Download a Quicktime animation of this comparison (7 MB)

Sea Surface Temperature

These sea surface temperature maps are based on observations by the MODIS sensors on NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites. The satellites measure the temperature of the top millimeter of the ocean surface. In this map, the coolest waters appear in blue (approximately -2 degrees Celsius), and the warmest temperatures appear in pink-yellow (45 degrees Celsius). Landmasses and the large area of sea ice around Antarctica appear in shades of gray, indicating no data were collected.

Fire

The fire maps show the locations of actively burning fires around the world on a monthly basis, based on observations from the MODIS sensors on NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites. The colors are based on a count of the number (not size) of fires observed within a 1,000-square-kilometer area. White pixels show the high end of the count — as many as 100 fires in a 1,000-square-kilometer area per day. Yellow pixels show as many as 10 fires, orange shows as many as 5 fires, and red areas as few as 1 fire per day.

View, download, or analyze more of these data from NASA Earth Observations (NEO):

Sea Surface Temperature

Fire