national ecological observatory network...domain 19 - healy • tower • instrument hut •...

National Ecological Observatory Network

• Introductions – Rissler • NEON Science Overview – Loescher • Infrastructure review - Thompson • Operations/Decommission – Bolyard • Open Discussion

Monday, August 13, 2012 2

AGENDA

• NEON Introductions – Erik Rissler: Permitting and Safety Coordinator – Jody Bolyard: Director, Permitting and Central

Operations – Hank Loescher: Assistant Director,

Biometeorology – David Tazik: Director, Science – Chris Thompson: Facilities and Civil

Construction

Monday, August 13, 2012 3

Monday, August 13, 2012 4

Design Considerations

• Minimize footprint • Reduce impact to science • Ensure environmental protection • Infrastructure required

– Power – Communications – Access

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SCIENCE OVERVIEW

Dr. Hank Loescher

(a  brief)  Introduction to NEON  

Hank  Loescher  

Assistant  Director  -­‐  NEON  Ins2tute  for  Alpine  and  Arc2c  Research,    

University  of  Colorado    

1 August 11,2012 Healy  Community,  Healy,  Alaska  

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•  Design  history  •  How  did  we  get  here?,  Requirements  framework  •  Scien2fic  Crea2vely  verses  Baseline  Infrastructure  

•  Scien2fic  scope  and  design  •  Sub-­‐system  designs,  FSU,  FIU,  AOP,  AQU,  LUAP  

TALK OUTLINE

NEON DESIGN

3 J.A. Klein

1.  Biodiversity

2.  Biogeochemical cycles

3.  Climate change

4.  Ecohydrology

5.  Infectious disease

6.  Invasive species

7.  Land use NRC (National Research Council). 2001. Grand Challenges in Environmental Sciences. Washington DC: National Academies Press.

NRC (National Research Council). 2003. NEON: Addressing the Nation's Environmental Challenges. Washington DC: National Academies Press.

Grand  Challenges  in  Environmental  Sciences  

NEON’s Scientific Approach

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The  goal  of  NEON  is  to  enable  understanding  and  forecas0ng  of  the  impacts  of  climate  change,  land  use  change  and  invasive  

species  on  con0nental-­‐scale  ecology  by  providing  infrastructure  to  support  research,  educa2on  and  environmental  management  in  

these  areas.  

!"#$%&'(!)%*+',(Understanding and predicting climate variability, including directional climate change and its impacts on natural and human systems

-%*.(/0',(Understanding and predicting changes in land use and land cover that are critical to biogeochemical cycling, ecosystem functioning and services, and human welfare.

1*2%0#2'(34'5#'0,(Understanding and forecasting the distribution of biological invasions and their impacts on ecological processes and ecosystem services.

6#7+'75)'$#0&89,(Understanding and predicting the impacts of human activities on the Earth’s major biogeochemical cycles.

6#7.#2'80#&9,(Understanding the regulation of biological diversity and its functional consequences for ecosystems.

:57)9.87"7+9,(Understanding and predicting changes in freshwater resources and the environment.

1*;'5&#7<0(=#0'%0'0,(Understanding and predicting the ecological and evolutionary aspects of infectious diseases and of the interactions among pathogens, hosts/receptors, and ecosystems.

Interactions and Feedbacks

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NEON GOALS

•  Information infrastructure: Consistent, continental, long-term, multi-scaled data-sets and data products that serve as a context for research and education.

•  Physical Infrastructure: A research platform for investigator-initiated sensors, observations, and experiments providing physical infrastructure, cyberinfrastructure, human resources, and expertise, and program management and coordination.

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The overarching goal of NEON is to enable understanding and forecasting of climate change, land use change, and invasive species on continental-scale

ecology by providing infrastructure to support research in these areas.

A National Observatory: 20 Eco-climatic Domains

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Mapping the Questions to Specific Sites

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How will NEON observe?

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NEON Deployment

• Headquarters (incl. CI, labs, etc.) - Boulder •  20 Domains (labs and other facilities)

• 20 Core sites (wildland) • 40 Relocatable sites (land-use sites)

•  10 Mobile laboratories (AK, HI, CONUS+PR)

• Human-based observations •  3 Airborne Observation Platforms •  Land Use Analysis Package •  STREON Experiment

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(green = taskable)

NEON Science Facilities (subsystems) (alphabet soup)

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FSU Fundamental  Sen2nel  Unit Human  Obs.  Bioarchive

