P1.31
Deforestation and its hydrological impact on the Rio Minho River watershed, (Jamaica, West Indies)
Michael A. Edwards, Medgar Evers College, City University of New York, Brooklyn, NY
The Rio Minho River Watershed, an active watershed system in the parish of Clarendon, Jamaica West Indies, is presently undergoing a hydrological as well as a meteorological drought, which has been caused by various anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic factors. The objective of this research is to outline the contributing factors that have exacerbated the present drought conditions that the Rio Minho River Watershed and the parish of Clarendon itself has been facing and is still facing as we presently speak. These factors, which will be explored, include: deforestation, agricultural practices, over-population, mineral exploitation, weather, and watershed geology. To effectively analyze the impacts that deforestation and other environmental ramifications have caused on the Rio Minho River Watershed, a number of tools have been employed to aid in this research. Varying tools such as remote sensing, climatological and hydrological data, models that consist of flood and drought predictions have been used to make a long-term assessment of this very interesting watershed. There are a number of other key points that will be studied or assessed in this research. These key points will include the El Nino and the La Nina phenomenon, and their subsequent impact on the Island of Jamaica, but in particular, the Rio Minho River Watershed. [This project is funded by NASA GISS/MEC Partnership, NASA PAIR at CCNY, NASA-MUSPIN CUNY NRTS and NSF-NYC LSAMP]
Poster Session 1, Poster Session
Monday, 14 January 2002, 4:00 PM-6:00 PM
Previous paper Next paper