The Impact of Atmospheric Aerosol from Biomass Burning on Amazon Dry-season Drought
نویسندگان
چکیده
It is increasingly apparent that the future of the Amazon rainforest is under threat from both climate change and agricultural practices. Here we use a 13-year time series of (A)ATSR derived aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements to examine the role of aerosols in the interaction between deforestation, biomass burning and drought over the Amazon. The seasonal cycle of AOD shows peaks in September and March correlated with local and more remote biomass burning, respectively. A decreasing trend in dry-season AOD between 1995 and 2000 and a subsequent increase from 2000 to 2004 can be explained by deforestation practices driven by economic forces. Throughout the time series dry-season AODs are inversely correlated with dry-season precipitation suggesting a positive feedback between aerosols and drought that may contribute to enhanced drought under climate change.
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