Trans-Amazon Drilling Project: origin and evolution of the forests, climate, and hydrology of the South American tropics

• Grant number: 18/23899-2
• Support Opportunities: Research Program on Global Climate Change - Thematic Grants
• Start date: May 01, 2021
• End date: April 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Geology
• Principal Investigator: André Oliveira Sawakuchi
• Grantee: André Oliveira Sawakuchi
• Host Institution: Instituto de Geociências (IGC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Pesquisadores principais: Lúcia Garcez Lohmann ; Renato Paes de Almeida
• Associated researchers: Acacio Aparecido Navarrete ; Alderlene Pimentel de Brito ; Anders Noren ; André Marconato ; Andrea Kern ; Andrea Marzoli ; Bernardo Tavares Freitas ; Camila Cherem Ribas ; Carlos Dapolito Júnior ; Carlos Henrique Grohmann de Carvalho ; Carlos Jaramillo ; Cleverson Guizan Silva ; Cristiano Mazur Chiessi ; Cristiano Padalino Galeazzi ; Cristina Yumi Miyaki ; Dailson José Bertassoli Junior ; Elisa Johanna Piispa ; Eric Tohver ; Fabiano do Nascimento Pupim ; Felipe Torres Figueiredo ; Francisco Ricardo Negri ; Francisco William da Cruz Junior ; Gelvam André Hartmann ; Ginaldo Ademar da Cruz Campanha ; Ingo Daniel Wahnfried ; Isaac Salém Alves Azevedo Bezerra ; Janice Muriel Fernandes Lima da Cunha ; Joel L Cracraft ; Liliane Janikian Paes de Almeida ; Marcelo Augusto de Lira Mota ; Marcia Ernesto ; Marcos Bolognini Barbosa ; Maria da Glória Motta Garcia ; Maria Helena Bezerra Maia de Hollanda ; Mateus Ferreira ; Mauricio Parra Amézquita ; Paul A Baker ; Paulo César Fonseca Giannini ; Paulo Eduardo de Oliveira ; Ricardo Ivan Ferreira da Trindade ; Sherilyn Claire Fritz ; Tsai Siu Mui ; Victor Sacek
• Associated research grant(s): 24/02611-1 - Trans-Amazon Drilling Project and its extension to the equatorial Atlantic Ocean, AP.R SPRINT; 23/00672-0 - Landscape evolution and sediment routing systems during the early stages of the South Atlantic passive margin development in Angola and Northeastern Brazil, AP.R SPRINT
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/21402-4 - Using Palynofacies as Climate Proxies in Mid-Pliocene Sediments from the Amazon and West Antarctica, BP.IC; 24/04935-9 - "Climate tipping cascade": The Amazon Rainforest and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet behavior under sustained global warming, BP.PD; 23/18087-7 - Facies models for floodplains and bar tops in large rivers of the Amazon, BP.DR; + associated scholarships 24/00916-0 - Quartz luminescence sensitization in brazilian biomes and its application in Cenozoic Amazonian terrestrial surface process reconstruction, BP.DD; 24/04172-5 - Metagenomics approach and association with surface and subsurface carbon biogeochemical processes using qPCR, BP.TT; 24/01506-0 - Paleogeographic changes of the successions in cores TADP-AC-01 and TADP-MA-01, BP.PD; 23/09643-3 - Provenance of Quaternary fluvial deposits from the Western Amazon and effects of grain size biases on provenance, BP.IC; 23/01667-0 - Vegetational and climate changes in Eastern Amazonia during the last 600 kyrs, BP.PD; 23/03229-0 - Rocks that reveal stories: the origin and evolution of the Amazon and climate change, BP.JC; 23/00448-3 - Biogenic CH4 and CO2 and subsurface microbial activity in the Acre and Marajó basins, BP.PD; 23/01128-2 - Numerical modeling coupling the mantle convection, tectonic and sedimentary processes in the study of the Cenozoic stratigraphic evolution of northern South America sedimentary basins., BP.PD; 22/05520-1 - Climate and sedimentary dynamics of Amazonian floodplains during the Quaternary and its role on biotic diversification, BP.PD; 21/14947-6 - Paleogeographic reconstruction of northwestern Amazonian fluvial systems during the Pliocene and Quaternary, BP.DR; 21/14022-2 - Reorganization of the Western Amazon drainage system during the Neogene and Quaternary based on the provenance of sediments solved by luminescence techniques, BP.PD; 22/01129-6 - Phylogeny and biogeography of Mansoa DC. (Bignonieae, Bignoniaceae), BP.IC; 21/02994-0 - Survey and integration of outcrop, core and well data for the interpretation of paleogeography, stratigraphy and sedimentary sources of Cretaceous-Cenozoic section from Amazon Basin., BP.DR; 21/11761-9 - Paleoenvironments and provenance of the successions in cores TADP-AC-1 and TADP-SO-1, BP.PD; 20/04069-9 - Amazonian paleogeography reavaliation on Miocene and Pliocene and establishment of links to numerical integrated models of geodynamic and sedimentary systems, BP.DD; 19/17570-0 - Phylogenomics, systematics and diversification of Cuspidaria Dc. (Bignonieae, Bignoniaceae), BP.DR; 18/11272-5 - Phylogenomics and biogeography of Bocageeae (Annonaceae), amphi-Atlantic and Atlantic-Amazonian tribe, BP.PD; 18/12472-8 - Origin and chronology of sandy substrates in Amazonia: implications for quaternary evolution of open vegetation ecosystems, BP.DR - associated scholarships

