In this issue: NEON Airborne Remote Sensing, updates from Puerto Rico and Hawaii, and science in the snow.    
DATA AND INFRASTRUCTURE NEWS
Winter winds may blow and the snow may fall, but work at NEON’s northern field sites continues through the winter months.

If you happen to be at a NEON field site during the peak of the growing season this year, look for the NEON Airborne Observation Platforms (AOPs) flying overhead.

DOMAIN NEWS
At “Training Paloozas”, field staff focus on data quality and best practices in observational field sampling at aquatic and terrestrial field sites.

Despite major setbacks caused by Maria, NEON field crews are bringing our field sites back to full operations in the midst of an island-wide humanitarian and infrastructure crisis.

CONSTRUCTION UPDATE
Located in the Pu`u Maka`ala Natural Area Reserve (PUUM) in Hawaii, this NEON field site is expected to be fully operational by the fall of 2018.

As of December 2017, all components of the NEON Airborne Remote Sensing program have transitioned from Construction Phase to Initial Operations.

FEATURED EXPERT
Battelle welcomes Dr. Sharon Collinge as the new NEON Observatory Director and Chief Scientist.

UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES & EVENTS
Open NEON Science Community Forum Now Online
NEON data and infrastructure users now have an online forum to discuss NEON data, tools, resources, opportunities, calls for proposals, research ideas, new discoveries and any other topic of interest to the user community.

Applications Now Open for the 2018 NEON Data Institute: Remote Sensing with Reproducible Workflows in Python
Application Deadline: March 20, 2018

This  Data Institute  provides a unique opportunity for participants to gain hands-on experience working with openly available NEON data using well-documented, reproducible methods using Python. Participants will also gain important applied knowledge about using heterogeneous remote sensing data sources to address spatio-temporal ecological research questions.

NEON Careers
Ongoing growth and advancements at NEON create opportunity. Join our team!
Each year, NEON hires hundreds of temporary field technicians to assist our full-time field operations staff with observational sampling. NEON field sites are located in 24 states across the U.S plus Puerto Rico; and the sites are located in some of the nation’s most pristine and wild areas. These opportunities are perfect for up-and-coming scientists who want valuable fieldwork experience collecting data for a continental-scale ecology project.

Contact us at 720-746-4844