Gold Rush in the Peruvian Amazon Leads to Deforestation
An astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) took this photograph of numerous gold prospecting pits in eastern Peru. The pits—usually hidden from an astronaut’s…
Amazon
“Sistine Chapel of the Ancients” Discovered: Amazon Rock Art Shows the Rainforest’s Earliest Inhabitants Living With Giant Ice Age Animals
Amazonian rock art newly discovered by researchers provides further proof the rainforest’s earliest inhabitants lived alongside now-extinct giant Ice Age animals. The thousands of pictures…
Scientists Unravel How and Why Amazon Trees Die & Why Tree Mortality Is Increasing
The capacity of the Amazon forest to store carbon in a changing climate will ultimately be determined by how fast trees die – and what…
NASA Finds Conditions Ripe for Active Amazon Fire, Atlantic Hurricane Seasons
Warmer than average sea surface temperatures in the tropical North Atlantic Ocean so far in 2020 have set the stage for an active hurricane season…
“Point of No Return” – Amazon Rainforest Could Be Gone Within 50 Years
Large ecosystems, such as the Amazon rainforest, will collapse and disappear alarmingly quickly, once a crucial tipping point is reached, according to calculations based on…
Despite International Media Frenzy, 2019 Burned Area Trends in the Amazon Similar to Previous Years
Thousands of fires broke out in the Amazon last year – sparking an international media frenzy. A detailed analysis, using data from the European Space…
To Save the Amazon Rainforest, It Helps to Learn About Fish
High fish diversity is a good indicator of forest health. Think of the Amazon, and you probably think of jaguars, monkeys, or parrots. But many…
Amazon Forest Regrowth Much Slower Than Thought – May Take Well Over a Century to Fully Recover
The regrowth of Amazonian forests following deforestation can happen much slower than previously thought, a new study shows. The findings could have significant impacts for…
Increased Melting of Tropical Glaciers Caused by Amazon Fires
Burning of the rainforest in southwestern Amazonia (the Brazilian, Peruvian and Bolivian Amazon) may increase the melting of tropical glaciers in the Andes, according to…
Amazon’s Burning Crisis: Deforestation and Number of Fires Show 2019 Not a ‘Normal’ Year
The fires that raged across the Brazilian Amazon this summer were not ‘normal’ and large increases in deforestation could explain why, scientists show. The perceived…
NASA: Amazon Fires Were Fueled by Drought-Stressed Forest
A new satellite-based map of a section of the Amazon Basin reveals that at least some of the massive fires burning there this past summer…
Human Activities Are Drying Out the Amazon – Ecosystems Vulnerable to Fires and Drought
A new NASA study shows that over the last 20 years, the atmosphere above the Amazon rainforest has been drying out, increasing the demand for…
Record Shattered for Loudest Bird Call Ever Measured by White Bellbirds in Amazon [Video]
Researchers reporting in the journal Current Biology on October 21, 2019, have captured the loudest bird calls yet documented. The calls are the mating songs…
New Record for Loudest Bird Call Set During Mating Ritual
University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Brazilian institute researchers record top avian noisemaker. Biologist Jeff Podos at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with Mario Cohn-Haft at…
Widespread Chytrid Fungus Infections Found in 80 Species of Frogs in Peruvian Amazon Rain Forests
University of Michigan biologists have documented, for the first time, the widespread presence of the notorious chytrid fungus in 80 species of frogs from lowland…
Deeper Insight Into 2019 Fires From Satellite Study of Amazon Rainforest
Throughout August and early September 2019, media around the world have reported on the extensive forest fires ravaging Brazil’s Amazon rainforest. Much of the concern…
NASA’s ECOSTRESS Detects Amazon Fires from International Space Station
NASA’s Ecosystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) captured imagery of fires in the Amazon regions of Brazil and Bolivia on August 23,…
NASA Satellite Image: Amazon Fires Shroud South America in Smoke
NOAA/NASA’s Suomi NPP satellite collected this natural-color image using the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) instrument on August 21, 2019. Smoke from the fires…