ResearchSAFARI 2000

Feedback between atmosphere and the terrestrial surface: Southern Africa Fires Atmosphere Research Initiative (SAFARI) 2000

The University of Virginia is playing a lead coordination role with respect to a major international field experiment, tying together various on-going research activities within the region. Fire plays an important role in land cover change and transport of carbon from the terrestrial surface to the atmosphere. Natural fires, industrial processes, and even human cooking all contribute to release of aerosols into the atmosphere. The SAFARI-2000 scientific study hopes to characterize and quantify the sources and sinks of aerosols and trace gases into the atmosphere in the study region of Southern Africa. From this basis, research can begin to determine the climatic and ecosystem consequences of these sources and sinks. A further goal of the SAFARI-2000 study is to provide a regional scientific context for the validation of data products from NASA satellite platforms. GECP is helping design an international airborne program to help understand the land/atmosphere interactions. Through interaction with regional field scientists, SAFARI-2000 will aid in regional scientific capacity building in Southern Africa. For more information, view NASA's Southern African Regional Science Initiative - SAFARI 2000.