The last major fire in southern Greece was brought under control this
weekend, but not until over 469,000 acres of mostly forest and farmland
were destroyed. An estimated 4000 people lost their homes, and over 60
deaths were reported. These were the worst fires ever to occur in Greece.
In this Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer
(ASTER) image acquired September 4 over the western coast of the
Peloponnesus Peninsula, burned areas appear in dark red, and unburned
vegetation is green. The area includes the ancient site of Olympia, the
site of the Olympic Games in classical times. The fires came within 2
kilometers (1.2 miles) of the archaeological site, but spared it.
With its 14 spectral bands from the visible to the thermal infrared
wavelength region, and its high spatial resolution of 15 to 90 meters
(about 50 to 300 feet), ASTER images Earth to map and monitor the changing
surface of our planet.
ASTER is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched December 18,
1999, on NASA's Terra spacecraft. The instrument was built by Japan's
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. A joint U.S./Japan science team
is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and the
data products.
The broad spectral coverage and high spectral resolution of ASTER provides
scientists in numerous disciplines with critical information for surface
mapping, and monitoring of dynamic conditions and temporal change. Example
applications are: monitoring glacial advances and retreats; monitoring
potentially active volcanoes; identifying crop stress; determining cloud
morphology and physical properties; wetlands evaluation; thermal pollution
monitoring; coral reef degradation; surface temperature mapping of soils
and geology; and measuring surface heat balance.
The U.S. science team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission
Directorate.
Size: 56.4 by 63.5 kilometers (35 by 39.4 miles)
Location: 37.9 degrees North latitude, 21.6 degrees East longitude
Orientation: North at top
Image Data: ASTER Bands 6, 3, and 1
Original Data Resolution: ASTER 15 meters (49.2 feet
Dates Acquired: September 4, 2007.
