EU-Brazilian partnership studies Amazon River
The CLIM-AMAZON (Joint Brazilian-European research facility for climate and geodynamic research on the Amazon River basin sediments) project has strengthened the long-term research partnership between EU Member States and Associated Countries and Brazil. This initiative was the result of long-term cooperation since 1997 between the Institute of Research for Development (IRD), France, and the Federal University of Brasilia (UnB). The collaboration was broadened to enable both PhD students and postdoctoral researchers from Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom to participate in CLIM-AMAZON activities. The result has been a new generation of scientists capable of addressing environmental challenges through a common approach and the establishment of a joint EU-Brazil laboratory based in Brasilia. In addition, the upgrading of analytical facilities at UnB will enable new environmental and geological research to be conducted in the Amazon region and will be a centre for EU-Brazil collaboration. CLIM-AMAZON work will improve scientific understanding of the long-term transport of sediments by the Amazon River and its interaction with the Atlantic Ocean. Furthermore, research and the training of research staff will help in capacity building and in increasing the sustainability of the Amazon region. A network will be created based on collaborative research, producing new information that will be gathered in an integrated EU-Brazil centre and then made available to others. The centre will concentrate on the relationships among climate, hydrology, erosion, and sedimentary transport and deposition in tropical regions. The focus on the sediments of the Amazon River basin has enabled the study of geodynamic and climate evolution in this area back to the Miocene Epoch. Furthermore, data gathered through CLIM-AMAZON will be used to help mitigate the effects of climate change and of flooding and erosion. It will also help to reduce the impact of human activities and their influence along the Amazon River. CLIM-AMAZON also built upon previous successful collaborations between European and South American countries conducted under the ORE-HYBAM project. The continued cooperation of Brazilian and European scientists will help raise the profile of joint EU-Brazil research.
Keywords
Amazon River, climate, hydrology, CLIM-AMAZON, geodynamic, sediments
