24.01.2017

Container in the Amazon rainforest

The Amazon rainforest is the largest contiguous tropical forest in the world. Forest areas of this size are referred to as the 'green lungs of the earth' for good reason. In order to better understand the biological and chemical processes of this unique ecosystem, a German-Brazilian joint project has installed a 325-m measurement tower in the Amazon rainforest. The ATTO (Amazonian Tall Tower Observatory), which is located approximately 150 km north-east of Manaus, is the tallest building in South America (as of January 2017).

The measuring devices installed at different heights on the tower can now be used to study how the biosphere interacts with the atmosphere. What are the differences between day and night, or between dry season and rainy season? What are the sources and sinks for greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane? What regulates the carbon dioxide content of the air? The Brazilian National Institute of Amazonian Research (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia), the Max Planck Institutes for Chemistry in Mainz and for Biogeochemistry in Jena, and the Amazonas State University (Universidade do Estado do Amazonas) are all hoping to gain conclusive answers to these and other questions.

In November 2016, three special containers from Bremen with additional roof structures were set up at the foot of the ATTO tower. The air-conditioned 20-foot ISO containers are equipped with extensive measuring equipment and all the electronics needed for intermediate storage of the data. From there, the data can be sent to research institutes in Germany and all over the world via satellite. Using long-term measurements over a period of at least 20 years, researchers are studying the global importance of rainforests and their connection to climate change.

We wish the research project much success!

More information is available at:

www.mpic.de/en/research/collaborative-projects/atto.html