neonUtilities 2.0.0 is now available on CRAN! This new version contains critical updates for working with the NEON Data Release and associated API and Portal changes. An update to 2.0.0 is required for working with any newly downloaded data.
Based on an analysis of nutrient data, NEON has determined that the method detection limits (MDLs) required of the external laboratory for surface water and groundwater nutrient analyses are too high for many sites. New analyses of frozen samples will take place in the future.
Dr. Harmon-Threatt, associate professor of entomology at the University of Illinois School of Integrative Biology, discusses how her mentors first opened her eyes to the possibility of pursuing a career in ecology and how she hopes to provide the same opportunities to her female students, especially those of color, to increase the representation of women of color in academia and the natural sciences.
Surface water microbe cell count (DP1.20138.001) laboratory data for all aquatic sites from 9/2017 to 9/2020 were found to have incorrect calculations populating rawMicrobialAbundance data field. Data have been removed from the data portal while revisions are made and will be republished by February.
Due to a miscommunication, samples analyzed for carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) concentrations and stable isotopes were not previously re-dried prior to weighing and analysis at the external laboratory. Affected data have been flagged and a new protocol was implemented.
To reduce uncertaintly in surface and groundwater elevation data, permanent benchmarks have been installed at most aquatic sites to serve as controlled location reference points. Updated elevations from the associated site resurveys are available on the data portal. Surface and groundwater elevation data products have been reprocessed, and, the corrected data will be available via the data portal by January 18, 2020.
The Great Lakes Domain (D05) is named for its most recognizable feature: the Great Lakes themselves. At our field sites in Wisconsin and Michigan, we're collecting data representing different management practices in the northern pine and hardwood forests. The data will help researchers understand how land management practices impact both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in the Great Lakes region.
An investigation into freshwater diatoms from the NEON aquatic field sites in Puerto Rico led to a reclassification of diatom taxa in the region, and the possible discovery of a new diatom species. A paper recently published in Phytotaxa details the results of the research, which was enabled by samples from the NEON Biorepository.
We have discovered an error in the larval tick count data collected in 2016-2017 in Ticks sampled using drag cloths (DP1.10093.001) that affects all sites. Samples from the tick taxonomy laboratory had a count of 1 larva in the taxonomy table no matter how many individuals were present in the sample. The data will be rectified within 2-3 weeks.
NEON's 2020 contributions demonstrate the significant impact this data has on ecological science. Here are 10 of the most exciting news items from the NEON program in the past year.
The sunlit plant foliage major, minor, and trace element data (DP1.10026.001, cfc_elements table) collected in 2017 and 2018 were investigated and deemed untrustworthy. Sample major, minor, and trace elements were re-measured using foliar material from the NEON Biorepository. Following review, these new data were posted to the Data Portal on 2020-10-29.
The NEON microbial community composition data products have been re-processed and will be available on the NEON data portal either as provisional data (2014-12 and earlier data, 2018-10 and later data) or in the initial NEON data release (2015 through 10-2018 data) in January 2021.
The NEON program is excited to welcome our first cohort of Postdoctoral Fellows! Starting in January 2021, these three early-career scientists will be working in collaboration with NEON staff and the wider user community to leverage NEON data for scientific discovery.
A newly signed MoU reaffirms the long-standing partnerships among six analogous but independent observing networks that monitor the ecosystems that underpin life on Earth, expressly committing to the development of the first-ever Global Ecosystem Research Infrastructure (GERI).
NASA monitors soil moisture levels and freeze/thaw conditions across the globe using a satellite orbiting 426 miles (685 km) above the Earth. To help validate and calibrate these satellite data, NASA relies on direct measurements taken by partners on the ground. Through a new collaboration with Battelle, soil moisture data collected at the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) field sites will now be part of those validation efforts.
Looking to predict beetle abundance and springtime greenness, among other things, the NEON Ecological Forecasting Challenge is looking to mobilize researchers and forecast answers to a complex set of ecological questions.
At all sites with profiling water quality sondes on buoys, the Water quality data product (DP1.20288.001) reports the depth of the multisonde as it profiles through the water column. Data users should be aware that sensor depth is approximate, as the multisonde’s pressure transducer is not vented to the atmosphere. Therefore, barometric pressure fluctuations following calibration will cause a sensor depth discrepancy.
Errors were discovered in NEON.DOC.004931 (version A), the Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD) for the Water quality (DP1.20288.001) data product. These errors impact the temperature and absorbance corrections applied to fluorescent dissolved organic matter (fDOM) data.
All sites with buoys (SUGG, BARC, FLNT, CRAM, LIRO, TOMB, BLWA, PRPO, PRLA, TOOK), need to be verified for appropriate wind direction data from the Wind speed and direction on lakes on-buoy data product (DP1.20059.001).
All NEON wind direction data at all sites under-report average wind direction frequency in the ~360 to ~5 degree range. This includes wind direction data in both 2D Wind speed and Direction data products: DP1.00001.001 and DP1.20059.001.
Dr. Nyeema Harris, Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan, discusses her work in conservation biology with lions and large carnivores, community ecology, urban ecology, and global change biology. Her work has given her the opportunity to share access to ecological study with more women and people of color.
The Airborne Remote Sensing Data Quality Technical Working Group recently made a series of recommendations for changes to the NEON AOP data product catalog. These changes included data product name changes, as well as suspension of a subset of AOP products.
The Great Basin (Domain 15) is also home to the iconic Great Salt Lake, expansive salt flats, and rugged hills and canyons. The NEON program is monitoring changes in the desert ecosystems resulting from warming temperatures, decreased snowpack, and human activity.
How much of the water that enters terrestrial systems is used by plants for growth, and how much simply escapes back into the atmosphere unused? Chris Adkison, a researcher at Texas A&M University, used data from the NEON program to compare the accuracy of different methods of partitioning evaporation and transpiration in a Texas oak woodland.
