LTER Site Byte
LTER Site: Arctic LTER (ARC)
Contributor: Jim Laundre (Aug 01, 2007)
Site Byte:
1. Annual Site Byte
This past year Arctic LTER updated its web pages and continued work on implementing our new Excel metadata entry form (http://ecosystems.mbl.edu/arc/metadata_forms/MetadataBlank.xls). Since most ARC-LTER investigators use Excel this form allows the metadata and data to reside in the same workbook. VBA macros are then used to output EML, rich text, ASCII and html files for the web.
Our site review occurred this past June. I was not able to be at the field site during the review but reports back indicate that the site review team had a good time and that many useful discussions were held. The report will be out soon.
Several new large projects will provide opportunities for enhancing the data information available for the Toolik Region:
- International Polar Year (IPY): Collaborative Research on Carbon, Water, and Energy Balance of the Arctic Landscape at Flagship Observatories and in a PanArctic Network (AON). This project will provide landscape-level data and analyses of terrestrial carbon, water, and surface energy. An integrated terrestrial carbon/water/energy database for use in modeling and synthesis activities will be developed. Proposed is the development or extension of three databases: (1) the Toolik/Imnavait database (already a part of the Arctic LTER database, (2) a Cherskii database (to be developed and archived with the Arctic LTER) and (3) the PanArctic database (to be developed in partnership with our collaborators, archived with the Arctic LTER).
- Toolik Field Station is the tundra candidate for The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON).
These projects will expanded the environmental baseline datasets and provide exciting opportunities for science at Toolik. The task of integrating the databases will both be challenging and rewarding.
Unfortunately because of family commitments I will not be able to attend this year’s meeting. The IM team member who was planning on attending also had to cancel.
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2. Planned IM Projects
1) Add new and update existing datasets.
2) EML implementation:
Continue work on the Excel metadata worksheet entry form. More documentation is need and taxonomic coverage and protocols sections need to be added in the VBA macro that output EML files.
Our legacy metadata has been converted to Ecological Metadata Language (EML) but only at EML Best Practices level 2/3 (no attribute EML). In bringing the files up to level 4, the files will be reviewed and where appropriate consolidated into multi-year files. Differences in methods and personnel will require that some years remain separate.
3) Train of new ARC IM team members in metadata and data methods.
4) Integration of non-LTER data such as AON (see above in section 1).
5) Evaluate relational databases for use with some of our long-term datasets.
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