NEON and ICOS Sign Interoperability and Collaboration Agreement

NEON and the Integrated Carbon Observing System (ICOS) Ecosystem Thematic Center (ETC) signed a memorandum of understanding in mid-June 2013. This MOU is a written agreement to formally foster collaboration and interoperability between ICOS and NEON. Interoperability activities include linking joint science questions to requirements, traceability of measurements to known standards or best community practices, uncertainties in respective data products, and broadly defined informatics.

Collaboration objectives include establishing opportunities for visiting scientists, program-level project support, education and outreach activities, and continuing joint participation in a variety of science workshops and symposia. The MOU was formalized at the Annual ICOS meeting held March 25-27 in Biarritz, France. Attendees included ecosystem and atmospheric scientists, science managers, program managers, and policymakers from across Europe. The meeting brought together a diverse group of people intent on building an international, networked program of collaborative research. As part of the MOU, NEON and ICOS have begun a joint project of the Seventh Framework Program for Research and Innovation of the EU and the National Science Foundation. The Cooperation between Europe and US (COOPEUS) project aims to build the framework for the harmonization of data products across observatories in a manner that corresponds to the ICOS-NEON interoperability framework outlined above.