The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) is a continental scale ecological observatory consisting of 60 sites collecting biophysical, biogeochemical and organismal data over the next 30 years that will be available to the public for both analysis and integration with existing models. Data will include eddy covariance measurements of evapotranspiration, water vapor isotopes and soil moisture profiles, along with stream discharge and water quality observations in co-located first-order catchments across many types of biomes. Such data can inform hydrological and land surface models over a wide range of spatial scales. The challenge is how can this complex task be achieved in the most productive and reproducible way.
In order to perform both spatial extrapolation from flux tower sites and temporal forecasting on decadal timescales we are developing a model-data fusion framework. Using this framework NEON data can be combined with the Community Land Model, which features a fully coupled carbon and nitrogen cycle (CLM-CN). Our goal is to produce optimal solutions for model states, fluxes and parameter values, with their associated uncertainties, at regional to continental scales. Here we describe our initial trials of programmatically integrating NEON data streams with the CLM using the Data Assimilation Research Testbed (DART), a community tool for ensemble DA. We will provide an overview of the NEON informatics architecture, the workflow we employ, and outline how our emphasis on metadata and semantic infrastructure data from the NEON project will enable others to use these data within their own model-data fusion frameworks.