LBA-ECO CD-06: Isotopic Carbon Fractions in Amazon River Water

From 1991 to 2003, this dataset provides geochemical and isotopic measurements from 60 river locations across the Amazon Basin. It includes standard geochemical variables, dissolved and particulate carbon fractions, and the 13C and 14C isotopic composition of dissolved inorganic carbon and organic carbon. Data are presented as both individual measurements and site means across four comma-delimited files.

Use Cases

• Analyzing carbon source and age in river systems based on 14C isotopic composition.
• Modeling dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and inorganic carbon (DIC) transport across the Amazon Basin.
• Correlating geochemical variables with site topography, such as drainage area elevation.
• Studying temporal trends in river water chemistry from the 1990s to early 2000s.

Strengths

• Covers a 13-year time series (1991-2003) for long-term trend analysis.
• Includes data from 60 spatially distributed sampling sites across the Amazon Basin.
• Provides both mean results and individual measurements for isotopic data.

Limitations

• Column names and exact row counts are not provided in the available metadata.
• The 'last updated' date conflicts between sources (2003 vs. 2026), suggesting potential metadata staleness.
• Organic carbon isotope measurements are only available for a subset of the time range (1995-1996).

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), associated with the LBA-ECO project and Mayorga et al., 2005.

Collection Method

Field sampling and laboratory analysis of water samples from Amazonian rivers.

Time Range

1991 to 2003

Freshness

2026-04-10 01:35:44.702152 (datagov), though this conflicts with the substantive data end date of 2003.

Geography

Amazon Basin, 60 river locations