Argentina’s fertile agricultural region in Pampas is a patchwork of farm fields, with one notable exception. In the center of the image (and magnified inset) is a cypress and eucalyptus forest shaped into a guitar. This grove is tended by a farmer in memory of his wife.
The ASTER image is from 2 November, 2007. It mixes visible and thermal infrared wavelengths to track land use changes. The instrument is a joint United States/Japan project, producing images to a spectral resolution of 15 to 90 meters per pixel. It is used to monitor evolution in glaciers, volcanoes, crop stress, clouds, wetlands, pollution, coral reefs, soils, and heat balance.
Image credit:NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team. Check out how infrared wavelengths can be used to monitor plant stress.
