Jornada Basin LTER Program: Site Infrastructure Enhancement and Upgrade

Supplemental Request, May 1998

The Jornada Basin LTER program focuses on the causes and consequences of desertification in semiarid lands, and on the links between semiarid ecosystems and global environmental change. Historically, the Jornada program has focused on process-level studies in the Jornada Basin itself, and on model development to promote an understanding of the links between patch and landscape scales. However, in recent years, our focus has expanded in several critical ways:

-- an increasing emphasis on remote sensing technologies, to tie together patch or plant-scale observations with atmospheric and regional data, with extensive collaborations with multiple federal agencies working at the Jornada site;

-- multiple attempts to regionalize our work within the Chihuahuan Desert, both to our north (e.g., the Sevilleta LTER site) and to the south in Mexico;

-- and increasing efforts to provide ready communication and internet access for data and metadata files, including large GIS files and other spatial data.

The recent heightening of these priorities has left the Jornada LTER program struggling with constraints of limited funding for the necessary upgrades to networking and data acquisition equipment. Currently our most severe limitations include: a large backlog of GIS data and images; slow pace of integration of spatial data with standard data sets (and provision of ready web access to these); a very limited ability to handle, store, and manipulate the extremely large data files coming from our remote sensing collaborations (eg with NASA); increasing strain on our capacities for capturing data in the field across a growing network of study sites; and a limited capacity to follow up on established cross-site collaborations, for example with our Mexican colleagues. The first three of these were highlighted in the report of an NSF-sponsored review team in summer 1997. This proposal requests funds to address each of these constraints, allowing the Jornada Basin LTER program to make much more effective use of its existing resources and to capitalize on our initial ventures into this expanded arena of investigation.

We note that the review team also identified at least two other constraints at our site: limited facilities for communication for researchers in the field, and slow progress in sampling and analyzing results from recently-initiated long-term experiments. We have chosen to address these issues in other ways. For example, New Mexico State University and the USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range recently agreed to share the cost of establishing a pool of cellular phones to be loaned out to field researchers and visitors, providing communication and access to emergency assistance if needed. Support for scientific work on the long-term experiments is being sought through other sources of research funding. Hence this supplemental request focuses on upgrading our data management, networking, and collaboration capacities.

Over the past 10 years the Jornada LTER program has been highly effective at maintaining communication and data accessibility across a network of collaborating investigators and institutions. Our site has been a model for successful integration of geographically dispersed researchers, with heavy reliance on communication from the central data management office in Las Cruces (John Anderson, Barbara Nolen, Ken Ramsey). However, investment in networking and GIS technology in the office has not kept pace with the growing demands for data accessibility and for networking speed and security. Further, our expanded collaborations with agencies and investigators using remote sensing techniques have created a tremendous backlog of images and spatial data waiting to be integrated with our existing GIS. We propose to use funds requested in this supplemental program to purchase the items listed below, and to address the backlog of GIS-related data. Briefly, these requests include a new web server, expanded GIS capabilities and temporary support for personnel to assist with the backlog of GIS data, and upgrades to local area network and office computer facilities.

Web Server. We propose to purchase a new web server to support internet access to our web site and databases. Currently the web site resides on a server that is integrated with our local area network (LAN). However, a stand-alone web server is needed to ensure that data integrity is maintained by providing a higher level of network security, separating the web server from the LAN. Separating the file and web servers will also free up LAN resources, both CPU and storage, currently being used to run the web server. The requested funds would be used to purchase a computer, operating system, and software applications needed to implement and maintain a secure,stable, and efficient web server. The configuration of the web server will meet current web server needs, as well as support planned enhancements to our web site design, content, functionality, and flexibility. The web server will facilitate a user’s ability to query datasets on-line, such as climate data, site bibliography, personnel database, and scientific datasets. A software firewall running on the web server will allow the filtering of Internet services and problem IP addresses, further enhancing web server security.

