The night in the hammock was short. At 0430 there were noises from the forest and soon also from the kitchen, and I found myself awake. Daybreak is actually a nice time in the forest – the air is still cool and there are lots of interesting calls from birds and monkeys. The most prominent is the call of the Screaming Piha (it must be the most inconspicuous bird with the most conspicuous call!). After breakfast and talking some science, I went again to the tower construction site in the hope of seeing some action, but only found the steel quietly waiting in the forest.
A great thing the ATTO crew has done recently is to build a boardwalk between the different lab containers. It makes moving around a pleasure instead of a muddy slog, and it preserved the soil and cover vegetation around the measurement sites.
A great thing the ATTO crew has done recently is to build a boardwalk between the different lab containers. It makes moving around a pleasure instead of a muddy slog, and it preserved the soil and cover vegetation around the measurement sites.
In the back, the boardwalk. In front, the "road" to the containers without the boardwalk.
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The boardwalk is even a nice place to work!
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Just above the canopy One of the great joys of being at our tower sites is the opportunity to climb one of the walk-up towers into the forest canopy and get close to this amazing plantscape. Here also one has the best chance of seeing the forest fauna, which otherwise is always too far up to be seen. Usually, birding in the rainforest leaves you with a painful neck and steamed up glasses…
View over the forest. The aerosol sampling mast is in the foreground Climbing above the canopy brings one into another world again. Instead of the dark gloom of the understory there is bright sunshine up here, instead of the stifling still, humid air there is a cool breeze, instead of the enclosed sensation in the forest, an unending wide open space. Climbing up to the top at 80 m feels a little dicey, but is perfectly safe and the reward is a fantastic view over the Amazon forest.
Unfortunately, my high hopes for the local bird fauna were dashed. I saw a total of 7 (seven!) individuals, none of them well enough to identify. At least the class Arachnida obliged: When I saw a slight movement in the shadow of the tower to my side, I turned around and saw a beautiful tarantula cruising around the small platform that Eiko Nemitz’ ammonia measurement. Do spiders emit ammonia? We might find out!
At 1230, it was time again to leave ATTO, and another 5½ hour trip by foot, ATV, boat, and pickup truck brought me back to Manaus for the end of the science team meeting.
At 1230, it was time again to leave ATTO, and another 5½ hour trip by foot, ATV, boat, and pickup truck brought me back to Manaus for the end of the science team meeting.
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