Abstract

The Amazon Rainforest biome hosts the highest species diversity on Earth and strongly contributes to global climate as a major reservoir of carbon storage. In addition, the Amazon Rain Forest is crucial for atmospheric moisture production and distribution over South America, which supplies surface waters to the world´s largest river system connecting the Andes with the equatorial Atlantic Ocean. The evolution of the Amazonian environments and landscape is the basis of the origin of its species richness, since it determines speciation, extinction and species migration. Thus, the evolution of Amazonian landscapes is a key issue in science to explain the origin of tropical biodiversity and how it responds to long-term climate changes, both past and in the future. Additionally, the Amazon region during the Mesozoic was part of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP), one of Earth's largest magmatic complexes that impacted atmospheric gas composition and may have contributed to the mass extinction at the Triassic/Jurassic boundary. The fundamental questions still enigmatic in current research and addressed by the Trans-Amazon Drilling Project (TADP) are summarized as: (1) how did Cenozoic geologic and climatic history, including uplift of the Andes, development of the Amazon fluvial system, and widening of the Atlantic Ocean, influence the origins of the Amazon rainforest and its incomparable biodiversity?; (2) What was the origin of the Amazonian CAMP diabase sills complex and its impact on the atmospheric gas composition and mass extinction at the Triassic/Jurassic boundary? These questions can only be investigated by drilling on offshore and onshore sites to generate a spatially representative record of the Amazon during the entire Cenozoic, as well as the subsurface diabase sills. The TADP will traverse the entire near-equatorial Amazon region of Brazil, from the Andean foreland to the Atlantic Ocean margin, nearly 10% of the Earth's equatorial circumference. Along this east-west transect, we will continuously sample (1) the complete Cenozoic stratigraphic sequence of Amazonia, comprising between 370 and 2000 m of sediment in the proposed localities; and (2) the complete Mesozoic CAMP diabase sill/host sediment complex that underlies the Cenozoic sequence throughout much of the region. This will be the first time that the Cenozoic sedimentary strata of the Amazon will be continuously drilled, cored, and analyzed for scientific purposes. These new systematic analyses will challenge our understanding of the key period of initiation and expansion of the neotropical rainforest and proto-Amazon drainage. Thus, this research initiative has far-reaching scientific significance across multiple disciplines, addressing essential questions about the geologic, environmental and climatic evolution of the Amazon, the origins and stability of the Amazon rainforest biome and its incomparable biodiversity, the uplift of the Andes and its contribution to environmental changes in lowlands, as well as the causes of the mass extinction at the Triassic/Jurassic boundary. (AU)

Scientific publications

(31)

(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)

