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21st century ecology and environmental science is Informational Technology and Engineering intensive.

NEON is a $100,000,000+ network of data sites, sensors arrays, and remote sensing platforms currently being designed by the National Science Foundation.

Field scale measurement of energy, carbon and water exchange between the atmosphere, vegetation and soil combined with remote sensing and extensive plant and soil measurements. Led by Shashi Verma and Ken Cassman. Funded by US Dept of Energy, NASA

10

GS GPPGS Re

GS NEP

1

101

10

110

110

110

1

101

101

10

110

110

1

0

3

6

9

12

5/1/01 9/28/01 2/25/02 7/25/02 12/22/02 5/21/03 10/18/03 3/16/04 8/13/04 1/10/05 6/9/05 11/6/05 4/5/06 9/2/06 1/30/07 6/29/07

Daily ET (mm

d-1)

Site 1

P HHH PP

maize maize maize

Irrigated Continuous

Maize

maize

P H

maize

P H

maize

P

H

0

3

6

9

12

5/1/01 9/28/01 2/25/02 7/25/02 12/22/02 5/21/03 10/18/03 3/16/04 8/13/04 1/10/05 6/9/05 11/6/05 4/5/06 9/2/06 1/30/07 6/29/07

Daily ET (mm

d-1)

Site 2

P P P HHH

maize maizesoybean

IrrigatedMaize-

Soybean Rotation

soybean

P H

maize

P H

soybean

P H

0

3

6

9

12

5/1/01 9/28/01 2/25/02 7/25/02 12/22/02 5/21/03 10/18/03 3/16/04 8/13/04 1/10/05 6/9/05 11/6/05 4/5/06 9/2/06 1/30/07 6/29/07

Daily ET (mm

d-1)

Site 3

P P PH H H

maizemaize soybean

RainfedMaize-

Soybean Rotation

soybean

P H

maize

PH

soybean

PH

Evapotranspiration

date

s1

5/10/2001 12:00

5/10/2001 12:0010/18/2001 12:00

10/18/2001 12:005/9/2002 12:00

5/9/2002 12:00

11/4/2002 12:0011/4/2002 12:00

5/15/2003 12:005/15/2003 12:00

10/27/2003 12:0010/27/2003 12:00

5/3/2004 12:00

5/3/2004 12:005/4/2005

5/4/200510/13/2005 12:00

10/13/2005 12:00

5/5/2006 12:005/5/2006 12:00

10/13/2006 12:0010/13/2006 12:00

5/1/2007 12:005/1/2007 12:00

11/6/2007

11/6/20074/27/2008 12:00

4/27/2008 12:0010/15/2004 12:00

10/15/2004 12:00

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

20

25

5/1/01 9/28/01 2/25/02 7/25/02 12/22/02 5/21/03 10/18/03 3/16/04 8/13/04 1/10/05 6/9/05 11/6/05 4/5/06 9/2/06 1/30/07 6/29/07

Daily NEP (g C m

-2 d

-1)

Site 1

P HHH PP

maize maize maize

Irrigated Continuous

Maize

maize

P H

maize

P H

maize

P

H

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

20

25

5/1/01 9/28/01 2/25/02 7/25/02 12/22/02 5/21/03 10/18/03 3/16/04 8/13/04 1/10/05 6/9/05 11/6/05 4/5/06 9/2/06 1/30/07 6/29/07

Daily NEP (g C m

-2 d

-1)

Site 2

P P P HHH

maize maizesoybean

IrrigatedMaize-

Soybean Rotation

soybean

P H

maize

P H

soybean

P H

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

20

25

5/1/01 9/28/01 2/25/02 7/25/02 12/22/02 5/21/03 10/18/03 3/16/04 8/13/04 1/10/05 6/9/05 11/6/05 4/5/06 9/2/06 1/30/07 6/29/07

Daily NEP (g C m

-2 d

-1)

Site 3

P P PH H H

maizemaize soybean

RainfedMaize-

Soybean Rotation

soybean

P H

maize

PH

soybean

PH

Productivity and carbon exchange

The Platform for CALMIT’s The Platform for CALMIT’s Airborne Hyperspectral Airborne Hyperspectral

ImagerImager

AISA: Airborne Imaging Spectrometer for ApplicationsAISA: Airborne Imaging Spectrometer for Applications

CALMIT’s Piper Saratoga Aircraft

Why Airborne Remote Sensing?Why Airborne Remote Sensing?

CALMIT programs: airborne system complements both our on-going field-research and satellite-based activities

Mosaic of AISA images compared to Landsat-TM

Ridge

Slope

Swale

PercentVolumetric

SoilMoisture

A really cool big-picture study that used high spatiotemporal resolution UNL data on:

•Soil moisture distribution (HPRCC)•Deep soil moisture profiles (Biocomplexity)•Groundwater fluctuations (Burbach et al.)

"Science is built of facts the way a house is built of bricks: but an accumulation of facts is no more science than a pile of bricks is a house” Henri Poincaré

Can we do a better job of “value added marketing” of our high quality environmental science data?

E.T. “Ted” Elliott Ecosystem scientist, NSF program officer, Director of UNL’s School of Natural Resource Sciences. Died of cancer, June 2002

NSF Biocomplexity planning document (10/13/98) from Ted’s files: “The focus on process and pattern across levels of resolution seems to be widely encompassing and a far more robust and definable theme than biodiversity, the concepts for which I have been struggling with for some time”.

“This approach requires an inter/cross/multidisciplinary approach. Each team requires the expertise of scientists with knowledge of the components and scientists interested in putting the components together and studying the system’s behavior.”