Before Luciana Gatti climbs into her little jungle airplane, she leaves both doors open so that the wind from the propellers can blow the oven-baked heat of the Amazon out of the cramped cabin. Only when the pilot breaks through the cloud layer does it finally get cooler. With every meter of altitude on the display, the temperature in the cockpit drops, and the sweat on Gatti’s skin cools.
Now the researcher can start her work high above the green canopy of the Amazon. The atmospheric physicist wants to measure greenhouse gases directly in the air. From a silver suitcase she pulls out several glass flasks with sensitive valves that open and close at the push of a button. The researcher uses this to capture the air – always at a specific, mapped location, but at different heights, while the pilot rushes further and further down in a steep descent, describing several spirals.
Access to all STERN PLUS content and articles from the print magazine
ad-free
Already registered?
