Don'tBreaktheHeartofMotherEarth

byAlanForsberg

"Doesn'tthewhitemanknow,thatifhedestroystheforest,therewillbenomorerain?
Andifthereisnomorerain,therewillbenothingtodrinkortoeat?"
DaviKopenawaYanomamiElder

Anyonewhohashadtofetchapailofwaterknowshowheavyitcanbetocarryanygreatdistance,especiallyuphill.Itis
awonderthereforetoseesuchhugeamountsofwaterinlakesandglacierssohighupintheAndes.Wheredidallthat
watercomefromandhowdiditgetupthere?

DespiteBoliviasproximitytothePacificOcean,itissurprisingtolearnthatthevastmajorityofwaterinBoliviasclimate
systemcomesallthewayfromtheAtlanticOcean.ThatisbecauseboththeAndesMountainsandtheprevailing
easterlytradewindslargelypreventthetransferofmoisturefromtheWest.

HowevertheAtlanticOceanis3000km.awayandusuallythelevelsofrainfallonacontinentdropexponentiallywith
increasingdistancefromacoast,littlemoisturemakesitmorethan1000km.inland.SowhyisBolivianotadesert?

Oddly,inequatorialSouthAmericathelevelsofrainfallremainthesameoractuallyincreaseasyoumovewestfromthe
Atlanticcoast.TheChapareforexampleisactuallyoneoftherainiestplacesonthecontinent.Sohowdoesallthatrain
gethere?

ThiscanbeexplainedbyanancientindigenousHawaiianproverb:"Hahainokavaikaulula'au"therainfollowsafterthe
forest.Nowmodernscienceisfinallyconfirmingwhatindigenousforestdwellingpeopleshavelongknownaboutthe
importanceofforestsinbringingrain.

Scientistshaverecentlydiscoveredthata
combinationof"bioticmoisturepumps"and"flying
rivers"oftheAmazonrainforestbringrainsto
Bolivia.Oftenreferredtoasthe"lungsofthe
planet",theAmazonrainforestalsofunctionsasthe
"heartofmotherearth"pumpingoceanmoisture
intotheinteriorofthecontinentandfeedingthe
vastcardiovascularsystemofrivers,bothterrestrial
(theveins)andatmospheric(thearteries).This
heartonlydoessobecauseofthenearcontinuous
forestcoverfromthecoasttothecontinents
interior.Inthiswaytheforestservesasan
aqueducttotheAndesandbeyond.

ThenaturalforestoftheAmazonhasaround600
billiontrees,andeachoneactsasagreatsolar
poweredevaporationmachine.Thesegigantictrees
pumpgroundwaterfromtheirdeeprootsuptotheirleaveswheretheyreleaseupto1000litersofwatervaporintothe
atmosphereeveryday.Onesquaremeterofnativeforestcancontain810squaremetersofleavesandthusproduce
flowsofwatervaporthat,perunitlandarea,aretypicallymorethantentimesgreaterthanpastureorcropland,and
evensignificantlysurpassthatofopenwater.

Byconstantlyinterceptingandrecyclingrunoff,thetreeskeepthewaterairbornewhereitisblownbytheprevailing
windsforthousandsofkilometersinwhatareknownas"flyingrivers"ofinvisiblewatervapor.

P
Pathofth
heFlyingRivers
(FlyinggRiversProjecct)

Altoggether,thetreesoftheAm
mazonrainforrestpumpanincredibleto
otalof20billio
ontonsofwaater(20,000ccubicKm.)
outo
ofthegroundandintotheatmosphereeveryday,w
whichismorethantheliqu
uiddischargeoftheAmazo
onRiveritselff.
Alloffthatispoweerednaturallyybyanequallyamazingam
mountofsolaarenergy.CalculatingjustwhattheBolivianAmazon
n
foresstevaporatess,theamounttofsolarenerrgyusedwou
uldbeequivallenttonearlyyfiftytimesth
henation'sto
otalelectricityy
productionoroveerfiftytimestthenation'sttotaloilprodu
uction.
Thatisalotofheaavyliftingpro
ovidedforfreeebytheecologicalserviceesoftheforest,ahiddenvvaluemostpeeopledon't
realizze.

