LBA Data Sets Released from Two Science Themes

The ORNL DAAC announces the release of two data sets from the Land Use and Land Cover Change science theme, and one data set from the Carbon Dynamics theme. These science research themes are components of the LBA-ECO Large Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA).

• LBA-ECO LC-07 Methane and Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Balbina Reservoir, Brazil. Data set prepared by A. Kemenes, B.R. Forsberg, and J.M. Melack. This data set provides flux measurements of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) from surface waters to the atmosphere, and CH4, CO2, and oxygen (O2) concentrations of surface water, and concentrations measured at several depths of the Balbina Reservoir in the central Amazon Basin, Amazonas, Brazil. The Balbina Reservoir was formed by impounding the Uatuma River in 1987.

• LBA-ECO LC-07 Reflectance Spectra and Water Quality of Amazon Basin Floodplain Lakes . Data set prepared by E.M.L.M. Novo, W. Pereira Filho, and J.M. Melack. This data set includes bidirectional reflectance (BDR) spectra and water-quality data of floodplain lakes of the Solimoes and Negro Rivers in the central Amazon basin, Amazonas, Brazil. Samples and measurements were collected during July 2000 to August 2000. Bidirectional reflectance factors were recorded concurrently with in situ measurements of water temperature and Secchi depth, and collection of samples for analysis of optically active components including total suspended solids, chlorophyll, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC).

• LBA-ECO CD-37 Secondary Forest Biomass and Age Class, Rondonia, Brazil . Data set prepared by E.H. Helmer, M.A. Lefsky, and D.A. Roberts. This data set provides tree age, forest formation, and  land cover classification maps, and estimates of landscape-level above-ground live woody biomass (AGLB) for secondary forests in Rondonia, Brazil. The Threshold Age Mapping Algorithm (TAMA) was applied to Landsat images (1975 to 2003) to derive forest type and age classification maps. The AGLB of the secondary forest was estimated by combining the forest classification map with coincident biomass estimates from the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS).

LBA was an international research initiative under the leadership of Brazil. The project focused on the climatological, ecological, biogeochemical, and hydrological functions of Amazonia; the impact of land use change on these functions; and the interactions between Amazonia and the Earth system. The LBA-ECO component, which was funded by NASA, focused on the question: "How do tropical forest conversion, regrowth, and selective logging influence carbon storage, nutrient dynamics, trace gas fluxes, and the prospect for sustainable land use in Amazonia? "

The ORNL DAAC is a NASA-funded data center archiving and distributing terrestrial ecology and biogeochemical dynamics data.