CALIO, MARIA FERNANDA; THODE, VERONICA A.; BACON, CHRISTINE D.; SILVESTRO, DANIELE; ANTONELLI, ALEXANDRE; LOHMANN, LUCIA G.. Spatio-temporal evolution of the catuaba clade in the Neotropics: Morphological shifts correlate with habitat transitions. Journal of Biogeography, v. 49, n. 6, p. 13-pg., 2022-04-26. (09/52161-2, 13/10262-2, 11/50859-2, 10/51755-3, 12/50260-6, 18/23899-2)

HAEGGI, C.; HOPMANS, E. C.; SCHEFUSS, E.; SAWAKUCHI, A. O.; SCHREUDER, L. T.; BERTASSOLI, D. J. JR JR; CHIESSI, C. M.; MULITZA, S.; SAWAKUCHI, H. O.; BAKER, P. A.; et al. Negligible Quantities of Particulate Low-Temperature Pyrogenic Carbon Reach the Atlantic Ocean via the Amazon River. GLOBAL BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES, v. 35, n. 9, SEP 2021. (19/24977-0, 16/02656-9, 19/24349-9, 18/23899-2, 18/15123-4, 11/06609-1)

ALMEIDA, RENATO P.; GALEAZZI, CRISTIANO P.; BEST, JIM; IANNIRUBERTO, MARCO; DO PRADO, ARIEL H.; JANIKIAN, LILIANE; MAZOCA, CARLOS E. M.; TAMURA, LARISSA N.; NICHOLAS, ANDREW. Morphodynamics and depositional architecture of mid-channel bars in large Amazonian rivers. SEDIMENTOLOGY, v. 71, n. 5, p. 24-pg., 2024-03-12. (16/03091-5, 17/06874-3, 18/02197-0, 18/23899-2)

HOORN, CARINA; LOHMANN, LUCIA G.; BOSCHMAN, LYDIAN M.; CONDAMINE, FABIEN L.. Neogene History of the Amazonian Flora: A Perspective Based on Geological, Palynological, and Molecular Phylogenetic Data. ANNUAL REVIEW OF EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCES, v. 51, p. 28-pg., 2023-01-01. (18/23899-2, 12/50260-6, 17/12797-1)

ALBERT, JAMES S.; CARNAVAL, ANA C.; FLANTUA, SUZETTE G. A.; LOHMANN, LUCIA G.; RIBAS, CAMILA C.; RIFF, DOUGLAS; CARRILLO, JUAN D.; FAN, YING; FIGUEIREDO, JORGE J. P.; GUAYASAMIN, JUAN M.; et al. Human impacts outpace natural processes in the Amazon. Science, v. 379, n. 6630, p. 10-pg., 2023-01-27. (18/23899-2, 12/50260-6)

FREIRE, MARILIA PRADO; GOES, ANA MARIA; FAIRCHILD, THOMAS RICH; GAUTHERON, CECILE; PARRA, MAURICIO; PUPIM, FABIANO NASCIMENTO; BERTASSOLI JUNIOR, DAILSON JOSE; DE SOUSA, LEANDRO MELO; HARTMANN, GELVAM ANDRE; PINNA-JAMME, ROSELLA; et al. Quaternary ironstones in the Xingu River, eastern Amazonia (Brazil). Quaternary Research, v. 110, p. 14-pg., 2022-05-05. (18/23899-2, 19/24349-9, 19/24977-0, 18/15123-4, 18/15613-1, 16/11141-2)

BEZERRA, ISAAC SALEM A. A.; NOGUEIRA, AFONSO C. R.; MOTTA, MARCELO B.; SAWAKUCHI, ANDRE O.; MINELI, THAYS D.; SILVA, ARNALDO DE Q.; SILVA JR, ANTONIO G.; DOMINGOS, FABIO H. G.; MATA, GIOVANNI A. T.; LIMA, FELIPE J.; et al. Incision and aggradation phases of the Amazon River in central-eastern Amazonia during the late Neogene and Quaternary. Geomorphology, v. 399, p. 12-pg., 2022-02-15. (18/23899-2, 12/50260-6)

