Technical note: Using NOAA and FY imagery to track plumes caused by the 2003 bombing of Baghdad

In this study, the usability of a 1.1 km satellite receiving station in Greece as an operational tool for monitoring wide scale man-made disasters is demonstrated. The plumes caused by major fires in Baghdad during the 2003 bombing campaign were detected and monitored using the real-time acquisition of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Feng Yun satellite imagery at the Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH) satellite receiving station. A set of false colour composites of Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and Multichannel Visible and Infrared Scan Radiometer (MVISR) images was used to investigate the dispersion of the plumes, which may contain toxic substances, over the wider Baghdad area, as well as to estimate plume spatial characteristics. In some cases, the area covered by these plumes was estimated to be more than 6000 km2.