How NEON is integrating the use of PDAs in collecting ecological field data

Background/Question/Methods

The use of GPS-enabled data-gathering devices is essential for the collection, organization, and curation of field data, facilitating the development of contextual relationships for the disparate observations NEON will make. To address this challenge, the NEON Cyberinfrastructure team is developing customized PDA applications to allow field personnel to easily gather and correlate data. These applications will run on iOS devices, like the iPad and iPhone, as well as Andriod devices for some citizen science efforts.

Results/Conclusions

The NEON PDA applications will be used for bird survey counts, beetle and mosquito collection, aquatic stream protocols, and other NEON field data collection activities. These applications will also enhance data collection accuracy by replacing their pencil and paper protocols with validated data entry, and standardize the collected data to simplify data-mining efforts.  The applications will also provide the field personnel with tools to assist their efforts, such as GPS-enabled maps, reference guides, and in-field calculations. The NEON Cyberinfrastructure team is also making customized applications for enhanced citizen science efforts.  The citizen science applications engage the public to contribute field observations using their smart phone devices, and then see how their contributions are used with other NEON data.