NEON Instrumentation and Embedded Cyberinfrastructure

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NEON Instrumentation and Embedded
Cyberinfrastructure
Deborah Estrin Materials contributed by NEON
(SSN Working Group, NPO), CENS faculty,
students, staff
5/10/05
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Proposed NEON replicated array deployments
Graphics by Jason Fisher
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In Situ Sensing

• Micro-Sensors and Embedded sensor networks are
  bringing about a paradigm change Spatially and
  temporally dense , in situ observational
  capabilities will reveal the previously
  unobservable.
• The in situ observations will be fused with and
  focused by regional/global observations

Temporal Granularity
Fine
Embedded NetworkedSensing
Manual
Spatial Granularity
Manual
Course Fine
Wide Narrow
Span
Remote Sensing
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Down-scaling of sensors and network systems

• Biosensors, chemical sensors, actuators, imagers,
  tags and platform types are under development
  enabling close-up sensing with increased
  reliability and at reduced energy costs
• Challenges
• Physical environment is dynamic and unpredictable
  
• Wireless nodes present stringent energy, storage,
  communication constraints
• Deployment, maintenance, calibration, data
  integrity are all more difficult in large
  distributed systems

Ocean Optics handheld Raman Spectrometer
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Future Expanding Sensor Suite
present
future
Physical Sensors Microclimate above and below
ground
abiotic
Chemical Sensors gross concentrations
Chemical Sensors trace concentrations
Acoustic, Image sensors with on board analysis
Acoustic and Image data samples
DNA analysis onboard embedded device
biotic
Sensor triggered sample collection
Organism tagging, tracking

• Commercially available devices available for many
  physical and chemical measures
• Advancements in sensor technologies will further
  transform NEON as new capabilities broaden
  physical, chemical, and biological in situ,
  autonomous, observations

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NEON Fielded Instruments Fixed

• Fundamental Instrumented Unit (FIU)
• automatically gather relevant biotic and abiotic
  data
• Comprises
• 1 Advanced BioMesoNet Tower
• 3 Basic BioMesoNet Towers
• Associated sensor arrays
• 1 Basic BioMesoNet Tower and associated sensor
  array in experimental set-aside area

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Fielded Instrument Measurements
FIU Component Instrumentation
Advanced and Basic BioMesoNet Towers Biotic and abiotic sensors, both above- and below-ground, measuring air temperature, wind speed, humidity, heat flux, precipitation, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), wet deposition, CO2 and H2O vapor, etc. dry deposition chemistry, full range spectrometry.
Sensor Arrays Soil Sensor Array Network of soil sensors, including soil temperature, moisture, water potential, and soil chemistry (e.g. pH, CO2, O2, N). Canopy Microclimate Sensor Array Habitat-contingent network of biotic and abiotic sensors placed within and near the forest canopy, including basic meteorological measurements, PAR, rainfall, and others. Aquatic Sensor Array Network of sensors that measure biotic and abiotic parameters in stream and groundwater environments.
Organism Tracking Fixed (automated) receivers covering areas of three hectares transmitters for deer mice.
Infrastructure Services Power (line and solar) wireless communications Global Positioning System (GPS) local replicated storage physical security.
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BioMesoNet Tower Measurements

• Basic BioMesonet Tower
• Canopy-height dependent tower
• Basic BioMesonet Sensor Package
• Air temperature (at 10 m, 1.5 m, 10 cm, 0 cm,
  2 other canopy-dependent heights)
• Relative humidity (at 10 m, 1.5 m 2 other
  canopy-dependent heights)
• Wind speed direction (at 10 m, 1.5 m 2 other
  canopy-dependent heights)
• Precipitation (rain snow liquid equivalent)
• Barometric pressure (at 1.5 m)
• Soil moisture (at four depths from surface to
  rooting zone according to structural horizon, two
  depths of witch are standardized NEON system-wide
  )
• Soil temperature (at -5, -15, -30cm)

• Advanced BioMesonet Tower
• Canopy-height dependent tower
• Advanced BioMesonet Sensor Package
• Basic BioMesonet Sensor Package, plus
• Incoming, reflected, total diffuse solar
  radiation (at 1.5 m)
• Sensible and latent heat CO2 fluxes
• CO2 concentration (at 8-10 vertical levels from
  ground to above canopy)
• H2O vapor (at 8-10 vertical levels from ground
  to above canopy)
• Stable isotopes of C O in H2O CO2
• CO concentration (at 3-5 m)
• NO, NO2, NOx concentrations
• O3 concentration (at 3-5 m)
• Airborne particulates (e.g., pollen, bacteria)
• Dry deposition of SO42-, NO3-, NH4, SO2, HNO3
• Wet deposition of NH4, NO3-, o-PO43-, SO42-,
  Cl-, Ca2, Mg2, K, pH

