1. Future Directions and Planning Activities

Planning and work for an advanced data visualization, spatio-temporal modeling interface, and field portable tools for in-situ data exploration of sensormicronets and distributed instrument management (EMISSARY)

In January, the Terrestrial and Systems groups began defining a set of functional capabilities for an advanced system for in the field communication with a sensormicronet and distributed instrumentation, on-line and interactive modeling tools, and system diagnostics and configuration interfaces. Conceptually this system would be a hand-held PDA or laptop class computer with wireless communication to mote-class devices (sensor nodes), networked data-logging instruments, WAN/LAN, and the Internet. The laptop/PDA would have an on-board global and local positioning system for highly accurate determination of location, and portable hot-swappable sensor probes.  Dubbed the "Emissary" this field tool could provide visiting biological and ecological researchers (graduate students or investigators) the ability to:

• Localize them accurately within the James Reserve (or within any deployed sensormicronet array).

Figure 37 - 10 cm/pixel high-resolution digital imagery serves as a base for our GIS and prototype development for the EMISSARY interface

• Access past and real-time sensor data from the JR database (both micrometeorological, imagery, and specialized sensors).
  • Requires a very simple interface for database queries.
  • Requires information on what data is available.

Figure 38 -EMISSARY will provide geospatial sensor browsing

• Configure, calibrate and test newly placed sensors or networked instruments within the wireless network and visualize their data streams in real-time.
  • Requires ability to query individual nodes/sensors.

• Visualize previously established micrometeorological models and test those models in the field with hand-held or portable sensors.
  • Requires easy access to GIS model layers already created for the James Reserve.

Figure 39 - geospatialized data layers derived from digital terrain models, remote sensing classification, and interpolations will be available via the map server to an EMISSARY user 

• Requires easy-to-understand information on what models have already been created and are available.

Figure 40 - A library of models based upon summarized sensor data can be queried

2 Problems Encountered:

• Progress on this proof of concept is limited by funding and expertise. We anticipate continuing our weekly planning meetings, and investment in GIS model development for the remainder of this year, with the goal of finding new funding to advance our conceptual design to a working proof of concept.

3 Major Accomplishments:

• Expanded coverage of wireless 802.11 for entire study area
• Acquired high resolution digital aerial photography (10 cm/pixel)
• Enhanced CMS Graphical User Interface to include GIS data layers and geoposition for sensor nodes
• Produced a series of geo-referenced ArcGIS format data layers appropriate for geospatial models. Applied Geospatial Analyst, Spatial Analyst, and Image Analyst routines to generate various prototype surface models of terrain, solar radiation, temperature, humidity, and soil moisture.

4 Future Goals and Objectives:

• Install ArcIMS, make all GIS data layers and geospatial models available over the Internet and wireless LAN
• Install Tracking Analyst to provide real-time moving map capabilities and a streaming data capability from the CMS
• Explore options for integrating CMS SQL database schema into ArcGIS. This will facilitate in-situ geospatial queries
• Continue to explore funding opportunities to advance the develop of the EMISSARY proof of concept

New technology transfer activities, collaborations and proposals

-       La Selva Biological Station.  We are proposing to begin an installation of a NIMS mobile sensor system and associated fixed sensor arrays at the La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica in the late summer of 2005.  If NSF funding for a submitted MRI proposal is approved, this will be a large installation landscape-scale sensor arrays mounted on a series of 55-m towers.  An intensive array linking four towers will provide both mobile and fixed sensor nodes covering a 4-ha area of primary forest, allowing spatially and temporally dense measurements of microclimate over the full 3-dimensions of the forest canopy, as well as video and acoustic monitoring capabilities for animal studies. A dispersed series of meteorological towers will provide expanded environmental data and Wi-Fi access over 600 ha of forest.  If these additional funds are not approved, we are nevertheless committed to the installation of a smaller system at La Selva.  Tropical rainforests with their remarkable levels of biodiversity and influence on global carbon balance and climate stability are the focus of large international research programs.  The grand challenges of understanding the complexity of structure and function in these ecosystems and of providing for the sustainable operation of these systems under human pressures have been a daunting task.  However, advances in information technologies and wireless networked sensor arrays being developed by CENS scientists provide new approaches to addressing these challenges.  We have been taking lessons learned for test bed application of CENS technologies at the James Reserve and are designing a means of establishing a research installation of fixed and mobile sensor arrays at the La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica.  Planning efforts have taken place over the past year on the concept of an Ecological Rainforest Portal at this site.  These efforts involved visits to La Selva by several CENS researchers, and the convening of a workshop in January 2005 that brought a group of tropical biologists from the United States and Costa Rica together to work with CENS staff on a collaborative instrumentation proposal to the National Science Foundation.

-       Wind River Canopy Crane Research Facility (WRCCRF).  We are working with researchers at WRRCRF to test new approaches to monitoring quantitative plant phenology using robotic video systems.  This will be a transfer of technologies being developed at the James Reserve to address scientific questions for researchers at the WRCCRF.

-       Proposal submitted to the NSF Program, Frontiers in Biological Research (FIBR): We have joined a large, multi-institutional project entitled "Integrating water relationships from molecules through physiology, ecology, and evolution," led by Professor Brent Mishler at UC Berkeley. The proposed integrative studies will provide a model example of relationships between phylogeny and functional genomics and between cellular metabolism and ecological distribution in understanding the evolution of desiccation tolerance in land plants. The research would utilize technologies developed by CENS to incorporate in-situ studies of plant and water relationships.

-       Other Collaborative Outreach.  We are continuing to work hold discussions with other research groups with interests in utilizing CENS technologies in their broad research programs.  In addition to those mentioned above, these include the H.J. Andrews LTER, Sevietta LTER, Hawaii EPSCoR research program, and the National Center for Earth Surface Dynamics (NCED) at the University of Minnesota, and the Department of Primary Industries, State of Victoria, Australia.

-       Deborah Estrin and Michael Hamilton both serve on the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), National Design Consortium. Estrin is on the Senior Management Staff, and is co-chair of the Facilities and Infrastructure Committee. Hamilton is co-chair of the Sensor and Sensor Networks subcommittee (with Estrin).

Figure 41 - proposed La Selva NIMS deployment submitted as part of a MRI proposal submitted in early 2005.

PEOPLE

Faculty:

Michael Hamilton
John Rotenberry
Mike Allen
Bill Kaiser

Staff:

Kevin Browne
Jodi Ross
Mike Taggart
Mike Wimbrow