April 11, 2022 - Greening in Southern United States

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Greening
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Each year, rising temperatures rise, lengthening daylight, and spring
rains bring a flush of green across the United States. Starting in the
far south and traveling northward following winter’s retreat, new
leaves and fresh plant growth color the landscape so brightly that the
change is easily seen from space.

On April 7, 2022, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
(MODIS) acquired a true-color image of a clear spring day over the
southern United States. The image centers on the Mississippi River
Valley, a rich agricultural region. The long Mississippi River winds
through the valley and carries substantial mud-brown sediment which it
has picked up as snow melt and spring rains washed soils into the
rolling river. Much of the valley still retains the tan hue of fallow
fields, but green patches mark early growth of crops and pasture.

While this single image gives a clear view of spring in the South, to
understand the change in the landscape over time, it’s necessary to
view two images. Thanks to the NASA Worldview App, a comparison between
this springtime image and one acquired on February 28 can be viewed
simply by clicking here. Although this region of the southern
United States retains green color year-round, thanks to few frosty
nights, the landscape in the February image clearly shows more browns
and tans, and less green than the April landscape.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 4/7/2022
Resolutions: 1km (141.6 KB), 500m (351.1 KB), 250m (1.1 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2022-04-11

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