English: On October 21, 2016, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite flew over Iraq and captured a true-color image of smoke and sulfur dioxide plumes pouring from fires burning south of Mosul.

The dark, oily-appearing plumes mark fires burning at the Qayyarah oil field. The complex houses an oil refinery and a number of oil wells. The oil field has been under ISIL (Islamic State) control since 2014. In June 2016, as Iraqi forces began action to retake Qayyarah, fires were ignited at the wells. By the time Iraqi forces retook the area in August, multiple fires were burning and the refinery was severely damaged.

The white plume to the north is located at the Al-Mishraq sulfur mine and plant. The MODIS instruments on both the Terra and Aqua satellite first detected heat signatures at the location on October 20. By the next day, a plume of white smoke was streaming from the facility. The blaze was reportedly ignited by ISIL militants as Iraqi forces pushed forward towards Mosul, which lies about 24 miles north of the location.

Sulfur dioxide emitted from the burning facility is rising high into the atmosphere and spreading over the region, according to NASA’s Earth Observatory. Sulfur dioxide is a toxic and corrosive gas which can cause significant health problems to those exposed. To learn more about the spread of the gas from the Al-Mishraq facility, the Earth Observatory story can be found at: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=88994&src=eorss-iotd