The ORNL DAAC announces the release of four data sets from the Carbon Dynamics and Nutrient Dynamics science themes, components of the LBA-ECO Large Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA).
- LBA-ECO CD-36 South American Land Data Assimilation System Atmospheric Forcing Data . Data set prepared by L.G.G. de Goncalves, W.J. Shuttleworth, D. Vila, E. Larroza, M.J. Bottino, D.L. Herdies, J.A. Aravequia, J.G. de Mattos, D.L. Toll, M. Rodell and P. Houser. This data set provides South American Land Data Assimilation System (SALDAS) atmospheric forcing data necessary for land surface modeling for South America. The data were derived by combining modeled and observation based sources.The forcing data cover the entire continent of South America at 0.125 degree resolution and are built around the model-calculated values of air temperature, wind speed and specific humidity at two meters, surface pressure, downward shortwave and longwave surface radiation, and precipitation from the South American Regional Reanalysis (SARR).
- LBA-ECO ND-01 Watershed Deforestation from Landsat TM Series, Rondonia, Brazil: 1999 . Data set prepared by T.W. Biggs, T. Dunne, D.A. Roberts and E.A.T. Matricardi. This data set provides estimates of watershed deforestation, as a proportion of the total area of watersheds, in Rondonia, Brazil for 1999. Deforestation maps were determined for the main agricultural and surrounding forested areas of Rondonia using multiple Landsat TM scenes (Biggs et al. 2008). Cumulative deforestation estimates were derived from this time series of Landsat scenes from 1975 to 1999. To obtain watershed-level estimates of deforestation, watershed boundaries and stream networks were delineated by a flow accumulation algorithm using a 90-m resolution digital elevation model (DEM) from NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM).
- LBA-ECO ND-01 Landsat 28.5-m Land Cover Time Series, Rondonia, Brazil: 1984-2010 . Data set prepared by D.A. Roberts, M. Toomey, I. Numata, T. Biggs, J. Caviglia-Harris, M. Cochrane, C. Dewes, K.W. Holmes, R.L. Powell, C. Souza and O.A. Chadwick. This data set provides a 27-year land cover time series of 28.5-m resolution products derived from Landsat images for 80% of Rondonia, Brazil, for the period 1984 to 2010. Selected Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS) images from the years 1984 through 2010, for seven path/row scenes (PortoVelho, Ariquemes, Jiparana, Luiza (or Urupa), Cacoal, Chapuingaia, and Vilhena) were mosaicked for each year. Each mosaicked image was georectified and classified into seven land-cover classes--savanna/rock, pasture, secondary forest, primary forest, cloud, urban, or water. This 27-year time series allows the long-term assessment of land-cover variation across the state.
- LBA-ECO ND-30 Fractional Cover of Mixed Land Use Ranches, Para and Rondonia, Brazil. Data set prepared by E.A. Davidson, G.P. Asner, T.A. Stone, C. Neill, R.D.O. Figueiredo. This data set contains images of fractional cover estimates of photosynthetic vegetation (PV) canopy, nonphotosynthetic vegetation (NPV), and exposed soils (S) derived from Landsat images (30-m resolution) obtained for two ranches in the Brazilian Amazon from 1996 to 2002. The Fazenda Vitoria ranch is located in eastern Para near the city of Paragominas and is a mosaic of primary forest, logged forest, secondary forest, and pasture with moderately dissected topography. The Fazenda Nova Vida ranch is located in the state of Rondonia in western Amazonia and is a mosaic of primary forest, logged forest, and pastures.
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.