Fire Monitoring from Space

[fracking4oil]

 

 

 

For more than a decade, instruments on Terra and Aqua, two of NASA’s flagship Earth-observing satellites, have scanned the surface of our planet for fires. An instrument on both satellites, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), has revolutionized what scientists know about fire’s role in land cover change, ecosystem processes and the global carbon cycle by allowing researchers to map characteristics of the global distribution of fires in remarkable detail.

 

 

The 2013 wildfire season got off to an early start in California and Colorado. Morton said the newest generation of climate models project drier conditions that likely will cause increased fire activity across the United States in coming decades. These changes are likely to come in a number of different forms, including longer fire seasons, larger areas at risk of wildfire, and an increase in the frequency of extreme events—years like 2012 in the western United States. A study published by Morton and colleagues this year suggests that the increase in burned area across the United States may already be underway. 

 

 

 

For the full story see: http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-fire-towers-in-space-watch-for-wildfires-on-the-rise/#.UgaCR23ODbw

 

 

[Joshua]

I'm always fascinated by the stuff NASA comes up with. Whenever the subject of climate change comes up, one never thinks of things like this and how climate change effects so many things in so many ways.

[M-ursu]

OMG! we are all death, lets move to texas.

[qwertywarrior]

climate models arnt facts people can stand by

[fracking4oil]

climate models arnt facts people can stand by

 

 

They've been accurate in the past..

[qwertywarrior]

They've been accurate in the past..

but pretty sure they wont be accurate predicting 2100

[fracking4oil]

but pretty sure they wont be accurate predicting 2100

 

 

Unless there's a drastic change and CO2 levels start to decline, it should be pretty accurate.