MODIS Rapid Response: On-the-ground, real time applications of scientific satellite imagery

Since 2001, NASA’s MODIS Rapid Response Project has been providing fire detections and imagery in near real time for a wide variety of application users. The project web site provides MODIS imagery in true color and false color band combinations, a vegetation index, and land surface temperature - in both uncorrected swath format and geographically corrected subset regions within a few hours of data acquisition. The uncorrected swath format data is available worldwide. Geographically corrected subset images cover the world's land areas and adjoining waters, as well as the entire Arctic and Antarctic. Images are available twice daily, in the morning from the Terra satellite and in the afternoon from the Aqua satellite. A wide range of user communities access this information to get a rapid, 250 meter-resolution overview of ground conditions for fire management, crop and famine monitoring and forecasting, disaster response (floods, storms), dust and aerosol monitoring, aviation (tracking volcanic ash), monitoring sea ice conditions, environmental monitoring, and more. The scientific community uses imagery to locate phenomena of interest prior to ordering and processing data and to support the day-to-day planning of field campaigns. Rapid Response imagery is used extensively to support education and public outreach, both by NASA and other organizations, and is frequently found in newspapers, books, TV, and the web. California wildfires, 26 October 2003, Terra MODIS