Collaborative Research: Geophysical Campaign to Image CZ Structure Along Hillslope Gradients in the Neotropics

亚马逊森林是地球上最大的热带雨林。它拥有最高的植物和动物多样性，许多尚未记录。亚马逊森林不仅调节了亚马逊地区的气候，而且还调节了全球的气候，通过向空气中输送大量的水蒸气和从空气中吸收二氧化碳，这两者对维持我们气候系统的稳定都很重要。亚马逊地区树木的水源尚不清楚，特别是在旱季，该地区可能长时间没有降雨。该项目将调查亚马逊河的地下水储存，以及在潮湿时期储存水的补充程度。地球物理工具将用于“观察”森林下面的地下结构。地球物理工具将波发送到地面并接收反射回来的信号，可以分析这些信号以获得地面以下物质结构的图像。该项目是与三名巴西科学家合作，培训两名美国和两名巴西学生，这项工作将为两国的大学提供教育材料。该项目将在雨季（4月至5月）和旱季（11月至11月）结束时进行季节性地球物理活动，为期2-3年，以便在巴西的两个地点（一个雨林和一个稀树草原地点）对地下结构和季节性水储存动态进行成像，巴西的一个合作小组已经为研究植被抗旱能力建立了良好的基础。任务包括二维地震折射和电阻率层析成像和一维核磁共振测量，沿着每个地点的山谷样带。详细的分析和综合建模将被用来测试不同的地下区域的水文功能和缓冲植被干旱响应的作用的假设。该项目将创建关于亚马逊地下动态如何与地上植被相互作用的教育模块，该项目由水文科学和地球科学司共同资助，以支持各种机构提高研究能力、能力和基础设施的项目，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查进行评估，被认为值得支持的搜索.

The Amazon forest is the largest stand of tropical rainforest on Earth. It hosts the highest diversity of plants and animals, many not yet documented. The Amazon forest regulates the climate not just over the Amazon but also globally, by sending large amounts of water vapor into the air and by pulling carbon dioxide from the air, both important for maintaining the stability of our climate system. The source of water to support trees in the Amazon is not clear, particularly in the dry season when areas can go without rain for extended periods of time. This project will investigate subsurface water storage in the Amazon, and the extent to which that storage is recharged during wet periods. Geophysical tools will be used to “see” the subsurface structure below the forests. Geophysical tools send waves into the ground and receive the bounced back signal, which can be analyzed to get an image of the material structure below the ground. The project is a collaboration with three Brazilian scientists, trains two US and two Brazilian students, and the work will generate educational materials for universities in both countries. This project will conduct seasonal geophysical campaigns, near the end of wet (April-May) and dry (October-November) seasons, over 2-3 years to image the subsurface structure and seasonal water storage dynamics, at two sites in Brazil (a rainforest and a savanna site), already well established by a collaborating Brazilian team to study vegetation drought resilience. Tasks include 2D seismic refraction and electric resistivity tomography and 1D nuclear magnetic resonance surveys, along hill-valley transects at each site. Detailed analyses and integrative modeling will be used to test hypotheses on the hydrologic function of different subsurface zones and their role in buffering vegetation drought responses. The project will create educational modules on how the belowground dynamics interact with aboveground vegetation in the Amazon.This project is jointly funded by Hydrologic Sciences and the Division of Earth Sciences to support projects that increase research capabilities, capacity and infrastructure at a wide variety of institution types, as outlined in the GEO EMBRACE DCL.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.