University of California Natural Reserve System - Cyberinfrastructure Renovation

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)提供资金的。该项目涉及加州大学自然保护区系统(NRS)36个地点中17个地点的网络基础设施翻新。此次翻新将更新这些地点的电信基础设施，使研究人员能够部署传感器和仪器网络，并将数据流转移到研究人员手中。NRS是一个由36个保护区组成的网络，覆盖加州12个生态区，超过13.5万英亩。拟议项目中的17个保护区有需要翻新的较旧的网络基础设施和/或被各种研究人员大量使用。在17个待翻新的保护区中，有13个是“全设施”保护区，拥有支持长期研究项目和远离校园服务的为期数周的实地课程所需的设施、设备和专业人员。NRS的几个保护区是研究人员开发新型生态传感器和观测系统的试验台，包括嵌入式网络传感中心开发的一系列新仪器和网络系统。詹姆斯保护区是国家生态观测网第一个基本仪器单元原型的所在地。将从翻修中受益的研究范围很广。传感技术的发展推动了对保护区和保护区内仪器的可靠、低成本宽带互联网接入的需求。需要进行的研究包括气候变化将如何影响加州的动植物物种以及提供淡水等基本服务的生态系统。将利用翻新的通信基础设施的项目包括：调查河流和高地地区之间的生态联系；研究水如何通过地貌进入更深的岩石地质；开发溪流实验和观测网络；以及开发超大型生态阵列，这是一种新型的环境传感器网络，旨在多尺度观察地面和地下的微环境条件和植物物候。除了为研究提供基础设施外，加州大学自然保护区还被加州境内的教育机构使用，包括K-12系统和州高等教育系统的教育机构。后备队是学生和教师的培训中心。学生可以在网上获得保护区的数据，包括气候数据、水文数据、生态数据和网络摄像头图像。建议的工作包括升级以下17个保护区的通信基础设施：安吉洛海岸山脉保护区、蓝橡树牧场保护区、博伊德深峡谷沙漠研究中心、切克林美洲河流保护区、煤油点自然保护区、道森·洛斯莫诺斯峡谷保护区、埃利奥特·查帕拉尔保护区、黑斯廷斯保护区、詹姆斯·圣哈辛托山脉保护区、兰德斯-希尔大溪保护区、莫特·里姆克保护区、塞吉恩克里克野战站、圣克鲁兹岛保护区、塞奇威克保护区、斯威尼花岗岩沙漠研究中心、内华达水生研究实验室和瓦伦丁营地。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). This project involves the renovation of cyberinfrastructure at 17 of the 36 sites in the University of California Natural Reserve System (NRS). The renovation will update the telecommunications infrastructure at these sites, enabling the deployment of networks of sensors and instrumentation by researchers and transforming the flow of data to researchers.The NRS is a network of 36 reserves that encompass more than 135,000 acres across twelve ecological regions in California. The 17 reserves in the proposed project have older cyberinfrastructure in need of renovation and/or are heavily used by a wide variety of researchers. 13 of the 17 reserves to be renovated are "full facility" reserves, possessing the facilities, equipment, and professional staff necessary to support long-term research projects and multi-week field courses remote from campus services. Several of the NRS reserves are testbeds for researchers developing novel ecological sensors and observing systems, including a range of new instruments and networked systems developed by the Center for Embedded Networked Sensing. The James Reserve is the site for the National Ecological Observatory Network's first Fundamental Instrument Unit prototype. The scope of research that will benefit from the renovation is broad. The evolution of sensing technology is a driver for the need for reliable, low-cost broadband Internet access to the reserves and the instruments within them. Research to be pursued includes how climate change will affect California's plant and animal species and the ecosystems that provide essential services such as fresh water. Examples of projects that will make use of the renovated communications infrastructure include: an investigation of the ecological links between rivers and upland areas; a study of how water moves through the landscape and into deeper, rocky geology; the development of a Stream Experimental and Observational Network; and the development of the Very Large Ecological Array, a new class of environmental sensor network intended to observe micro-environmental conditions above and below ground and plant phenology at multiple scales.In addition to providing infrastructure for research, the University of California Natural Reserves are used by educational institutions within California, including those in the K-12 system and the state higher education system. The reserves serve as training centers for students and teachers. Data from the reserves is available to students online, including climate data, hydrological data, ecological data, and webcam imagery.The work proposed includes the upgrading of communications infrastructure at the following 17 reserves: the Angelo Coast Range Reserve, Blue Oak Ranch Reserve, Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center, Chickering American River Reserve, Coal Oil Point Natural Reserve, Dawson Los Monos Canyon Reserve, Elliott Chaparral Reserve, Hastings Reserve, James San Jacinto Mountains Reserve, Landels-Hill Big Creek Reserve, Motte Rimrock Reserve, Sagehen Creek Field Station, Santa Cruz Island Reserve, Sedgwick Reserve, Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert Research Center, Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory, and Valentine Camp.