Open AccessResearch Spotlight: Amazon region became less green due to 2010 drought
Author(s) -
Tretkoff Ernie
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/2011eo200012
Subject(s) - amazon rainforest , vegetation (pathology) , environmental science , climatology , climate change , atmosphere (unit) , geography , carbon dioxide , global warming , physical geography , atmospheric sciences , meteorology , geology , ecology , oceanography , biology , pathology , medicine
New research shows that the Amazon region became significantly less green due to a severe 2010 drought. Xu et al. analyzed satellite‐based measurements to compare the greenness of Amazon vegetation due to the 2010 drought to that caused by a severe drought in 2005. They found that the decline in greenness due to the 2010 drought affected an area 4 times greater than the area affected in 2005. More than half of all drought‐stricken forest showed greenness declines in 2010, compared to only 14% in 2005. Furthermore, the declines in greenness in 2010 persisted past the time when rainfall returned to normal levels. Vegetation that is not as green absorbs less carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), leaving more CO 2 in the atmosphere, possibly accelerating global warming. ( Geophysical Research Letters , doi:10.1029/2011GL046824, 2011)