A Synoptic System for Capturing Ecosystem Control Points Across Terrestrial‐Aquatic Interfaces

Interconnected landscape features such as terrestrial‐aquatic interfaces play an outsized role in biogeochemical cycles as ecosystem control points, but it is notoriously challenging to characterize these. Here, we document a synoptic sensor network design that is (a) flexible to accommodate diverse...

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Published in:Journal of geophysical research. Biogeosciences Vol. 130; no. 10
Main Authors: Ward, Nicholas D., Megonigal, J. Patrick, Weintraub, Michael N., Regier, Peter, Pennington, Stephanie C., Peixoto, Roberta Bittencourt, Bond‐Lamberty, Ben, Chen, Xingyuan, Doro, Kennedy O., Kemner, Kenneth M., Machado‐Silva, Fausto, McDowell, Nate G., Myers‐Pigg, Allison N., Sandoval, Leticia, Patel, Kaizad F., Thornton, Peter E., Wilson, Stephanie J., Bailey, Vanessa L., Rich, Roy L.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Washington Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.10.2025
American Geophysical Union
Subjects:
Aquatic ecosystems
autonomous
Biogeochemical cycle
Biogeochemical cycles
biogeochemistry
coastal
Data analysis
Data loggers
Data processing
Design
Ecosystems
Environmental changes
Field tests
Groundwater
Heterogeneity
hydrology
Interfaces
Network design
sensor
Sensors
state change
Surface water
Surface-groundwater relations
System dynamics
Water monitoring
ISSN:2169-8953, 2169-8961, 2169-8961
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Interconnected landscape features such as terrestrial‐aquatic interfaces play an outsized role in biogeochemical cycles as ecosystem control points, but it is notoriously challenging to characterize these. Here, we document a synoptic sensor network design that is (a) flexible to accommodate diverse ecosystem interfaces and gradients, (b) adaptable to monitoring and modeling needs of small and large projects alike, (c) standardized for intercomparability across sites and field experiments, and (d) adequately replicated to capture heterogeneity of each parameter monitored. This real‐time monitoring of surface water, groundwater, soil, and vegetation supports configuration and evaluation of models that span upland, wetland, open water strata, and transitions between them. We established the network at seven sites along the Chesapeake Bay and Lake Erie coastlines, including large‐scale flood manipulation experiments in both regions. A central design element is “one data logger program to rule them all”—a collection of sensor‐specific modules deployed on 40 loggers controlling ∼2,000 sensors, with the goal of streamlining maintenance, debugging, and reproducible data processing. The network generates ∼6 M observations per month, capturing system dynamics at the broad spatial and fine temporal scales needed to initialize and benchmark models; measurement frequency can be modified remotely to capture events. This network design has also revealed behaviors not represented in Earth system models, such as transient groundwater oxygen pulses. Completely documented and open source, this standardized, flexible, and efficient sensor network design can reduce barriers to understanding environmental changes and ecosystem responses across systems and scales. Plain Language Summary The investigation of how climate change and water level fluctuations impact variable and interconnected ecosystems, like the interfaces between terrestrial and aquatic environments, requires the collection and integration of many data types. We describe an integrative and autonomous environmental monitoring approach that uses environmental sensors and data loggers to monitor surface water, groundwater, soil, and vegetation changes to generate essential data for predictive models. We established the network at seven sites along the Chesapeake Bay and Lake Erie coastlines, including large‐scale flood manipulation experiments in both regions, collectively generating over 6 million observations per month. Such sensor networks hold great promise for tracking and comprehending environmental changes where land and water intersect. The sensor system and overall approach to sensor management that we have designed is intended to be widely accessible for research teams spanning in size from an individual investigator to large multi‐institution projects. Key Points We describe a flexible approach for monitoring hydrological controls on the biogeochemistry and ecology of terrestrial aquatic interfaces Management of ∼2,000 sensors is streamlined with a single modular data logging program deployed at seven coastal sites with unique features The network provides foundational data for coastal model development and has enabled discovery of previously unknown system behaviors
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content type line 14
PNNL-SA--205991
AC05-76RL01830
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER). Earth & Environmental Systems Science (EESS)
ISSN:2169-8953
2169-8961
2169-8961
DOI:10.1029/2025JG009335