Opportunity to Comment--National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON)
Revised Integrated Science and Education Plan
For more information or to review and comment on the revised Integrated
Science and Education Plan, go to http://www.neoninc.org.
Comments preferred by Thursday, 7 September 2006, though accepted until
Friday, 15 September 2006.
The revised Integrated Science and Education Plan (ISEP)
for NEON development is available for review and public comment at
http://www.neoninc.org.
In response to grand challenges in ecology and the environmental
sciences, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has proposed that Major
Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (NSF-MREFC) funds be used
to implement a new and unprecedented research and education
platform-NEON, the National Ecological Observatory Network. NEON is
envisioned as a continental scale research instrument 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 facilities and/or computational, analytical and modeling
capabilities, linked via a computational network will comprise NEON.
NEON will transform ecological research by enabling studies on major
environmental challenges at regional to continental scales. Scientists
and engineers will use NEON to conduct real-time ecological studies
spanning all levels of biological organization and temporal and
geographical scales. NSF disciplinary and multi-disciplinary programs
will support NEON research projects and educational activities. Data
from standard measurements made using NEON will be publicly available.
Comments on the revised ISEP will be accepted until 15 September;
however, because of deadlines associated with the release of a Request
for Information (RFI) to the community and another merit review by an
NSF panel of the conceptual design of NEON, NEON will be working with
NSF before 15 September to make some additional decisions about the
design of NEON. So, input by Thursday, 7 September would be especially
useful.
For more information or to review and comment on the revised Integrated
Science and Education Plan, go to http://www.neoninc.org.