Thenaturalforestnotonlypumpsmoistureintotheatmosphere,butitsabundanceofindigenousplantsandfungialso
emitchemicals(biogenicvolatilecompoundsandpotassiumsalts)thatseedthecloudsandcauseraintofall.Thusthe
forestbothreceivesandgeneratesrain.

Thesewidespreadevaporationandprecipitationprocessesintheforestalsocreatelowatmosphericpressurewhich
constantlypullsinmoistairfromtheocean,hencethename"bioticmoisturepump."Butthispumponlyworksin
undisturbednaturalforests.Vegetationofartificiallythinnedexploitedforests,plantations,grasslands,andcropsare
unabletoswitchonthebioticmoisturepumpandmaintainenoughmoistureoptimalforlife.

Buttheheartofmotherearthdoesn'tjustwatertheAmazon,itbringslifegivingrainstotensofmillionsofpeoplewell
beyondtherainforest.WhentheflyingriversofwatervaporreachthebarrieroftheAndes,heavyrainsfallatthefoot
ofthemountains.Treescontinuallyintercepttherunoffand,likeelevatorstheyliftandlaunchwaterhighintothe
atmospherethusbringingmoistureallthewayuptotheglaciersandlakeshighintheAndes.

TheflyingriversalsoturnsouthandbringvitalmoisturetoParaguay,NorthernArgentinaandthecenterandsouthof
Brazil,avibrantregionthatrepresents70%ofSouthAmericasGDP.Inthisway,theheartofmotherearthprovides
thewaterformostoftheagriculturethatfeedspeopleinSouthAmerica,anddrinkingwaterforthebiggestcitiesonthe
continent.


ClimatechangeisalreadyexpectedtoseverelyimpactwateravailabilityintheAndesduetoeffectssuchasglacier/snow
meltingresultingfromrisingairtemperatures.Boliviaisconsideredtobeoneofthecountriesmostvulnerabletofuture
reductionsinwatersupplieswithseverallargecitieslocatedabove2500mthatrelyalmostentirelyonhighaltitude
waterstockssuchasglaciersandlakestocomplementlimitedrainfall.

Thatiswhycontinueddeforestationintheeasternlowlandswouldbeveryunwise.ThenaturalforestoftheAmazonis
neededtoconveymoistairtotheAndesandbringrain.Ifitisdamagedanddestroyed,theflyingriverarterieswillbe
severedandtheheartofmotherearthwillbebroken.

Resources:

FlyingRiversProject
http://riosvoadores.com.br/english/

AmazonsInvisibleFlyingRivers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iv7AUoheeQs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT0FgvjRthY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teeXse6pk7k

WhichCameFirstTheRainortheRainforest?
https://youtu.be/Y3OWgb0BvA

DouglasSheilDoforestsattractrain?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBkOos12Xzs

AntonioDonatoNobre:
ThemagicoftheAmazon:Ariverthatflowsinvisiblyallaroundus
https://www.ted.com/talks/antonio_donato_nobre_the_magic_of_the_amazon_a_river_that_flows_invisibly_all_aroun
d_us?language=en

TheFutureClimateofAmazoniaReport
http://www.ccst.inpe.br/wpcontent/uploads/2014/11/The_Future_Climate_of_Amazonia_Report.pdf

Howforestsattractrain:anexaminationofanewhypothesis
Sheil,D.;Murdiyarso,D.
2009,BioScience59(4):341347
http://bioscience.oxfordjournals.org/content/59/4/341.full.pdf+html

Bioticpumpofatmosphericmoistureasdriverofthehydrologicalcycleonland
A.M.MakarievaandV.G.Gorshkov
PetersburgNuclearPhysicsInstitute,Gatchina,St.Petersburg,Russia
http://www.hydrolearthsystsci.net/11/1013/2007/hess1110132007.html