In January 2025, a wildfire broke out on the remote island of Amsterdam, scorching more than half of the island and forcing researchers to evacuate. The fire, which broke out in dry and windy conditions, threatened unique wildlife, including the world's largest population of Atlantic yellow-nosed albatrosses and rare plant shrubs. Satellite images showed widespread burning damage, and scientists also observed unusual atmospheric effects such as mountain wave clouds.


Satellite image of Amsterdam Island taken by Operational Land Imager-2 on Landsat 9 on February 9, 2025.

A false color satellite image of Amsterdam Island taken by the Land Imager-2 on Landsat 9 on February 9, 2025.

On January 15, 2025, a wildfire broke out at the northern end of Amsterdam Island, a remote landmass in the southern Indian Ocean between Australia, Antarctica and Africa. Part of the southern French and Antarctic landmass, the island is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is home to a variety of marine mammals, seabirds and rare plant species. There is also a research station here that is crucial for monitoring the Earth's atmosphere.

By February 9, OLI-2 (Operational Land Imager-2) satellite images on the Landsat 9 satellite showed that the fire had scorched most of the island's 54 square kilometers (21 square miles). One image is shown in false color (lower image above), highlighting the contrast between burned areas (brown) and healthy vegetation (green), while a natural color image (upper image above) provides a more familiar landscape.

The burned area formed a thick ring around much of the island. According to a map drawn by the Copernicus Emergency Management Service, the fire covers nearly 30 square kilometers, more than half of the island's area. As of early February, the cause of the fire was unknown.

According to a news release from France's Southern and Antarctic Regional Administration (TAAF), the fire started a few kilometers away from the Martin de Viviers research facility. Dry weather and strong winds at the time contributed to the spread of the fire. Early the next morning, 31 people stationed at Martin de Vives were safely evacuated to a nearby lobster fishing boat. A few days later, they were transferred to a TAAF ship.

Yellow-nosed albatrosses on Amsterdam Island. Photo credit: Antoine Lamielle

Amsterdam Island is one of the few places in the world where the endangered shrub Phylica arborea grows. This small patch of land also supports the world's largest population of Atlantic yellow-nosed albatrosses, Amsterdam's only albatross population, and colonies of elephant seals and fur seals.

Scientific research activities in Amsterdam include long-term monitoring of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. The observations were made on a cliff near the Martin-de-Vivi research station. According to a January 29 TAAF press release, part of the power, water and communications infrastructure at the Martin de Vives research station was damaged in the fire.

Satellite image of atmospheric phenomena caused by the Amsterdam Island fire captured by the visible infrared imaging radiometer suite on the SuomiNPP satellite on January 28, 2025.

As the fire burned, the island also experienced some interesting atmospheric phenomena. On January 28, the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) on the SuomiNPP satellite captured this image of cloud bands and smoke downwind of the land.

Galina Wind, an atmospheric scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, said: "What you see on Amsterdam Island is a perfect example of the mountain wave effect. This phenomenon occurs when wind blows through a stable atmosphere and encounters an obstacle - in this case, Amsterdam Island juts out 881 meters (2,890 feet) from the sea. The disturbance sets off vertical ripples in the air, and clouds form on the cooler crests rather than the hotter troughs."

Wind noted that a faint plume of wildfire smoke was also swirling toward the left side of the island. If the smoke were brighter, a similar wave pattern might form, she said. Because the air is otherwise very stable with very little convection, this pattern is being carried overall by the large circulation away from the islands. On this day, the mountain wave clouds extended for more than 300 kilometers (200 miles) - even beyond the range pictured above.

Image from NASA's Earth Observatory, taken by Wanmei Liang using Landsat data provided by the U.S. Geological Survey, VIIRS data provided by NASA's EOSDISLANCE, GIBS/Worldview and Suomi National Polar Orbiting Partners, and MODIS data provided by NASA's EOSDISLANCE and GIBS/Worldview.

Compiled from /ScitechDaily