Biogeochemical blindspots along the lower Amazon River continuum: from land to the atmosphere and ocean

• Grant number: 18/18491-4
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - SPEC Program
• Start date: May 01, 2019
• End date: November 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences
• Principal Investigator: Jeffrey Edward Richey
• Grantee: Jeffrey Edward Richey
• Host Institution: Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• City of the host institution: Piracicaba
• Principal investigators: Maria Victoria Ramos Ballester
• Associated researchers: Alan Cavalcanti da Cunha ; Aline de Matos Valerio ; André Oliveira Sawakuchi ; Andréa de Lima Oliveira ; Daimio Chaves Brito ; Emerson Renato Maciel da Silva ; Henrique Oliveira Sawakuchi ; Maria de Lourdes Cavalcanti Barros ; Maria Gabriella da Silva Araújo ; Milton Kampel ; Nicholas Ward ; Paulo Cesar Colonna Rosman ; Richard G Keil ; Vania Neu ; Vitor Galazzo de Paiva
• Associated scholarship(s): 20/09631-7 - Organic matter supply, degradation and transport on flooded areas in the lower Amazon River: implications for reconstitution of Quaternary environmental changes and regional carbon balance, BP.DR; 20/15514-3 - Understanding the Lower Amazon River, BP.TT; 20/08666-1 - Application of coupled SisBaHiA® hydrodynamic/biogeochemistry model for computing net ecosystem exchange across the Lower Amazon River-to-Ocean Continuum, BP.PD; 20/08148-0 - Spatiotemporal variability of pCO2 of the Amazon River by ocean color remote sensing: from river to the plume, BP.PD

Abstract

The research objective is to examine, at different scales, the processes that govern the advection and reaction of carbon in the lowest reach of the Amazon River and along the near-shore coastline of the Western Tropical Atlantic Ocean. The mainstem of the river is a large supplier of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere, most of which is sourced as organic carbon from the surrounding landscape and subsequently remineralized in river. The component of the river system that is least well understood is the lower tidal reach, which consists of two main channels across from Macapá down 150 km to the ocean. While tidal forcing does not result in salt intrusion, riverine flow in this reach can be reversed, and complex interactions occur between the river channels and the fringe areas, making the study of this component of the world's largest river a significant logistical challenge. Through an ambitious field study, the project aims to understand the large-scale drivers (e.g. hydrodynamics, areal extent, metabolism) that create the spatial and temporal variability in carbon remineralization and CO2 fluxes in the lower river. This will be addressed using a combination of fieldwork, remote sensing and modeling. In addition, the types of organic matter that are degraded, the microorganisms and consortia that remineralize, and the metabolic pathways (aerobic, anaerobic) that lead to the large production of CO2 will be evaluated using a combination of organic geochemical and molecular biological (proteomic) tools. The proposed work will provide in situ observations in a previously unstudied region of high global importance, experimentation focused on unraveling the influence of physical factors (e.g. tides, current velocity, and mixing) on biological processes, spatial and temporal variability of CO2 fluxes by remote sensing, and modeling tools capable of predicting the sensitivity of Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE). (AU)

Scientific publications

(8)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

SAWAKUCHI, HENRIQUE O.; BASTVIKEN, DAVID; ENRICH-PRAST, ALEX; WARD, NICHOLAS D.; CAMARGO, PLINIO B.; RICHEY, JEFFREY E.. Low Diffusive Methane Emissions From the Main Channel of a Large Amazonian Run-of-the-River Reservoir Attributed to High Methane Oxidation. FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, v. 9, APR 8 2021. (14/21564-2, 12/17359-9, 18/18491-4, 11/14502-2, 12/51187-0, 15/09187-1)

BERTASSOLI, JR., DAILSON J.; SAWAKUCHI, HENRIQUE O.; DE ARAUJO, KLEITON R.; DE CAMARGO, MARCELO G. P.; ALEM, VICTOR A. T.; PEREIRA, TATIANA S.; KRUSCHE, V, ALEX; BASTVIKEN, DAVID; RICHEY, JEFFREY E.; SAWAKUCHI, ANDRE O.. How green can Amazon hydropower be? Net carbon emission from the largest hydropower plant in Amazonia. SCIENCE ADVANCES, v. 7, n. 26, JUN 2021. (19/24977-0, 18/18491-4, 16/02656-9, 19/24349-9, 11/14502-2, 14/21564-2, 15/09187-1, 18/15123-4, 16/11141-2)

BARROS, MARIA DE LOURDES C.; PECLY, JOSE OTAVIO GOULART; LIMA, LIDIANE S.; NEU, VANIA; RICHEY, JEFFREY E.; ROSMAN, PAULO C. C.. Influence of boundary condition uncertainties on hydrodynamic simulations. MODELING EARTH SYSTEMS AND ENVIRONMENT, v. 11, n. 5, p. 20-pg., 2025-07-23. (14/21576-0, 18/18491-4)

VALERIO, ALINE M.; KAMPEL, MILTON; WARD, NICHOLAS D.; SAWAKUCHI, HENRIQUE O.; CUNHA, ALAN C.; RICHEY, JEFFREY E.. CO2 partial pressure and fluxes in the Amazon River plume using in situ and remote sensing data. CONTINENTAL SHELF RESEARCH, v. 215, FEB 15 2021. (18/18491-4)

NEU, VANIA; ARAUJO, MARIA G. DA S. G.; GUEDES, VICTOR M.; WARD, NICHOLAS D.; RIBEIRO, MARIDALVA M.; RICHEY, JEFFREY E.; KRUSCHE, ALEX V.. Composition and Flux of Dissolved and Particulate Carbon and Nitrogen in the Lower Tocantins River. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-BIOGEOSCIENCES, v. 128, n. 6, p. 17-pg., 2023-06-01. (18/18491-4)

VALERIO, ALINE DE M.; KAMPEL, MILTON; VANTREPOTTE, VINCENT; WARD, NICHOLAS D.; RICHEY, JEFFREY E.. Optical Classification of Lower Amazon Waters Based on In Situ Data and Sentinel-3 Ocean and Land Color Instrument Imagery. REMOTE SENSING, v. 13, n. 16, AUG 2021. (12/51187-0, 18/18491-4)

VALERIO, ALINE M.; KAMPEL, MILTON; VANTREPOTTE, VINCENT; BALLESTER, VICTORIA; RICHEY, JEFFREY. Assessment of Atmospheric Correction Algorithms for Sentinel-3 OLCI in the Amazon River Continuum. REMOTE SENSING, v. 16, n. 14, p. 23-pg., 2024-07-01. (21/04128-8, 20/08148-0, 18/18491-4)

CURRA-SANCHEZ, ELIZABETH D.; VALERIO, ALINE DE M.; LARA, CARLOS; GARCIA-TUNON, WIRMER; BROITMAN, BERNARDO R.; SALDIAS, GONZALO S.; NIMPTSCH, JORGE; VARGAS, CRISTIAN A.. CDOM dynamics in two coastal zones influenced by contrasting land uses in northern Patagonia. ESTUARINE COASTAL AND SHELF SCIENCE, v. 306, p. 15-pg., 2024-08-05. (18/18491-4, 20/08148-0)