Scientists have used clues locked into tree rings to reveal major changes in the Amazon’s rainfall cycle over the last 40 years: wet seasons are getting wetter and dry seasons drier.
Scientists have used clues locked into tree rings to reveal major changes in the Amazon’s rainfall cycle over the last 40 years: wet seasons are getting wetter and dry seasons drier.
Oxygen isotope signals in rings from two Amazon tree species allowed the international research team to reconstruct seasonal changes in rainfall for the recent past.
Publishing their findings in Communications Earth and Environment, the researchers reveal that wet season rainfall has increased by 15 - 22%, and dry season rainfall decreased by 5.8 - 13.5% since 1980.
Read more at: University of Birmingham
Extreme river flood levels reach several meters depth, as indicated by the darker shade on the bark of this tree from seasonally flooded forests. (Photo Credit: Bruno B L Cintra, University of Birmingham)
