A climate 'time machine' to predict Amazon's future

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 an open question to be discussed at the COP30 United Nations climate summit hosted by the country next month.

- REUTERS

At the AmazonFACE project near Manaus, the largest city in the Amazon, six rings of steel towers loom above the jungle canopy, 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 coming decades, while the rest serve as control samples.

"We're trying to create the atmosphere of the future," said Carlos Quesada, a coordinator for the National Institute for Amazon Research (INPA), which is leading the experiment alongside Universidade Estadual de Campinas.