New ecological insights through the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network(GLEON)

Sensor networks are playing an increasingly important role in ecology. Continual advances in affordable sensors and wireless communication are making the development of automated sensing systems with remote communication (i.e., sensor networks) affordable for many ecological research programs (Porter et al. 2005)[1].

Sensor networks are playing an increasingly important role in ecology. Continual advances in affordable sensors and wireless communication are making the development of automated sensing systems with remote communication （i.e., sensor networks） affordable for many ecological research programs （Porter et al. 2005）. These in situ instruments provide high-frequency data of key variables that previously were measured intermittently and by hand. A number of federal research organizations have realized the potential of environmental sensor networks, and large-scale initiatives are under development. Independent of these initiatives, small sensor networks have emerged to meet the needs of the individual or small teams of ecologists. Ecologists are entering （or already have entered, in some cases） an era in which high temporal and spatial resolution in situ measurements are generating data at unprecedented rates. The use of sensor networks will dramatically increase the volume of ecological data generated in the next decade. The focus to date on the technology of sensor networks has caused data gathering capacity to leap ahead of the models and questions required to exploit these data. Ecological research as a paradigm can be visualized as the inextricable links between observations, models, and questions. When any one node in the paradigm is pushed to a new time or space domain, the other two must follow. Sensor networks have pushed observations to a new domain in which high-frequency data are collected over extended spatial extents, requiring us to explore new ways of modeling ecosystems and challenging us to identify the most compelling scientific questions given these new data. To facilitate this development, we need to improve ecological discussion and transfer of ideas among ecologists and between ecologists and information technology experts. Integration across these areas is extremely difficult for traditional small research teams because few groups have all of the required expertise. Furthermore, research at the regional or global scales will require connecting individual networks. This level of research requires a collection of scientific expertise, models, diverse approaches for capacity building, and information technology that is typically scattered among disparate research programs in different fields. These challenges are common to all sub-disciplines of ecology. The scientific community of lake ecologists is well-poised to address these challenges because wireless sensor technologies that measure key lake variables are being developed and/or deployed independently by many small research groups worldwide. Coordinating these lake ecologists with information technologists will accelerate the rate at which new sensor network technology is integrated with key questions and models to increase understanding of lake dynamics at local to global scales. Understanding how changes in land-use, human population, and climate interact with lake dynamics at local, regional, continental, and global scales is one of the greatest challenges for lake ecologists over the next decade. Developing this understanding at such scales is daunting, but is made easier by a number of recent developments. First, sensors capable of measuring key features of lakes, such as water temperature, water movement, dissolved gases, pH, conductivity, and chlorophyll fluorescence have been developed over recent decades and are being deployed for a variety of scientific and management objectives. Second, advances in cyberinfrastructure, such as wireless sensor networks, have led to the increasing prevalence of in situ continuous measurements in lakes worldwide. Third, during the past decade an increased importance has been placed on understanding the coupling of physical and biological lake processes, for example, how circulation patterns, internal waves and stream intrusions influence nutrient cycling, lake-wide metabolism, and the wax and wane of algal blooms in lakes. As a result of these advances and in particular the improvements in data input to simulation models, there is greater potential to predict how lake ecosystems respond to natural and anthropogenic mediated events. To develop ecological studies relevant to the world＇s diversity of lakes and to address the role of lakes in global phenomena, an international network of lakes with sensors has emerged as the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network （GLEON; Kratz et al. 2006） [2]. Scientific issues critical to society, such as the change in the quality and quantity of freshwater resources and the importance of lakes and reservoirs in regional and global carbon balances transcend national boundaries. Understanding dynamics of important lake processes, such as lake metabolism, can benefit immensely from comparative studies of lakes that have different climatic, geologic, morphometric, hydrologic, and cultural influences. Strong partnerships among lake scientists, engineers, computer scientists, educators, and information technology and management experts from multiple institutions throughout the world are making the vision of a global network of lake observing systems a reality. The overarching mission of GLEON is to build an international multidisciplinary community of researchers to advance the global lake science made possible by a global lake ecological observatory network.