Cooperative Support Agreement for Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC) of the National Ecological Observatory

生物圈是地球上最复杂的系统之一，具有无数的内部过程，并与地球的物理过程和系统相互作用。我们必须了解生物圈是如何响应和影响地球的物理系统的，然而我们对生物圈的理解与我们对区域、大陆和全球尺度上地球物理和化学系统的日益复杂的理解不匹配。国家生态观测站(NEON)旨在了解和预测：(1)生态系统如何工作并对变化作出反应，特别是在大范围内；(2)生态系统过程如何反馈以改变地球系统的过程，包括气候和水文；(3)这些过程和反馈对人类努力的影响。霓虹灯将能够在与人类福祉相关的时间和空间尺度上研究气候和土地利用变化、不可持续的水资源使用和入侵物种对国家生物生态系统的影响。霓虹灯将是第一个研究平台，也是唯一专门设计的国家实验设施，旨在使研究人员能够回答关于环境变化的原因和反应以及观察到的变化所涉及的机制的大陆范围的问题。霓虹灯将是第一个在全国106个地点近乎实时地收集一致和标准化生物测量的实验设施。该奖项提供建造霓虹灯的主要研究设备和设施建设资金。提供资金，以部署地理上分散的实地和实验室基础设施，通过网络技术联网，形成一个综合研究平台。尖端的传感器网络、仪器仪表、实验基础设施、网络基础设施、包括塔楼和栈道在内的支持设施以及生物样地将部署在美国大陆、夏威夷、波多黎各和阿拉斯加。将建设3个机载遥感系统和10个流动实验室。为中央技术、网络基础设施和项目管理设施及支助人员提供资金。为开发霓虹灯数据产品和整合联邦机构业务数据资源提供了资源。提供资金用于开发霓虹灯的教育和外展门户网站以及工作人员培训计划。来自这些资源的数据将与计算、分析和建模能力相联系，以创建霓虹灯的综合基础设施。

The biosphere is one of the planet's most complex systems with countless internal processes and interactions with the earth's physical processes and systems. It is imperative that we understand how the biosphere is responding to and affecting earth's physical systems, yet our understanding of the biosphere does not match our increasingly sophisticated understanding of the earth's physical and chemical systems at regional, continental, and global scales. The National Ecological Observatory (NEON) is designed to understand and predict: (1) how ecosystems work and respond to changes, especially at large scales; (2) how ecosystem processes feed back to alter earth system processes, including climate and hydrology; and (3) the implications of these processes and feedbacks for human endeavors. NEON will enable research on the impacts of climate and land use change, unsustainable water use, and invasive species on the Nation's living ecosystems at the temporal and spatial scales that are relevant to human well-being. NEON will be the first research platform and the only national experimental facility specifically designed to enable research to answer continental-scale questions on causes of and responses to environmental change and the mechanisms involved in observed changes. NEON will be the first experimental facility to collect consistent and standardized biological measurements across 106 sites nationwide in close to real-time.This award provides Major Research Equipment and Facility Construction funds to construct NEON. Funds are provided to deploy geographically distributed field and lab infrastructure networked via cybertechnology to form an integrated research platform. Cutting-edge sensor networks, instrumentation, experimental infrastructure, cyberinfrastructure, support facilities including towers and board walks, and biological sampling plots will be deployed in the continental US, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Alaska. Three airborne remote sensing systems and ten mobile laboratories will be constructed. Funds are provided for central technical, cyberinfrastructure, and project management facilities and support staff. Resources are provided to develop the NEON data products and to integrate federal agency operational data resources. Funds are provided to develop NEON's education and outreach portals and staff training programs. The data from these resources will be linked to computational, analytical, and modeling capabilities to create NEON's integrated infrastructure.