FRANCISCO, JESSICA N. C.; FONSECA, LUIZ HENRIQUE M.; LOHMANN, LUCIA G.. Phylogeny and morphological evolution of the Neotropical genus Cuspidaria (Bignonieae, Bignoniaceae): Combining high-throughput sequencing and targeted loci data. Taxon, v. N/A, p. 23-pg., 2023-09-12. (11/50859-2, 18/23899-2, 12/50260-6, 19/17570-0)

JUAN M. GUAYASAMIN; CAMILA C. RIBAS; ANA C. CARNAVAL; JUAN D. CARRILLO; CARINA HOORN; LÚCIA G. LOHMANN; DOUGLAS RIFF; CARMEN ULLOA ULLOA; JAMES S. ALBERT. Evolution of Amazonian biodiversity: A review. Acta Amazonica, v. 54, 2024-05-03. (18/23899-2, 12/50260-6)

DE ALMEIDA, RENATO PAES; ALTHAUS, CAMILA ELIZA; JANIKIAN, LILIANE; GOMES, PEDRO VICTOR OLIVEIRA; FIGUEIREDO, FELIPE TORRES; SAWAKUCHI, ANDRE OLIVEIRA; FREITAS, BERNARDO TAVARES; DA SILVA, LEONARDO HENRIQUE GOMES. Reappraisal of the Cretaceous and Paleogene paleogeography of eastern Amazonia based on systematic paleocurrent measurements. CRETACEOUS RESEARCH, v. 163, p. 12-pg., 2024-07-15. (21/02994-0, 18/23899-2, 16/19736-5)

ORTIZ, CARLOS; PARRA, MAURICIO; RODRIGUES, FERNANDA C. G.; MINELI, THAYS D.; SAWAKUCHI, ANDRE O.. Tracing uplift and erosion in orogenic settings using quartz luminescence sensitivity: Insights from the Northern Andes uplift. QUATERNARY GEOCHRONOLOGY, v. 83, p. 9-pg., 2024-07-04. (18/12472-8, 23/07536-5, 22/16709-8, 18/23899-2, 18/15613-1, 22/05520-1)

HAGGI, CHRISTOPH; NAAFS, B. DAVID A.; SILVESTRO, DANIELE; BERTASSOLI JR, DAILSON J.; AKABANE, THOMAS K.; MENDES, VINICIUS R.; SAWAKUCHI, ANDRE O.; CHIESSI, CRISTIANO M.; JARAMILLO, CARLOS A.; FEAKINS, SARAH J.. GDGT distribution in tropical soils and its potential as a terrestrial paleothermometer revealed by Bayesian deep-learning models. GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA, v. 362, p. 24-pg., 2023-10-25. (19/24977-0, 16/02656-9, 22/06440-1, 21/13129-8, 18/23899-2, 19/19948-0, 19/24349-9, 18/15123-4)

FRAZO, ANNELISE; THODE, VERONICA A.; LOHMANN, LUCIA G.. Comparative chloroplast genomics and insights into the molecular evolution of Tanaecium (Bignonieae, Bignoniaceae). SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, v. 13, n. 1, p. 15-pg., 2023-08-01. (11/50859-2, 12/50260-6, 15/10914-5, 18/23899-2)

FONSECA, LUIZ HENRIQUE M.; CARLSEN, MONICA M.; FINE, PAUL V. A.; LOHMANN, LUCIA G.. A nuclear target sequence capture probe set for phylogeny reconstruction of the charismatic plant family Bignoniaceae. FRONTIERS IN GENETICS, v. 13, p. 16-pg., 2023-01-09. (18/23899-2, 12/50260-6, 11/09160-5)

BREDA, CAIO; PUPIM, FABIANO N.; CRUZ, CAROLINA BARBOSA LEITE; SOUZA, PRISCILA EMERICH; MONSALVE, GASPAR; CARDONA, AGUSTIN; SAWAKUCHI, ANDRE OLIVEIRA; PARRA, MAURICIO. Variation in the ITCZ position controls the evolution of the piedmont landscape of the tropical Andes (Colombia) during the late Quaternary. Geomorphology, v. 462, p. 14-pg., 2024-07-17. (20/11047-1, 18/23899-2, 22/03007-5, 21/14022-2, 21/14947-6)

