Flying Rivers / Rivières Volantes

When you look at clouds in the sky, what do you see?

Some climate scientists see flying rivers.

Watch the video and know why:

The term flying rivers was coined by the scientist from INPE (National Space Research Institute) in Brazil, José Marengo, to describe the low levels of jets of air currents that carry water vapor from the Amazon forest, down the Eastern lands of the Andes up to Northern Argentina.

The Flying Rivers Project aims to investigate and to map the connectiveness of the rain water, coming from the Amazon forest, with the multiple factors that build the Brazilian economy.

For us, dwellers of the Southeastern Latin America, dependent on the water of the North of Brazil, flying rivers are messages from the Amazon, as a reminder of how much we should care for trees, no matter how far they may seem to be. For us, flying rivers are literally part of our urban nature.

When you look at clouds in the sky, what do you see?

I see the Amazon Forest.

In French: La conférence de Gérard Moss "Rivières Volantes" et les superbes photos de Magi Moss (pdf)