Support and Cyberinfrastructure Development for Integrated Network Science in LTER

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This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The Network Office of the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program provides critical services in support of the research and education goals of the LTER network of 26 highly dispersed field research sites. This award will enable development of a new interdisciplinary and systematic framework for LTER science and education. The transformative nature of the plan will require changes both within the Office and across the network. This award addresses network cyberinfrastructure and interdisciplinary research and education goals, incorporating input from the LTER science and education leadership and information management community. In order to achieve the increased capabilities called for, eight new positions and three retained positions are required. New cyberinfrastructure goals include completion of the network information system, management of increased numbers of network databases created through the EcoTrends project, creation of new synthetic databases, and increased training opportunities for LTER information managers and scientists. New approaches to assessment and evaluation of the outcomes will inform a flexible and responsive management strategy for the Office and the LTER network as a whole. The impacts of this award will be felt widely inside and outside LTER. Distributed data services will be developed by the Office and its partners and used in new synthetic research activities. Co-development of standards for ecological information management, development of new cyberinfrastructure tools, increased access to data for educators, and collaboration with other environmental observing networks will lead to a more robust and efficient national cyberinfrastructure for ecological research. Expanded collaborations and broad-scale transdisciplinary activities will be encouraged through working groups. Extensive training of information managers, scientists, and students in use of the new collaborative tools is a central component.