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Sensor Arrays

• Sensor Arrays
• distributed wireless platforms (Neon Wireless
  Platform (NWP)).
• configurable sensor suites, sensing actions,
  local storage, analysis
• data returned over wireless network
• Specially configured nodes will serve as gateways
  to NEON archives and control points
• Canopy Microclimate Sensor Array Network of
  biotic and abiotic sensors, including PAR, air
  temperature, relative humidity, precipitation,
  leaf wetness, leaf temperature.
• 12 sensors per array, 12 arrays per site.
• Soil SN Network of soil sensors, including soil
  temperature, moisture, water potential, soil
  chemistry (pH, CO2, O2, N), surface fluxes,
  automated mini-rhizotrons.
• 25 sensors per array, 12 arrays per site
• Aquatic SN Network of sensors that measure
  biotic and abiotic parameters in streams
• 3-5 sensors per array, 1 array per site

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Terrestrial Sensor Measurements

• Canopy Microclimate Sensor Arrays
• Total, diffuse, incident photosynthetically
  active radiation (PAR)
• Sunshine duration
• Air temperature (at 10 m,1.5 m,10 cm,0 cm,
  Climate only)
• Relative humidity (at 0 m 1.5 m, Climate only)
• Precipitation (rain snow liquid equivalent,
  Climate only)
• Leaf wetness (at 10 m,1.5 m,10 cm,0 cm)
• Leaf temperature (at heights as per leaf wetness)

• Soil Sensor Array
• Root mycorrhizae phenology
• Soil respiration (CO2 emission)
• Soil NO3- concentration
• Soil O2 concentration
• Soil pH
• Soil water potential
• Soil water volume
• Soil moisture (at four depths from surface to
  rooting zone according to, two structural horizon
  depths of witch are standardized NEON
  system-wide)
• Soil temperature (at depths as per soil
  moisture)
• Biological temperature (i.e. soil/leaf/canopy
  surface temperature)

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Aquatic Sensor Array Measurements

• Small Stream Platforms
• Level of groundwaters, surface waters and
  discharge of flowing waters (pressure
  transducers)
• Soil moisture
• Dissolved organic carbon concentration
• Dissolved O2 concentration profiles
• Nutrient concentrations NO3- (possibly NH4,
  PO43-, Si, as automated technology allows)
• pH profiles
• Conductivity
• Temperature
• Turbidity
• Chlorophyll
• Surface PAR and UV
• Automated water sample collection for additional
  chemical profiles (NO3-, NH4, PO43-, Si), and
  biological (plankton) and isotopic measurements
  of groundwater and surface waters

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NEON Fielded Instruments Mobile/Relocatable
Platform

• Relocatable Tower System
• Permanent tower pad
• Tower base
• Relocatable tower superstructure with Basic
  BioMesoNet Sensor Package and additional sensors
• Rapid Deployment System
• Towing vehicle
• Trailer to transport one or more of the following
  modular units Aquatics, Canopy, Climate,
  Invasive Species, Education, Soils, Infectious
  Disease

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Organism Tracking and Infrastructure

• Organism Tracking
• Fixed (automated) and handheld receivers covering
  areas of 3 hectares support monitoring of deer
  mice.
• Infrastructure
• Power (line and solar) Wireless communications
  Global Positioning System (GPS) and other
  geolocation services (e.g., Wireless Fidelity
  (WIFI) triangulation) local replicated storage
  physical security.

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Fundamental Sentinel Unit Measurements

• Field Observation Programs
• Aquatic biogeochemistry
• Ground water flow
• Aquatic sediments
• Vectors and pathogens
• Mosquito (e.g, West Nile, encephalitis, malaria)
• Deer mouse (e.g. Hanta-virus, Lyme disease)
• Phenology
• Standardized lilacs
• Dominant plant species
• Animals of local national interest

• Biodiversity
• Soil microbes
• Ground beetles
• Plants
• Algae
• Aquatic invertebrates
• Fish
• Breeding bird survey
• Functional Genomics
• Functional diversity
• Pathway diversity
• Genetic basis of biogeochemical fluxes
• Genetic basis of chemical transformations

Organism Tracking System Deer mouse (Peromyscus
maniculatus)
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Handheld field instrument BioPDA
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Approximate number of sensors per domain
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NEON Open, Evolvable Architecture

• High resolution measurement of key biological
  drivers (physical, chemical)
• Observation of realizable biological response
  variables
• In situ organism tracking, imaging, sample
  collection
• Remote sensing of land cover at large spatial
  scale
• Seamless incorporation of new biological,
  chemical and physical sensors as technology
  matures
• Based on well defined hardware and software
  interfaces and tools (plug and play)
• e.g., from nearer term instruments (such as
  automated dust collectors) to longer term
  (automated genomic analysis)

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Embedded CI Software

• Data routing, duty cycling
• Reliable, disruption tolerant transport
• Time and position
• System health monitoring
• Calibration tests
• System tasking
• System configuration and reconfiguration (plug
  and play)
• Directed manual sampling

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Component interconnect and integration
Packaging, raw/processed data, installation,
calib procedures
Instruments (passive,active,analyzers)
System integration,standard connectors, Standard
wireless, power
In Situ Platform(time, location, storage,
processing, communication services)
Calibration support, Raw data archiving
NEON archives and central CI
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Why multi-scale distributed sensor-networking
will transform ecology
Radioastronomy
Computing
Field ecology
Supercomputers
Single Telescopes
Individual observations
because it has done so over and over again
Very Large Array
Internet
NEON