Airborne smoke particles can increase the risk of cardiovascular and respiratory disease when inhaled, so tracking their spread provides valuable information for local public health officials. The smoke plumes generated by the California fires have traveled across vast swaths of western North America in recent weeks, affecting air quality and visibility. MISR data were also used to detect the amount and type of smoke particles within smoke plumes, using the MISR Research Aerosol retrieval algorithm developed by researchers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer ( MISR), another JPL-managed instrument aboard Terra, is being used to better understand how high and far the smoke particles travel. This screenshot shows an interactive 3D visualization that allows you to explore the height of smoke plumes from the California fires, using data from Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument aboard NASA’s Terra satellite. Such orbital data help firefighting agencies to better locate fires and direct crews there. Managed by Japan Space Systems and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, ASTER views Earth’s surface in visible, near-infrared, and thermal-infrared wavelengths, allowing features such as the smoke and heat of fires to be identified and mapped.

Most of the data comes from the numerous satellite instruments that pass over the state, such as the MOderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ( MODIS) instruments aboard the Aqua and Terra satellites, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite ( VIIRS) instruments aboard the Suomi-NPP satellite, and the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) instrument onboard the CALIPSO satellite.Īnother such instrument is the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer ( ASTER) instrument aboard the Terra satellite. “Likewise, in the aftermath of the fires, our researchers will use orbital and aerial data of the burn areas to help mitigate hazards such as landslides and mudslides.” “When disasters like this occur, we are able to swiftly respond to requests from our partners who need images and mapping data,” said David Green, manager of the Disasters Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Scientists supporting the agency’s Applied Sciences Disaster Program in the Earth Sciences Division are generating maps and other data products that track active fires and their smoke plumes while also identifying areas that may be susceptible to future risks. Credits: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Space SystemsĮarth-observing instruments on satellites and aircraft are mapping the current fires, providing data products to agencies on the ground that are responding to the emergency.Īs California experiences one of the worst wildfire seasons on record, NASA is leveraging its resources to help. Vegetation (including crops) is shown in red the burn area (dark blue/gray) is in the center of the image.

Captured by the ASTER instrument aboard NASA’s Terra satellite, this false-color map shows the burn area of the River and Carmel fires in Monterey County, California.

Map california fires