This section displays my research in northeastern Brazil using remote sensing technology. The images used for this project were derived from USGS Earth Explorer via Landsat 5 and Landsat 8 (OLI/TIRS) satellites. I presented this research at the 13th Annual Natural Sciences, Mathematics, and Technology Undergraduate Research Showcase

 

This project intends to illustrate the land use change in the Xingu River Basin in the state of Para, Brazil. This area was of particular interest because of the controversial construction of the Belo Monte Hydroelectric Dam, which officially began in 2011. However, plans to dam the Xingu River started in the 1970's during Brazil's miliarty dictatorship government. Since the 70's, the dam project has provoked countless indigeneous protests, legal disputes, corrupt bribery, and labor strikes. The dam project intends to divert eighty percent of the Xingu River and in turn deforest over 1,500km of Brazilian rainforest and displace up to 40,000 people (indigeneous, riverine, and urban people). The Xingu Basin is an already threatened area due to cattle ranching and soy monocultures. The majority of the electricity generated by the dam is projected to power industries that will improve Brazil's economic relations with China. A remote sensing change analysis displays likely flooding, likely deforestation, and construction of the dam.