Deep in Brazil's Amazon, scientists have built a "time machine," pumping carbon dioxide into the rainforest canopy to simulate atmospheric conditions predicted for the future, to gauge how the biome adapts.

Manaus

Scientists in Brazil have launched the Amazon FACE project, which uses steel towers to pump carbon dioxide into sections of the rainforest canopy near Manaus. This experiment simulates predicted future atmospheric conditions to study how the Amazon biome may adapt to increased carbon dioxide levels.

The project, led by the National Institute of Amazonian Research, is the first of its kind at this scale in the region. Data collected will help inform policymakers at the upcoming COP30 United Nations Climate Summit, as preserving tropical rainforests like the Amazon is considered crucial for mitigating climate change.

Scientists use a 'time machine' to peek into the Amazon's future

This is what scientists are calling a time machine for Brazil's Amazon. These towers are pumping carbon dioxide into the rainforest canopy, simulating predicted future atmospheric conditions to gauge how the biome adapts. It's an open question to be discussed at next month's COP30 United Nations Climate Summit, hosted by Brazil. Carlos Queixada is a coordinator for the National Institute of Amazonian Research, which is leading the experiment. How much CO2 can we still emit to stay within a two degree temperature increase? And what will determine that is the behavior of this forest. So to a large extent, we will be able to understand what trajectories the Amazon will take and prepare decades in advance. In this sense, yes, it is a time machine that is here. The Amazon FACE project is short for Free Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment. It allows Queixada and his team of scientists to study the effects of elevated carbon dioxide levels on the rainforest giants and surrounding plant life. Six rings of steel towers loom above the jungle canopy near Manaus, the largest city in the Amazon, with each surrounding groups of 50 to 70 mature trees. After baseline testing, scientists will fumigate trees in three of the rings with carbon dioxide at levels simulating climate forecasts for the coming decade. The rest will serve as control samples. While FACE experiments have been performed around the world, forestry engineer Gustavo Corvalho said the project is the first of its kind on this scale. With these sensors, we can get the forest's response every 10 minutes. For example, if it rains, if it's sunny, if there's a storm, we know how the forest works. And the idea is to have other components to help us understand how each individual responds to these changes. So we are measuring various characteristics in individual leaves, and thus we can try to reconstruct this story. At COP30, policymakers are set to grapple with uncertainty about how the rainforest can adapt to a warming planet and changing atmosphere. Scientists say preserving tropical rainforests like the Amazon is vital to curbing the worst effects of climate change.

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