Overview

The Amazonia Summer School (AMASS) will be hosted by UFOPA, and organized by partners of the AEROBI Project under the CAPES-COFECUB program:

• Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará – UFOPA, Brazil
• Université de La Réunion, Laboratoire de l’Atmosphère et des Cyclones – LACy-UR, France
• Universidade Federal de Santa Maria – UFSM, Brazil
• Université de Reims Champagne et Ardennes – URCA, France
• University of São Paulo – USP, Brazil
• Universidade Federal de São Paulo – UNIFESP, Brazil

 This initiative reflects a strong commitment to strengthening scientific cooperation, academic exchange, and capacity building between France and Brazil.

• Contact: amass@ufsm.br
• Click here to access the registration form

Theme

Measurement and Characterization of Aerosols over Amazonia and Brazil

Location

The summer school will take place in Santarém, in the equatorial Amazon region. This unique environment acts as a natural laboratory for atmospheric sciences, where strong interactions between the biosphere, atmosphere, and climate can be observed. The Amazon plays a key role in the global climate system through the carbon cycle, cloud formation, and aerosol processes, while remaining highly vulnerable to climate change and human pressures such as deforestation, biomass burning, and urbanization.

Scientific Context

Despite its global importance, the Amazon remains insufficiently instrumented, with very limited long-term atmospheric observations. This lack of data restricts our understanding of tropical atmospheric and climate processes. However, new observational infrastructures are being deployed, including remote sensing and in situ measurement systems dedicated to atmospheric composition and aerosols, particularly within the Amazonian atmospheric observatory. This creates a unique opportunity for scientific advancement and training.

Objectives

The AMASS Summer School aims to:

• Highlight the Amazon as a key region for climate research 
• Support the development of the Amazonian atmospheric observatory 
• Strengthen local scientific capacity 
• Train and connect Master’s students, PhD candidates, and early-career researchers 
• The program promotes an integrated approach combining theory, instrumentation, and data analysis.

Participants

AMASS is designed as an intensive five-day residential program for:

• Master’s students 
• PhD candidates 
• Early-career researchers 

Participation is expected from French and Brazilian universities, particularly from partners of the AEROBI Project under the CAPES-COFECUB program. To ensure high-quality supervision and meaningful interaction, participation is limited to 15 attendees. If applications exceed capacity, candidates will be selected by the organizing committee based on: 

1. academic and scientific excellence, 
2. motivation letter, and 
3. career stage.  

Special attention will be given to gender balance, geographical diversity, and institutional representation, fostering an inclusive and diverse cohort.

Learning Approach

The program is designed to provide a comprehensive and integrated training experience, combining:

• theoretical background 
• hands-on understanding of instrumentation 
• advanced data analysis methods 

It directly addresses the scientific challenges specific to the Amazon in a context of global climate change.

Program & preliminary agenda

The five-day program follows a progressive structure from fundamental knowledge to practical applications:

Days 1–2: Theoretical Foundations

• Lectures and thematic seminars presenting the state of the art 
• Latest scientific advances in aerosol measurement in Amazonia and Brazil 
• Focus on methodologies and results from the AEROBI project 

Days 3–5: Measurement Techniques & Data Analysis

• In situ and remote sensing measurement techniques 
• Atmospheric observation networks 
• Full data value chain: acquisition → processing → scientific interpretation 
• Data qualification and validation procedures 
• Integration with complementary datasets (satellite observations, global reanalyses)