Satellites Show the Burned Area at “Parque das Emas”

Hello reader!

It follows one communicates published in english on the day (18/10) in the website of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) announcing that satellites show the burned area at “Parque das Emas” precisely.

Duda Falcão

Satellites Show the Burned Area at

“Parque das Emas” Precisely

October 18, 2010

The Earth Observation Satellites that have been used by the National Institute for the Space Research (INPE) have captured, in August, some clear images of the destruction happened in the borders of Goias, Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, at Parque das Emas. It is visible the area burned in the maps analyzed, all that happened due to the long period of dry recorded this year.

According to the survey done by researchers and specialists in photo-interpretation of forests and savannas of the Panamazonia II Project developed by the Remote Sense Department, during three days, the burns damaged 130,515 hectares of the reservation.

The regions of “Parque das Emas”, as well as most part of the Amazonia, were clear of clouds between May and September 2010, so that it enabled the sensor Modis, aboard the Earth Platform, Nasa, to take good images of the Earth.

One month after happening the fire in Parque das Emas, new images collected by the Modis sensor, have shown the beginning of the vegetation regeneration in the land.

“The result of this study assures us that, we have enough technology to map burning areas in savanna biome. The methodology is ready to be used by the ministries linked to the environmental issues of the country”, said Paulo Roberto Martini, from INPE.

The regeneration of the vegetation observed at Parque das Emas in September shows that other burned areas in the same period within the Savanna’s biome must follow the same pattern. The arrival of the rains in November will accelerate the process of this regeneration, but their environmental damage still remains.

Source: WebSite of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE)