NASA Photo ID: STS055-152-153     File Name: 10073200.jpg

Film Type: 4x5 CN                 Date Taken: 05/06/93

Title: STS-55 Earth observation of agricultural development in northern Argentina

Description:

STS-55 Earth observation taken aboard Columbia, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 102,
is  of agricultural development in northern Argentina. This photograph is
from a  mapping strip of photographs acquired by the STS-55 crew. This
mapping strip  runs from the "eyelash forests" of the Bolivian Andes,
southeast across the  Chaco Plains, and into the upper Parana River Basin
of north-central  Argentina. The formerly densely forested areas between
the upper Rio  Pilcomayo and the Rio Teuco of NW Argentina rest on deep,
rich alluvial and  loess deposits. These modern soils were carried into the
region by rivers  from the Andes and by dust storms from large playa areas
of the Altiplano  (high plains) of Peru and Boliva. In this scene,
representative of the long  mapping strip, the process of converting
forests to agriculture is far  advanced. The original road network, a
series of grids laid out in the  forest, has nearly coalesced into a farm
and ranch landscape. Some few relict  forests are still visible as distinct
units and along road and field edges.  Some of the smoke plumes in this
scene are from continuing conversion of  forests. Others are biomass burns
along the edges of swamps in the Rio  Pilcomayo Basin. Of particular
interest in this scene are the newest  agricultural colonization grids,
which are seen as markedly bright areas of  yellow-brown soil.  In the
rapidly changing landscape of the tropics, such  documentation of
environmental change as provided by this photograph is  important to update
maps and warn of developing ecological problems. The  center point of the
photograph is about 23.2 South, 62 West.