GIS Assistant. As the Jornada has become an increasingly important location for aridlands research, the number of projects and datasets associated with LTER, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, and other researchers has grown explosively. In addition, we continue to work to rescue and maintain data from historical research on the site: for example, data from the initial studies on the Jornada Experimental Range, in the early decades of this century. We strive to provide accurate spatial data associated with these projects and data sets (e.g., accurate GPS locations and integration of the datasets with our GIS). Finally, the increased pace of our collaborations with federal agencies (for example, in the JORNEX and PROVE campaigns) is generating many images and other large datasets with a need for very high resolution spatial information. The consequence of all these activities has been the accumulation of a substantial backlog in the processing, storage, and documentation of spatial dataset s. Hence our GIS coordinator, Barbara Nolen, requires a fixed-term position for a GIS assistant to perform specialized GIS processing and to catch up on the backlog of metadata documentation needed to bring our GIS data on-line. The position will require someone with experience using GIS software applications. The position will also require the acquisition of a second GIS workstation, both hardware and software (see below). With the GIS backlog caught up, the GIS data/metadata could be tied in with an Image Map Server (IMS) to allow map images and metadata to be viewed dynamically over the Internet. This will facilitate secondary usage of our GIS archive by other researchers by providing an easy way to decide whether the data/metadata are useful for their research.

GIS Workstation. A GIS computer with required software is needed to support the GIS assistant. The workstation would also perform a dual role as an Image Map Server (IMS) in the short term. In the long term, IMS would preferably reside on a dedicated computer for performance reasons. Once the fixed-term GIS position is terminated, the computer would be used solely in its IMS role, thereby improving its performance, while maintaining the ability to hire another GIS assistant in the future as needed.

GIS Data Access and Storage. Barbara Nolen, our GIS specialist, has been extremely effective in coordinating remote sensing efforts centered on Jornada study sites, and her efforts have brought many large image files into the LTER data management system. As the size of image files that she accesses continues to grow, the need for a way to both access and exchange very large files is also growing. For example, accessing and copying AVIRIS tar file images continue to be problematic. Much of the collaborative GIS work being done with outside organizations, such as NASA, require that large image files be exchanged between various organizations on 8mm tape and CDs. Support is requested for an 8mm tape drive, CDR drive, media, and software to support this exchange, as well as to access and archive large image files securely and efficiently. The requested 8mm hardware and software is compatible with our existing backup tape library and backup software.

LAN Upgrades/Enhancements. Improvements to our present LAN are needed in order to maintain data integrity in the event of file server hardware failures, as well as to improve overall network performance. Implementing a RAID hard drive array will reduce the down time in the event of a hard drive failure on our file server by offering a higher level of fault protection for the file server. Automated server and workstations full weekly backups currently take over two days to complete. Additional hardware is required to reduce this time.

Another challenge is maintaining and increasing our networking capabilities as national and international standards are enhanced. New Mexico State University anticipates being connected to the vBNS (‘Internet II’) within the next six months. This will provide many benefits for researchers including higher communication speeds, data integrity during transfers, and new research tools that are planned for collaborative and distributed research. Our network topology needs to upgraded to support the higher communication speeds needed when NMSU implements vBNS, and subsequently gigabit ethernet. Reduction in backup time and implementation of vBNS, with accompanying upgrade to the LTER network topology, will allow data management personnel to function more effectively and efficiently.

Site Manager PC. The Jornada LTER Site Manager, John Anderson, is critical to coordination of research and data management for our program. He assists researchers and visitors in finding and accessing relevant data sets, and in preparing and submitting documentation (metadata) for projects and data sets. He is responsible for coordinating and documenting ongoing research, minimizing undesirable conflicts among projects and aiding researchers in finding appropriate locations for their work. Unfortunately, the Site Manager’s current computer and monitor need to be replaced in order to improve both performance and reliability. The current computer lacks in performance and is not Year 2000 compliant. We are therefore requesting funds for the purchase of a new computer and associated software to reduce recent constraints on the Site Manager’s activities.

In sum, these investments will enhance the Jornada LTER program’s networking, data management, and collaborative activities. They will also position us to take advantage of new opportunities for networking and web access of data files.

As field-based studies at the Jornada LTER site have expanded from the original Mt. Summerford transects to locations across the Jornada del Muerto basin, our ability to instrument and monitor study sites has been stretched to the limit. Additionally, increasing numbers of visiting researchers and students, and a growing number of collaborations with researchers in other Chihuahuan desert sites, have added to the pressures for efficient capture of field data. In at least one long-term study, too, we have become aware of the need for better temporal resolution of data. (Our studies of net primary production, soil moisture, and animal responses at a network of 15 sites through the basin have highlighted our need to understand intensity and timing of individual rain events, not just monthly totals as recorded by the current network of graduated gauges.) Hence we propose here some modest upgrades of instrumentation that will enhance our capacity to capture field data; the minimal investment of fund s will result in a tremendous boost to our scientific programs.

