The impact of a changing climate on the Amazon basin is a subject of intensive research because of its rich biodiversity and the significant role of rainforests in carbon cycling. Climate change has also a direct hydrological impact, and increasing efforts have focused on understanding the hydrological dynamics at continental and subregional scales, such as the Western Amazon.

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Tropical dams are often falsely portrayed as 'clean' emissions-free energy sources. The letter by de Faria et al (2015 Environ. Res. Lett. 10 124019) adds to evidence questioning this myth. Calculations are made for 18 dams that are planned or under construction in Brazilian Amazonia and show that emissions from storage hydroelectric dams would exceed those from electricity generation based on fossil fuels. Fossil fuels need not be the alternative, because Brazil has vast potential for wind and solar power as well as opportunities for energy conservation.

The Amazon basin is a vast continental area in which atmospheric composition is relatively unaffected by anthropogenic aerosol particles. Understanding the properties of the natural biogenic aerosol particles over the Amazon rainforest is key to understanding their influence on regional and global climate. While there have been a number of studies during the wet season, and of biomass burning particles in the dry season, there has been relatively little work on the transition period - the 5 start of the dry season in the absence of biomass burning.

Brazil plans to meet the majority of its growing electricity demand with new hydropower plants located in the Amazon basin. However, large hydropower plants located in tropical forested regions may lead to significant carbon dioxide and methane emission. Currently, no predictive models exist to estimate the greenhouse gas emissions before the reservoir is built. This paper presents two different approaches to investigate the future carbon balance of eighteen new reservoirs in the Amazon.