IAI Workshop: Andean Amazon Rivers Analysis and Monitoring (AARAM) Project Start-Up Activities

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9529788 Richey This proposal seeks start-up funds for the Andean Amazon Rivers Analysis and Monitoring (AARAM) Project, which was conceived and organized specifically to address scientific questions and socioeconomic issues identified in the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) scientific research agenda, particularly within the theme of -T ropical Ecosystems and Biogeochemical Cycles.+ The AARAM project unites researchers from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and the United States with the common objective of investigating the effect of global climate change and regional land use change on biogeochemical and hydrological cycles within terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of the Andean Amazon Basin. To accomplish this objective the project will establish a network of river sampling stations throughout the Andean Amazon region, employing standardized methods to gather high-quality biogeochemical and hydrological data which is comparable over the entire region. The sampling stations will be the foci for the following: more detailed process-based studies; training of local scientists and students; and studies by other IAI research teams with broader geographic coverage. The project will also assemble and utilize diverse data types from different sources including historical hydrological records, remote sensing images, and digitized map themes which mark the course of land use change within the region. The AARAM Project will rely on Geographic Information Systems-based management to assemble and organize these varied data sets into a coherent project database. Specifically, this proposal seeks financial support to convene two working meetings: the first meeting will bring together project participants in Lima, Peru, to develop the project research plan, devise a plan for student and young researcher involvement, and work out collaborative agreements between participating institutions. The second meeting will be a smaller -writing+ meeting where the Project PIs gather in Seattle, Washington to write the IAI Phase II Proposal for the project. The institutions involved are the following: the Greater University of San Andres (Bolivia), the Bolivian National Meteorological and Hydrological Service, the Center for Nuclear Energy and Agriculture (Brazil), the National Agency for Water and Electric Power (Brazil), the National Institute for Environmental Studies (Colombia), the National Politechnical School (Ecuador), the Ecuadorean National Meteorological and Hydrological Service, the National Agrarian University at La Molina (Peru), the Peruvian National Meteorological and Hydrological S ervice, the Peruvian Hydrographic and Navigational Service, and the University of Washington at Seattle. %%% The proposed project and working meetings are being organized by a group of scientists with extensive experience in multinational research efforts and Amazon ecosystems. The characterization and monitoring of the biogeochemistry and hydrology of Andean Amazon rivers will provide a variety of benefits to the researchers and institutions involved. The benefits to the Andean region will be the following: increased knowledge of the state and functioning of their ecosystems; usefulness of the project data to the establishment of national and regional environmental policies, the raising of the level of local expertise through influx of technical and financial resources; and an increase in reg ional collaborative links. Brazilian and U.S. researchers will benefit from the expansion of their current research by gaining input from local experts and the access to laboratory facilities, field stations, and human resources. The larger global change community will gain from this project a high quality base of data relevant to large-scale st udies of water balance and cycles of bioactive elements such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. The AARAM Project has assembled a highly qualified team of research scientists. The PIs have extensive experience in proje ct management, including such major international efforts as the Carbon in the Amazon River Experiment (CAMREX), and NASA+s Earth Observing System Regional Amazon Model Project (EOSRAM). Additionally, this project will have links with the following large international research programs: the Large-scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Program (LBA), the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme+s Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone project (IGBP/LOICZ), the International Council of Scientific Union+s Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (ICSU/SCOPE), U NESCO+s Man and the Biosphere Program (UNESCO/MAB), and the French sponsored Bolivian Amazon Basin Hydrological and Climatological Program (ORSTOM/PHICAB). The AARAM Project will integrate itself into the larger IAI Network by sharing data with these projects, and inviting other IAI projects to conduct research at its sampling stations. The par ticipating countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and the United States are Member States of the IAI, a U.S. initiative to stimulate cooperative research on global change issues among the scientific institutions of the Americas. The U.S. National Science Foundation is the Government agency designated to carry out U.S. responsibili ties within the IAI. ***