← Signals
Recordedyearclimate

Isotope study quantifies Amazonian moisture recycling

Salati and colleagues publish an isotopic analysis of Amazonian rainfall showing that the deuterium and oxygen-18 signature does not follow the trajectory expected of purely ocean-derived vapour moving inland, and infer that a large fraction of the basin's rainfall is water recycled by the forest itself. It converts a plausible mechanism into a measured quantity.

Historical — it happened, and the record is settled.

Subjects

Evidence

Partly verified — Core facts are sourced; some optional detail is deliberately absent.