• MODIS Pic of the Day 13 February 2023

    From Dan Richter@1:317/3 to All on Mon Feb 13 11:00:52 2023
    February 13, 2023 - Burn Scars in Chile

    Burn Scars in Chile
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    Stoked by a summer heat wave and strong winds, widespread fires have
    been raging through south-central Chile since February 2, 2023. On
    February 10, ReliefWeb reported that the forest fires have caused
    extensive damages, including 24 deaths and 5,557 people injured. The
    report also stated that 1,205 houses had been destroyed and 5,599
    houses were damaged as of that date.

    On February 11, ABC News said that Chile’s Interior Ministry confirmed
    that more than 889,000 acres (359,766 hectares) had been burnt so far.
    The fires are burning mainly in Maule, Ñuble, Biobío, and La
    Araucanía). The worst fire on record (which goes back to 1985) was in
    2017, when 570,000 hectares (1,408,500 acres) burned. On February 9,
    the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board
    NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a false-color image of massive fire
    scars in central Chile, south of the Biobío River. This is compared
    with a Terra MODIS image acquired of the same area on February 2, only
    a week prior and on the day the wildfire was barely beginning.

    This type of false-color image combines infrared and visible light
    (MODIS bands 7,2,1) to separate vegetation (bright green) from water
    (deep blue or black) and fire scars. Fresh fire scars typically appear
    brick red, dark brown, or even charcoal depending on the extent of the
    burn and the color of the exposed soil. Over time, vegetation begins to
    regrow and the fire scars lighten. The difference in just a week is
    stunning. On February 2, only a few very light burn scars from previous
    years were visible. By February 7, numerous fresh burn scars stretched
    over an extensive area. Smoke (light blue) rises from the largest fire
    just south of the Biobío River, indicating it is still actively
    burning.

    Air temperatures in Chile’s hard hit regions have exceeded 104 degrees
    Fahrenheit (40° Celsius), helping create tinder-dry vegetation and
    hindering firefighting efforts. Meanwhile, warm easterly winds blown
    from Argentina down the slopes of the Andes, also known as “Puelche
    winds,” contributed to the rapid spread of the fires. Chile is in the
    midst of a drought, which has lowered reservoirs and caused tensions
    over water. According to the World Meteorological Organization, the
    13-year megadrought in central Chile is the longest in at least 1,000
    years.

    Image Facts
    Satellite: Terra
    Date Acquired: 2/9/2023
    Resolutions: 1km (137.7 KB), 500m (335.8 KB), 250m (201.6
    KB)
    Bands Used: 7,2,1
    Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



    https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2023-02-13

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