FIU Fundamental  Instrument  Unit

Automated  Instrumenta2on

AOP Airborne  Observa2on  Package

AircraR  Remote  Sensing  

AQU   Aqua2c/STREON  Human  Obs/automated  

instrumenta2on  

LUAP Land  Use  Analysis  Package Satellite  Remote  Sensing  +  

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Fundamental Sentinel Unit

•  Biodiversity •  Population Dynamics •  Productivity •  Phenology •  Infectious Disease •  Biogeochemistry •  Microbial Function and Diversity •  Ecohydrology

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Sentinel Organisms (FSU)

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Microbes

Mosquitoes

Beetles

Small Mammals

Birds

Fish

Aquatic Invertebrates

Plants

Genera2on  Time  

Fundamental Instrument Unit

FIU  working  group,  NEON  HQ   13

Fundamental Instrument Unit

•  Physical and chemical climate forcing (incl wet dep, AOD)

•  Micrometeorological scalars and fluxes

•  CO2, δC13, H2O, δO18, DH, CH4, O3, NOy

•  Soil Array •  Over 2000 measurements per

core site at frequencies of •  Daily, and ~0.1 to 20 Hz •  Generating > 800 Tb y-1 or

raw data, and more at higher level data products

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Mobile Deployment Platform

•  Mobile (formally Continental Toolbox and the Rapid Deployment System) •  Campaign based measurements •  < 1 year • Observational •  Cal/Val support

Mobile Platforms, (10) permanent for the life of NEON, ~ 0.5 per Domain

•  (1) Truck, (1) mobile, trailer-able Tower, (1) mobile, trailer-able Lab,

•  Core suite of instrumentation (Basic micromet, EC package)

•  Independent power and internet communications (housekeeping data minimum)

Applied Modules, (various #’s) to be deployed according to observatory needs, mix and match

• Micrometeorology • Atmospheric Chemistry • Ecohydrology

• Organismal Ecology • Education and Outreach • NEON training

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Mapping Ecosystems from the Air

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Airborne Remote Sensing (AOP)

•  Spectroscopy –  Vegetation biochemical &

biophysical properties –  Cover type & fraction

•  LiDAR altimetry –  Vegetation Structure –  Sub-canopy topography –  biomass

•  High resolution imagery –  Land use & land cover

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AOP Imaging Spectrometer

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Airborne Remote Sensing (AOP)

Spatial Scaling Strategy

LUAP

AOP

FIU

Ecological Forecast models

FSU+ AQS

Mobile Labs

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Supporting Facilities

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•  Chemical analysis resources •  Isotopic analysis resources •  Genetic analysis resources •  Disease facility •  BioArchive collections

•  HQ - Boulder •  Civil Construction (FCC) •  Permitting (EHS) •  CyberInfrastructure (CI) •  Engineering labs (ENG) •  Calibration/Validation Laboratory (CAL/VAL) •  Advanced Technology labs

NEON Data Track to Four Major Design Elements

•  Measurement Traceability •  Data Product Algorithms

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•  Scientific Requirements •  Procedures and Protocols

NEON Near Death Experience

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•  Late 90’s – concept of standardized ecological observatory •  2000-2005 – community workshops, establish boundary

conditions. Shopping list/Christmas tree approach (diag). •  (~2005) NSF began to push in key directions. Replaced mgt. •  2006 … Integrated Science and Education Plan (ISEP). •  2007 … PDR1: NEON needs further D&D, Mgt. •  2008 … new D&D phase: flowdown & deliverables, site

design contract underway, project office ramp-up (6-50 staff). •  2009 … PDR/FDR, (+65 staff), successfully completed FDR •  2010… Prototyping and business operations (+135 staff) •  2011 late… Began construction (+190 staff)

Research / Research Activities MREFC - Construction Operations

2006 2011 2017 2012

Why/How did we design Alaska sites?

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Request for information (public announcement)

•  Oct 2006 •  2008-2010 meetings took pace in

Fairbanks and Anchorage •  NSF run EA NEPA •  Rigorous review cycle •  NEON had limited resources for

community engagement

Why/How did we design Alaska sites?

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Key Ecological Theme is Ecohydrology •  Sites focus on permafrost dynamics and the impact of permafrost thawing on ecosystem processes and their feed back mechanisms, sites spanning;

Permafrost – Discontinuous Permafrost - Permafrost free Temperature - Precipitation – Fire

•  Spatially distributed sites will capture important trends in permafrost thaw expected over the next several decades •  All these sites represent ecosystems that extend to large regional landscapes far into the interior of the Alaska and the continent

Why/How did we design Alaska sites?

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Why/How did we design Alaska sites?

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Why/How did we design Alaska sites?

