September 15, 2014 - Central South America

Central South America

Multiple fires burned in south central South American in late August, 2014. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra satellite captured this true-color image on August 19 as it passed over the region.

Black borderlines have been overlain on the image to delineate country boundaries. Argentina lies in the south with Uruguay sandwiched just northeast of the sediment-laden Rio de la Plata and south of Brazil. Paraguay sits near the center of the image, with Bolivia to the west and Brazil to the north.

Most of the fires, marked by red hotspots, cluster in the Gran Chaco, a large, dry plain that stretches across northern Argentina, Paraguay and southeastern Bolivia. Originally mixed forest and open grassland, the Gran Chaco is now intensely cultivated.

Due to the widespread nature of these fires and their location along the interface between dark green forest and the edges of well-demarcated, rectangular areas (cultivated fields or pasture), most of these fires appear to be agricultural in origin.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 8/19/2014
Resolutions: 1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC