The NAS Study on the Proposed National Ecological Observatory Network

National Academy Of Sciences, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

The NAS study on the proposed National Ecological Observatory Network An award has been made to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to appoint an ad hoc NRC committee to evaluate which important issues in ecology can only be addressed on a regional or continental scale and whether these issues constitute national concerns. The committee will then examine the concept for the National Science Foundation's (NSF) proposed National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) and assess whether NEON's national network of field and laboratory research infrastructure is an appropriate and necessary means to address these large-scale questions. The committee will also assess the impact that NEON may have on the scientific community and on the next generation of scientists. A report will be produced for broad distribution. The report will have enormous impact on the ecological community because infrastructural availability influences the type, timescale and geographic scale of research that can be conducted. Therefore, input will be solicited from the ecological community and the wide scientific community via a web-based forum. The type and scale of research that can be conducted, in turn, has broad societal impact as it affects whether ecological issues of national concerns could be addressed.