Images & Animations
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Credit
Image courtesy the NCAR and University of Toronto MOPITT Teams
Multiple massive wildifres burned in southern California during the last week of October 2003. This series of images shows the fires and the damage they caused as seen from a variety of satellites.
Although the large fires that ravaged Southern California are now under control, they can be blamed for the polluted air that is spreading over the Western States and into the Pacific Ocean. In additional to ash and smoke, the fires released carbon monoxide into the atmosphere as they burned. This false-color image shows the atmospheric column of carbon monoxide, with yellow and red indicating high levels of pollution. The data were taken by the Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT) instrument aboard NASA’s Terra satellite for the period October 26-31, 2003.
Carbon monoxide is produced as a result of incomplete combustion during burning processes, and is important due to its impact on chemistry in the lower atmosphere. It is a good indicator of atmospheric pollution, and its presence adversely affects the atmosphere’s ability to cleanse itself. Because carbon monoxide is persistent for several weeks, the pollution can travel thousands of miles downwind of the fires. This provides an example of how intense local sources, such as the California fires, can impact air quality on a global scale.
Metadata
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Sensor
Terra/MOPITT -
Start Date
2003-10-31 -
Event Start Date
2003-10-23 -
NH Image ID
11819 -
NH Event ID
10194 -
NH Posting Date
2003-11-03
