The Sevilleta Meteorological Network: Enhancing and expanding technological infrastructure to assess climate variability in dryland ecosystems

该项目将通过加强和扩大塞维利亚气象网，改善塞维利亚国家野生动物保护区的天气监测。SevMET建立于1988年，由新墨西哥州大学的Sevilleta野外站（SevFS; http：//sevfs.unm.edu/）运营，是一个空间分布的气象站网络，覆盖美国西南部代表性的多个旱地生态系统。气候支配着旱地生态系统的许多方面。因此，一个具有空间代表性的高分辨率综合气象站网络对于支持旱地研究至关重要。SevFS为各种研究人员和教育工作者提供后勤支持，从K-12学生和教师到本科生和研究生，再到来自世界各地的高级科学家。SevMET的改进将通过提供SevNWR开展的研究项目所需的重要支持数据，如Sevilleta长期生态研究方案，促进对旱地生态系统的了解。所有数据都将通过SevFS网站以及新墨西哥州气候中心和中西部免费提供，这两个中心都向公众提供气候和天气数据。旱地生态系统约占陆地表面的45%，占全球净初级生产量的40%。旱地的生态系统进程受到气候驱动因素的强烈调控，而这些驱动因素在空间和时间上，在年内和年与年之间都有很大的变化。因此，准确测量天气和气候对于了解旱地生态系统如何对降雨量和温度的季节性和年度变化作出反应至关重要。增强和扩大的SevMET将由分布在SevNWR的15个综合气象站组成。这些数据将作为长期观测和实验研究的重要变量，帮助解释旱地生态系统在空间上的差异和随时间变化的方式和原因。通过这些改进，SevNWR正在进行的和新的研究将得到显著改善，这些改进将更准确地量化这些具有重要生态意义的旱地生态系统的气候变异性。这些改进还将加强SevFS支持的现有培训和教育机会，包括Sevilleta本科生研究经验计划，该计划在培训少数民族本科生方面有着良好的记录。此外，加强研究基础设施将有利于环境数据采集夏季课程的方法，该课程通过设计，部署和维护环境传感器网络的独特实地培训机会吸引了技术人员，学生，博士后研究员和早期职业教师的国际队列。最后，这些气象站产生的天气数据也将用于开发与校园长期生态研究计划相关的K-12学生和教师的课堂练习。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will improve weather monitoring in the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge (SevNWR) through the enhancement and expansion of the Sevilleta Meteorological Network (SevMET). Established in 1988 and operated by the University of New Mexico's Sevilleta Field Station (SevFS; http://sevfs.unm.edu/), SevMET is a spatially-distributed network of meteorological stations that spans multiple dryland ecosystems representative of the southwestern US. Climate governs many aspects of dryland ecosystems. Thus, a network of spatially representative, high resolution, comprehensive meteorological stations is essential to supporting drylands research. SevFS provides logistical support to a variety of researchers and educators, ranging from K-12 students and teachers to undergraduate and graduate students to senior scientists from around the world. Improvements to SevMET will promote understanding of dryland ecosystems by providing important supporting data needed for research projects conducted in the SevNWR, such as the Sevilleta Long Term Ecological Research program. All data will be made freely available via the SevFS website, as well as through the New Mexico Climate Center and MesoWest, both of which provide climate and weather data to the general public. Dryland ecosystems occupy ~45% of the terrestrial land surface and account for ~40% of global net primary production. Ecosystem processes in drylands are strongly regulated by climatic drivers that are highly variable in space and time, both within and among years. Therefore, accurate measurement of weather and climate is fundamental to understanding how dryland ecosystems respond to seasonal and annual changes in rainfall and temperature. The enhanced and expanded SevMET will consist of fifteen comprehensive weather stations distributed across the SevNWR. These data will serve as important variables for long-term observational and experimental studies to help explain how and why dryland ecosystems differ in space and change over time. Ongoing and new research in the SevNWR will be significantly improved by these enhancements that will more accurately quantify climate variability in these ecologically important dryland ecosystems. These improvements will also strengthen existing training and educational opportunities supported by SevFS, including the Sevilleta Research Experience for Undergraduates Program, which has a strong record of training minority undergraduate students. Also, enhancing research infrastructure will benefit the Methods in Environmental Data Acquisition summer course, which attracts an international cohort of technicians, students, post-doctoral fellows, and early career faculty, through a unique field-based training opportunity in the design, deployment, and maintenance of environmental sensor networks. Finally, weather data generated by these meteorological stations will also be used to develop classroom exercises for K-12 students and teachers associated with the Schoolyard Long-term Ecological Research program.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.