Improvements of storage facilities and communications at the Kessler Farm Field Laboratories

俄克拉何马大学获得了一笔拨款，用于在凯斯勒农场野外实验室（KFFL）建造一个30 × 60的储存设施，以及修复道路和停车场，并在这个被大量使用的草地野外站建造一个wi-fi通信网络。这种结构将允许研究人员和教师安全地存储他们的材料，并改善与现场和教育工具的无线通信。这也将改善KFFL的一些研究项目的网络存在，并提高他们的教育潜力。KFFL是一个独特的野外站，具有强大的跨学科焦点，生物学家，生态学家，气象学家，地理学家，地貌学家和气候变化专家之间正在进行的互动。这个占地350英亩的设施距离俄勒冈州立大学主校区仅25分钟路程，是研究草地结构和功能以及各种气候和天气驱动因素如何影响草地结构和功能的重要资源。此外，KFFL还主持了两个长期的全球气候变化实验，以及几个联邦大气测量设施，包括大气辐射测量站点、国家大气沉积计划站点和NOAA剖面仪网络站点。KFFL主持的其他项目包括大陆尺度磁力计研究（McMaC）的一个站点，边界层雷达，俄克拉荷马Mesonet的两个超级站点之一，KFFL Piconet，风廓线仪和视频测量仪，以及长期小型哺乳动物的暴露。此外，还对KFFL的草地、小溪和池塘进行了大量研究。使用KFFL收集的数据已经写了数百篇论文。随着新项目的提出，预计未来在许多不同领域将有更多引人注目的研究。未获资助的研究努力也在继续增加。所有这些努力都将受益于安全、可靠和卫生的储存设施、修复的道路和停车场以及wi-fi通信能力。当地学区的一些K-12小组已经表达了使用KFFL的兴趣。由于他们的地理位置，许多这些项目包括大量来自代表性不足的群体的学生。KFFL基础设施的改善将增强我们与当地学区建立联系的能力，并让更多的学生和弱势群体参与实地工作。Wi-fi通信功能将使使用KFFL的科学家和教育工作者能够通过网络让学生参与进来，并有助于吸引来自俄克拉荷马州的更多学生参与实地研究。为了帮助更广泛地传播有关该农场活动的信息，KFFL现在有一个新的门户网站（http://kffl.ou.edu），用于宣传农场的活动，并向有兴趣使用该农场的研究人员或学校团体发布和分发信息。此外，所有KFFL用户现在都需要向KNB知识库（http://knb.ecoinformatics.org）注册他们的元数据。

The University of Oklahoma is awarded a grant for the construction of a 30 x 60 storage facility at the Kessler Farm Field Laboratory (KFFL) as well as for the repair of roads and parking areas and to construct a wi-fi communications network at this site, a heavily-used grassland field station. The structure would allow researchers and teachers to store their materials safely as well as improve wireless communication with field plots and educational tools. This will also improve the web presence of a number of research projects at KFFL and enhance their educational potentials. KFFL is a unique field station with its strong interdisciplinary foci, ongoing interactions occurring amongst biologists, ecologists, meteorologists, geographers, geomorphologists, and climate change experts. Located only 25 minutes from the main campus of OU, this 350-acre facility is a great resource for research on grassland structure and function and how these may be affected by various climate and weather drivers. In addition, KFFL hosts two long-term global climate change experiments, and several federal atmospheric measurement facilities including an Atmospheric Radiation Measurement site, National Atmospheric Deposition Program site, and NOAA Profiler Network site. Additional programs hosted by KFFL include a site in a continental scale magnetometer study (McMaC), a boundary layer radar, one of two remaining super-sites in the Oklahoma Mesonet, the KFFL Piconet, wind profilers and video disdrometers, and long-term small mammal exclosures. Further, numerous studies have been conducted on the grasslands, creeks and ponds located at KFFL. Literally hundreds of papers have been written using data collected at KFFL. With new projects being proposed, more high-profile research is expected in the future in a number of different fields. Unfunded research efforts continue to increase as well. All of these efforts would benefit from the presence of a safe, secure and sanitary storage facility, repaired roads and parking areas and wi-fi communication capabilities. A number of K-12 groups in the local school districts around have expressed interest in using KFFL. By virtue of their location, many of these programs comprise significant numbers of students from underrepresented groups. Improved infrastructure at KFFL will increase our ability to network with these local school districts and to include more students and more under represented groups in field work. Wi-fi communication capabilities will enable scientists and educators using KFFL to involve students via the web and would help attract additional students from across Oklahoma to participate in field research. To aid in wider dissemination of information about activities occurring at the facility, KFFL now has a new web portal (http://kffl.ou.edu) that is being used to advertise events at the farm as well as post and distribute information to researchers or school groups interested in using the farm. In addition, all KFFL users are now required to register their metadata with the KNB knowledge base (http://knb.ecoinformatics.org).