From June 18th to 20th the leading ATTO scientists gathered at the Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena, Germany, to discuss future research at ATTO. The institute’s managing director Prof. Susan Trumbore, who is also the German coordinator for the international ATTO project, had invited the almost 60 scientists from 20 research institutions and universities to Jena. The purpose of the meeting was to jointly compile the most urgent scientific questions that should be addressed in the coming years.
For three days, previously established and newly formed, cross-cutting working groups discussed the current state of their research, their planes and goals for the future, as well as giving updates on infrastructure and scheduling. Their results will be summarized in a new science plan and expedition license. Additionally, the new ATTO data portal (www.ATTOdata.org) was presented at the workshop after discussing and agreeing on a new data policy.
And because strong personal relationships are the foundation of excellent science, the multinational research team made the most of their rare time together and extended the meeting into the evening hours with dinner and drinks to socialize and get to know one another better.