ESA - Observing the Earth - World fire maps now available online in near-real time

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World fire maps now available online in near-real time

24 May 2006

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Burning peat swamps in Kalimantan, Borneo. ESA-led research has established that when these peat swamps - formed over thousands of years - start to smoulder, they release vast quantities of carbon. Multiple Envisat sensors have been used to study the 2002 fires.

Credits: Dr Florian Siegert/Remote Sensing Solutions GmbH

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The ESA global detection of hot spots by ERS-2's Along Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR-2) and Envisat's Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) in 2005. These twin radiometer sensors work like thermometers in the sky, measuring thermal infrared radiation to take the temperature of Earth's land surfaces. Temperatures exceeding 312º K (38.85 ºC) are classed as burning fires.

Credits: ESA

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