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Why/How did we design Alaska sites?

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Why/How did we design Alaska sites?

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Fundamental Instrument Unit

FIU  working  group,  NEON  HQ   31

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Site design-plume dispersion

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Site design - Healy

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Airshed:  335°  

Airshed:  190°  

Soil  array  

Site design - Healy

Why/How did we design Alaska sites?

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Science issues •  Avoidance or the road and dust

it generates •  Adequate fetch •  Optimizing the spatial coverage

(tower/soils) •  ‘flat area’ and no edge effects

Operating issues •  Optimizing construction limits •  Proximity to power, access,

communications •  Permitting

Benefits

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•  A crucial site for enabling Alaskans and scientists to study and forecast local ecosystem changes

•  Critical to informing Alaskans how to mitigate for future change.

•  Anchors our understanding •  Provides important data to scale to region-

to-high arctic comparisons •  Local climate information

hloescher@neoninc.org jtalyor@neoninc.org eayres@neoninc.org hluo@neoninc.org msanclements@neoninc.org smetzger@neoninc.org jroberti@neoninc.org mgebremedhin@sea2.org ndurden@neoninc.org desai@aos.wisc.edu

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The National Ecological Observatory Network is a project sponsored by the National Science Foundation and managed under cooperative agreement by NEON Inc.

www.neoninc.org Hank Loescher Jeff Taylor Ed Ayres Hongyan Luo Michael San Clements Stefan Metzger Josh Roberti Maheteme Gebremedhin Natchaya Durden Ankur Desai

Assistant Director Atmospheric Physicist

Soil Ecologist Micrometeorologist

Biogeochemist Spatial Scaling

Applied Meteorologist Ecosystem Ecologist

Micrometeorologist FIU WG Chair

THANK YOU !!

FACILITIES AND CIVIL CONSTRUCTION

Christian Thompson, P.E.

• Survey and Geotechnical Analysis

• Pre-Vegetation Survey • Design Documents • Construction

Facilities and Civil Construction (FCC)

Design Documents

Design Documents

Domain 19 - Healy

• Tower • Instrument Hut • Electrical/Communications • Boardwalk • Soil Arrays

Infrastructure

About the Tower

• 26’ Self Support • 6 ½’ x 6 ½’ Footprint • Internal Ships Ladder • Security Gate

Tower

About the IH

• 8’ x 20’ x 9’ (w, l, h) • Climate Controlled • Keypad Lock

Instrument Hut

About the AP

• Transformer • Manual Transfer

Switch • Meter • Communications

Pedestal

Auxiliary Portal

About the Elec/Comms

• Conduits On-Ground • Fiberglass Unistrut

Support

Electrical/Communication

About the Boardwalk

• “Tundra Mat” • On-Ground • 40” wide

Boardwalk

About the Soil Arrays

• 5 Individual Plots • Device Posts at each

Plot

Soil Arrays

• Approximately 6 months • Licensed Contractor • NEON On-Site Supervisor • Staging/Parking Area • Strict Construction Limits • 2 to 4 vehicles • 6 to 10 people • Construction Equipment • Delivery Trucks

– IH – Tower – Materials

• Port-a-Jon

Construction – What to Expect

TRANSITION TO OPERATIONS

Jody Bolyard

• Identify DNR design requirements – This week • Obtain Community input – This week • Complete geotech characterization – 2-3 weeks • Process authorization with DNR – 1 month • Formal community comment – 2 months • Final design available – 3 months • Materials Arrive – 5-6 months • Contractor Mobilize – 5-6 months (Feb/Mar 2013)

Plan to Construction

• Construction duration – 6 months • Engineering Outfit Site

– Team of 4 people for 2 months • System Validation

– Team of 4 people for 2 months • Acceptance into Operations • Domain Operations 2015 • Operates for 7-10 years

Transition to Operations

• Support facilities in Fairbanks – Lab – Sample storage – Office

• Staffing – 1 Manager Field Operations – 5-8 Technicians – Seasonal hires for sampling support

• Scope of Work – Sensor Maintenance – Site Maintenance – Sample Collection

• Staff size – 2 persons, 2-3 days every other week instrument maintenance – Organismal sampling 30-50 plots in summer season – Samples include some soil plant and animal materials – Airborne activities once per year during peak greenness – Maximum 20 people for seasonal sampling campaign

What to expect in Operations

• Remove all sensors • Tower removed and reused • Instrument Hut removed and reused • Boardwalk removed • Power removed to portal, remove wiring where

buried • Local restoration and replanting where needed

Decommission the Site