountains

The images in this Envirocast® On-Line were taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard NASA's Terra satellite on September 29 and November 7, 2007. The vegetation had gone from a deep green to a vibrant orange as autumn came to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

 

Fall Colors in the Great Smoky Mountains

On September 29, 2007, the Great Smoky Mountains area in the U.S. Southeast was filled with green vegetation with cities including Atlanta, Charlotte, Columbia and Greenville visible in the animations denoted by the contrasting tan and brown colors. By November 7, the onset of fall’s lower temperatures had painted the vegetation of the Great Smoky Mountains in shades of rust, orange, and brown as fall foliage peaked for the season. The colors may not look as brilliant as the red and gold you would see on the ground, but even from space, the difference between the summer and fall attire of the Great Smoky Mountains is dramatic. One feature common to both seasons' images is the appearance of cities and roads. The route of Interstate 85 is easy to follow as a cement-colored line through northern Georgia, and western Carolinas. Several large eastern cities dot the corridor like knots in a rope: Atlanta; Greenville, in western South Carolina; and Charlotte, on the border of North and South Carolinas.

 

Zoom-in to the Charlotte Area

 

Environmental Impacts:

  • The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flying onboard NASA’s Aqua satellite took above image of fall foliage in the U.S. Southeast on November 7, 2007 compared with the deep green summer colors on September 29, 2007. The vegetation had gone from a deep green to a vibrant orange as autumn came over the region.

  • Chlorophyll, the agent of photosynthesis, is what gives the leaves their green color. When the nights get longer and the temperatures begin to drop, chlorophyll breaks down in the leaves and their other pigments become unmasked giving leaves their fall colors.

  • Temperature and moisture are the main influences that determine the amount and brilliance of color in the leaves.

Supplementary Material:

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.

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