National Ecological Observatory Network

Abstract

In the United States and elsewhere, the development of large-scale scientific research infrastructure (RI) comes about from needs of the scientific community, as well as imperatives expressed in society and at high levels of government planning. In 2001, the US National Academy of Science (NAS) recognized the need to define the challenges that face society and science in addressing our changing environment. In 2003, the US NAS conducted a second seminal report that contributed toward the evolution of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). The NAS advocated for observations and experiments to be made consistently across the North American continent and creating the needed long-term, decadal-scale ecological data sets. The national relevance and timeliness of NEON’s design continued to resonate with other societal imperatives over the course of its development. In turn, having requirements defines what needs to be built to meet the scientific needs and also the fidelity needed to constrain cost, schedule, and risk.