Deep in the Amazon, an experiment is unfolding to evaluate what will happen to the world's largest rainforest when carbon dioxide levels rise.
The AmazonFace project, financed by Brazil and the UK, is “an open-air laboratory that will allow us to understand how the rainforest will behave in future climate change scenarios”, says Carlos Quesada, one of the co-ordinators.
Mr Quesada stands at the foot of a soaring metal tower that protrudes through the rainforest canopy at a site 80km north of Manaus in north-west Brazil.
Sixteen other towers arranged in a circle around it will “pump” carbon dioxide into the ring, replicating levels that may occur with global warming.
“How will the rainforest react to the rising temperature, the reduction in water availability, in a world with more carbon in the atmosphere?” asks Mr Quesada, a researcher at an Amazon research institute that is part of the Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology.
The technology known as Face (Free Air CO2 Enrichment) has already been used to study the impact on forests in Australia, the US and the UK, but never in a tropical rainforest.
By 2024, there will be six “carbon rings” pumping carbon dioxide, one of the causes of global warming, at a concentration that is 40 per cent to 50 per cent higher than today.
Over a decade, researchers will analyse the processes occurring in leaves, roots, soil, water and nutrient cycles.
“We will have more accurate projections on how the Amazon rainforest can help combat climate change with its ability to absorb carbon from the atmosphere. Also, it will help us understand how the rainforest will be impacted by these changes,” says David Lapola, a researcher at the University of Campinas, who co-ordinates the project with Mr Quesada.
The carbon dioxide increase in the atmosphere may lead to the creation of grassy plains, or savannah, where the Amazon rainforest once flourished, with vegetation better adapted to higher temperatures and longer droughts.
But carbon dioxide could also “fertilise” the forest and make it temporarily more resistant to these changes.
“This is a positive scenario, at least for a short time, a period for us to get to zero-emission policies, to keep temperature increases to only 1.5ºC,” Mr Quesada says.
The project “is a window to the future”, he says.
“You open the window and look at what might be happening 30 years ahead.”
The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has called for ambitious action to counter global warming again this year.
According to its latest report in March, global warming will surpass 1.5ºC in the decades after 2030, leading to irreversible loss of ecosystems.
Coinciding with global warming is the impact of human deforestation in the Amazon.
A 2018 study by scientists Thomas Lovejoy and Carlos Nobre found that the Amazon is hurtling towards a tipping point where savannahs begin to replace rainforest.
They said that would happen with deforestation of 20 per cent to 25 per cent of Amazon territory. Currently, deforestation stands at 15 per cent.
AmazonFace, co-ordinated by the University of Campinas and the Brazilian Ministry of Science, has the support of the Foreign Office and the British Meteorological Service.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly visited the site this week and announced a new contribution of £2 million ($2.4 million) to the project. The UK has given £7.3 million to the project since 2021.
Brazil, for its part, has invested 32 million reais ($6.4 million).
THE%20HOLDOVERS
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog
Hobby: Playing piano and drawing patterns
Best book: Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
Food of choice: Sushi
Favourite colour: Orange
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Places to go for free coffee
- Cherish Cafe Dubai, Dubai Investment Park, are giving away free coffees all day.
- La Terrace, Four Points by Sheraton Bur Dubai, are serving their first 50 guests one coffee and four bite-sized cakes
- Wild & The Moon will be giving away a free espresso with every purchase on International Coffee Day
- Orange Wheels welcome parents are to sit, relax and enjoy goodies at ‘Café O’ along with a free coffee
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
More on Quran memorisation:
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
Brief scores:
Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first
Pakhtoons 137-6 (10 ov)
Fletcher 68 not out; Cutting 2-14
Sindhis 129-8 (10 ov)
Perera 47; Sohail 2-18
Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt
Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure
Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers
Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels
HOW TO WATCH
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%3Cp%3E-%20US%20Congress%20is%20divided%20into%20two%20chambers%3A%20the%20House%20of%20Representatives%20and%20Senate%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E-%20435%20members%20make%20up%20the%20House%2C%20and%20100%20in%20the%20Senate%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E-%20A%20party%20needs%20control%20of%20218%20seats%20to%20have%20a%20majority%20in%20the%20House%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E-%20In%20the%20Senate%2C%20a%20party%20needs%20to%20hold%2051%20seats%20for%20control%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E-%20In%20the%20event%20of%20a%2050-50%20split%2C%20the%20vice%20president's%20party%20retains%20power%20in%20the%20Senate%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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BRIEF SCORES:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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How much of your income do you need to save?
The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.
In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)
Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.
'Saand Ki Aankh'
Produced by: Reliance Entertainment with Chalk and Cheese Films
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Prakash Jha, Vineet Singh
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
RESULT
West Brom 2 Liverpool 2
West Brom: Livermore (79'), Rondón (88' )
Liverpool: Ings (4'), Salah (72')
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
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