Think of it as earth-science researchers’ high-tech version of a store that rents specialized equipment to homeowners for their weekend projects they could never afford themselves – and provides some helpful tips about the gear before and after it’s used.
Hundreds of scientists around the nation in the past 15 years have relied on state-of-the-art environmental sensing instruments leased by the Centers for Transformative Environmental Monitoring Programs – CTEMPs, for short – for research that stretches from the ice of Antarctica to a creek flowing through the heart of New York City.
Now the program has landed new funding that will bring more technology, more training and more sponsoring institutions.
Since its creation in 2008, CTEMPs has been overseen by the University of Nevada, Reno, and Oregon State University. The National Science Foundation, the primary funder of…