In the Brazilian state of Rondonia, scientists have gathered to
study gases and airborne particles produced in the tropics. Between
September and November 2002, they are conducting integrated airborne
and ground-based measurements aimed at better understanding the role
these constituents play in Earth's climate. These views from the
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) show extensive plumes of
fine particles emanating from burning vegetation within Rondonia.
The data were acquired on September 15, the official start date for
the Amazon burning season, and one week into the field study, which
is called the Cooperative Large-scale-biosphere-atmosphere Airborne
Regional Experiment, or CLAIRE.
The left-hand panel is a natural-color view acquired by MISR's
vertical-viewing (nadir) camera. The center image covers the same
geographic area, as seen by the 70-degree forward-viewing MISR camera.
The appearance of smoke and haze is enhanced in the oblique view,
whereas the herringbone patterns of deforestation are more evident
in the nadir image. Due to geometric parallax, clouds appear to move
relative to the ground between these two images. At right is a map of
aerosol optical depth, a measure of the amount of particulates in the
atmosphere, derived from the MISR multi-angle views. Haze distributed
across Rondonia shows up as light blue and green pixels across the
region. Places where clouds or other factors precluded an aerosol
retrieval are shown in dark grey.
The main measurement site for the CLAIRE campaign is a field near the
town of Ji-Parana, somewhat below and to the right of the MISR image
centers. It is well-situated to observe the thick palls of smoke
originating in dense vegetation to the south and east, at the eastern
end of the Parque Nacional de Pacaas Novos. The CLAIRE aircraft will
follow these plumes as they spread over the region, and will measure
the changing characteristics of the smoke particles as they age. The
southern edges of these images extend into Bolivia, where more fires
are burning near the Brazil-Bolivia border. Clearer skies in the
southeast corner of the image area are associated with higher-elevation
lands along the Serra dos Parecis mountains.
The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth
continuously from pole to pole, and every 9 days views the entire
globe between 82 degrees north and 82 degrees south latitude. These
data products were generated from a portion of the imagery acquired
during Terra orbit 14595. The panels cover an area of about 400
kilometers x 563 kilometers, and utilize data from blocks 98 to 101
within World Reference System-2 path 231.
Further information about the CLAIRE campaign, and the
Large-scale-Biosphere-Atmosphere study program may be found at:
http://www.mpch-mainz.mpg.de/~claire/CLAIRE.html and
http://daac.ornl.gov/lba_cptec/indexi.html .
Image credit: NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team.
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