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03.03.2022 11:35
Summit meeting at the German-Brazilian research tower in the Amazon
At the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO), the research station of a German-Brazilian joint project in the Brazilian rainforest, scientists have been studying the ecosystems of the Amazon and their interactions with the atmosphere and climate for more than 10 years. Representatives of the Brazilian Ministry of Research and foreign ambassadors recently visited the station. On site, Research Minister Pontes promised millions in investments in Amazon research and also in ATTO. This is intended to further expand the infrastructure and strengthen research in Brazil.
The Amazon Tall Tower Observatory is a large-scale research project that has been funded by Germany and Brazil since 2010. At the unique research station in the Amazon rainforest, more than 200 scientists from all over the world are investigating how intact Amazon forests affect the regional and global climate, the greenhouse gas balance and air quality and how these will change in the course of global change. In addition to the German Max Planck Institutes for Biogeochemistry (MPI-BGC, Jena) and for Chemistry (MPIC, Mainz), the National Institute for Amazon Research (INPA) and the Amazon State University (UEA) are the leading Brazilian partners in the project.
In early February, the Brazilian Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, Marcos Pontes, paid a visit to the station. He was accompanied, among others, by the German Ambassador to Brazil, Heiko Thoms. The politicians were enthusiastic about the modern research location in the middle of the remote rainforest.
Minister Pontes announced on the spot the investment of 80 million Brazilian reals (approx. 15 million euros) for the construction of laboratories in the Amazon region, also to ATTO.
In addition, Brazil wants to invest in the ATTO infrastructure and has launched a funding program for Brazilian researchers whose projects deal with the exchange between soil, climate and rainforest. The program is intended to facilitate access to ATTO for scientists from their own country and, among other things, to further strengthen cooperation with colleagues from Germany.
This Brazilian funding commitment follows just a few months after approval by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Max Planck Society for funding for the next ATTO research phase. With the support from both countries, the project scientists can now continue and expand their joint research.
“The Brazilian government has supported our bilateral project from the start,” says Prof. Susan Trumbore, scientific coordinator of ATTO in Germany and director at the MPI-BGC in Jena. She herself flew to Brazil to welcome the important visit to the ATTO station together with the Brazilian coordinator Carlos Alberto Quesada.
“The MCTI’s new funding commitment to science is wonderful. I am particularly pleased because the funds will support young Brazilian researchers in particular. This ensures that the funding from Germany and Brazil for ATTO will continue to be balanced in the future,” adds Susan Trumbore.
Meteorologist Stefan Wolff from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry accompanies the ATTO project on site right from the start. During the politicians’ visit, he sheds light on the more than ten-year history and explained the infrastructure of the location. “It’s great to see how ATTO has grown, developed and gained importance both nationally and internationally. We still have many plans that we would like to realize with the support from Germany and Brazil in the next few years,” says Wolff, who lives and researches in Brazil as the German representative of the MPIC.
With the help of the research station, the research team is investigating the complex interactions between the largest tropical forest on earth and the atmosphere in a time of climate change and extreme weather. Since the start of continuous data collection in 2011, the ATTO project has filled a gap in the global observation networks with long-term climatic, biogeochemical and atmospheric measurements. The researchers are supplementing the long-term measurements with targeted studies on exchange processes and are trying to explain the causes of the annual fluctuations in the exchange of energy, water and greenhouse gases between the forest and the atmosphere.
background of the project
The Amazon Tall Tower Observatory is located about 150 km northeast of Manaus in the Uatumã Sustainable Development Reserve. The research station consists of three measuring towers, several test areas and laboratory containers. The largest of these towers is the highest research tower in South America at 325 m and enables unique observations of near-surface atmospheric movements and the inclusion of the greenhouse gas balance of intact forests.
ATTO is coordinated in Germany by the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena. Other core partners are the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Coordination on the Brazilian side is carried out by the Institute for Amazon Research (INPA) in Manaus, with the University of the State of Amazonas (UEA) as another core partner. In addition, around two dozen other research institutions are significantly involved in ATTO, including the University of São Paulo and the National Institute for Space Research in Brazil (INPE).
The construction of the research station was supported by the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTIC) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), with additional investments from the Max Planck Society. Further operation and ongoing research are supported by the Max Planck Society, the BMBF, the MCTIC and other research grants.
Scientific contacts:
Contact at the MPI for Biogeochemistry (MPI-BGC) in Jena
Prof. Susan Trumbore, Ph.D. (Project Coordinator Germany)
Tel.: +49 3641 57-6110
Email: [email protected]
Car: +49 1609 7262795
dr Iris Möbius (public relations)
Tel.: +49 3641 57-6371
Email: [email protected]
Contact at the MPI for Chemistry (MPIC) in Mainz
Dr. Christopher Pöhlker
Tel.: +49 6131 305-7800
Email: [email protected]
Dr. Susanne Benner (Communication)
Tel: +49 6131 305-3000
Email: [email protected]
Features of this press release:
journalists, everyone
Biology, Earth Sciences, Sea/Climate, Animal/Land/Forest, Environment/Ecology
nationwide
Research projects, cooperations
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