NARVAEZ-GOMEZ, JUAN PABLO; GUEDES, THAIS B.; LOHMANN, LUCIA G.. Recovering the drivers of sampling bias in Bignonieae (Bignoniaceae) and identifying priority areas for new survey efforts. BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION, v. 30, n. 8-9, p. 2319-2339, JUL 2021. (18/23899-2, 12/50260-6)

GALEAZZI, C. P.; ALMEIDA, R. P.; DO PRADO, A. H.. Linking rivers to the rock record: Channel patterns and paleocurrent circular variance. GEOLOGY, v. 49, n. 11, p. 1402-1407, NOV 1 2021. (18/23899-2, 16/03091-5, 18/02197-0, 17/06874-3)

SAWAKUCHI, A. O.; SCHULTZ, E. D.; PUPIM, F. N.; BERTASSOLI JR, D. J.; SOUZA, D. F.; CUNHA, D. F.; MAZOCA, C. E.; FERREIRA, M. P.; GROHMANN, C. H.; WAHNFRIED, I. D.; et al. Rainfall and sea level drove the expansion of seasonally flooded habitats and associated bird populations across Amazonia. NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, v. 13, n. 1, p. 15-pg., 2022-08-23. (18/23899-2, 19/24349-9, 11/06609-1, 18/15123-4, 16/02656-9, 14/23334-4)

KAEHLER, MIRIAM; LOHMANN, LUCIA G.. Taxonomic revisions in Fridericia (Bignonieae, Bignoniaceae) II: the "Neomacfadya" clade. WILLDENOWIA, v. 52, n. 2, p. 25-pg., 2022-08-01. (18/23899-2, 12/50260-6, 11/50859-2)

NARVAEZ-GOMEZ, JUAN PABLO; SZUMIK, CLAUDIA A.; GOLOBOFF, PABLO A.; LOHMANN, LUCIA G.. Unravelling distribution patterns of Neotropical lianas: an analysis of endemicity of tribe Bignonieae (Bignoniaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, v. 199, n. 1, p. 26-pg., 2021-12-23. (18/23899-2, 12/50260-6)

BERTASSOLI, D. J., JR.; HAEGGI, C.; CHIESSI, C. M.; SCHEFUSS, E.; HEFTER, J.; AKABANE, T. K.; SAWAKUCHI, A. O.. Controls on the distributions of GDGTs and n-alkane isotopic compositions in sediments of the Amazon River Basin. CHEMICAL GEOLOGY, v. 594, p. 12-pg., 2022-04-05. (16/02656-9, 19/24349-9, 19/24977-0, 16/11141-2, 19/19948-0, 18/15123-4, 18/23899-2, 17/25735-4)

DO PRADO, ARIEL HENRIQUE; DE ALMEIDA, RENATO PAES; GALEAZZI, CRISTIANO PADALINO; SACEK, VICTOR; SCHLUNEGGER, FRITZ. Climate changes and the formation of fluvial terraces in central Amazonia inferred from landscape evolution modeling. EARTH SURFACE DYNAMICS, v. 10, n. 3, p. 15-pg., 2022-06-02. (18/02197-0, 18/23899-2, 17/06874-3, 16/03091-5)

GAUTHERON, CECILE; SAWAKUCHI, ANDRE O.; DOS SANTOS ALBUQUERQUE, MARCIO F.; CABRIOLU, CRISTIANA; PARRA, MAURICIO; RIBAS, CAMILLA C.; PUPIM, FABIANO N.; SCHWARTZ, STEPHANE; KERN, ANDREA K.; GOMEZ, SEBASTIAN; et al. Cenozoic weathering of fluvial terraces and emergence of biogeographic boundaries in Central Amazonia. GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE, v. 212, p. 18-pg., 2022-04-19. (14/23334-4, 18/23899-2, 13/03265-5)

