Our research team has been growing over the past few days as more scientists arrive to study the controlled burn that will occur on Tuesday. This is an international project, with researchers from Brazil, the U.S., Canada. France, and Holland participating to study the effects of fire on the Amazon forest. Each group will do something a bit different, but all contribute to the larger effort of understanding the impacts and consequences of deforestation via burning on the environment. There are researchers who will be studying carbon emissions, others who study the progression of the fire through the forest, still others studying the release of particulate matter and gaseous pollutants from the burn, my colleague who will be studying the release of mercury from the fire itself, and I will be looking at the impact of fire on emissions of mercury from soil pre- and post-burn. What I now understand is that this is part of a very big, and very long effort to understand, and reduce deforestation in the Amazon. Several researchers in this group have been at this type of work for almost 20 years now. Every year they travel to a different part of the Amazon, some more remote than others, to study the progression of deforestation.
Yesterday we worked to measure background conditions on the plot to establish a baseline for our measurements. There was a group who installed particulate filters to establish baseline levels of those pollutants. Another group that worked to raise a small metal tower in the center of the plot where a number of instruments will be installed. There were several people who worked to measure the diameter and height of trees on the site to estimate the total biomass that will be burned. A generator was brought to the site to power some of the equipment that will be used. We collected samples of litterfall and fresh leaves that will be brought back to the lab and analyzed for mercury concentrations. And in the afternoon, after the generator was installed, I set up my equipment to begin taking some of my first background measurements on the site. Unfortunately, about 5 minutes later it rained for the first time since we've been here :-0, so I will try again today.
Yesterday we worked to measure background conditions on the plot to establish a baseline for our measurements. There was a group who installed particulate filters to establish baseline levels of those pollutants. Another group that worked to raise a small metal tower in the center of the plot where a number of instruments will be installed. There were several people who worked to measure the diameter and height of trees on the site to estimate the total biomass that will be burned. A generator was brought to the site to power some of the equipment that will be used. We collected samples of litterfall and fresh leaves that will be brought back to the lab and analyzed for mercury concentrations. And in the afternoon, after the generator was installed, I set up my equipment to begin taking some of my first background measurements on the site. Unfortunately, about 5 minutes later it rained for the first time since we've been here :-0, so I will try again today.
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