1. Supporting targets of opportunity in ecological research: case of the High Park Fire, 2012
Tom Kampe, Nathan Leisso, Keith Krause
National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON, Inc.), Boulder, CO
ESA 2013 Annual Meeting

2. Outline The NEON Observatory NEON Assignable Assets
Airborne Observation Platform
Wildfires in the Western United States
High Park Fire 2012
NEON Response to the High Park Fire
Path Forward

3. The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON)
What is NEON?
The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON)
NEON is a continental-scale research platform being developed to enable understanding and forecasting the impacts of climate change, land-use change, and invasive species on continental-scale ecology by providing infrastructure to support research, education and environmental management in these areas
The NEON Project is the observatory funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)
NEON Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation that is currently led and funded by the NSF to plan, design, build and operate NEON
Currently in Construction phase

4. NEON Rapid Response
NEON Assignable assets include all resources that can be requested by researchers and that, when assigned, normally preclude use (for a time) by others:
Relocatable Sites
Airborne Observation Platform (AOP)
Mobile Deployment Platform (MDP)
Addition of Sensors/Instruments
Calibration/Validation laboratory(Cal/Val)
Biological Sampling
Process under development for external use of NEON Assignable Assets
Approach: Develop general and asset-specific guidelines and screening criteria for evaluation of requests using a dual track
NSF: Evaluates scientific merit, sets priorities and reviews/approves recommendations
NEON: Evaluates feasibility – technical, logistical, financial

5. Wildfire Incidence in Western United States
The western United States has experienced an unprecedented period of wildfires in the last two decades (Morgan et al. 2008), and summer 2012 saw large fires in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Montana, and Wyoming
While fire occurrence and area burned are clearly linked to broad-scale drought and earlier snow melt (Westerling et al ), spatially complex forest fuel conditions resulting from decades of fire suppression and unprecedented recent bark beetle outbreaks in the region (Bentz et al. 2009)
These are likely influencing patterns of fire spread, severity, and post-fire forest development trajectories at fine to intermediate spatial scales (1-1,000 m)
Bentz, B., J. Logan, J. MacMahon, C. Allen, et al Bark beetle outbreaks in Western North America: Causes and consequences. Chicago, IL: University of Utah Press. 42 p.
Morgan, P., E. K. Heyerdahl, and C. Gibson, “Multi-season climate synchronized forest fires throughout the 20th century, Northern Rockies, USA, Ecology, 89(3), 2008, pp
Westerling, A. L., H. G. Hidalgo, D. R. Cayan, and T. W. Swetnam Warming and earlier spring increase western U.S. forest wildfire activity. Science 313:940–943.

6. High Park Fire, Colorado
Third largest fire in Colorado history
Occurred in the mountains west of Fort Collins in Larimer County, Colorado, USA.
Caused by a lightning strike and was first detected on the morning of June 9, 2012
Burnt over 87,284 acres ( sq mi; km2) of public & private lands
Destroyed at least 259 homes
The burned area drains directly into the Cache la Poudre River, a critical water source for northern Colorado communities
Fighting the fire cost over $31.5 million
Urgent response needed in response to rapid change on ground due to summer rains initiating post-fire erosion and sedimentation; management activities alter landscape characteristics, and vegetation will begin to regenerate

7. AOP High Park Response Primary Science Questions:
What is the state of the landscape at the conclusion of the High Park Fire, both within the fire’s final boundary and in reference areas outside the fire?
How did conditions prior to the fire affect fire behavior and impacts?
How does fire severity and pattern affect post-fire trajectories?
Large variety in burn severity – tied to beetle kill?
Are different plant species affected differently
What is the impact of beetle kill?
What is the effect of erosion of landscape?
Combined Spectroscopic/LiDAR survey of entire burn scar
NEON awarded a NSF RAPIDS proposal to survey the entire burn scar area in 2012
Follow-on grant awarded to re-fly burn scar for 3 additional years (2013 – 2015)
Collaboration with Scientists from Colorado State University
Ecological, geomorphic, hydrological and fire science field measurements

8. The NEON Airborne Observation Platform
De Havilland DHC twin turbo prop Twin Otter aircraft
Science Crew: 2 NEON personnel for sensor flight operations
Typical Flight Parameters
Altitude: 1000 m AGL
Airspeed: 90 – 100 knots
Ground sampling distance: 1 meter
Remote Sensing Payload
Waveform-LiDAR
NEON VSWIR Imaging Spectrometer
34 deg x-track FOV nm
6 nm FWHM
Airborne digital camera
GPS/Inertial measurement unit
Scientific staff conducting ground measurements (field spectrometers, sun photometers, etc) and producing science data products

9. Baseline Flight Operations
7-months, 1,100 flight hrs flight season
Ship payload to Hawaii
Preseason calibration flight

10. NEON Response to the High Park Fire
AOP deployed out of Rocky Mountain Municipal Airport, Broomfield, CO
Full imaging spectrometer, digital camera, and LiDAR set acquired
Over 100 sq. miles flown each year
Nominal Flight Altitude: 1000 m AGL
90+ flight lines
Total of 22 Flight Hours flown in 2013

11. AOP Data – Discrete Lidar

12. AOP Data – Imaging Spectrometer

13. Field Spectra

14. Path Forward
NEON will survey the High Park burn scar annually the next two years
Produce a multi-year airborne field and remote sensing dataset
Develop an integrated understanding of post-fire vegetation recovery as it relates to erosion and deposition across the fire landscape
Study the biological and physical responses to an extreme fire event
Data will become available by end of year
NEON web site (
Rapid response capability demonstrated
Process for researchers to proposes to use NEON Assignable Assets currently under development
More information at tomorrow’s poster session
OPS 2-15 Assessment of the high park fire burn scar using the NEON Airborne Observatory Platform

15. © 2013 National Ecological Observatory Network, Inc
© 2013 National Ecological Observatory Network, Inc. All rights reserved. The National Ecological Observatory Network is a project sponsored by the National Science Foundation and managed under cooperative agreement by NEON, Inc. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under the following grants: EF , EF , EF and DBI Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

16. Outline 15 minute presentation – 8 slides max.
Be aware of your designated talk time. Organized oral presentations are scheduled for 20 minute timeslots. 15 minutes are allotted for each presentation plus 5 minutes for questions. Time limits will be strictly enforced by the session moderator, who will warn each speaker when they are approaching their time limit.
Title: Supporting targets of opportunity in ecological research: case of the High Park Fire, 2012
Short overview of the High Park fire
Extent of the fire & timing -> size, cost, largest fire, etc.
Importance to Colorado (water source to Fort Collins and Greely, etc.)
Importance of understanding drivers for Wildfire
Increased incidence of wildfires in western U.S.
Prevalence of pine beetle infestation
Human encroachment on forests, etc.
Short overview of AOP in context of NEON
The NEON Mission (one slide)
AOP role – scaling & what measurements being made with remote sensing platform
High Park Study
Scientific Goals
What measurements being made
Who are the participants
AOP’s role
Flight lines
Sample data images
Future activities