Central South America

South America is greening up as it approaches the heart of summer in late January 2003. The true-color Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image from the Terra satellite on Jan. 30 shows fertile grasslands and plains stretching eastward from the Andes Mountains that dominate Chile (left) and western Argentina (center). At top center is the southern tip of Bolivia, and at upper right are Paraguay and a bit of Brazil. At bottom right is Uruguay. The pale brown river that runs southward through Argentina and empties into the Rio de la Plata Estuary is the Parana River. In the image, several fires have been detected by MODIS and are marked with red dots.

On Jan. 29, the image is centered farther east. Argentina is at left, Brazil is at right. Paraguay is between them to the north, and Uruguay is between them to the south. The "peninsula" of Argentina that is centered in the image appears darker green than its surroundings. This is the Misiones region of Argentina, and in it remains some of the last tracts of Atlantic rainforest, a rainforest ecosystem distinct from the Amazon rainforest to the north.

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Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

Published February 4, 2003
Data acquired January 29 - 29, 2003

Source:

Terra > MODIS

Topic:

Human Dimensions > Natural Hazards > Fires

Collections:

MODIS Rapid Response

Visible Earth