Why Develop a Coordinated, Long-term Flux Network?
- Address hypothesis that could not be addressed with data from a single or even a few flux tower sites
- Provide an integrated database for synthesis and modeling
- Facilitate distinguishing ecosystem dynamics biological and meteorological effects
- Facilitate temporal analysis
- Facilitate intercomparisons among sites
- Facilitate spatial comparisons across environmental gradients and across biomes
- Share developing methodologies and instrumentation
- Promote compatibility across computer platforms
- Back-up and security of data
- Long-term accessibility of data
- Documented institutional memory
- Satisfy clients from the ecological, remote sensing, meteorological,
hydrological and modeling communities
