Niger

A major international field experiment to study land-biosphere interactions with the atmosphere was conducted near Niamey, Niger in 1991. Led by the French overseas agency, ORSTOM, it was a part of the international programs, ISLSCP and HAPEX. Niger is a desperately poor country, plagued by poor soils and erratic rainfall. The regions I visited (a 100 km square including Niamey) have deep red soils that are depleted in key nutrients. These images were taken in 1987 and 1991. They show something of the landscape and our international teams in the field and at the hotel bar! (Geolocations are rough guesses by REM.)