Phenocams
Phenology is the study of reoccurring life cycle events that are driven by environmental factors. In this case, the targeted events are related to seasonal changes in above canopy and understory vegetation (e.g. onset of growth and leaf senescence). The timing of these events is driven by both short- and long-term variability in climate and is valuable in understanding the effects of climate change.
A "phenocam" is a digital camera capturing time-lapse images of foliage which can be used to generate quantitative measures of plant phenology. Over time, these data provide a near-continuous visual record of canopy change and environmental conditions. NEON uses a Stardot NetCam CS CAM-SEC5IR-B to collect RGB and IR images every 15 minutes at each of its terrestrial and aquatic field sites. Over time, these data will reveal trends in the greening and senescence of trees, herbs, and shrubs.
Phenocam imagery is not only important for tracking plant phenology; NEON scientists also place several snow gauges, appearing as yard sticks sticking out of the ground, within the field of view (FOV) of the lower cameras. Users are able to use the images of these snow gauges to estimate snow depth over the non-growing season. Understanding the dynamics of snow cover are important because snow cover and snow melt have an important influence on things like soil temperature, gas exchange between the soil and the atmosphere, and nutrient cycling.
NEON works closely with the and has adopted its standards and protocols for instrumentation and instrument configuration as well as data processing. Specifically, NEON employs the standard PhenoCam Network Stardot NetCam CS CAM-SEC5IR-B in conjunction with the PhenoCam Installation Tool to configure all NEON cameras and ensure high quality data capture across the Observatory. Images collected by NEON's phenocams are uploaded to the PhenoCam Network servers where they are processed into a series of standardized data products.
Sampling Design and Methods
Placement of Phenocams
At terrestrial sites, one phenocam is installed at the top of the met/flux tower to capture above canopy vegetation. One phenocam is installed near the bottom of the tower (typically at 2 m) to collect understory vegetation including snow cover during the winter. Cameras typically face north.
At aquatic sites, one phenocam is installed on the shore facing the aquatic body to capture land-water interface images. Surface water sensor stations, groundwater wells, and meteorological stations are positioned nearby to collect additional automated measurements.
Data Products
Data products related to the 15-minute collection of imagery:
- (DP1.00033.001)
- (DP1.00042.001)
- (DP1.20002.001)
Data products related to ground-based, plant observations found in the imagery:
- (DP1.10055.001)
Additional data products are available via the PhenoCam network and include:
More information on the standard PhenoCam data products can be found in this publication:
Richardson, A.D., K. Hufkens, T. Milliman, D.M. Aubrecht, M. Chen, J.M. Gray, M.R. Johnston, T.F. Keenan, S.T. Klosterman, M. Kosmala, E.K. Melaas, M.A. Friedl, and S. Frolking. 2018. Tracking vegetation phenology across diverse North American biomes using PhenoCam imagery. Scientific Data 5, Article number: 180028.
Related Resources
Resources for Working with Phenocam Data
- Code Resources: The PhenoCam Network creates and hosts a variety to code and GUI tools to work with phenocam images and to model phenology.
- Data Tutorials: Complete the Introduction to working with PhenoCam Images tutorial series.
Collaborating with the Phenocam Network
is one of the largest cooperative, open access networks of phenocam data on Earth. PhenoCam both archives and distributes imagery and derived data products from digital cameras deployed at research sites across North America and around the world. NEON closely follows the PhenoCam protocols to collect phenology image data, and our data are hosted on the an open access database that provides image data of canopy phenology across the network of PhenoCam sites.
You can also search and access NEON's phenocam data via the and NEON data API.
Phenocam Images
Each image below shows the latest view from a camera. Click on an image to go to the Phenocam Network and download data for that camera.
