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New platform integrates greenhouse gas data from the Amazon
Developed by USP's Research Center for Greenhouse Gas Innovation (RCGI), the publicly available tool enables in-depth analyses of the region and supports the formulation of more effective public policies
Platform with Amazon rainforest data provides scientific information to guide environmental policies - Photo: Andre Deak/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 2.0
Information on greenhouse gas emissions and absorptions of the Amazon Rainforest in the region encompassing nine countries is now publicly accessible on the Digital Amazon platform. Developed within the scope of the project Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Amazon: Data Analysis System and Service, of USP’s Research Center for Greenhouse Gas Innovation (RCGI), the tool brings together data from Amazonian countries and enables integrated analysis of the regional dynamics of these gases, providing scientific information to guide environmental policies. The platform can be accessed upon registration on the project’s website, with different levels of access granted according to the user’s profile.
“It is the first platform to integrate, in a unified manner, satellite data, measurement towers, and other sensors on the carbon cycle in the Amazon rainforest. This represents a fundamental advance for science and for the formulation of effective public policies in the face of climate change”, said Paulo Artaxo, a professor at the Institute of Physics (IF) at USP and coordinator of the project.
Digital Amazon organizes essential data to understand the role of the Amazon in the global dynamics of greenhouse gases – especially carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) – from a unified database of information that was previously dispersed. This centralization allows tasks that previously required days of preparation and organization to now be completed in a matter of minutes, significantly increasing researchers’ productivity.
Paulo Artaxo, professor at IF and the project’s coordinator - Photo: Courtesy of Paulo Artaxo
The system also makes it possible to resolve disparities in data released by different satellites, which vary in resolution, periodicity, and technology. Possible analyses include the impact of forest degradation on emissions; the effects of El Niño and La Niña on atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases; the calculation of methane emissions in flooded areas; and the effects of agricultural expansion and changes in rainfall regimes on the forest’s photosynthetic processes.
Website and research page of the Digital Amazon platform - Photo: RCGI USP
The data initially cover the period between 2003 and 2017, bringing together information obtained from satellites, towers such as the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO), surface sensors, and meteorological and environmental databases. The next step is to update the database through 2024, which will expand the temporal scope of the analyses and strengthen continuous monitoring of the region.
Environmental Big Data
Digital Amazon is a data space, that is, a digital structure aimed at the integration and intelligent processing of large volumes of complex data. In this case, it integrates and organizes environmental data from different origins and formats — such as satellites, terrestrial sensors, and measurement towers — into a unified environment, with curation, traceability, and interoperability.
“All this infrastructure is hosted in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud, which ensures remote access, scalability, and security. This enables robust analyses and paves the way for the use of artificial intelligence in searches, inferences, and decision-making. It is a concrete application of big data principles focused on the complexity of the Amazon rainforest”, said José Reinaldo Silva, a professor at USP’s School of Engineering (Poli) and deputy coordinator of the project.
Among the next planned developments is the creation of an intuitive viewer designed for non-specialist users. As a complement to fixed towers and satellites, drone prototypes capable of collecting atmospheric data in remote areas of the forest were developed. The proposal is to operate the drones from barges in the Amazon basin, expanding access to regions with limited terrestrial coverage.
The system is already prepared to synchronize with other databases – and may, in the future, be integrated with international platforms such as Global Forest Watch. Periodic reports with interpretative analyses are also planned, aimed at the formulation of evidence-based public policies.
José Reinaldo Silva, professor at Poli and and the project’s vice-coordinator - Photo: Marcos Santos/USP Imagens
“Our goal is to provide a robust infrastructure so that researchers, public managers, and members of civil society can closely monitor the role of the Amazon rainforest in the global carbon balance”, said Silva. “Now that we have a solid technological structure, we are seeking support for the continuity and expansion of the project”.
Watch the experimental drone flights that transmitted collected data to the Digital Amazon system:
The platform, which in its first phase received funding from Shell Brasil and the São Paulo Research Foundation (Fapesp), through the R&D (Research and Development) clause of the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), involves a network of research institutions. These include USP’s Atmospheric Physics Laboratory, D-Lab (Design Lab of USP’s School of Engineering – Poli), C2D (Data Science Center of Poli), the Department of Aeronautical Engineering of USP’s São Carlos School of Engineering (EESC), the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe), Imazon, MapBiomas, and the National Center for Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters (Cemaden), under the coordination of USP’s Research Center for Greenhouse Gas Innovation (RCGI).
The platform can be accessed on the Digital Amazon website.
Written with information provided by the RCGI Press Office at USP
English version: Nexus Traduções, edited by Denis Pacheco
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A reprodução de matérias e fotografias é livre mediante a citação do Jornal da USP e do autor. No caso dos arquivos de áudio, deverão constar dos créditos a Rádio USP e, em sendo explicitados, os autores. Para uso de arquivos de vídeo, esses créditos deverão mencionar a TV USP e, caso estejam explicitados, os autores. Fotos devem ser creditadas como USP Imagens e o nome do fotógrafo.