VOICES FOR THE AMAZON
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Los Patrones Climáticos

La lluvia que cae en el Amazonas tiene su origen en patrones climáticos que viajan del Este, en el océano Atlántico, hacia el Oeste, donde se trasladan a través de las tierras bajas del Amazonas y se aproximan a las montañas de los Andes. Al mismo tiempo, la transpiración diaria de los árboles amazónicos libera una gran cantidad de humedad al aire. A medida que esta humedad es empujada hacia los Andes, es apretada a través de valles estrechos, como el valle de Kosnipata, mostrado a continuación. Las nubes convergen y se condensan en forma de lluvia cuando golpean las montañas, que atrapan esta lluvia y la dirigen a los afluentes del río Amazonas. Casi el 20% de toda el agua dulce que viaja hacia los océanos del planeta, lo hace a través del río Amazonas.

Esta lluvia beneficia a las selvas tropicales amazónicas, que requieren de una cantidad significante de humedad durante la mayor parte del año. Los bosques utilizan esta humedad para la fotosíntesis, y luego, el vapor de agua es liberada en el aire. La deforestación del Amazonas inhibe este patrón, y seca los bosques de la parte occidental del continente. Científicos estiman que el 90% del Amazonas actual debe permanecer intacto para que este ciclo de humedad continúe y para que los bosques se mantengan sanos.

 

 

Aprende más sobre el Amazonas y los patrones climáticos globales

Amazon Rainforest Trees As Sentient Beings

Amazon Rainforest Trees As Sentient Beings

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Winter in the Rainforest

Winter in the Rainforest

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Deforestation Has Worldwide Repercussions

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The Start of the Amazon as a Rainforest

The Start of the Amazon as a Rainforest

Two thousand years ago, the Amazon Rainforest was a different landscape than it is today. John Carson, from the University of Reading in England, described the past landscape of the Amazon as “more like a savannah than the rainforest we see today”. This shift was...

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A Self-Watering Rainforest

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Water is a compound essential for life. It makes up about 60% of the human body and covers about 71% of the Earth’s surface. Yet researchers from the University of Exeter and Colorado State University, using computer modeling, showed evidence that the Amazon...

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The hydrologic cycle: evaporation, precipitation, soil absorption, surface runoff, and transpiration. This process plays a significant role in determining an area’s wet and dry seasons. A wet season is defined as a period when there is 10-40 inches of rainfall per...

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The Amazon Could Stop Breathing

The Amazon Could Stop Breathing

The Amazon rainforest is home to hundreds of billions of trees essential for absorbing carbon dioxide. However, this process is reversed during years of drought, where the Amazon has produced carbon dioxide rather than consumed. A drought in 2005 turned the Amazon...

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