COVID-19 Update: Temporary Suspension of In-Person & On-Site Data Collection

We’re taking the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) seriously. We are committed to the safety and health of our employees, partners and communities, and to slowing the spread of this disease. We also remain committed to delivering on our obligations—including meeting the goals of the NEON program and maintaining continuity of data for the ecological and other research communities.

On March 23rd, with the concurrence of the National Science Foundation (NSF), we temporarily suspended all activities across NEON that involve in-person or on-site work—including all domains, headquarters and airborne operations—due to the nationwide risks to health and safety associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Important Updates

• March 23: Temporary Suspension of In-Person & On-Site Data Collection
• March 25: Impacts to Researcher Support and Use of NEON Infrastructure

Impacts to Researcher Support and Use of NEON Infrastructure

March 25, 2020

The temporary changes in NEON operations associated with COVID-19 may affect collaborative efforts involving Assignable Assets with Battelle. The Assignable Asset team has identified potential effects based on the level of collaboration as per below:

Category 1: Instrumentation Deployed on NEON Infrastructure (tower, hut, aquatic sensors, etc.) 
At this time, there is limited impact to instrumentation currently deployed. There are no current plans to disrupt power or operations to instrumentation; however, all on-site maintenance has stopped. Instrumentation may be impacted if there is a future need for maintenance or if power or internet are disrupted due to an unexpected cause (e.g. lightning strike) and will be addressed on a case-by-case basis.  
 
Category 2: Field Work and Field Site Access Coordination 
Field work by Battelle staff and on-site assistance with NEON sites are currently unavailable. Data and sample collection requiring Battelle staff will stop until further notice. Maintenance of any equipment in the field is also stopped. Assessment of conditions of field experiments or equipment will not occur until operations begin again.  At that time, condition information will be provided to all PIs with ongoing projects. 
 
Category 3: NEON Site Access 
Projects that are conducting independent work at NEON sites may be impacted as access to some sites have been temporarily closed per the site host. If you are planning on visiting a NEON site, please double check with the site host or site’s website to determine if the site is accessible. Access to or within NEON infrastructure is not permitted at this time (e.g., access to sensor sets, access within fenced areas, or access within NEON sampling plots).   
 
Category 4: AOP Collaboration 
All AOP efforts have been suspended. The impact to specific projects will be communicated to each PI once operations resume and we are able to evaluate the schedule and local/regional conditions. 
 
Category 5: Current Assignable Asset Requests 
Battelle staff are continuing to work remotely and the Assignable Asset team will continue to process all current requests and any new request submitted during this time.  

PIs with specific questions or concerns about current or planned projects, please contact the Assignable Assets team. 

Temporary Suspension of In-Person & On-Site Data Collection

March 23, 2020

With the concurrence of the National Science Foundation (NSF), we are temporarily suspending all activities across NEON that involve in-person or on-site work—including all domains, headquarters and airborne operations—due to the nationwide risks to health and safety associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

This suspension will allow all NEON program personnel, including field staff, to begin working from home immediately.

This is a difficult decision, but one guided by recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), increasingly protective measures being taken by state, local and territorial governing authorities, and by Battelle and NSF’s desire to uniformly protect the health of our staff at every NEON location and to reduce the potential for viral transmission nationwide.

During this time, Battelle will continue to remotely monitor site instrumentation, provide access to robust data and offer learning resources to students and educators.

If you have a specific NEON program impacted by this suspension in data collection, you will be contacted directly with more information.

For the time being, we have ceased hiring temporary field technicians.

We will reevaluate the situation weekly and resume full operations at the earliest indication of safety.

Sincerely,

Paula Mabee
Chief Scientist & Observatory Director, Battelle

COVID-19 Update

March 17, 2020

We’re taking the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) seriously. We are committed to the safety and health of our employees, partners and communities, and to slowing the spread of this disease.

We also remain committed to delivering on our obligations—including meeting the goals of the NEON program and maintaining continuity of data for the ecological and other research communities.

As much as is safely possible, we are continuing with operations as usual.

We will continually monitor and abide by the guidance provided by federal, state, territorial and local public health agencies and will comply with the directions from governing authorities in each location where we operate.

This is a rapidly evolving situation. We will strive to keep our collaborators and user community informed of any impacts to our operations.

Sincerely,

Paula Mabee
Chief Scientist & Observatory Director, Battelle