The return signal reveals the state of flooding beneath the forest canopy, simultaneously allowing remote sensing scientists to distinguish between woody and herbaceous plants. The images were also converted to a graphical file format and provided to the public via the World Wide Web. With the high resolution data, scientists are able to determine the extent of flooding by comparing water extent for the dry and wet seasons. Knowledge of flood extent and land cover distributions will offer new insight into the Amazon's contribution to global methane emissions, said researcher Laura Hess, of the University of California, Santa Barbara. The stems elongate as the water rises and a canopy develops at the top of the water.
Grasses can reach several meters in length and float at the top of the water.
As water levels recede, the stems begin to decay. The proportion of floating meadows increases as you go toward the mouth of the Amazon and the river channel geomorphology changes. In addition to enhancing biogeochemical models, the Amazon data sets will be important for evaluating the health of fisheries that are essential to the physical and economic welfare of the people inhabiting the Amazon basin, said Hess. Fish from the Amazon are a popular export to Asian countries, especially Japan. They are also a key element in the diet of people living along the Amazon River.