A view is seen from the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) in Sao Sebastiao do Uatuma in the middle of the Amazon forest in Amazonas state January 10, 2015. Photo by Bruno Kelly/Reuters
Last August, construction began deep in the Amazon rainforest on what would soon become South America’s tallest skyscraper and the world’s first long-term tropical observatory.
The Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) is pictured in Sao Sebastiao do Uatuma in the middle of the Amazon forest in Amazonas state January 8, 2015. Photo by Bruno Kelly/Reuters
The Amazon Tall Tower Observatory, which stands 1,066 feet tall, is a collaborative project between Brazil’s National Institute of Amazonian Research and Germany’s Max Planck Institute to monitor the relationship between the Earth’s largest rainforest and the atmosphere.
Starting in July, the high-tech instruments on the observatory will gather data on heat, water, carbon gas, winds, cloud formation and weather patterns of the jungle. Researchers say it’s essential to monitor the sensitive Amazonian ecosystem due to expected changes over in the upcoming decades caused by climate change. The tower is more than a hundred miles from the nearest city, basically free of human influence.
A worker paints the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) in Sao Sebastiao do Uatuma in the middle of the Amazon forest in Amazonas state January 10, 2015. Photo by Bruno Kelly/Reuters
The Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) is pictured in Sao Sebastiao do Uatuma in the middle of the Amazon forest in Amazonas state January 9, 2015. Photo by Bruno Kelly/Reuters
Researchers go up the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) in Sao Sebastiao do Uatuma in the middle of the Amazon forest in Amazonas state January 9, 2015. Photo by Bruno Kelly/Reuters
The Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) is pictured in Sao Sebastiao do Uatuma in the middle of the Amazon forest in Amazonas state January 10, 2015. Photo by Bruno Kelly/Reuters
A view is seen from the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) in Sao Sebastiao do Uatuma in the middle of the Amazon forest in Amazonas state January 8, 2015. Photo by Bruno Kelly/Reuters
A worker paints the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) in Sao Sebastiao do Uatuma in the middle of the Amazon forest in Amazonas state January 10, 2015. Photo by Bruno Kelly/Reuters
The Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) is pictured during a sunset in Sao Sebastiao do Uatuma in the middle of the Amazon forest in Amazonas state January 8, 2015. Photo by Bruno Kelly/Reuters
The Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) is pictured during a sunset in Sao Sebastiao do Uatuma in the middle of the Amazon forest in Amazonas state January 8, 2015. Photo by Bruno Kelly/Reuters
Researchers talk next to the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) in Sao Sebastiao do Uatuma in the middle of the Amazon forest in Amazonas state January 9, 2015. Photo by Bruno Kelly/Reuters
A rainbow is seen from the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) in Sao Sebastiao do Uatuma in the middle of the Amazon forest in Amazonas state January 8, 2015. Photo by Bruno Kelly/Reuters
The post Photo essay: Scientists build a tower as tall as the Chrysler building in the middle of the Amazon appeared first on PBS NewsHour.