DETER Records 386 km² of Deforestation Alerts in October

Hello reader!

It follows one communicates published on the day (11/29) in the website of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) noting that DETER records 386 km² of deforestation alerts in October.

Duda Falcão

DETER Records 386 km² of

Deforestation Alerts in October

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

DETER, Real Time Deforestation Detection System of Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais - INPE), has warned 385,56 km² of Amazon rainforest deforestation or degradation. The distribution of warning areas in Amazon states is presented in the following table:

Rondônia: 128.59 Km²

Pará: 119,39 km²

Mato Grosso: 98,08 km²

Amazônia: 18,93 km²

Roraima: 8,18 km²

Maranhão: 6,53 km²

Acre: 4,32 km²

Tocantins: 0,89 km²

Amapá: 0,65 km²

Total: 385,56 km²

On the map below, yellow dots represent the location of an alert issued by DETER. Pink areas are places that could not be monitored due clouds coverage, which was 17% in October.

Due to cloud cover variation between two months, also to satellite resolution, INPE does not recommend to compare data from different months or years obtained by DETER.

About DETER

DETER system produces daily Amazon deforestation alerts, which guide supervision and ensure effective actions of forest clearing control. Although its data is released monthly or bimonthly, DETER results have been sent to Ibama - responsible to overseeing warning areas - almost daily.

DETER uses data from Modis Terra satellite sensor, with a 250-meters space resolution, which makes possible to detect deforestation polygons with an area larger than 25 hectares. Some deforestation areas are not identified by the system due to possible cloud coverage.

The low resolution used by DETER is compensated by the ability of daily observation, which makes the system a perfect tool to quickly inform deforestation to surveillance authorities. This system records both cleared areas, when satellites detect complete removal of native forest, and areas classified as progressive degradation, which reveal the process of deforestation in the region.

DETER outcomes are important indicators for control and supervision organizations. However, to compute an annual rate of forest removal by clear-cutting in Amazon rainforest, INPE works with PRODES (www.obt.inpe.br/prodes), which uses high resolution images capable of showing small deforestation points.

Jointly every disclosure of DETER's data, INPE presents a sample evaluation report. Whether reports or data generated by DETER can be found at www.obt.inpe.br/deter

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