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   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   February 24, 2023 - Burn Scars in Iberá National Park, Argentina   
      
      Burn Scars   
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      Fires blazed through a protected wilderness in northeastern Argentina   
      in February 2023. Home to jaguars, capybaras, and giant anteaters,   
      Iberá National Park has reportedly been burning since late December   
      2022, and continued to burn as of February 22, 2023.   
      
      On February 22, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer   
      (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured a false-color image showing   
      a massive burn scar, which appears brick-red against the bright green   
      unburned vegetation, in and near Iberá National Park. Orange and   
      yellow, representing actively burning fire, can be seen along the   
      southern and south-eastern edge of the burn scar. The second MODIS   
      Terra image, acquired on February 12, shows two much smaller burn scars   
      in the same area, and comparing the two shows the astounding growth of   
      the fire in just ten days. The waterway to the north is the Paraná   
      River.   
      
      Iberá National Park is a protected area of wetlands and grasslands   
      established in 2018 with land acquired by conservation groups and then   
      donated to the government of Argentina. Encompassing 1,370 square   
      kilometers (530 square miles) of the Corrientes region, the park is   
      part of a “rewilding” program which aims to reintroduce keystone   
      species to the oasis such as jaguars and capybaras that have previously   
      been driven away by hunting, ranching, and other human activities.   
      
      This area of Argentina is no stranger to fires. Last year more than   
      520,000 hectares (1.3 million acres) were burned in the Corrientes   
      region and surrounding provinces. In 2022 and so far in 2023, fire   
      activity has been unusually high in the region, according to Mark   
      Parrington, senior scientist at the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring   
      Service (CAMS). The CAMS Global Fire Assimilation System uses active   
      fire data from NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer   
      (MODIS) sensors to estimate emissions of vegetation fires which are   
      then used to forecast the air quality impacts of biomass burning.   
      
      “For the second year in a row Corrientes province is experiencing much   
      higher fire activity than experienced over the last two decades,”   
      Parrington said. “So far this year, the fires seem to be much more   
      localized around the Iberá wetlands compared to more widespread fires   
      across northern Argentina and southern Paraguay in 2022.”   
      
      Although the origin of the fires is not clear, prolonged drought and   
      high temperatures in the region have contributed to the ongoing   
      burning. On February 13, Argentina’s National Meteorological Service   
      issued high-temperature warnings, as temperatures reached around 40° C   
      (104° F) in parts of central and northern Argentina. This is already   
      the eighth heatwave in the country this summer, according to the   
      national meteorological service. As the sweltering heat moved from   
      southern Argentina to the north over the course of February, it broke   
      temperature records in 27 Argentine cities.   
      
      Image Facts   
      Satellite:  Terra   
      Date Acquired: 2/22/2023   
      Resolutions:  1km (148.9 KB),  500m (352.4 KB),  250m (197.7   
      KB)   
      Bands Used: 7,2,1   
      Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC   
      
      
      
   https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2023-02-24   
       
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