Remote Sensing
MODIS
A moderate-resolution sensor providing daily global coverage, widely used for fire detection and coarse vegetation monitoring.
MODIS instruments on NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites image the whole planet every one to two days at coarse resolution. The value is frequency and consistency over a quarter century, not detail.
For carbon work it supplies active fire detections, burn scars, land-cover products and long vegetation index series used to set regional context around a project area.
Frequently asked questions
Can MODIS measure biomass?
Not reliably at its resolution. It is used for context, fire and phenology rather than site-level stock estimates.
Why is the archive valuable?
Continuity. Decades of comparable observations make long-run trends visible.