How long is the amazon

Last December the pair repeated the warning, calling it a last chance for action 6. If that happens, it would not only affect the millions of people and animals in the region.

It could also mean billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide will be emitted into the atmosphere as trees die and vegetation burns; less rainfall throughout central and southern South America; and altered climate patterns farther afield. Last August, the number of wildfires in the Brazilian Amazon was higher than in any August since a drought in The researchers first modelled how the regional Amazonian climate might be affected using various projections about future climate change, levels of deforestation and increased fires.

Then they simulated how the original rainforest would have evolved under these altered climate conditions. The modelling did not investigate how quickly the forest would die over the 80 years of the simulation.

Paulo Brando, a tropical ecologist at the University of California, Irvine, says it might require more deforestation to reach a critical point — but the main thing, he says, is to try to keep well away from it. He adds that the idea could give the false impression that the Amazon is safe below a certain threshold of deforestation and doomed above it. Scientists agree, however, that more global warming and more deforestation put the rainforest at increased risk.

Part of the problem is that a lack of data makes it hard to predict how climate change, deforestation and fires intersect, and how the forest will react. One big uncertainty is how a warmer climate enriched with CO 2 would affect the Amazon. Rammig and others have for years been hoping to test the effect of elevated CO 2 concentrations in the Amazon , by pumping the gas from towers into metre-wide circular patches of forest and monitoring how this affects the ecosystem.

Researchers have performed similar experiments — called free-air CO 2 enrichment FACE — in other forests, but not in tropical ones. Several FACE trials have found that young forests do seem to grow faster in increased CO 2 , although mature eucalyptus trees did not gain extra biomass, a study in Australia reported 7.

For the moment, they are measuring the effect of high concentrations of CO 2 on individual saplings. Another uncertainty is how to model fires. Most fires in the Amazon are intentional — set either by farmers to fertilize soil or by ranchers to clear deforested land for cattle. In wet years, the fires spread less easily, but in drier years, more trees die and flames surge higher, says Brando. The Amazon fires of were visible from space, as shown in this image from the geostationary weather satellite GOES This January, Brando and others published a paper suggesting that a warmer, drier climate could double the area of burnt forest in the southern Brazilian Amazon over the next three decades 8.

Their study indicates that, even without deforestation, climate change alone will inevitably cause a surge in the area burnt over the coming years. Researchers also need to improve their understanding of how hundreds of Amazon tree species react to heat and drought, says Oliver Phillips, a tropical ecologist at the University of Leeds, UK.

That requires extensive laboratory and field testing, such as setting up a system that simulates a drought by capturing water droplets before they reach the soil. Studies have collected such data in forested areas of east Amazonia, but not in the hotter, drier southern Amazon, Phillips says.

During his election campaign, he told the Brazilian Academy of Sciences that he thought it possible to boost investment in research from 1. But since his government took office, the scientific research budget, which had already shrunk heavily, has suffered extra cuts. Last year, Bolsonaro fired the director of the National Institute for Space Research , which is responsible for satellite monitoring in the Amazon.

That left Brazilian researchers uneasy about publishing work that could upset the government. Last year, several scientists decided not to appear as authors on a study that discussed the causes of the August wildfires, saying they feared government retaliation. The urgent priority is to halt deforestation. Another is to promote the growth of new forest in degraded areas.

A study that analysed thousands of plots across 45 sites in South America showed that secondary forests that emerged in abandoned agricultural lands can take up huge amounts of carbon, at rates up to 11 times faster than those of old-growth forests 9. In areas that have been heavily deforested, things are more complicated. A study showed that regrowth between and in an Amazon area that had been deforested several times over the past few decades happened slowly, and that the resulting forests accumulate less carbon and have lower biodiversity than native, primary forests Under the Paris climate agreement, Brazil pledged to restore , km 2 of forest by In the longer term, Nobre thinks that Brazil needs to reforest even more — some , km 2 — in southern and eastern Amazonia, the areas most heavily hit by deforestation.

Adopt a carbon tax to protect tropical forests. Rainforest Cruises cannot and will not accept responsibility for any omissions or inaccuracies, or for any consequences arising therefrom, including any losses, injuries, or damages resulting from the display or use of this information.

Soaring mountains, incredible wildlife and beaches, historical remains, the greatest natural and manmade wonders in the world, and spectacular cultural highlights from food to art, South America is a perfect destination for […].

Brazil is a great place to take the kids on vacation. Besides the fact […]. The old historical center is a living testimony to a bygone age when the city was […]. Summertime in Brazil is from December through March, and winter is June through September but the further north you go, the higher the temperature and the humidity.

In fact, the Northeast is […]. Throw in […]. One of the true natural wonders of the world, the Amazon River is an incredible stretch of water weaving through the Amazon rainforest of South America. For centuries it has been one […]. But this tropical paradise is also home to potentially as many as […]. The Amazon Rainforest, situated across nine countries in South America, is one of the most intriguing and organically diverse places on the planet filled with protected areas for plants and animals alike.

Join over 20, discerning travelers and be the first to receive our monthly exclusive discounts, inspiring travel content and expert tips, straight to your inbox. Disclaimer While Rainforest Cruises aim to provide accurate and up-to-date information, we make no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information herein or found by following any link on this site.

You may also like 7 Best Family Destinations In South America Soaring mountains, incredible wildlife and beaches, historical remains, the greatest natural and manmade wonders in the world, and spectacular cultural highlights from food to art, South America is a perfect destination for […]. The first documented European to discover the Amazon River was Spanish conquistador Vicente Yanez Pinzon in March , who first detected it when he was miles kilometers out to sea.

He noticed that he was sailing in freshwater and turned towards the shore in search of the source, where he then found the mouth of the Amazon. Francisco de Orellana is often mistaken as the discoverer of the Amazon, as he was the first European to navigate the entire length of the Amazon River in The most distant source of the water in the Amazon River comes from melting glaciers in the mountains of Peru. For almost a century it has been agreed upon that this distant source is the headwaters of the Apurimac River on Nevado Mismi, but a study showed that the most distant source of the Amazon is on the Cordillera Rumi Cruz at the headwaters of the Mantaro River in Peru.

The Amazon River has the largest drainage system in the world with approximately 1, tributaries, 17 of which themselves are over 1, km long. During the dry season it averages 2 to 6 miles 3. To put that figure into perspective, if you could walk across the river it would take you about 8 hours to get from one side to the other! Its delta, in northern Brazil is the largest river delta on our planet, a muddy patch of salty-vs-fresh water that covers an area of roughly 1 million square miles.

In , the Amazon River was confirmed by scientists to have an underground version of itself 4km below it, which mirrors its above-ground twin in length, but is up to four times wider but the water therein flows much more slowly through the porous sedimentary rock at a depth of around 4km.

The Amazon River contains the most freshwater fish species in the world, with more than species, around of which are endemic. An entire coral reef system was discovered by researchers at the Amazon River Delta in It stretches for more than 1, km and covers an area of over 9, square kilometers.

The reef is believed to be home to a unique ecosystem and a wealth of marine life. It may sound wild and untamed, but one man, Martin Skrel, conquered it all in , swimming the entire length of the Amazon River.

It took him 66 days and up to 10 hours of swimming per day. River Luxury Cruising in the Peruvian Amazon. The majority of the Amazon River has a depth of around 20 to 50 meters 66 to ft but this plunges to around meters ft at its deepest points.