Basic Research Opportunities in Earth Science (2001) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Pages 1-10
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OPPORTUNITIES FOR BASIC RESEARCH Basic research in Earth science encompasses a wide range of physical, chemical, and biological processes that interact and combine in complex ways to produce a hierarchy of terrestrial systems. EAR is currently sponsoring investigations on geosystems that range in geographic scale from globalclimate, plate tectonics, and the core dynamo to regional and local
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dynamics of the land-ocean interface, which governs how coastal ocean processes such as tides, waves, and currents interact with river drainage, groundwater flow, and sediment flux, · coupling of the tectonic and atmospheric processes through volcanism, precipitation, fluvial processes, glacier development, and erosion, which regulate surface topography and influence climate on geological time scales, and . formation of a geological record that encodes a four-billion-year history of Critical-Zone processes, including environmental variations caused by major volcanic episodes, meteorite impacts, and other extreme events.
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3. Research on Earth and planetary materials, which uses advanced instrumentation and theory to determine properties at the molecular level for understanding materials and processes at all scales relevant to planets.
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These remote-sensing techniques, in combination with field mapping, deep continental drilling for in situ sampling and experimentation, and advanced laboratory analysis of rocks brought up from great depths, offer major opportunities to address basic questions regarding the three-dimensional structure and composition of the continents, the geologic record of continental formation and assembly, and the physical processes in continental deformation zones. Targets of this research include: · mechanisms of active deformation, earthquake physics, coupling between brittle and ductile deformations, and fault-system dynamics and evolution, · role of fluids in chemical, thermal, magmatic and mechanical processes, deep circulation systems in hydrothermal areas and sedimentary basins, and fluxes from the mantle, · nature of the lower continental crust, its average composition and fluid content, processes of formation and development, and role as a mechanical decoupling layer, and · deep structure of the continental lithosphere, its coupling to the underlying mantle, and implications for Earth evolution.
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Telescopic observations of primitive objects in the solar system and of the planets orbiting distant stars are beginning to furnish unique data regarding the origin and evolution of the solar system. Current and planned space missions will provide unprecedented detail and coverage of the geology, topography, structure, and composition of many solar-system bodies.
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To coordinate support for multidisciplinary studies, EAR should take the lead within NSF in devising a long-term strategy for funding research on the Critical Zone. Mechanisms for Multidisciplinary Research Understanding the behavior and evolution of complex terrestrial systems requires cooperative efforts in data collection as well as integrative studies to pull together diverse data sets and construct explanatory models.
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Plate Boundary Observatory, for measuring deformations of the western United States using strainmeters and ultraprecise geodesy; and (4) InSAR, for using satellite-based interferometric synthetic aperture radar to map surface deformations.
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. The I&F program should encourage its user communities to identify research priorities and develop a consensus regarding how many laboratories are needed and how their operational costs should be apportioned among the EAR core programs, the I&F program, and participating academic institutions.
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Geological Survey in deploying the Advanced National Seismic System; and with NASA in developing a satellite-based interferometric synthetic aperture radar system for observing active deformation. An effective initiative in planetary science will require careful coordination with NSF's Astronomical Science Division as well as with NASA.
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This increase would help to offset the recent decline in federal support of basic Earth science and would substantially strengthen the national effort in this important area of fundamental research.
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