Fires in South America
Fires in South America
23 August 2005
In central South America on 22 August 2005, hundreds of active fires were detected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Aqua satellite when it flew overhead. The active fire locations are marked in red on the scene.
AQUA
22 August 2005
17:15 hrs UTC
(Image courtesy MODIS) 
True colour: Bands 1-4-3 
False Colour: Bands 7-2-1
The links provide a 500m resolution for both scenes
Fires, probably agricultural fires, are scattered across Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina, especially the Misiones province of Argentina, where some of the last remnants of the rainforest ecosystem known as Mata Atlantica (Atlantic Forest) are found. Scientists believe the ecosystem, distinct from the Amazon, once stretched thousands of kilometers along the coast of South America and reached inland several hundred kilometers. Like the forests of eastern North America, most of the Mata Atlantica fell to European settlers hundreds of years ago.
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