SAMBBA

Over the Amazon, deforestation and agricultural burning lead to high concentrations of particles in the atmosphere.

The South AMerican Biomass Burning Analysis (SAMBBA) project is investigating the properties of biomass burning particles over South America, and their impact on regional climate and air quality.

During September 2012, researchers from the University of Leeds joined scientists from 6 other UK universities, the UK Met Office, the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE; Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais) and the University of São Paulo, for an intensive field campaign in Brazil.

Based in Porto Velho, the campaign combined advanced ground and satellite measurements, with measurements taken during 130 hours of flights in the FAAM BAe146 research aircraft.

The SAMBBA scientists collected data that will enable them to compare the types of particles emitted by different kinds of fire, and in a range of locations.

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