Improvements of storage facilities and communications at the Kessler Farm Field Laboratories

University Of Oklahoma Norman Campus, Norman OK

Investigators

Abstract

The University of Oklahoma is awarded a grant for the construction of a 30 x 60 storage facility at the Kessler Farm Field Laboratory (KFFL) as well as for the repair of roads and parking areas and to construct a wi-fi communications network at this site, a heavily-used grassland field station. The structure would allow researchers and teachers to store their materials safely as well as improve wireless communication with field plots and educational tools. This will also improve the web presence of a number of research projects at KFFL and enhance their educational potentials. KFFL is a unique field station with its strong interdisciplinary foci, ongoing interactions occurring amongst biologists, ecologists, meteorologists, geographers, geomorphologists, and climate change experts. Located only 25 minutes from the main campus of OU, this 350-acre facility is a great resource for research on grassland structure and function and how these may be affected by various climate and weather drivers. In addition, KFFL hosts two long-term global climate change experiments, and several federal atmospheric measurement facilities including an Atmospheric Radiation Measurement site, National Atmospheric Deposition Program site, and NOAA Profiler Network site. Additional programs hosted by KFFL include a site in a continental scale magnetometer study (McMaC), a boundary layer radar, one of two remaining super-sites in the Oklahoma Mesonet, the KFFL Piconet, wind profilers and video disdrometers, and long-term small mammal exclosures. Further, numerous studies have been conducted on the grasslands, creeks and ponds located at KFFL. Literally hundreds of papers have been written using data collected at KFFL. With new projects being proposed, more high-profile research is expected in the future in a number of different fields. Unfunded research efforts continue to increase as well. All of these efforts would benefit from the presence of a safe, secure and sanitary storage facility, repaired roads and parking areas and wi-fi communication capabilities. A number of K-12 groups in the local school districts around have expressed interest in using KFFL. By virtue of their location, many of these programs comprise significant numbers of students from underrepresented groups. Improved infrastructure at KFFL will increase our ability to network with these local school districts and to include more students and more under represented groups in field work. Wi-fi communication capabilities will enable scientists and educators using KFFL to involve students via the web and would help attract additional students from across Oklahoma to participate in field research. To aid in wider dissemination of information about activities occurring at the facility, KFFL now has a new web portal (http://kffl.ou.edu) that is being used to advertise events at the farm as well as post and distribute information to researchers or school groups interested in using the farm. In addition, all KFFL users are now required to register their metadata with the KNB knowledge base (http://knb.ecoinformatics.org).