NASA: It is happening now - Está sucediendo ahora - 28-07-10 - Dominic Point Fire. Montana - Severe Storms Strike U.S. East Coast - Sabancaya Volcano. Peru - Savaii. Samoa

Dominic Point Fire, Montana

Lightning strikes and human activities in the forested mountains of the western United States can spark wildfires during the summer dry season. The Dominic Point Fire was first reported near 3:00 p.m. local time on Sunday, July 25, 2010. Approximately one hour later, the International Space Station crew photographed the fire’s large smoke plume—already extending at least 8 kilometers (5 miles) to the east—from orbit as the station passed almost directly overhead. Forest Service fire crews, slurry bombers, and helicopters were on the scene by that evening.

The fire may have been started by a lightning strike, as there are no trails leading into the fire area located approximately 22 kilometers (14 miles) northeast of Hamilton, Montana, according to local reports. As of July 26, 2010, the fire had burned approximately 700 to 1,000 acres (283 to 405 hectares) of the Bitterroot National Forest in western Montana. The fire is thought to have expanded quickly due to high temperatures, low humidity, and favorable winds with an abundance of deadfall—dead trees and logs that provide readily combustible fuels—in the area.

1. Link

2. U.S. National Forest Service. (2010, July 26). Bitterroot National Forest. Accessed July 27, 2010.

Astronaut photograph ISS024-E-9526 was acquired on July 25, 2010 with a Nikon D3X digital camera using an effective 1000 mm lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment and Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, Johnson Space Center. The image was taken by the Expedition 24 crew. The image in this article has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast. Lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory as part of the ISS National Lab to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Caption by William L. Stefanov, NASA-JSC.

Instrument: 

ISS - Digital Camera

 

 

 

Severe Storms Strike U.S. East Coast

 One of the most destructive storms in years struck Washington, D.C., and the surrounding area on July 25, 2010. Strong winds downed trees and power lines, leaving hundreds of thousands of residents without power, stopping elevators, and darkening malls and movie theaters. Falling trees killed at least two people. The following morning, crews were working furiously to restore power to homes, traffic lights, and even a water treatment plant. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)—built and launched by NASA, and operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)—captured a series of images of the storm activity on July 25, 2010. This image is a composite of clouds from GOES merged with background data of the land surface from NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The animation shows a series of thunderstorms coalescing as the fast-moving front travels from the Appalachians toward the Mid-Atlantic. By 4:15 p.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time, the strongest thunderstorms were directly over Washington, D.C. The violent storms followed on the heels of relentless heat for the U.S. East Coast. “The East Coast has been baking for weeks,” explains George Huffman, a research meteorologist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “It’s been hot and muggy, with lots of moisture in the air, and that stuff has been trapped under a high-pressure system. Storms had been steering around the edges of that system. In fact, the flight that experienced so much turbulence last week was along the edge of that high pressure.” Forecasts had raised the possibility of severe weather for the East Coast on July 25, and Huffman watched the storm system as it traveled over Ohio and Pennsylvania, remaining intact as it moved. “You tend not to see well-organized lines of thunderstorms at 9:00 a.m.,” he says. But the storm system coming from the west did not dissipate, even in the mid-morning hours. “The large-scale pattern shifted, allowing the high pressure to our northwest, which is cooler and drier, to push toward the southeast. That push was strong enough to organize the squall lines that fed off of our hot, muggy conditions,” he explains. “As storms come across the mountains toward the coastal plain, they have three options: hang together, get stronger, or get weaker. This storm system got stronger.”

1. References

2. Lee, S., McPhate, M., Weil, M. (2010, July 26). Hundreds of thousands still without power; fast-moving storm kills two. The Washington Post. Accessed July 26, 2010.
3. Linthicum, K. (2010, July 21). Shaken by severe turbulence, LAX-bound plane diverts to Denver; two dozen injured. L.A. Now. Los Angeles Times. Accessed July 26, 2010.
4. Samenow , J. (2010, July 25). Severe thunderstorms sliding south. Capital Weather Gang. The Washington Post. Accessed July 26, 2010.

Image courtesy NOAA-NASA GOES Project. Animation by Robert Simmon. Caption by Michon Scott and Robert Simmon with information provided by George Huffman, Science Systems and Applications, Inc. at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Instrument: 

GOES

Sabancaya Volcano, Peru

The 5,967-meter- (19,577-foot-) high Sabancaya stratovolcano (Nevado Sabancaya in the local language) is located in southern Perú, approximately 70 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of the city of Arequipa. The name Sabancaya means “tongue of fire” in the Quechua Indian language.

