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Observatory Blog

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Category

Getting to Know the NEON Domains: Southern Plains

August 18, 2021

The plains of Texas and Oklahoma are home to rolling grasslands, expansive croplands, and more than 10 million head of cattle. In the Southern Plains (Domain 11), agriculture reigns supreme. Understanding how land management decisions and agricultural practices impact ecosystems is key to both maintaining agricultural productivity and protecting native habitats.

Landscape at the OAES field site

"Relocatable" NEON Field Sites to Be Renamed "Gradient" Sites

August 11, 2021

NEON's non-core field sites are not any more relocatable than the core sites. To better reflect the scientific intent of these sites, and with the concurrence of NSF, the NEON program is changing their terminology from "relocatable" to "gradient" sites.

MOAB tower at sunrise
Data Notification

Occasional High Soil Moisture Values: Update

August 10, 2021

An interim solution is starting to be implemented at all terrestrial sites that is expected to increase soil water content (DP1.00094.001) data availability, but may result in a step change in the soil moisture time series until all data are reprocessed through a new data processing system.

Data Notification

New Guidelines for Publishing Research Outputs

August 9, 2021

Planning to publish your work based on NEON data, samples, or resources through the Assignable Assets program? We just published a new webpage with helpful tips and guidelines!

NEON Program Enters Collaboration with Environmental Data Initiative

August 4, 2021

NEON has joined forces with the Environmental Data Initiative to promote data accessibility and usability in the environmental sciences. The joint initiative will create tools, templates, and standards that will make it easier to synthesize data from NEON, the Long Term Ecological Research Network, and other networks and organizations.

EDI thumbnail logo
Data Notification

New Version of neonUtilities (2.1.1)

July 28, 2021

neonUtilities 2.1.1 is now available on CRAN! This new version fixes a small number of bugs, including the readr 2.0.0 incompatibility described in an earlier notification. Update is highly recommended.

Getting to Know the NEON Domains: Pacific Northwest

July 28, 2021

If you can't choose between the mountains and the ocean, the Pacific Northwest (D16) may be the place for you. This coastal Domain features spectacular mountain ranges, vast conifer forests, and a rugged, rocky coastline. The NEON field sites, nestled into the Cascade Mountains of Washington and Oregon, offer an opportunity to see how different land management strategies impact this unique temperate ecosystem.

McRae Creek flows through the lush and mossy HJ Andrews Experimental Forest in central Oregon.
Data Notification

readr 2.0.0 Conflicts with neonUtilities 2.1.0 and Earlier

July 21, 2021

Version 2.0.0 of the readr package was released July 20, 2021. This new version causes stackByTable() to error out in neonUtilities 2.1.0 and earlier. A new version of neonUtilities that resolves this issue will be released as soon as possible.

Down on the Farm (and the Range) with NEON

July 13, 2021

Cows and croplands dominate large portions of the U.S. How does this agriculture impact ecosystems? NEON field sites located on or near agricultural land – including some colocated with Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) sites and Agricultural Research Stations – can help answer important questions about the interactions between agricultural activities and native ecosystems.

Cows at LAJA site, Puerto Rico

NEON at Knowinnovation's Wildfire and the Biosphere Innovation Lab

June 23, 2021

NEON staff participated in a five-session virtual workshop to generate creative strategies and new research collaborations centered on the fire science community. The workshop was designed to make steps towards improving understanding of different types of fires across temporal and spatial scales, predicting feedbacks between wildfire and living systems, and improving the representation of biological processes in models. Kaelin Cawley, a NEON research scientist and aquatic biogeochemist, brought the NEON perspective to the event.

Photos of wildfire damage at GRSM. Associated article "NEON's Great Smoky Mountains Data will capture Tennessee fire impacts on local ecology"
Data Notification

Fluctuations in Buoy Sonde Depth Data: Update 1

June 22, 2021

This is an update to the previous post concerning sonde depth data from the buoys, which are currently not corrected for barometric pressure effects.

Getting to Know the NEON Domains: Desert Southwest

June 16, 2021

If you like it hot, the Desert Southwest may be for you. From the iconic saguaro cactus stands of the Sonoran to the mesquite scrublands of the Chihuahuan, this region offers a diverse range of desert and mountainous landscapes to explore. Data from the NEON field sites will help scientists better understand the impact of human disturbances and climate change on these unique and fragile arid ecosystems.

Data Notification

Orientation Discrepancies in Lake Buoy Wind Direction Data: Update 3

June 15, 2021

Following the discovery that wind monitor orientation discrepancies were adversely affecting wind direction data in Wind speed and direction on lakes on-buoy, NEON has field-verified current wind monitor orientations at the buoy sites and updated the algorithm to account for the wind monitor orientation and approximate uncertainty atop the buoy mast.

Spotlight

Women in Ecology – Roisin Stanbrook

June 9, 2021

While some people find bugs to be scary or gross, Dr. Roisin Stanbrook hopes to change that perception by showing how insects are critical to the conservation of our natural world. In addition to detailing her fascinating work with dung beetles, Stanbrook discussed how her non-traditional path to conservation ecology is an asset in the long run, and how she hopes to teach her students the same.

Dr. Roisin Stanbrook
Data Notification

Delay in analysis of external lab surface water and groundwater nutrient data: Update 1

June 8, 2021

This is an update to the previous post concerning external lab surface water and groundwater nutrient data. Currently, sub-samples for nutrient analysis are being frozen and stored for future analysis with lower MDLs. The newly contracted external laboratory will begin receiving samples June 14, 2021 and all stored samples will be shipped by December 31, 2021. Data will be published approximately 90 days following sample receipt.

