Age: Nestled among the dry eucalypt forests behind Nagambie, north of Melbourne, the 36-metre metal ''flux tower'' looks out of place.
Far above the sparse grey box and lemon gums it sends out an infrared beam that, 20 times a second, measures the transfer of carbon dioxide between the atmosphere and the landscape.
The project is part of scientific efforts to understand one of the big unknown questions in climate science: will soil, trees and plants continue to soak up large amounts of CO2 as the...