SUMMARY

Abstract

to be the next-generation near-surface (ISFF-like) facility. NESAF would wirelessly network a multi-disciplinary array of off-the-grid sensors on a large-suite of highly portable, readily deployable towers. The sensor suite is envisioned to expand on the current ISFF to enable enhanced multi-disciplinary work (adding to the soil/ecology/chemistry suite and volume of atmospheric/chemical flux sensors) and simultaneously addressing the geoscientific need to cover large geographic areas in detail for long periods. The current ISFF cannot meet this need because the towers, sensors and cabling are too cumbersome. The proposed system would enable the rapid (< 1 month) deployment of 100s of towers rather than ~10. Ground-based, airborne and satellite remote sensing methods are unable to fill this need because they do not yet provide continuous high-rate correlated measurements or high-quality fluxes. Over complex orography the value of the proposed system is accentuated. A prototyping project is underway at NCAR at the current time Further informatio