Field Laptop PC. A laptop computer, and associated software, is needed for programming and exchanging data with multiple dataloggers in the field. Currently several competing research programs and travel needs compete with the Site Manager’s and technicians’ needs for the single 486 laptop in Huenneke’s lab. A second, more capable laptop would maximize effectiveness of data capture from field instruments and would also provide support for cross-site work and computing needs while the Site Manager or other LTER investigators are travelling.

Campbell data logger. The Jornada resource heterogeneity hypothesis focuses on changes in soil properties and surface processes as a consequence of desertification. One current focus is to better characterize the flux of water across the soil surface (infiltration, wetting, evaporation). A second area of work is the response of microbiotic crusts to soil water conditions (and the reciprocal effects). Some of this work is being done in collaboration with researchers at the Bolson de Mapimí research station in Mexico, with parallel measurements being made both at Mapimí and at the Jornada (by Curtis Monger and students). However, data collection in these projects has lagged due to limited availability of field instrumentation and data collection devices. To upgrade our capacity to monitor soil surface and shallow layer moisture, we request funds to purchase a Campbell (CR10-X-1M) data logger with accessories and appropriate sensors. Again, this purchase will support both local and cross-site research activities.

Rain gauge network at NPP sites. Our network of 15 sites, at which we study patterns of aboveground net primary production, plant and animal community structure, and soil moisture, has become an increasingly important focus of site-based work since its inception in 1989. The 15 sites, with their rich detail and lengthening record of ground-based information, have also become important validation sites for the remote sensing projects mentioned above (e.g, the Desert Grassland PROVE campaign of 1997). Laura Huenneke’s analyses of temporal patterns in aboveground NPP, and Vince Gutschick’s recent efforts to understand the links between plant production and soil moisture, have highlighted our poor grasp of the temporal resolution of precipitation inputs to these sites. Currently each site has a simple graduated rain gauge (topped with oil to minimize evaporative losses), read monthly. A few sites, at which detailed studies of surface hydrology were carried out in past years, supply a more deta iled record of precipitation from more frequent monitoring. We realize that we must develop an improved understanding of the timing and intensity of precipitation events, as well as their cumulative inputs. To that end we request funds to purchase 15 high-quality tipping-bucket rain gauges, each with data logger unit, to be placed at each site. This enhanced capability will increase the value of the existing investments of time and effort in these long-term study sites.

To summarize, funds to be directed to these three items will greatly enhance our ability to capture field information, both in the Jornada Basin and in collaborative work elsewhere in the Chihuahuan Desert; and will upgrade the value of information gained from ongoing long-term studies.

The focus of our recent cross-site work has been the enhancement of collaborations with the Sevilleta LTER program (research programs of David Lightfoot, and of Deb Coffin, who recently joined the staff of the ARS Jornada Experimental Range) and with Mexican researchers (at the research station at Bolson de Mapimí, and at La Campana Experimental Range in Chihuahua). Regionalization across the Chihuahuan Desert is a natural progression for our efforts, allowing us to tease apart the influences of physical environment (e.g., latitudinal gradient) and land use history. While some of this work is supported by ongoing ARS and other support, there is a need to maintain momentum on Lightfoot’s cross-site experimental work, to maintain contact among collaborators for the writing of papers and maintenance of long-term experiments. We request $2000 in travel funds to continue cross-site research activities between the Jornada LTER, Sevilleta LTER, and Mapimí Biosphere Reserve, Mexico. Dave L ightfoot has established a cross-site small mammal exclosure study with Sevilleta and Mapimí with a 3-year NSF supplement grant. However, funding from that grant terminates this year. The research activities will continue at all three sites with LTER funding at the US sites, and CONACyT funding at Mapimí. However, in order to maintain contact with Mapimí and Sevilleta, Jornada personnel will need to make trips to those sites. Since the existing Jornada LTER budget does not have travel funds allocated for such trips, we are requesting supplemental travel funds for this purpose.

In total, this supplemental request will result in significant upgrades to the Jornada program’s capacity for data management, networking, and cross-site collaborations. We appreciate the chance to address issues highlighted in our 1997 program review.

Funds are requested for hiring a fixed-term, half-time GIS data entry person ($3000, 15 weeks, 20 hrs/wk, $10 per hour). Hiring a person experienced with GIS is the only way to catch up our backlog of spatial data, but this will require hourly wages greater than the typical student wage.

