Researchers at the School of the Environment & Society at Swansea University are using a new rainfall observation record over a 13-year period from both satellite and rain gauges along with satellite readings of Aerosol Optical Depth (which measures the amount of particles in the air, including smoke) to discover a connection between smoke produced through burning the Amazon forest for farming purposes and low rainfall patterns. They’ve found that the forced burning of the forest can amplify the climate feedback process, linking the burning of the forest with warming and drying of the region, which effects the productivity of both the newly cleared land and the existing forest.

Because these fires are not natural events, connections have also been made to economics and policy. When prices for crops have risen, there has been more smoke in the atmosphere, and when legislative intervention reduced the demand for land, less forests was burned and there were fewer aerosols in the atmosphere.

The research is published in the November edition of PlanetEarth magazine. Download the full article here.

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