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Manoel
Cardoso
PhD Candidate
University of NH
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Heather
Bain
Research & Discover
Intern at UNH
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George
Hurtt
Asst. Professor
UNH
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A
note about the team. . .
"This
is a great opportunity for a graduate
student
to lead an important
research expedition. It's also an
excellent example of the opportunities
UNH provides for undergraduates to
become involved
in research, an experience that is
not common at
other institutions."
David
Bartlett,
Assoc. Dir., Inst. for the Study of
Earth,
Oceans, and Space.
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Field
research to enhance the interpretation of satellite fire
products
Destination:
Mato Grosso, Brazil, July
12— 16, 2002
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Student
Led Research . . .
This research trip is lead by Manoel Cardoso, a Brazilian candidate
for the Ph.D. at the University of New Hampshire. The trip will
include a Brazilian scientist from CPTEC,
a faculty member at UNH,
and a NASA
Research & Discover intern.
High school students in the
UNH Summer Institute Project
SMART
will participate through workshops at UNH and remotely via the internet.
The goal of this research trip is to collect ground-based data that
can be used to enhance the interpretation of satellite-based estimates
of fires for environmental studies in Amazonia. To collect this
information, the group travels to regions within Amazonia and collects
ground-based information on fire activity.
Why
is this important?
Fires are commonly involved in land use in Amazonia. They are used
as
an effective and inexpensive tool for land clearing and maintenance.
However, fires can have unintended consequences. For example, accidental
burnings can affect neighboring forests, and properties that are
not intended to burn. In addition, fires can affect nutrient and
carbon stocks, change the composition of the atmosphere, and modify
the successional stage of vegetation.
Our
research
. . .
This research is conducted as part of the Large
Scale Biosphere Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia
(LBA). LBA is an international study, led by Brazil, to learn
how Amazonia functions as a regional entity in the Earth system,
and how changes in land use and climate will affect the biological,
chemical, and physical functions of Amazonia, including the sustainability
of development in the region and the influence of Amazonia on global
climate.
Involvement
of Project SMART Students
. . .
The University of New Hampshire offers its annual, summer science
and math institute, Project SMART (Science and Math Achievement
through Research Training), to junior and senior high school students
throughout the U.S. and beyond. Students live on campus and acquaint
themselves with university life, and all it offers as an environment
and resource for higher learning. Students participate in ongoing
research using state-of-the-art instrumentation, computers/software,
and applying statistical techniques. Two workshops related to this
field research are planned with the participation of Project SMART
students at UNH: one before the trip, on July 2, and other after
the trip, on July 24. In addition, the team will interact with students
receiving and answering questions while they are in the field via
the internet.
Support
. . .
Funding for this research is provided by a grant from the NASA Terrestrial
Ecology and Land use Programs.
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The
research team
. . .
Manoel
Cardoso ,
PhD candidate, University of New Hampshire
Manoel is from
São Paulo, Brazil. Before he came to UNH for a doctoral
program in Earth Sciences, he earned an M.S. in Meteorology
at the University of São Paulo, and he was a research
fellow at the Center for Weather Forecast and Climate Studies
in Cachoeira Paulista, Brazil. Manoel is interested in describing
the large-scale occurrence of fires in Amazonia using climate,
land-cover and land-use information from the region. In particular,
he is interested on a better interpretation of satellite fire
data, which are critical to understand large-scale fire patterns.
Pedro
Lagden ,
Research Scientist, Brazilian Center for Weather
Forecast and Climate Studies (CPTEC)
Pedro
holds a B.S. in System Analysis, and currently attends the
São
Paulo State University graduate program in Computer Sciences.
He
works for the Fire Monitoring Program at CPTEC, in the preparation
of daily information on fire activity and risk for South America
based on fire detection from satellites.
Heather
Bain, Research and
Discover Intern, University of New Hampshire
Heather
is originally from Carver, Massachusetts, and came from her
undergraduate education at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester
for a summer internship at UNH. She is a mathematics major
with a computer science minor, and is looking forward to applying
mathematical theory to this environmental project in Amazonia.
Heather will also be captain of the Holy Cross Women's Track
and Field team this coming year.
George
Hurtt,
Assistant Professor, University of New Hampshire
George
Hurtt is a NASA co-Investigator.
He is involved in a variety of research projects that focus
on the theory and application of community and ecosystem ecology.
He teaches courses at UNH on the science of global climate
change, biological change, and the current state of the environment.
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