COPAS system
The COPAS ( C anopy O peration P ermanent A ccess S ystem) is used for exploration of biodiversity and function of the ecosystem "canopy" in the Amazon -Regenwald.
General
The unexploredness of the rainforest is mainly due to the inaccessibility of the canopy of the tropical forests. Most of the animals and plants of the rainforests live in the treetops. A complex network of relationships between them forms the basis for the function, stability, protection and usability of this special ecosystem. There have only been a few attempts to explore this part of the rainforest so far. The Arbonauts , as the explorers of the treetops are also called, tried so far with airships , with the use of construction cranes (canopy crane of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama ), fixed platforms, net constructions or tree rafts , but above all with various climbing techniques , this in addition to the Deep sea to conquer the last unexplored "continent" on our earth. All previous attempts to work 30 to 60 meters above the ground have been accompanied by various difficulties and risks.
Therefore, researchers at the University of Ulm , Department of Special Botany, developed a new type of technology to improve research on the treetops. For the first time, the COPAS system allows safe exploration of the treetop region from the ground up to a height of 60 meters without interfering with the ecosystem. The name of such facilities refers to English canopy walkway for, Baumkronenpfad '.
construction
COPAS consists of 3 masts with a length of 45 meters and a balloon with a diameter of approx. 10 meters with a gondola attached. The balloon can be steered by three winches to any point of the approximately 1.4 hectare examination area. The height of the gondola can also be changed using an electric motor. Each of the three 45 meter high masts consists of 16 2.8 meter long and approx. 450 kg heavy round tubes. This results in a total weight of the system of approximately 70 tons, which will be installed in the rainforest of French Guiana . The balloon, floating at a maximum height of 120 m, has a filling volume of 650 m³ of helium and can therefore carry a load of 600 kg. A total of approx. 3200 screws are required to assemble the system.
The system was tested in the Botanical Garden of Ulm University. It is now being set up by the Center national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) in French Guiana. Construction started in 2003.
Awards
COPAS and the research concept developed at the same time were honored with the Körber Prize for European Science in 1996 and, due to its uniqueness and its European dimension, supported with prize money of 1.25 million DM.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ cf. Canopy of the rainforest. global.mongabay.com (accessed December 11, 2018).
- ↑ Ulm University: Presentation of COPAS in the test phase .
- ↑ Access to the canopy
- ↑ Fascination Rainforest: The COPAS System
- ↑ Access to the canopy