Satellite imaging and remote sensing offer unique insights into the Amazon’s complex hydrology. A new review summarizes decades of findings and charts a path forward for new remote sensing missions.
Amazonia
Posted inNews
Traditional Knowledge Is Essential to Sustainability in the Amazon
At COP26, the Science Panel for the Amazon is emphasizing the need for Indigenous and Local Knowledge to inform scientific and policy recommendations.
Posted inNews
New Report Puts the Amazon Rain Forest on the Main Stage at COP26
The Science Panel for the Amazon prepares to launch its first report, the most comprehensive document on the rain forest so far.
Posted inNews
Forest Recovery in the Amazon Is a Slow Process
For the first time, a study analyzes Amazon forest loss and recovery at national and subnational levels. One finding shows that new plantings offset less than 10% of emissions associated with deforestation.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Amazon Deforestation and Fires are a Hazard to Public Health
Deforestation in the Amazon has dropped since the early 2000s, but it is slowly climbing again. A new study shows the impact of that climb on public health—and how much worse conditions could be.
Posted inNews
Indigenous Peoples Harness Space Technology to Stop Deforestation
Satellite observations have long been used to detect deforestation, and a new study shows that giving Indigenous groups greater access to these data can improve response times and reduce tree cover loss.
Posted inNews
Amazon Forests Are Turning into Savannas
Floodplain forests have low resilience to repeated exposure to wildfires. As climate change increases the instances of fires, forests may transform to less productive grassland ecosystems.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Upwind Forest Buffers Rondonia Cropland Against Regional Drought
During severe Amazonia droughts when oceanic supply of moisture failed, the magnitude of rainfall reduction over Rondonia was moderated by enhanced moisture supply from upwind forests.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Trans-Atlantic Dusts May Not Enrich Amazon as Much as Thought
New research indicates that nutrient loads delivered to South American ecosystems by dust originating in Africa are far lower than suggested in previous studies.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
How Forest Degradation Affects Carbon and Water Cycles
Forest degradation may be as widespread as deforestation in the Amazon, but its impact on energy, carbon, and water fluxes is less well understood.