Basic Research Opportunities in Earth Science (2001) / Chapter Skim
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1. Basic Earth Science and Society
1. Basic Earth Science and Society
Pages 11-34
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From page 11... ...
Seismological and potential-field techniques developed for finding oil and minerals are now employed to image churning structures thousands of kilometers deep within the Earth's convecting mantle. These great thermal currents continually rejuvenate the face of Earth through plate tectonics, raising mountains, and causing earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
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From page 12... ...
This report employs NSF terminology: Earth science is the subset of geoscience concerned with the study of the Earth's solid surface, crust, mantle, and core. The disciplines of Earth science include geology, geophysics, geochemistry, geobiology, hydrology, and related fields.
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From page 13... ...
and applied Earth science (red lines) , compared to the annual budget of NSF's Earth Science Division (black lines)
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From page 14... ...
Many of these strategic issues concern the near-surface environment, where interactions between rock, soil, air, water, and biota determine the availability of nearly every life-sustaining resource. This special interracial region of mass and energy flux, which comprises terrestrial, lacustrine, and marine components of the uppermost continental crust, is here called the "Critical Zone." The Critical Zone is one of two primary loci of life on this
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From page 15... ...
Processes within the Critical Zone mediate the exchange of mass and energy; they are thus essential to biomass productivity, nutrient balance, chemical recycling, and water storage, and they ultimately determine the content of the geological record. Natural Resources The world's population reached 6 billion in 1999 and is increasing by more than 200,000 people per day.
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From page 16... ...
Nevertheless, the petroleum industry remains the largest employer of Earth scientists.4 The short-term restrictions in the hiring of new Earth scientists have skewed the demographics, so that the petroleum companies will face problems in rejuvenating their professional science staffs. In the United States, this rejuvenation will depend heavily on graduates from research programs in Earth science supported by EAR.
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From page 17... ...
are associated with periods of global arc volcanism, for example, but it remains unclear whether special conditions were necessary to create large upper crustal magma chambers or to trigger fluid release required to produce the ore. Research is also needed to determine the role of microbes in the modification and dispersion of ores in magmatic systems and associated hydrothermal environments, and the biological influences on the formation of sedimentary iron and uranium.
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From page 18... ...
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From page 19... ...
techniques will help guide the placement of new wells that draw water with acceptable concentrations of arsenic.8 Soil Soils are an immense and valuable natural resource. In their most obvious capacity, they serve as the foundation and primary reservoir of nutrients for agriculture and the ecosystems that produce renewable natural resources, but soils are also fundamental for waste disposal and water filtration, and as raw materials for construction and manufacturing activities.
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From page 20... ...
Natural Hazards The Critical Zone in which humans and many other biota live is a highenergy, often dangerous, interface. Here the solar-powered processes in the Earths fluid envelope interact with the tectonic processes powered by heat escaping from its deep interior.
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From page 21... ...
would devastate modem Tokyo: the direct economic losses would total a staggering $2.1 Million to 3.3 trillion, equivalent to 44-70°/O of Japar~'s annual gross domestic product.9 An event of this magnitude clearly would have an impact extending well beyond any one nation, affecting the entire global economy and thereby directly influencing the welfare and security of the United States. On a worldwide basis, the problem of urban hazards is farther amplified by the fact that the most severe natural disasters earthquakes, hurricanes, typhoons, and volcanic eruptions tend to be concentrated in low-latitude, coastal regions, where ambient environmental conditions support large populations and the current economic development is most intense.~° 9Risk Management Solutions, Inc., Menlo Park, California, What If the 1923 Earthquake Strikes Again?
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From page 22... ...
. Experience shows that these practical objectives are difficult to attain without precise observations and good understanding of the phenomena involved in natural hazards.
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From page 23... ...
The study of Earth materials has contributed significantly to materials science and engineering. For example, the study of nanocrystals and biomaterials originated in research on soils and biominerals, and Earth scientists have pioneered the development of substances ranging from high-temperature superconductors to superhard materials.
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From page 24... ...
On an even larger scale, human activities are now capable of causing substantial, if unintended, global environmental change. Anthropogenic contribubons to rising atmospheric CO2 and other greenhouse gas concentrations and their potential impact on future climate are issues of global economic and political significance.
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From page 25... ...
A range of technologies based on Earth science are essential components in the global monitoring and verification of nuclear test bans, nuclear nonproliferation treaties, and other arms control measures. From the first multinational discussions in Geneva in the late 1950s, it has been recognized that reliable identification of small underground nuclear explosions is the primary technical issue confronting the verification of a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty (CTBT)
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From page 26... ...
Exploiting these capabilities and extending their range offer a new agenda for basic research. Reading the Record of Terrestrial Change and Extreme Events A distinguishing feature of Earth science is its access to the planet's unique history "written in stone." This geological record comprises a wealth of information about terrestrial and extraterrestrial events and conditions, from the present back into the farthest reaches of time.
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From page 27... ...
State-of-the art analytical techniques promise to define much more precisely the timing, duration, and lateral extent of"extreme events," which include major magmatic eruptions, large bolide impacts, unusual excursions in global climate, and collapses and reversals of the Earth's magnetic field. During these rare occurrences, conditions at the Earth's surface have greatly exceeded their usual range, and they have therefore exerted a disproportionate influence on the evolution of the planet and its biosphere.
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From page 28... ...
. Precambrian mantle plumes have been postulated as the cause of the major magmatic eruptions that led to the formation of large igneous provinces and their associated mineral deposits, which are themselves chemical extremes.
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From page 29... ...
Although laborious and expensive, drilling is often the best method for probing more deeply buried rock masses and collecting in situ measurements of active geological processes. Novel logging techniques developed by the petroleum industry, such as nuclear magnetic resonance and electromagnetic borehole imaging, are furnishing unparalleled data on the environments deep within sedimentary basins and continental basement rocks.
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From page 30... ...
High-pressure techniques developed for the study of the deep interiors of the Earth and other planets now allow the '5Satellite Gravity and the Ceosphere. Contributions to the Study of the Solid Earth and Its Fluid Envelope, National Academy Press, 1 1 2 pp., 1 997.
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From page 31... ...
To take full advantage of these rich sources of information, geoscientists will have to harness the power of advancing information technologies to collect and assemble raw data, to process and archive data products, and to make these products widely available to researchers and other users. A number of challenges can be identified: how to collect data in real time at modest cost from expanding global networks of sensors, many in remote locations; how to reconfigure networks for robust operation when components fail, emergencies arise, or demands peak; how to ensure prompt delivery of data to users with timecritical needs (e.g., rapid response to natural disasters)
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From page 32... ...
Modeling Geosystems Much of Earth science concerns the operation and evolution of various terrestrial systems over scales that range from global (climate, mantle convection, core dynamo) to regional (orogens, active fault systems, sedimentary basins)
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From page 33... ...
For some problems, such as simulations of active fault systems, full three-dimensional calculations over the appropriate scale range exceed the capabilities of even the largest available computers. Continuing progress in geosystem modeling will depend heavily on improvements to the computational infrastructure of Earth science, including computational algorithms for exploiting parallel computers and other hardware, access to distributed computing and collaborative environments, advanced methods for code development and sharing, software libraries, visualization tools, and data management capabilities.
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From page 34... ...
Fluid-bearing geosystems in the Critical Zone and upper crust rock bodies containing magmas, petroleum, or water—present special challenges in this regard because the relevant processes range from the atomic level (i.e., sorption-desorption on mineral surfaces) to tens of kilometers or more.
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