Washington, 15 feb (PL) Un programa para detectar ruinas mayas, ocultas por el tupido follaje de los bosques de Centroamérica, será puesto en marcha por la Administración Nacional de Aeronáutica y el Espacio (NASA), según anunció hoy.
Sensores remotos desde aviones y equipos espaciales tratarán de detectar las características químicas de los materiales de construcción usados por los mayas, comunicó la agencia estadounidense.
Tom Server, uno de los responsables del estudio, explicó que con excepción de las cúpulas de muchas edificaciones mayas, el resto está oculto entre los árboles.
También desde el suelo, el intenso follaje puede mantener fuera de la vista de los arqueólogos objetos que se encuentran distantes solo unos pocos metros, indicó el experto, uno de los primeros en utilizar aparatos espaciales en la arqueología.
"Los exploradores pueden pasar al lado de una ciudad antigua, donde alguna vez vivieron miles de personas, sin siquiera darse cuenta", manifestó.
El científico desarrollará la investigación junto con Dan Irwin, de la NASA, y William Saturno, de la Universidad de New Hampshire y descubridor del más antiguo mural maya conocido en las ruinas de San Bartolo.
Los científicos entregaron a Saturno
imágenes de alta resolución fotografiadas por satélites comerciales e información obtenida por un sistema llamado Airborne Synthetic Apertura Radar, equipo que llevan aviones de la NASA en misiones meteorológicas.
Estos datos ayudaron a Saturno a encontrar en el 2001 el principio del antiguo mural maya de más de dos mil años, que el arqueólogo comparó con la Capilla Sextina, una vez develado en su totalidad.
Los científicos explicaron que el uso de programas meteorológicos
tiene entre sus propósitos descubrir las causas de la desaparición de la civilización maya.
Expertos sugieren que fenómenos extremos, como prolongadas sequías o la deforestación precipitaron su final.
En la actualidad el mundo lucha contra los efectos de la sequía, por lo que conocer "el sufrimiento de los mayas", puede ser útil para evitar que tengamos el mismo final, dijo Irwin.
"Estudios como los que estamos llevando adelante hacen mucho más que satisfacer nuestra curiosidad sobre el pasado, ellos nos ayudan a prepararnos para el futuro", indicó Sever, por su parte.
Fuente: Prensa Latina, rc/mor. 16 de febrero de 2006
Enlace: http://www.prensa-latina.cu/article.asp?ID=%7bCFFA1D62-3CF6-4F06-92EB-676B29E1F52F%7d&language=ES
(2) NASA, UNH Scientists Uncover Lost Maya Ruins – from Space
Newswise — Remains of the ancient Maya culture, mysteriously destroyed at the height of its reign in the ninth century, have been hidden in the rainforests of Central America for more than 1,000 years. Now, NASA and University of New Hampshire
NASA archaeologist Tom Sever and scientist Dan Irwin, both from NASA's Marshall Space
Flight Center Huntsville , Ala. University of New Hampshire
“From the air, everything but the tops of
very few surviving pyramids are hidden by the tree canopy," said Sever, widely recognized for two decades as a pioneer in the use of aerospace remote-sensing for archaeology. "On the ground, the 60- to 100-foot trees and dense undergrowth can obscure objects as close as 10 feet away. Explorers can stumble right through an ancient city that once housed thousands – and never even realize it.”
Sever has explored the capacity of remote sensing technology and the science of collecting information about the Earth’s surface using aerial or space-based photography to serve archeology. He and Irwin provided Saturno with high-resolution commercial satellite images
of the rainforest, and collected data from NASA’s Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar, an instrument flown aboard a high-altitude weather plane, capable of penetrating clouds, snow and forest canopies.
These resulting Earth observations have helped the team survey an uncharted region around San Bartolo , Guatemala
In 2004, the team ground-tested the data. Hiking deep into the jungle to locations guided by the satellite images, they uncovered a series of Maya settlements exactly where the technology had predicted they would be found. Integrating cutting-edge
remote sensing technology as a vital research tool enabled the scientists to expand their study of the jungle.
The cause of the floral discoloration discerned in the imagery quickly became clear to the team. The Maya built their cities and towns with excavated limestone and lime plasters. As these structures crumbled, the lack of moisture and nutritional elements inside the ruins kept some plant species at bay, while others were discolored or killed off altogether as disintegrating plaster changed the chemical content of the soil around each structure.
"Over the centuries, the changes became dramatic," Saturno said. "This pattern of small details, impossible to see from the forest floor or low-altitude planes, turned out to be a virtual roadmap to ancient Maya sites when seen from space."
Under a NASA Space Act Agreement with the University of New Hampshire Guatemala
"Studies such as these do more than fulfill our curiosity about the past," Sever said. "They help us prepare for our own future."
Scientists believe the Maya fell prey to a number of cataclysmic environmental problems, including deforestation and drought, which led to their downfall, Irwin said. "The world continues
to battle the devastating effects of drought today, from the arid plains of Africa to the southern United States
Another aspect of the research involved using climate models to determine the effects of Maya-driven deforestation on ancient Mesoamerican climate. The goal of this effort was to determine whether deforestation can lead to droughts and if the activities of the ancient Maya drove the environmental changes that undermined their civilization.
Extending benefits of remote-sensing technologies is part of NASA’s Earth-Sun System Division. NASA is conducting a long-term research effort to learn how natural and human-induced changes affect the global environment, and to provide critical benefits to society
today.
Sever and Irwin conduct research at National Space Science and Technology Center Huntsville
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