Quantitative and Spatial Assessment of Precipitation in the Brazilian Amazon (Legal Amazon) - (1978 to 2007)

Encompassing 9 countries in South America the Amazon region has the largest hydric potential in the world. The region is vitally important for the global climate, as well as having rich biodiversity, and relevant economic, social and environmental aspects. It covers an area of approximately 7.5 million square kilometers, which corresponds to around 7% of the planet-s solid surface. This study performs a quantitative and spatial assessment of precipitation occurring in the Brazilian Amazon over a period of 30 years (1978 to 2007). The treatment was based on a non-parametric Mann-Kendall test, considering data consistency, density of spatial distribution for the stations, the historical series and climatic phenomena. The results show that in terms of precipitation in the Brazilian Amazon, over the 30-year period there was a trend towards the decreasing rainfall in the southwest quadrants of the region where the arc of deforestation is found, while in the northern quadrants there was a slight increase that was not significant.