Research Team Growing

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.

The Edge of Civilization

Rio Branco is an interesting place. It feels a bit as if you are on the edge of Brazilian civilization. The town is a relatively industrial - it is the last stop before things go into the Amazon, and one of the first stops when they leave the Amazon and are processed for shipping elsewhere. So there are big trucks everywhere. Despite this, the average income is relatively low, and only the wealthiest can afford cars. Most residents don't own cars and they commute in any way they can. Bikes are everywhere, not simply in the city on the sidewalks, but in the outskirts of town dozens of people can be seen biking for miles on the highways to and from work. Motorcycles, which are exceptionally popular everywhere in Brazil, are almost overwhelming in Rio Branco. At least a dozen will inch past you at a red light, and when the light turns green it looks a bit like a motocross race starting.

Despite the fact that we are in the rainforest, it's been surprisingly dry since we arrived. With temperatures near 100 and the sun in full force, things dry out quickly. The soil here is predominantly red clay and sand, and when it dries out, it begins to drift. It creeps into your boots, gets in your pockets, and slips under your fingers nails. You can almost taste it in the air as everything has a bit of a reddish tinge from it. Of course this makes for some spectacular sunsets.

In the Jungle

Arrived in Rio Branco in Acre about 2 AM on Tuesday. The humidity hits you as soon as you walk off the plane, but since it was the middle of the night and not especially hot, it was a welcome break from the dry climate in Sao Paulo. The field station we are working at is about 20 kilometers outside of the city and run by EMBRAPA, the federal agricultural agency, and the site is a few kilometers into the forest. Great labs, easy access, all in all a pretty easy place to work. Anne, my host, had peppered us with stories of worms that bore through the soles of your feet and rats rummaging along your bedside - this is a far cry from that, though I did find the molted skin of a pretty large snake on our trail yesterday. Walked into the forest to check out the plot they will be burning next week, very cool. Unfortunately having some problems calibrating my equipment, hopefully will solve those today and post more later.

Leaving for Rio Branco

Off to Rio Branco today. Exciting and a bit scary. If the mosquitoes or the weather don't get me, the Mapinguari may.

Jaunt to Rio

Just got back from a day-trip to Rio de Janeiro. It appears that my equipment may have finally arrived in Brazil; however, it is stuck in customs indefinitely. My host, Anne, had the great idea to borrow a piece of equipment from some researchers in Rio, so I flew there yesterday morning, picked it up, and flew back yesterday evening. As a scientist, you get used to working on the fly as you never know what is going to happen next. However, Brazilians seem to be particularly used to this as they have the added uncertainty of government regulations and approval to navigate.

Research and Brazil

It has been an interesting adventure so far. On one hand, I have been really impressed with the advanced state of science in Brazil. As I understand it, the State of Sao Paulo is an especially good place to conduct research as the State constitution guarantees that 1% of the budget go towards research. One of the researchers here recently said that the amount of money that Sao Paulo invests in research is equivalent to the amount that the Brazilian federal government invests in the remaining 25 states. So, life is good as a scientist in Sao Paulo.

One the other hand, I have also been impressed at the amount of red tape there exists in the country. We began the process of importing my research equipment back in April and it has still not arrived. Last week we had the startling news that all of the major equipment was approved for importation, but none of the electrical cords, data wires, or tubes were approved :-0. We finally resolved this situation and the equipment was picked up from NYC on Friday - more than 4 months after we started the paperwork. My host suggests that this is partially due to the government's suspicion of developed countries using developing countries like Brazil as a dumping ground for their defunct equipment and garbage. Thus, any item that is not brand new is treated with suspicion. That said, even she is started at the amount of time this has taken.


On Monday 9/19 we leave for Rio Branco to do our field research. As you can see, it doesn't seem like one of the most welcoming places on the planet to live. On top of the weather, there seems to be a nagging little problem called malaria. This is a strange issue, as an American coming down I was told at every turn that I would need to take a battery of malarial prophylaxis drugs to avoid contracting the nasty little parasite. However, the Brazilians researchers state that the anti-malarial drugs have really nasty side-effects, and that the risk of contracting malaria is far smaller than the risk of side effects. S0, uniformly they have said that they do not take them when traveling to the Amazon. When in Brazil ....

Sabbatical Research

In May of 2010 I began to make plans for a sabbatical leave. Since our children our young, my wife and I decided that it was a good time to travel and so I began to send out inquiries far and wide. Luckily, one letter I sent was to Anne Helene Fostier at the University of Campinas in Campinas, Brazil. Anne and I have overlapping interests in soil mercury chemistry, and after a few exchanges we had worked up an idea to study the effect of deforestation on soil mercury emissions in the Brazilian Amazon. Unfortunately, there is a legacy of mercury pollution in some areas of the Amazon due to Artisnal gold-mining operations in which liquid mercury was used to extract traces of gold from sediment, and then the mercury was boiled off without control leaving behind small flakes of gold. Intact forests, and soils within those forests, can serve as a sink for atmospheric mercury, reducing its movement in the environment and subsequent exposure of nearby populations. However, deforestation that is resulting from agricultural development in the Amazon releases mercury from these forests, and this may result in long-term degradation of soils and further release of Hg from these soils. Our plan is to travel into the Amazon in late September to study this process.

I arrived in Campinas, Brazil with my family just over two weeks ago (8 Aug) and I have to admit I had little understanding of the scientific enterprise in Brazil before arriving. I have been delighted and impressed with things so far. Unicamp has an excellent reputation in the sciences and probably has the stature of a CalTech-type institution in the States. The campus is circular in nature, with several concentric circles of roads and buildings. The main science institutes (Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Geosciences) are all located on the innermost concentric circle, at the heart of the University itself. These Institutes are well-funded by various state and federal agencies including FAPESP (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo), CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior), and other organizations. And as a result, the technology in place is impressive. From atomic absorption spectrometers, to GC, MS, LC, electron microscopy, and just about every type of Inductively Coupled Plasma spectrometer one can think of, they all are available at the University. I am still getting to know the place, but am excited to learn my way around.