Welcome
Welcome to our website for ATTO, the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory – an Amazon research project.
This research site is located in the middle of the Amazon rainforest in northern Brazil, about 150 km north of Manaus. It is run together by scientists from Germany and Brazil. Its aim is to continuously record meteorological, chemical and biological data, such as the concentration of greenhouses gases. With the help of these data, we hope to gain insights into how the Amazon interacts with the overlying atmosphere and the soil below. Because this region is of such importance to the global climate, it is vital to get a better understanding of these complex processes. Only then will we be able to make more accurate climate predictions.
Have a look around on our website to learn more about the research performed at ATTO and in labs and offices around the world. Please note that the website is still under constructions and more content will be added. So be sure to check back soon! You can also follow us on Social Media to get an insight into the daily lives of the ATTO scientists and stay up-to-date on all the latest news and events!
News
The newsletter for June 2021 is here! The current issue includes summaries for lots of new publications, information about our new ATTO seminar and tools and resources for the project members, as well as many of our regular formats.
Bioaerosols may act as cloud condensation nuclei and ice nuclei, thereby influencing the formation of clouds and precipitation. But so far there is less knowledge about the ice nucleation activity of each bioaerosol group and atmospheric models hitherto have not differentiated between them. Patade et al. created a new empirical parameterization for five groups of bioaerosols, based on analysis of the characteristics of bioaerosols at ATTO: fungal spores, bacteria, pollen, plant/animal/viral detritus, and algae. This makes it possible for any cloud model to access the role of an individual group of bioaerosols in altering cloud properties and precipitation formation.
Ramsay et al. developed a new model to assess nitrogen exchange between atmosphere and biosphere based on observations at ATTO. This model includes parameters controlling both nitrogen deposition and emissions in tropical forests.
A new study shows that tree growth of Nectandra amazonum (Lauraceae) in the Central Amazonian floodplains does not respond to the annual long-term flooding but to variation of minimum temperature and evapotranspiration.
Biogenic volatile organic compounds remove OH from the atmosphere through chemical reactions, which affects processes such as cloud formation. In a new study, Pfannerstill et al. reveal the important contributions of previously not-considered BVOCs species and underestimated OVOCs to the total OH reactivity.
The next newsletter is here! The February 2021 issue includes summaries for lots of new publications, some info about the upcoming virtual EGU and many of our regular formats.
Blog: Voices from the Amazon
My name is Olaf Kolle and I am the scientific head of the Central Service Group ‘Field Experiments and Instrumentation’ at the MPI-BGC in Jena. Currently, we are 13 people in this Service Group. I myself am a meteorologist. But our group members have a wide range of backgrounds, from scientists over gardeners to engineers. This means that we have accumulated a large amount of technical and scientific expertise to plan, set up and maintain field installations.
Hello everybody, my name is Hella van Asperen. I am a PostDoc at the Institute of Environmental Physics in Bremen (Germany), in the group of Prof. Notholt, but currently live and work in Manaus. I started my studies at Wageningen University in the Netherlands with the Bachelor program ‘Soil, Water, Atmosphere’. That I followed with a Masters in ‘Soil Science’ and ‘Earth System Science’.
Hello everybody, I am Milena Ponczek. I am a post-doc at the Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Sao Paulo. About one year ago, I joined Prof. Artaxo’s group there. For my current project that includes ATTO, we focus on aerosols life cycle in the Amazon. I investigate secondary organic aerosol formation from the oxidation of Biogenic VOCs and their subsequent photochemical processing.
Hello together. My Name is Denis Leppla and I am working at ATTO since 2017 with rather simple instruments for filtering aerosol particles from the air. There we analyze them with a mass spectrometer at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz. With this analysis, we can get insights into the chemical composition of aerosol particles and identify hundreds of different compounds.
On today's International Women in Science Day, we want to shine the spotlight on the incredible women in our project. Sue, Samara and Mira tell their inspiring stories of why they wanted to becomes scientists. They share memories of teachers, parents, book and childlike curiosity. They also talk about how they got to where they are today, and what it took to have successful careers as women in science.
Hi, my name is Ana Caroline, and I currently work at the ATTO Project for the INPA and the MPI-BGC. At ATTO I work as a scientific assistant for the Gerd Gleixner group.