National Ecological Observatory Network: Operations Activities

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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 Network (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 nationwide sites and to make the data available in close to real-time. This award provides support for initial operations of the NEON observatory. Funds are provided to use the geographically distributed field and lab infrastructure networked via cybertechnology as 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 employed in the continental US, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Alaska. Airborne remote sensing systems and mobile laboratories will be deployed. Funds are provided for central technical, cyberinfrastructure, and project management facilities and support staff. Funds are provided for 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.