On October 19, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (NH-D), Ranking Member of the Senator Appropriations Commerce, Science, and Justice Subcommittee, visited NEON’s Bartlett Experimental Forest field site to learn firsthand about the long-term, continental-scale and open access data collection program.
In early October, hundreds of scientists from the National Science Foundation’s LTER Network gathered together in Asilomar, CA for their All Scientists Meeting, which takes place once every three years. This year several scientists from NEON were invited.
What does the future of ecological research look like? And where does the NEON project fit in? I had the opportunity to reflect on these questions in depth at the recent annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America.
It's never too early to get kids interested in ecology—and Girl Scouts may provide the perfect opportunity. A troop of 6th graders is tackling important issues in habitat preservation and ecosystem change through a Girl Scout Journey focused on animals, ecology and NEON.
A new study out of the University of Wisconsin—nicknamed "CHEESEHEAD19," for Chequamegon Heterogeneous Ecosystem Energy-balance Study Enabled by a High-density Extensive Array of Detectors 2019—seeks to explore and resolve some of the inconsistencies between local observations and the data that drive our environmental models.
018 is an exciting year for the NEON project. The construction of the observatory is nearing completion, with almost all field sites transitioned into operations. The NEON Data Portal now houses a growing collection of data products from our aquatic and terrestrial field sites.
A study led by Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory (LBNL) has used the NEON assignable assets program to gather airborne remote sensing data near Crested Butte, Colorado. They will use the data to study plant community distributions and canopy biochemistry to shed light on watershed systems.
Could drones be part of the NEON project's arsenal of data collection platforms one day? Their low cost and versatility could help the NEON project expand its airborne remote sensing capacities. Before integrating them into NEON's operations, however, more work has to be done.
The amount of moisture in the soil is one of the critical variables that influence the overall makeup and diversity of the local ecosystem. To ensure data quality and consistency across 47 field sites, scientists had to carefully calibrate soil moisture sensors. Here's what they did—and why it matters to the NEON community.
A new collaboration offers mentorship opportunities for undergraduate faculty and hands-on activities to help them bring real-world data into the classroom.
The NEON project is producing a vast treasure trove of open access airborne remote sensing data. Can computer algorithms help ecologists make sense of it all? A team of ecologists and data scientists at the University of Florida thought so. To accelerate the process, they initiated a data science challenge.
Turning field measurements and samples into usable, downloadable data takes a lot of work—and now that work is paying off. Battelle's NEON project met a major milestone this spring when all 83 Observation System (OS) data products became available through the NEON Data Portal.
Tree die-offs have a tremendous impact on local ecosystems. But could the consequences extend beyond the surrounding area? New research suggests the answer is yes.
Want to watch the planet breathe? You're in luck—a whole new set of data products that let you do just that is now available from the NEON project. These eddy-covariance (EC) or “flux” data products give scientists a powerful new tool to monitor how energy, water, carbon dioxide and other gases move between the earth’s surface and the atmosphere.
As the NEON project gets off the ground, NEON project scientists are reaching out to ecologists who are just starting their careers. And for good reason—today's undergrads, grad students and newly minted PhDs are likely to be the prime users of NEON data over the life of the project.
What's the best way to forecast ecological changes? How do botanists measure photosynthesis? And what in the world is eddy covariance? You can find the answers to these and other questions in NEON's Science Explained videos which aim to make the science behind the NEON project simple.
Announcing a new opportunity for early career scientists to attend the 2018 ESA conference via a NEON-ESA Early Career Scholars (NECS) program funded by the National Science Foundation to help cultivate and support a diversity of early career scholars and practitioners.
The NEON project isn't just about collecting ecological data. It's also about enabling collaboration between scientists across disciplines to explore fundamental questions about earth systems and ecological processes.
What can the size of a deer mouse tell you about the number of species present in its environment? A lot, as it turns out. A team of ecologists turned to data from the NEON project to look for clues.
The Soil Sensor Technical Working Group, which is an advisory group of external scientific community members, has recommended the continued publication of throughfall precipitation data despite noted quality concerns.
If you happen to be at a NEON field site during the peak of the growing season this year, look up. There’s a chance you’ll see one of the NEON Airborne Observation Platforms (AOPs) flying overhead.
The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) has been collecting ecological data on coastal ecosystems in the Chesapeake Bay area for more than 50 years. Hosting a NEON field site gives SERC scientists access to new local data as well as important comparative data from across the country to further their research goals.
Laura Leyba-Newton has a big job overseeing the Engineering team, Cal/Val team and Audit Lab for the NEON project. Learn how she found her STEM path in our third interview of the NEON #WomeninSTEM series.
“The time for ecologists to start forecasting is now,” says Michael Dietze. An ecologist at Boston University, Michael is seeking to arm his peers with tools for near-term ecological forecasting, answering crucial questions such as “how will ecosystems change in the near future?” and “how do human decisions affect these outcomes?”
Battelle is pleased to welcome Sharon Collinge as the new NEON Observatory Director and Chief Scientist. Sharon will shape and oversee operations of the project.
An issue has been identified with the soil heat flux data product in which most automated field-calibrations were not being processed. We are working to resolve this issue.
Need more NEON news? Now you can keep up with all of the latest happenings at NEON, including activities at the field sites, infrastructure updates and insights from NEON staff.
At NEON, we are all thankful for the opportunity to contribute to the project's mission to gather and synthesize data that could impact ecological research for decades and inspire the next generation of scientists.
The hurricane season of 2017 has been one for the record books with three major hurricanes making landfall on U.S. states and territories within a four-week period leaving devastating impacts that the research community is just beginning to understand.
