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  • IDL TIFF file

ST. LOUIS, MO — NASA scientists are tracking smoke from wildfires burning across the western United States and Canada. There are more than 80 large fires burning in nine western states. The smoke is going high into the air and heading east.

A report from NASA says that, “The Ozone Mapper Profiler Suite (OMPS) on Suomi NPP also collected data on airborne aerosols as they were swept by the winds from west to east across the continental United States that day.

The OMPS map depicts relative aerosol concentrations, with lower concentrations appearing in yellow and higher concentrations appearing in dark orange-brown. Note that the sensor detects aerosols in high-altitude plumes more readily than lower plumes, so this map does not reflect air quality conditions at “nose height.” Rather it shows where large plumes of smoke were lofted several kilometers up in the atmosphere.”