Sabancaya is part of a volcanic complex that includes two other nearby (and older) volcanoes, neither of which has been active historically. In this detailed astronaut photograph, Nevado Ampato is visible to the south (image left), and the lower flanks of Nevado Hualca Hualca are visible to the north (image top right). The snowy peaks of the three volcanoes provide a stark contrast to the surrounding desert of the Puna Plateau.

Sabancaya’s first historical record of an eruption dates to 1750. The most recent eruptive activity at the volcano occurred in July 2003, and it deposited ash on the volcano’s summit and northeastern flank. Volcanism at Sabancaya is fueled by magma generated at the subduction zone between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates.

Magma can erupt to the surface and form lava flows through the volcano’s summit (frequently forming a crater), but it can also erupt from lava domes and flank vents along the volcano’s sides. Lava has issued from all of these points at Sabancaya, forming numerous gray to dark brown scalloped lobes that extend in all directions except southwards (image center).

Astronaut photograph ISS024-E-8396 was acquired on July 15, 2010, with a Nikon D2Xs digital camera using a 400 mm lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment and Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, Johnson Space Center. The image was taken by the Expedition 24 crew. The image in this article has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast. Lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory as part of the ISS National Lab to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Caption by William L. Stefanov, NASA-JSC.

Instrument: 

ISS - Digital Camera

 

 

 

 

Savaii, Samoa

At the western end of the Samoan Island chain lies Savai’i. Stretching over 649 square miles (1,682 square kilometers), Savai’i is one of the largest landmasses in Polynesia. The mountainous island is a shield volcano that reaches its highest altitude—6,095 feet (1,858 meters)—near the center of the island. The region’s tropical, humid climate sustains vegetation that carpets much of the island.

Sparse cloud cover allowed the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1)caldera or collapsed magma chamber that was modified by the later eruption of additional lava. satellite a clear view of south-central Savai’i on July 1, 2010. A jagged line of small, round volcanic craters extends east-west across the island. South of this uneven line, two deep, parallel valleys extend toward the south. The semicircular contours of the valleys suggest that they might be the remains of an ancient

With the exception of a few brown crater rims, and a coastal settlement along the image’s left edge, the landscape appears in varying shades of green. Dense rainforests cover the island’s rugged interior, and thick vegetation also thrives along the coastal plains. Rivers and streams carve their way to the coast, fed by regular rains. Precipitation on Savai’i is especially heavy from November to April. Scratching below the vegetated surface, however, leads to equally interesting rocks.

Savai’i’s rocks have long puzzled geologists. A possible explanation for the island’s formation is a stationary hotspot. Geologists surmised that Samoa’s islands were older to the west, having passed over the hotspot earlier. On the western end of the island chain, Savai’i should have been about 5 million years old, but some volcanic rocks sampled there had indicated a much younger age, perhaps as young as 400,000 years. A study published in 2008, however, dated rocks from multiple locations deep within the island flanks and found them to be several million years old. The exact causes of Savai’i’s formation remains an area of active research.

Savai’i has remained volcanically active into historical times, with two eruptions occurring in the early twentieth century. The eruptions sent big lava flows to the island’s northern coast, destroying several villages.

1. References

2. Encyclopedia Britannica. (2010). Savai’i. Accessed July 23, 2010.
3. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Samoa Resources. Accessed July 23, 2010.
4. Global Volcanism Program. Savai’i. Accessed July 23, 2010.
5. Koppers, A.A.; Russell, J.A.; Staudigel, H.; Hart, S.R. (2006). New 40ar/39ar ages for Savai’i Island reinstate Samoa as a hotspot trail with a linear age progression. American Geophysical Union.
6. Koppers, A.A., Russell, J.A., Jackson, M.G., Konter, J., Staudigel, H., Hart, S.R. (2008). Samoa reinstated as a primary hotspot trail. Geology, 36(6), 435–438.
7. Oregon State University. (2008, June 17). Samoa found to be in path of geological hotspots, adding fuel to debate over origins of volcanic chains. ScienceDaily. Accessed July 23, 2010.
8. U.S. National Park Service. (2008). National Park of American Samoa Geologic Resource Evaluation Report. Accessed July 23, 2010.
9. Wikipedia. (2010, July 11). Savai’i. Accessed July 23, 2010.

NASA Earth Observatory image created by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using EO-1 ALI data provided courtesy of the NASA EO-1 team. Caption by Michon Scott

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NASA:

It is happening now - Está sucediendo ahora

28-07-10

Dominic Point Fire. Montana

Severe Storms Strike U.S. East Coast

Sabancaya Volcano. Peru

Savaii. Samoa