Overview

The Terrestrial Ecology Observing Systems area (or TEOS) applications research group collaborates with many core CENS groups to design, develop, deploy, evaluate, and support Embedded Networked Sensors (ENS) and instrumented platforms for in-situ continuous measurement of environmental, physiological and ecological variables within diverse terrestrial ecosystems. During the fourth year our TEOS members have successfully operated our initial deployed systems of sensors, imagers and platforms, adding significant functionality for processing, analysis, visualization and web access of data streams (see Table 1). Fixed and mobile arrays, instruments, and associated technologies now deployed and tested at our James Reserve field site are being continually refined as the first wave of CENS systems, toolkits and architectural designs are being shared with our many partner institutions and organizations.

The following four research thrusts now characterize our TEOS research agenda:

(1) Microclimate Sensor and Image Acquisition Networks – Our primary long term objective is to design, develop, deploy, support, and evaluate distributed, continuously operating networks of embedded networked sensors and image capture devices for measuring environmental, physiological and ecological variables within diverse natural ecosystems. Coupled with this is the need to design, develop, deploy, support, and evaluate data storage systems that allow the sensor networks and the measurement data and images to be used efficiently. Our overall approach is an iterative process of developing system components collaboratively with both researchers and engineers, building and deploying those components, and having researchers use them. We use what we learn in this process to improve the existing components and design new ones. Several new and ongoing scientific studies using fixed and mobile sensors, video, and short-term placement specialized sensors were organized to investigate the appropriate sensors and measurements for plant ecophysiological investigations using embedded networked systems. These are research programs designed to refine science applications of CENS technologies using the James Reserve testbed.

(2) Adaptive Communication in Acoustic Sensor Arrays – This project is directed at developing acoustic sensor arrays so that they will be useful for observing and analyzing bird diversity and behavior. Tools to remotely sense, record and automatically analyze acoustical behavior would be enormously helpful for studies of ecology, biodiversity and behavior. In addition, such tools would also be major step toward realizing the full potential of embedded, networked sensor arrays in other ways.

(3) AMARSS – Networked Minirhizotron planning and initial deployment – Automated MiniRhizotron and arrayed Rhizosphere sensing systems An electro-mechanical designed camera system and a low-level software specification were developed for the Automated Minirhizotron (A-MR), a networked underground system for measuring soil features. A proof-of-concept model was built for bench testing purposes and is currently being evaluated. Data are currently being collected from 15 minirhizotron tubes installed at the James Reserve test site. Soil sensors associated with the minirhizotron tubes are recording data to automated dataloggers.

(4) EMISSARY: advanced data visualization, spatio-temporal modeling interface, and field portable tools for in-situ data exploration of sensormicronets and distributed instrument management – Emissary is a collection of tools that enable a user to interact in real-time with sensors and the data streams coming from those sensors. Access to the huge archive of data as well as to models and statistical tools expand the usability of Emissary and shape our progress towards a new class of Biological Research Portal. The EMISSARY research cuts across all of the TEOS systems and research, as well as other application and technology areas within the Center.