Chile has some of the world's largest open pit copper mines. This mine, named Chuquicamata, is located near Antofagasta in northern Chile.
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Human Impacts in the Southeast Pacific Region
Mining and fishing are very important activities to the people who live in Chile and Peru. Do you think these activities could be connected to the climate in this area? Scientists in the VOCALS field experiment are going to learn more about how people impact their environment in the Southeast Pacific region.
Mining is probably the most important activity in Chile and Peru. There are lots of different minerals in this region. Copper is the most important. In fact, this area is one of the biggest copper producing areas in the world. The aerosols that are released as part of the copper smelting process are of interest to VOCALS scientists. This is because aerosols are known to impact the formation of clouds. Learning more about how aerosols impact cloud formation is an important part of VOCALS science.
Fishing is also very important in this area. Fishing and processing fish are very important, especially in larger port cities such as Iquique and Arica. VOCALS scientists are interested in the impact of changing climates on fishing in the Southeast Pacific Ocean.
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