Data Notification

New version of neonUtilities (2.1.0)

June 8, 2021

neonUtilities 2.1.0 is now available on CRAN! This new version adds new options for handling Release data, improves error messaging, and fixes bugs in flux footprints and microbe community composition. Update is highly recommended.

Data Notification

Surface water microbe cell count (DP1.20138.001) lab data corrections pending: Update

June 2, 2021

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 were recalculated, edited, and published to the data portal on April 5, 2021.

Data Notification

Macroinvertebrate and Zooplankton Metabarcoding Bioinformatics Data Discrepancies 2018, 2019

June 2, 2021

Macroinvertebrate metabarcoding (DP1.20126.001) and Zooplankton metabarcoding (DP1.20221.001) bioinformatics data in the tables inv_metabarcodeTaxonomy and zoo_metabarcodeTaxonomy tables are missing or have incorrectly labeled records for COI-F230 for samples collected in 2018 and 2019.

Case Study

What's That Beetle? Ask the Algorithm

May 26, 2021

Can machine learning be used for accurate species identification of beetles and other invertebrates? Dr. Katie Marshall and Jarrett Blair at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and collaborators sought to answer this question using carabid beetle data from the NEON program. Eventually, they hope to leverage machine learning to identify other species caught in the NEON beetle pitfall traps. Machine learning could one day be used to classify unidentified species in the NEON bycatch (species caught other than the target species) and answer new questions about invertebrate diversity and abundance across North America.

CPER pitfall trap samples at Biorepository
Case Study

Looking at the Drivers of Small Mammal Reproductive Phenology

May 19, 2021

How do you collect phenology data at a large scale for an elusive species like the deer mouse? Drs. Bryan McLean and Robert Guralnick combined mammal trapping data from the NEON program with a century of museum data to find insights into the environmental drivers of reproduction for small mammals.

Deer mouse

At the NEON Program, Data Quality Starts with Quality Training

May 12, 2021

Every year, the NEON program hires between 230-250 seasonal field technicians. These seasonal workers, often recent college graduates, are tasked with collecting field observations and physical samples at NEON field sites. A new internal Online Training Center makes it easier to standardize training across the NEON Domains and track training progress for new recruits.

PUUM plant diversity training D20
Spotlight

Women in Ecology – Bala Chaudhary

May 5, 2021

We spoke with Dr. Bala Chaudhary, assistant professor of Environmental Science and Studies at DePaul University, about her career, about how the lack of representation of people of color – both while she was in school and in her professional career – drives her to work toward creating a more equitable academic system, and she shared insightful ways that universities and labs can improve.

Bala Chaudhary
Spotlight

Forging Fresh Futures at Spring SciTeens Camp

April 28, 2021

Recently, SciTeens partnered with Florida State University to offer a virtual Data Science Camp for high school students in Florida. Participants learned how to manipulate and analyze data in the Python computer language and present data at a college level. The students in the Ecological Data Science Camp explored data from the NEON program and had an introduction into techniques for importing and analyzing the data.

 John Sutor and Carlos Mercado-Lara, creators of SciTeens.
Data Notification

AOP Releases Analysis Ready Data to Investigate Scaling

April 22, 2021

Are you interested in investigating spatial and spectral relationships between high resolution airborne hyperspectral data and satellite observations? Learn more about our September 2020 data collection campaign at CPER in conjunction with Landsat7, Landsat8, and Sentinal 2A.

Earth Day 2021: Supporting Our Conservation Partners

April 22, 2021

Happy Earth Day! Many NEON field sites are hosted by or colocated with organizations that do conservation and restoration work. The data NEON collects at these sites provide a window into how ecosystems are changing and the impact of restoration efforts.

Sandhill crane
Data Notification

Duplicate Macroinvertebrate Collection (DP1.20120.001) Records

April 21, 2021

Macroinvertebrate collection (DP1.20120.001) field data in the table inv_fieldData for all aquatic sites from 2014 through 2019 are duplicated on the NEON data portal due to an error on data transition for this table. Corrections have been made, but will not appear on the portal until the 2022 data release.

Getting to Know the NEON Domains: Appalachians & Cumberland Plateau

April 7, 2021

Domain 07, in the heartland of the U.S., is a land of rolling hills, steep ridges, gentle valleys, and many shades of green. The Appalachians and Cumberland Plateau feature some of the world's oldest mountains and the world's largest hardwood-forested plateau. The region's rich geologic history and temperate, moist climate have made it one of the most biodiverse areas of North America.

View of Mt. LeConte from GRSM Tower.
Spotlight

Women in Ecology – Erin Hotchkiss

March 31, 2021

This month, Dr. Erin Hotchkiss talked with us about her current and upcoming projects, including a collaboration with NEON using sensors at NEON stream sites to investigate the relationships between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Erin Hotchkiss
Data Notification

Orientation Discrepancies in Lake Buoy Wind Direction Data: Update 2

March 17, 2021

This is an update to the previous post concerning wind direction data from the buoys. NEON has field-verified current wind monitor orientations at the buoy sites, and is taking multiple corrective measures.

Forecasting More Than Just the Weather with NEON and USA-NPN

March 15, 2021

Observing and predicting mosquito phenology could answer important questions about relationships between climate, insect activity, and the spread of mosquito-borne diseases. These relationships can be explored with phenology data from NEON and the National Phenology Network (USA-NPN).

Mosquitos flying in a field with mountains in the background

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Copyright © Battelle, 2019-2020

The National Ecological Observatory Network is a major facility fully funded by the National Science Foundation.

Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.