The following items fall into the general category of supplies and small equipment. Each is identified with the particular system or function in which it will be used.

GIS assistant software: These items will include ARCInfo and Suresync. Also requested is MKS Toolkit ($400), to allow use of tapes as storage without backup compression, so that images can be readily stored and retrieved and read both in the Jornada LTER program office and by external organizations (e.g., our NASA collaborators). Also, we plan to purchase ARCServe for NT ($400), to allow use of the GIS workstation as part of the current backup system. Total anticipated here is $1900.

Web Server software: This will include BackOffice Server ($1234, with $50 user’s license fee); BackOffice Server comprises more than a dozen programs or functions necessary to the secure and reliable operation of the web server. Other items will include FoxWeb, NT Clients, and Visual Development Studio. Total requested here is $1800.

These are chiefly peripheral equipment for the various servers and workstations, plus the data logger/data transfer units for the network of rain gauges.

Web server: Smart UPS for the Web Server will be approximately $350.

LAN server & workstation improvements: These will include Smart UPS; a SCSI card, RAID card, and SCSI 4 Gb hard drive to allow access of 164 Mb memory server RAM instead of being limited to 16 Mb for tape backups. This will speed up tape backups considerably, and allow for redundancy checks and data recovery in the event of a hard drive failure (enhanced data integrity/security).

HOBO dataloggers and shuttle: We are planning to use a new, affordable option for capturing data from event (tipping-bucket) recorders: HOBO dataloggers, to be installed with each of the raingauges. This is $1500, at $100 each. We will also purchase two HOBO data shuttles (2 @ $155), for collecting data from the field installations and downloading in the office.

The only travel funds requested are $2000, to support Dave Lightfoot’s continued collaborations with the Sevilleta LTER program (travel between SEV and JRN) and with researchers at the Mapimí Biosphere Reserve / Research Station. Such support will allow the completion of manuscripts based on current cross-site work and will enhance the ability of researchers to prepare proposals for future collaboration.

These items include the server and workstations themselves, plus the Campbell data logger and the raingauges.

GIS workstation: We request $3500 to purchase a Pentium-300 II or equivalent, with 128 Mb RAM, a 4 Gb SCSI hard disk drive, a 21" monitor, running Windows NT Workstation 4.0 (WinNT WS) and Office 97 Pro. Such a workstation will be capable of working with the GIS image processing and storage necessary to support our existing GIS facility.

Web server: We estimate $4000 to purchase a dual Pentium-300 II or equivalent, with 256Mb RAM, dual-port network interface card (NIC), and a 4 Gb SCSI hard disk drive.

Site manager’s PC: To replace the site manager’s current (not too reliable) computer, we plan to purchase a Pentium-300 II or equivalent, with 128 Mb RAM, a 9 Gb SCSI hard disk drive, a 19" monitor, and a data/fax modem, running WinNt WS and Office 97 Pro.

Field laptop computer: To support data downloads in the field, and to provide travel capabilities for the site manager and others, we propose to use $1800 to purchase a laptop Pentium-133 MMX or equivalent, with 48 Mb RAM, a 1.44 Gb hard disk, a 12" screen, with 10x CD ROM. Typical packages come complete with Windows 95/98 and Office 97 Standard.

Campbell data logger: We will purchase a CR10-X-1M data logger, with AM416 multiplexer, storage module, keyboard display, interface, solar panel for remote field installations, rechargeable battery, weather proof enclosure, appropriate sensors (temperature, leaf moisture, gypsum) with wiring. Total cost is estimated to be $4860.

Rain gauge network: We will purchase 15 high-quality tipping bucket rain gauges, to be placed at each of the NPP / long-term sites in the Jornada Basin. We plan to purchase WeatherMeasure (Qualitronics) gauges with 8" diameter orifice, with mercury reed switch (more durable over time than magnetic reed switches and with better electrical contact). Also, there are no bearings on the pivots of these tipping buckets (even sealed bearings tend to perform poorly under desert field conditions). WeatherMeasure gauge 260-6011 is estimated at $637 each, plus $105 shipping for total of 15. Specifications include:

0.1-second switch closure, contact rating 2 amp, 50 watt, 500Vdc; sensitivity 1 tip per 0.01" or 0.25mm; and accuracy, +/- 0.5% at 0.5"/hr.