Research:
==>
Updated 10 December 2002
News andReports:
10 December 2002 Team Water Final
Update
6 December 2002 Final Presentation
6 November 2002 Reading Tucurui
Hydropower Complex Brazil, Final Report November 2000, Prepared for the
World Commision on Dams
3 November 2002 Water
group meeting in Burton-Connor Library, updated website, discussed SIVAM
=>
27 October 2002 Water Group meeting in Burton-Connor Library, updated website
23 October 2002
Reading papers from PROGRAMA HIDROLOGICO INTERNACIONAL de la UNESCO para
America Latina y el Caribe: Water Management
of the Amazon Basin, primarily concerning Hydroelectric Power Plants and
Water Systems Management
21 October 2002 Group Meetings
in 4-370
16 October 2002 Group Meeting; I updated
Team Website, several research documents and sites that need to be uploaded
to research summary page
7 October 2002 Brazilian dinner with mentor
Peter Cheimets and his wife
3 October 2002 Email conversation
with mentor Peter Cheimets
30 September 2002 Research summary
updated ==>
25 September 2002 Group Meeting
23 September 2002 Revised objectives
of water group, Team Website
uploaded
20 September 2002 Objectives
of water group defined, roles in research collection decided
21 October 2002
Group Meetings in 4-370
Some issues:
Methane Cycle: need more information
Hydroelectric Power Plants
Cycles in general
Mineral/sediment cycles
16 October 2002
Discussed collaboration needs with other groups. Go to Team Website.
7 October 2002
Brazilian food and dinner with mentor Peter Cheimets and his wife
-Major Points of Discussion
-How far can you push deforestation
before it starts affecting the water cycle and therefore the rest of the forest?
-Water's contribution/interactions
to overall project
-River ways as alternate
transportation means
-Human effects on rivers
-Funding
-"Unorthodox" ideas, ie.
Cutting down trees to test rates of deforestation
***What is our solution? When can we say that we are at a
stopping point?
3 October 2002
Asked Mentor Peter Cheimets question, regarding differentiating between
human effects and natural cycles. His answer, and something to keep
in mind:
o first, is it possible to say important things about the
relationship between the changing (cycling?) hydrologic conditions of the
Amazon basis, and
man's behavior in the Amazon basin without understanding the starting
conditions (ie what was the world like before we messed with it),
o Is the record conditions what you are looking for
(ie "the worst on record") or a drift in the average conditions. Looking
at global warming research,
they spend a lot of time looking for early conditions, but they are
also looking a changes in trends (think about the following: if the warmest
day ever
was in 1632, would this mean there was no global warming),
o Finally, this is an important lesson underlying the class
assignment, "What happens when the standard scientific approach breaks down,
how do you
proceed?" (Standard method: compare control situation to one with
a single measured change)
Summary of research updated ==>
25 September 2002
Group Meeting: Discussed progress of research in group
Revised Objectives of the Water Systems group
Rain 6 will:
1. Research and analyze data from previous papers
(e.g. rainfall reports, chemical composition of water etc.) associated with
the Amazon Basin's water
ecosystems. Then, we will proceed to characterize
these water systems which, among other tasks, will require us to consider
the effects of
deforestation and integrate information from various
geographical regions within the Amazon Basin region.
2. Analyze the outflow, inflow and water storage
mechanics of the Amazon water system as a whole, in terms of several variables
such as evaporation,
precipitation, transpiration, filtration, absorption
etc. and develop a model based on what our research will yield in terms of
these components of
the water cycle.
3. Identify and devise ways to monitor the water
chemistry and chemical composition of the sediments of rivers, lakes and other
water systems in the
Amazon Basin.
4. Examine the effects of seasonal variations,
human development, and general environmental changes on the water ecosystem.
We will also research the
role of water on other systems of the rainforest.
5. Collaborate and communicate with other teams
and define the way we will be interacting with them in topics that will
require involvement by both
(or more) groups. For example, the study of the
diversity of water organisms will require our collaboration with the flora
and fauna groups.
Objectives of the Water Systems Group, as defined on 19 September 2002:
1. Research and analyze past data from the Amazon Basin's various water ecosystems. Characterize these water systems, taking into account the effect deforestation has had on them. Compare water systems from various geographical regions from the Amazon Basin region.
2. Analyze the outflow, inflow and storage of the Amazon water system as a whole, in terms of evaporation, precipitation, transpiration, filtration, absorption, etc.
3. Identify and monitor the chemical, sedimentary and mineral composition of the water in the Amazon Basin water systems.
4. Examine the effects that environmental and evolutionary changes, seasonal variations and human development have on the water ecosystems. Analyze the effects that water has on other ecosystems in the rainforest.
5. Collaborate and communicate with outside groups, in order to understand the interactions between them. For example, we will need to identify certain organisms that live in the water and may give us indications of the biochemistry of the water. In order to do this, we will need to consult the flora and fauna groups.My role: Learn about effects of environmental and evolutionary changes, seasonal variations and human development on water ecosystem; Effects of water on other ecosystems in the rainforest
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Contact: lacooney@mit.edu