PARENT SESSION
Special Session 10: Building an ecological observatory network for regional- to continental-scale research—NEON, the National Ecological Observatory Network
Organized by: J Goldman and B Hayden
Wednesday, August 10, 8:00 AM - 11:30 AM, Exhibit Hall 210a-e, Level 2, Palais des congrès de Montréal
Building the infrastructure for NEON.
Michener, William1, 1 AIBS and University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
ABSTRACT- The NEON design phase has been completed and the architectural blueprint for NEON infrastructure (i.e., the Project Execution Plan) is being finalized. NEON will be a national research platform consisting of geographically distributed infrastructure, networked via state-of-the-art communications. Cutting-edge lab and field instrumentation, site-based experimental infrastructure, natural history archive and bio-collections facilities, and computational, analytical and modeling capabilities, linked via a high-speed communications network will comprise NEON. NEON infrastructure will transform ecological research, allowing scientists to address major research challenges at regional to continental scales and across scales of biological organization. NEON will allow educators to perform relevant educational research and to provide unique educational opportunities to K-12, higher education and informal education constituencies. In this talk, I describe the design process from the initial conceptual development, through the creation of a traceability matrix (a logical method for arriving at engineering specifications from a set of scientific requirements), and culminating in the Project Execution Plan. Finally, the major infrastructural components, the deployment approach, objective site selection criteria, the start date for construction and the deployment schedule are presented.
Key words: NEON, infrastructure, instrumentation, observatory