December 2020: What’s New With NEON?

This month, we highlight recent contributions from the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) that continue to push the boundaries of environmental research and discovery. This month, new NEON research projects were featured at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Arizona State University began an expansion of their NEON biorepository, and NASA used NEON to improve the reliability of their remote sensors.

This Month’s Spotlight 
The latest news from NEON includes:

1. The 2020 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting will include a feature presentation from NEON chief scientist and observatory director Paula Mabee, Battelle chief scientist. Her presentation will review how NEON data is driving novel research in the areas of space science, earth science and STEM education, highlighting what NEON now makes possible. Numerous other NEON-affiliated scientists and researchers will also be presenting at AGU on topics ranging from soils to remote sensing.  
   
   
2. With support from the National Science Foundation, Arizona State University has completed the renovation of the NEON Biorepository cryo collections at the Alameda Building. Featuring mechanical and liquid nitrogen freezers, the cryo collections will acquire tens of thousands of new samples annually. The NEON Biorepository data portal will allow researchers to access sample data and request sample loans for the coming 30 years.
   
   
3. NASA has announced it is funding a three-year collaborative project to study the impact of leaves’ chemical properties and tree canopy structures on remote sensing observations. The project, which is a collaboration between NASA’s Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES) program, Battelle, the Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of New Hampshire, will use leaf and canopy data from NEON sites, collected at high spatial resolution. By combining this data with NASA’s satellite technology, a more thorough picture of the structure/trait relationship across the continent and, eventually, the globe can be created.

Sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and operated by Battelle, NEON is a continental-scale ecological observatory facility dedicated to providing high-quality, consistently generated data that is free and available to all users. By enabling scientists, researchers, and students to address critical questions and understand ecosystem changes over time, the NEON project allows the ecological community to tackle questions and problems at a scale that was not possible before.  
 
You can read about the latest research in the NEON Spotlight every month at Inside Battelle, and also on our social media channels. For more information about NEON, visit NEONscience.org.