High-Resolution Image

These fires near Lake Athabasca in northern Saskatchewan were seen from the NASA P-3 aircraft on June 29, 2008 during the ARCTAS (Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites) (upper left). The same fires were identified by the Terra MODIS instrument the following day on June 30 (lower image). In the upper right we see the aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrieved by the MODIS instrument. Boreal forest fires are a source of pollutants in the atmosphere including particulate matter identified here. The Arctic is undergoing significant environmental changes related to global climate change. Now, NASA is extensively studying the role of air pollution in this climate-sensitive region as part of the ARCTAS field campaign, the largest coordinated airborne-satellite experiment ever to do so.

ARCTAS continues all this week.

P-3 image courtesy of Cameron McNaughton (U. of Iowa) and the ARCTAS field operations team. Terra MODIS image of the fires courtesy of NASA Rapid Response System. MODIS AOD image courtesy of William Ridgway (SSAI/NASA-GSFC).