Jump to a Domain by clicking the links below:
D01 | D02 | D03 | D04 | D05 | D06 | D07 | D08 | D09 | D10 | D11 | D12 | D13 | D14 | D15 | D16 | D17 | D18 | D19 | D20
D01 Northeast
| D01 BART (Upper) |
D01 BART (Lower) |
D01 HARV (Upper) |
| D01 HARV (Lower) |
D01 HOBP |
D02 Mid Atlantic
| D02 BLAN (Upper) |
D02 BLAN (Lower) |
D02 SCBI (Upper) |
| D02 SCBI (Lower) |
D02 SERC (Upper) |
D02 SERC (Lower) |
| D02 LEWI |
D02 POSE |
D03 Southeast
| D03 DSNY (Upper) |
D03 DSNY (Lower) |
D03 JERC (Upper) |
| D03 JERC (Lower) |
D03 OSBS (Upper) |
D03 OSBS (Lower) |
| D03 BARC |
D03 SUGG |
D03 FLNT |
D04 Atlantic Neotropical
| D04 GUAN (Upper) |
D04 GUAN (Lower) |
D04 LAJA (Upper) |
| D04 LAJA (Lower) |
D04 CUPE |
D04 GUIL
|
D05 Great Lakes
| D05 STEI (Upper) |
D05 STEI (Lower) |
D05 TREE (Upper) |
| D05 TREE (Lower) |
D05 UNDE (Upper) |
D05 UNDE (Lower) |
| D05 CRAM |
D05 LIRO |
D06 Prairie Peninsula
| D06 KONA (Upper) |
D06 KONA (Lower) |
D06 KONZ (Upper) |
| D06 KONZ (Lower) |
D06 UKFS (Upper) |
D06 UKFS (Lower) |
| D06 KING |
D06 MCDI |
D07 Appalachians & Cumberland Plateau
| D07 GRSM (Upper) |
D07 GRSM (Lower) |
D07 MLBS (Upper) |
| D07 MLBS (Lower) |
D07 ORNL (Upper) |
D07 ORNL (Lower) |
| D07 LECO |
D07 WALK |
D08 Ozarks Complex
| D08 DELA (Upper) |
D08 DELA (Lower) |
D08 LENO (Upper) |
| D08 LENO (Lower) |
D08 TALL (Upper) |
D08 TALL (Lower) |
| D08 MAYF |
D08 TOMB |
D08 BLWA |
D09 Northern Plains
| D09 DCFS (Upper) |
D09 DCFS (Lower) |
D09 NOGP (Upper) |
| D09 NOGP (Lower) |
D09 WOOD (Upper) |
D09 WOOD (Lower) |
| D09 PRPO |
D09 PRLA |
D10 Central Plains
| D10 CPER (Upper) |
D10 CPER (Lower) |
D10 RMNP (Upper) |
| D10 RMNP (Lower) |
D10 STER (Upper) |
D10 STER (Lower) |
| D10 ARIK |
D11 Southern Plains
| D11 CLBJ (Upper) |
D11 CLBJ (Lower) |
D11 OAES (Upper) |
| D11 OAES (Lower) |
D11 BLUE |
D11 PRIN |
D12 Northern Rockies
|
D12 YELL (Upper) |
D12 YELL (Lower) |
D12 BLDE |
D13 Southern Rockies & Colorado Plateau
| D13 MOAB (Upper) |
D13 MOAB (Lower) |
D13 NIWO (Upper) |
| D13 NIWO (Lower) |
D13 COMO |
D13 WLOU |
D14 Desert Southwest
| D14 JORN (Upper) |
D14 JORN (Lower) |
D14 SRER (Upper) |
| D14 SRER (Lower) |
D14 SYCA |
D15 Great Basin
| D15 ONAQ (Upper) |
D15 ONAQ (Lower) |
D15 REDB |
D16 Pacific Northwest
| D16 ABBY (Upper) |
D16 ABBY (Lower) |
D16 WREF (Upper) |
| D16 WREF (Lower) |
D16 MART |
D16 MCRA |
D17 Pacific Southwest
| D17 SOAP (Upper) |
D17 SOAP (Lower) |
D17 SJER (Upper) |
| D17 SJER (Lower) |
D17 TEAK (Upper) |
D17 TEAK (Lower) |
| D17 BIGC (Lower) |
D17 TECR |
D18 Tundra
| D18 BARR (Upper) |
D18 BARR (Lower) |
D18 TOOL (Upper) |
| D18 TOOL (Lower) |
D18 OKSR Currently Not Available |
D18 TOOK |
D19 Taiga
| D19 DEJU (Upper) |
D19 DEJU (Lower) |
D19 BONA (Upper) |
| D19 BONA (Lower) |
D19 HEAL (Upper) |
D19 HEAL (Lower) |
| D19 CARI |
D20 Pacific Tropical
| D20 PUUM (Upper) |
D20 PUUM (Lower) |