Vital Signs

Writer Mary Hoff
@mkhoff Science writer & editor

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April 18, 2013 — To assess a heart’s health, doctors use an EKG. To assess the health of America’s ecosystems, scientists are setting into place a nationwide network that will use standardized tools and techniques to track long-term changes in air and water quality, plant and animal populations, climate, and more. Known as the National Ecological Observatory Network, the National Science Foundation–funded system will gather observations from more than 100 monitoring stations over a 30-year period, with data, models and related educational materials all available free online. Although it’s not expected to be fully functional until 2017, NEON already has several projects underway, including assessment of conditions in Colorado following last summer’s fires, a season-tracking initiative known as Project Budburst, a citizen science academy for educators and an undergraduate internship program. Image credit: NASA and Thinkstock (design by National Science Foundation)

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Vital Signs

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