Wet Deposition Measurements across the Continent: Observations from The National Ecological Observatory Network

The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) is responsible for making observations of terrestrial, aquatic, and organismal ecology at 106 (60 terrestrial and 46 aquatic) sites in 20 different eco-climatic domains across the North American continent. NEON will provide data on key local, meteorological, climate, and chemical variables, as well as their associated biogeochemical and biotic responses, in an effort to better understand and predict the effects of climate change, land-use change, and invasive species. The volume of data collected is expected to exceed hundreds of Terabytes per year and will be freely available via a web portal for use by researchers, educators, and policy makers.

As one of the key components of NEON observations, wet deposition is a principle means of chemical inputs into an ecosystem. By the time NEON becomes fully operational in 2017, wet deposition will be collected and measured at 50 sites across the US. It is expected that these measurements will capture, among other compounds, the deposition of sulfate, ammonium, and nitrate spanning gradients and “hot spots” across terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. This poster will highlight the network planning for these measurements, the instrumentation and observational details, as well as opportunities to link these data products with external networks. Particular emphasis will be placed on how these measurements complement and link with other biogeochemical and climatological data products at NEON.