Asian smoke over central Canada

Proving that environmental events in one part of the world can have an effect thousands of miles away, this plume of smoke born of Asian fires has blown all the way to central Canada and the northern United States, as is seen in this true-color Terra MODIS image acquired on May 23, 2003. The pale bluish-gray haze of smoke arcs from western Quebec at upper right, through Ontario at upper center, to northern Minnesota and Wisconsin at lower left.

In the upper right corner of the image, the smoke blurs the southern end of James Bay, which appears brown and white from a mixture of dirt and ice covering its waters. Farther south, along the border between the Quebec and Ontario provinces, horizontal lines of tan against the deep green forests mark logging activities. To the bottom left, Lake Nipigen and Lake Superior show darkly blue.

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Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

Published May 29, 2003
Data acquired May 23 - 23, 2003

Source:

Terra > MODIS

Topic:

Human Dimensions > Natural Hazards > Fires

Collections:

MODIS Rapid Response

Visible Earth