May 17th, 2012 Category: Fires

Russia - May 16th, 2012

Fires by the southern tip of Lake Baikal release a cloud of smoke over Russian Siberia. Although multiple blazes can be observed both north and south of the end of the lake, the fires to the south are releasing more smoke. In that area, strong winds have also carried the smoke further afield, reaching across a great distance towards the bottom edge of the image.

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May 16th, 2012 Category: Fires

Mexico - May 16th, 2012

Fires have been burning by the western coast of Mexico, near the mountains of the Sierra Madre Occidental, over the last week (click here for images captured earlier this month). Here, plumes of smoke from the fires can be observed just west of an area of cloud-cover. There does not appear to be much wind, or winds blowing constantly in the same direction, as the plumes of smoke are remaining confined near the source of the blazes.

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May 16th, 2012 Category: Fires, Image of the day, Sediments

Australia - May 15th, 2012

Multiple plumes of smoke from wildifres in the northern part of Australia’s Northern Territory can be observed here. While the smoke from the fires is virtually always blowing towards the northwest, the size and intensity of the plumes vary, depending on the size of the fire and the wind conditions in the area. Visible by the coast are sediments in Van Diemen Gulf (top center) and the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf (left).

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May 15th, 2012 Category: Fires

Canada and USA - May 14th, 2012

Lake Superior (above), shared by the United States and Canada, and Lake Michigan (below), the only one of the Great Lakes located entirely in the USA, appear mostly sediment-free in this spring image of North America. What may be a trail of smoke, however, from a fire whose source cannot be identified here, can be seen blowing across Lake Superior. It is particularly concentrated over a peninsula jutting out into the lake known as Upper Peninsula, belonging to the state of Michigan.

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May 14th, 2012 Category: Fires

Mexico - May 13th, 2012

Fires continue to burn parallel to the western coast of Mexico, near the mountains of the Sierra Madre Occidental (click here for images captured earlier this month). Here, clouds have formed above the mountains, making it difficult to discern the individual blazes; however, the source of one large fire can be observed in the upper left quadrant. Smoke from the fires blows southwestward, over the coast, creating a veil over the southern part of the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez) and a section of the Pacific Ocean.

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May 14th, 2012 Category: Fires, Volcanoes

Russia - May 14th, 2012

A plume of smoke blows southward off the coast of Russia, over the Sea of Okhotsk, between Sakhalin Island (left edge) and the Kamchatka Peninsula (right edge). A thinner veil of smoke is also visible over Shakhalin, blowing eastward towards Kamchatka. At the bottom of the Kamchatka Peninsula, by the left edge (best viewed in the full image) is the snow-capped Bolshaya Ipelka Volcano, an immense shield volcano.

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May 14th, 2012 Category: Fires

Australia - May 12th, 2012

Fires in the northern part of Western Australia release plumes of smoke that blow due west. Fire season in this part of Australia usually begins in May and ends in November. Since the region is currently at the beginning of its dry season, vegetation in the area is still relatively moist, meaning that fires should be relatively easy to contain. Click here to see images of fires in the region in late April, before the official beginning of the fire season.

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May 12th, 2012 Category: Fires, Mountains

Mexico - May 11th, 2012

Plumes of smoke from multiple fires by the Sierra Madre Occidental, parallel to the west coast of Mexico, can be observed in this image. Also parallel to the shoreline is a trail of bright green sediments in the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez). Upon opening the full image, more smoke can be seen further east: smoke released from fires between the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the Yucatán Peninsula creates a hazy cloud over the Gulf of Mexico.

Tags: Fires Gulf of California Gulf of Mexico Isthmus of Tehuantepec Mexico Sea of Cortez Sierra Madre Occidental Yucatan Peninsula | | Leave a comment

May 12th, 2012 Category: Fires, Lakes, Mountains

Italy, Switzerland, France - May 11th, 2012

The Alps, covered in snow, arch across the upper part of this image, marking the border between Italy (right) and Switzerland (above, left) and France (below, left). A plume of smoke from a fire near Lake Geneva blows southward and then curves to the west, trailing out over the Mediterranean Sea.

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