The Brazilian Rainforest

NASA-Funded Scientists Join Others to Explore Tropical Rainforests

NASA-funded scientists and others from around the world are gathering in Brazil at an international conference to discuss research and discoveries of how the Amazon ecosystem works.

The 2nd International Large Scale Biosphere Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA) Scientific Conference is being held in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil from July 7th through the 10th. The LBA experiment is an international research initiative led by Brazil.

Scientists from around the world have been studying how changes in land use and climate in the tropical rainforests and other areas of the Amazon will affect the biological, chemical and physical functioning of the region, including its sustainability and its influence over the global climate.

"The LBA project is studying rainforests and their surrounding ecosystems such as those in Brazil because they have long been considered important to the world's carbon balance," said Michael Keller of the University of New Hampshire, the LBA project lead.

For more information on the LBA conference, go to: http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/20020708carbamazon.html