The Amazon is among the most vital ecosystems on Earth. Each year, its plants remove an estimated net 340 million tons of carbon from the atmosphere, an amount equivalent to the total fossil fuel emissions of the United Kingdom,¹ making it one of the world’s most powerful buffers against climate change. For the last two years, wildlife photographer, marine biologist and National Geographic Explorer, Thomas Peschak, has used his camera to showcase the work of seven research teams working to secure its future.

The project started in 2017, as Rolex and the National Geographic Society announced a series of expeditions to answer critical questions about the impact of climate change on the Amazon and the varied ecosystems that contribute to its health, from the frozen peaks of the Andes to the murky depths of its coastal mangrove swamps. In 2022, the Rolex and National Geographic Perpetual Planet Amazon Expedition sent seven teams to the most remote corners of South America to document and understand the Amazon’s complex aquatic ecosystems, which are central to the health of the rainforest and, by extension, the planet. Combining multiple scientific disciplines and unparalleled knowledge of local and Indigenous peoples, they have deepened the world’s understanding of the Amazon’s water supply. Peschak was with them every step of the way.

“From the Andes to the Atlantic, the 6,400-kilometer-long Amazon River and its thousands of tributaries are the lifeblood of the region,” he said. “These expeditions will answer the biggest scientific questions about how the water of the rainforest is being affected by climate change.”

Peschak was there when the explorers established a weather station atop Peru’s Nevado Ausangate, the highest peak in Southern Peru, which will provide real-time data on regional weather patterns and help researchers better understand the challenges facing the rainforest. He chronicled the first scientific documentation of the Amazon Delta’s unique freshwater mangrove forests, whose ability to store carbon makes them an essential piece of the global ecosystem. As more discoveries are revealed, Peschak’s photographs will share them with the world, painting a picture of the Amazon that is more beautiful, vibrant and important than ever.

¹World Resources Institute.