HUMAITÁ, Brazil — When we arrive at the first site in the Madeira River, researchers from Amazonas State University (UEA) and Harvard position themselves at the stern and bow of the voadeira, an aluminum speedboat, to collect samples. The vessel floats 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) upstream of Humaitá municipality, in the Brazilian state of Amazonas, to start an endeavor to monitor the water quality and mercury contamination of the largest tributary in the Amazon River Basin. Around the boat, river dolphins feed in the water while squirrel monkeys jump from branch to branch in the embaúbas trees and two riverine men fill buckets with water in front of a banana plantation. On the left channel, a ferry passes loaded with cargo and two illegal gold mining dredges go upstream. The UEA researchers collect their water samples in seven small bottles, which will be analyzed in the boat and inland laboratories, and they take notes of a few parameters measured right away with a probe, such as pH, dissolved oxygen and water temperature. Harvard researcher Evan Routhier collects water from the Madeira River near the municipality of Novo Aripuanã, in the state of Amazonas, as part of an expedition by Brazilian and American researchers in the heart of the Amazon. The trip served to collect samples for monitoring water quality and mercury levels in the river and fish in the region. Image by Bruno Kelly. The Harvard University researchers, besides filling their own water in two 1-liter (2-pint) bottles and two…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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