SOUZA, PRISCILA E.; PUPIM, FABIANO N.; MAZOCA, CARLOS E. M.; DEL RIO, IAN; MINELI, THAYS D.; RODRIGUES, FERNANDA C. G.; PORAT, NAOMI; HARTMANN, GELVAM A.; SAWAKUCHI, ANDRE O.. Quartz OSL sensitivity from dating data for provenance analysis of pleistocene and holocene fluvial sediments from lowland Amazonia. QUATERNARY GEOCHRONOLOGY, v. 74, p. 10-pg., 2023-01-29. (20/11047-1, 18/12472-8, 19/20588-9, 21/14022-2, 18/23899-2)

SACEK, VICTOR; MUTZ, SEBASTIAN G.; BICUDO, TACIO C.; ALMEIDA, RENATO P. DE; EHLERS, TODD A.. The Amazon paleoenvironment resulted from geodynamic, climate, and sea-level interactions. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 605, p. 13-pg., 2023-02-10. (19/23246-1, 18/23899-2)

KATAOKA, ERIC Y.; THODE, VERONICA A.; LOHMANN, LUCIA G.. Combining plastome and Sanger sequencing data to reconstruct the phylogeny of Martinella Baill. (Bignonieae, Bignoniaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, v. 206, n. 2, p. 12-pg., 2024-04-01. (11/50859-2, 12/50260-6, 16/04143-9, 18/23899-2)

RODRIGUES, FERNANDA C. G.; RIBAS, CAMILA C.; PUPIM, FABIANO N.; PORAT, NAOMI; AKABANE, THOMAS K.; VICENTINI, ALBERTO; SAWAKUCHI, ANDRE O.. Origin of sandy substrates controlling the distribution of open vegetation ecosystems in Amazonia. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, v. 14, n. 1, p. 19-pg., 2024-10-01. (16/02656-9, 21/13129-8, 09/53988-8, 18/12472-8, 18/23899-2, 18/15123-4, 22/05520-1, 19/19948-0)

MAGRI, RENATO A.; LUEBERT, FEDERICO; CABRAL, ANDRESSA; ALCANTARA, SUZANA; LOHMANN, LUCIA G.; PRADO, JEFFERSON; LOPES, JENIFER C.. Historical biogeography of Vellozia (Velloziaceae) reveals range expansion in South American mountaintops after climatic cooling events and increased diversification rates after the occupation of Southern Espinhaco Province. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, v. N/A, p. 13-pg., 2024-11-12. (20/15903-0, 22/12597-0, 18/11272-5, 18/23899-2)

RHODES, EDWARD J.; SPANO, TESSA M. C.; HODGE, REBECCA A.; SAWAKUCHI, ANDRE O.; BERTASSOLI JR, DAILSON J.. Single grain K-feldspar MET-IRSL sediment transport determination: Bleaching patterns and rates. QUATERNARY GEOCHRONOLOGY, v. 85, p. 10-pg., 2024-09-25. (18/23899-2, 22/06440-1)

SOUZA, P. E.; PORAT, N.; SAWAKUCHI, A. O.; CRUZ, C. B. L.; BREDA, C.; RODRIGUES, F. C. G.; OLIVEIRA, S. C.; PUPIM, F. N.. Using quartz OSL signals from SAR cycles for sediment provenance studies. QUATERNARY GEOCHRONOLOGY, v. 83, p. 8-pg., 2024-06-27. (20/11047-1, 18/23899-2, 22/05520-1, 23/16031-4, 22/03007-5, 21/14022-2, 21/14947-6)

HAGGI, C.; BERTASSOLI JR, D. J.; AKABANE, T. K.; SO, R. T.; SAWAKUCHI, A. O.; CHIESSI, C. M.; MENDES, V. R.; JARAMILLO, C. A.; FEAKINS, S. J.. Using Multi-Homolog Plant-Wax Carbon Isotope Compositions to Reconstruct Tropical Vegetation Types. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-BIOGEOSCIENCES, v. 129, n. 4, p. 23-pg., 2024-04-01. (19/24977-0, 16/02656-9, 22/06440-1, 21/13129-8, 18/23899-2, 22/02957-0, 19/24349-9, 19/19948-0, 18/15123-4)