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 program's arsenal of data collection platforms one day? Their low cost and versatility could help NEON 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.
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.
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 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.
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.
Battelle employees worked together to help our employees located at various NEON project sites after Hurricane Maria devastated the island of Puerto Rico. Learn more in the Inside Battelle Blog.
We at Battelle are saddened by the unexpected death of our colleague, Henry Gholz, a visiting scientist assisting with the NEON project and someone who supported our larger science community engagement efforts.
In late August, aquatic scientists from around the world descended upon Tampa, Florida to attend the American Fisheries Society (AFS) 2017 annual meeting .
Thirty-four children, aged 5-12, participated in the 2017 Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day program. The kids not only were able to see up close where their moms and dads work, but also participate in hands-on activities led by scientists and engineers.
We are excited to be welcoming six undergraduates this summer for the 11-week hands-on program. They will get to work with staff mentors on a wide variety of NEON-related research projects ranging from assisting in the finalization of NEON construction to using the public data provided by the NEON project.
You won’t find any fishing line, hooks or bobbers in NEON’s aquatic technician field gear. Instead, groups of 3-4 technicians utilize a technique called electrofishing to catch fish and collect data related to fish diversity and populations.
Studies have found that ground beetles are an excellent indicator species of arthropod biodiversity, environmental change, land use and land management. Learn more about why and how NEON samples beetles.
We are excited to announce the 2017 flight campaign schedule for NEON’s Airborne Observation Platform. The campaign will run from March to November, covering eighteen NEON domains with forty-three terrestrial sites and twenty-four aquatic sites.
Applications are due March 10, 2017 for the 2017 Data Institute: Remote Sensing with Reproducible Workflows provides a unique opportunity for participants to gain hands-on experience working with open data using well-documented, reproducible methods.
Why sample fish? Not only do fish play a major role in our recreation and food industries, but they are a key part of freshwater aquatic ecosystems. Learn how NEON is collecting fish diversity and population data so researchers can gain a complete picture of the food chain in aquatic ecosystems across the United States.
In mid-November a forest fire started in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, sparking several wildfires that spread uncontrollably. Last week, a safety team ventured out to two impacted field sites to assess the damage.
NEON has published its first undergraduate teaching module aimed specifically at faculty wanting to use data in undergraduate classrooms. The free module, available online, allows students to use real-world ecological data to better understand the causes and effects of natural disturbance events like floods.
