Heart of the Amazon Leg 6

Leg 6 — SWKO → SBPV

Mission: Transport climate scientists to Porto Velho to study rainfall and atmospheric patterns.**

📖 The Flying Rivers

Climate researchers refer to the Amazon's moisture system as "flying rivers"—massive streams of water vapor carried through the atmosphere by billions of trees. These invisible rivers influence weather across much of South America. During the flight toward Porto Velho, meteorologists explain how the rainforest creates and recycles enormous quantities of rainfall. Without the forest, entire weather systems could change. Looking down at the canopy stretching toward the horizon, the scale of the system becomes almost impossible to comprehend. The Amazon is not merely a forest. It is a machine helping regulate climate across an entire continent.