The National Ecological Observatory Network's Atmospheric and Terrestrial Instrumentation: Initial Data Quality Assurance/Control Results

ABSTRACT:

The National Ecological Observatory Network's Fundamental Instrument Unit (NEON-FIU) is responsible for making automated terrestrial observations at 60 different sites across the continent. FIU will provide data on key local physical, chemical, and climate forcing, as well as associated biotic responses (CO2, H2O, and energy exchanges). The sheer volume of data that will be generated far exceeds that of any other observatory network or agency, (i.e., > 45 Tb/year from 10's of thousands of remotely deployed sensors). We address the question of how to develop and implement a large ecological observatory that can accommodate such a large volume of data while maintaining high quality.

Here, we illustrate preliminary results of our quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) program applied to NEON's first release data. These initial results demonstrate NEON's dynamic approach to building upon existing QA/QC frameworks in an effort to attain the highest levels of accuracy, precision, and operational time, while efficiently optimizing the effort needed to produce quality data products.