Documents — Connectivity Proposals

This supplemental request by the Andrews Forest LTER is being made to advance long-term environmental science through the broader and more consistent applications of internet connectivity. Although a T-1 (1.54Mb/s) is considered to be the minimum speed for effective data communication to field sites, our site has only had access to basic telephone service that allows data communications at a maximum rate of 56Kb/s.

Submitted to the National Science Foundation March 11, 1999 Central Arizona – Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research Project Nancy B. Grimm, Co-Project Director, Charles L. Redman, Co-Project Director SUMMARY OF PROPOSED EFFORT The establishment of the Central Arizona-Phoenix LTER introduces many new opportunities and as many new challenges to the extant LTER network.

Current Status of Internet Access for Coweeta Schoolyard LTER Program— Our experiences in this first year (1998-99) of our Coweeta Schoolyard initiative were quite positive. All five teachers involved (3 at 6th grade, 1 at high school, and 1 at community college) gave positive reviews of the activities and had overwhelmingly positive responses from the students involved.

Over the last ten years the Harvard Forest has developed an integrated and cross-disciplinary research and educational program involving researchers and students from across the northeastern U.S. that focuses on the response of forest ecosystems to disturbance and stress resulting from natural and anthropogenic processes.

The scientific program of the Jornada Basin LTER focuses on understanding biotic and abiotic processes of desertification in arid ecosystems. This program is based upon extensive scientific collaborations among several universities, primarily New Mexico State University (NMSU) and Duke University, and federal research agencies, primarily the Agricultural Research Service (ARS).

The KBS LTER site K12 Connectivity request is designed to improve the internet connectivity of the site, including the connectivity of our K-12 LTER outreach partners. The site requests a one-time supplement of to bring both the KBS LTER site and our two rural K-12 districts to a capacity sufficient to meet our expected connectivity needs for the next 6 years.

The W. K. Kellogg Biological Station of Michigan State University (MSU) is a year-round research and education facility located in southwestern Michigan, about 100 km from the main MSU campus. Since its origin in the early 1950’s, KBS has established a strong record of research, education, and service in the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology.

Introduction to the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research Project The Shortgrass Steppe occupies the middle of the productivity gradient along which the LTER grasslands lie. It is unique among North American grasslands for its long evolutionary history of intense selection by both drought and herbivory, leading to an ecosystem that is very well adapted to withstand grazing by domestic livestock (Mack and Thompson 1982, Milchunas et al. 1988).

We request an Internet Upgrade supplement (Intellectual Infrastructure) to our North Temperate Lakes Long-Term Ecological Research award (DEB 96-32853) to enhance internet connectivity at our field sites.

A 1993 supplement to our LTER program provided the base funding for the establishment of a T1 facility at the Mountain Research Station (MRS). This line was installed from the Boulder campus to the Marr Laboratory at MRS.

We are applying for LTER Connectivity Upgrade Supplemental funding to provide a high speed T1 connection, a network server and remote data acquisition for monitoring stations at our LTER Plum Island Estuary field station in Rowley, Ma. The high speed (1.54 Mb/s) T1 connection at the field station will be used to facilitate transfer of data over the Internet and data collection from on line equipment while at the site.

The Shortgrass Steppe occupies the middle of the productivity gradient along which the LTER grasslands lie. It is unique among North American grasslands for its long evolutionary history of intense selection by both drought and herbivory, leading to an ecosystem that is very well adapted to withstand grazing by domestic livestock (Mack and Thompson 1982, Milchunas et al. 1988).

We request a supplement to the Virginia Coast Long-Term Ecological Research (VCR/LTER) Project (NSF grant DEB-9411974) to support development and maintanence of a high-speed Internet connection to the University of Virginia Coastal Reseach Center (UVACRC) which is the host laboratory for the VCR/LTER Project, to enhance the on-site network of the UVACRC to allow efficient use of the high-speed connection and to enhance the network connections of our Scholastic Long-term Ecological Research (SLTER) partner institution (Northampton County High School) to better support SLTER activties.