A Vision for NSF Earth Sciences 2020-2030

A Vision for NSF Earth Sciences 2020-2030 PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309676002
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 145

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Earth system functions and connects in unexpected ways - from the microscopic interactions of bacteria and rocks to the macro-scale processes that build and erode mountains and regulate Earth's climate. Efforts to study Earth's intertwined processes are made even more pertinent and urgent by the need to understand how the Earth can continue to sustain both civilization and the planet's biodiversity. A Vision for NSF Earth Sciences 2020-2030: Earth in Time provides recommendations to help the National Science Foundation plan and support the next decade of Earth science research, focusing on research priorities, infrastructure and facilities, and partnerships. This report presents a compelling and vibrant vision of the future of Earth science research.

A Vision for NSF Earth Sciences 2020-2030

A Vision for NSF Earth Sciences 2020-2030 PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309676002
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 145

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Earth system functions and connects in unexpected ways - from the microscopic interactions of bacteria and rocks to the macro-scale processes that build and erode mountains and regulate Earth's climate. Efforts to study Earth's intertwined processes are made even more pertinent and urgent by the need to understand how the Earth can continue to sustain both civilization and the planet's biodiversity. A Vision for NSF Earth Sciences 2020-2030: Earth in Time provides recommendations to help the National Science Foundation plan and support the next decade of Earth science research, focusing on research priorities, infrastructure and facilities, and partnerships. This report presents a compelling and vibrant vision of the future of Earth science research.

A Vision for NSF Earth Sciences 2020-2030

A Vision for NSF Earth Sciences 2020-2030 PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309676037
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 145

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Earth system functions and connects in unexpected ways - from the microscopic interactions of bacteria and rocks to the macro-scale processes that build and erode mountains and regulate Earth's climate. Efforts to study Earth's intertwined processes are made even more pertinent and urgent by the need to understand how the Earth can continue to sustain both civilization and the planet's biodiversity. A Vision for NSF Earth Sciences 2020-2030: Earth in Time provides recommendations to help the National Science Foundation plan and support the next decade of Earth science research, focusing on research priorities, infrastructure and facilities, and partnerships. This report presents a compelling and vibrant vision of the future of Earth science research.

Enhancing the Value and Sustainability of Field Stations and Marine Laboratories in the 21st Century

Enhancing the Value and Sustainability of Field Stations and Marine Laboratories in the 21st Century PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309305373
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 167

Get Book Here

Book Description
For over a century, field stations have been important entryways for scientists to study and make important discoveries about the natural world. They are centers of research, conservation, education, and public outreach, often embedded in natural environments that range from remote to densely populated urban locations. Because they lack traditional university departmental boundaries, researchers at field stations have the opportunity to converge their science disciplines in ways that can change careers and entire fields of inquiry. Field stations provide physical space for immersive research, hands-on learning, and new collaborations that are otherwise hard to achieve in the everyday bustle of research and teaching lives on campus. But the separation from university campuses that allows creativity to flourish also creates challenges. Sometimes, field stations are viewed as remote outposts and are overlooked because they tend to be away from population centers and their home institutions. This view is exacerbated by the lack of empirical evidence that can be used to demonstrate their value to science and society. Enhancing the Value and Sustainability of Field Stations and Marine Laboratories in the 21st Century summarizes field stations' value to science, education, and outreach and evaluates their contributions to research, innovation, and education. This report suggests strategies to meet future research, education, outreach, infrastructure, funding, and logistical needs of field stations. Today's technologies - such as streaming data, remote sensing, robot-driven monitoring, automated DNA sequencing, and nanoparticle environmental sensors - provide means for field stations to retain their special connection to nature and still interact with the rest of the world in ways that can fuel breakthroughs in the environmental, physical, natural, and social sciences. The intellectual and natural capital of today's field stations present a solid platform, but many need enhancements of infrastructure and dynamic leadership if they are to meet the challenges of the complex problems facing the world. This report focuses on the capability of field stations to address societal needs today and in the future.

Review of NASA's Solid-Earth Science Strategy

Review of NASA's Solid-Earth Science Strategy PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309165717
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 56

Get Book Here

Book Description
The report reviews NASA's solid-earth science strategy, placing particular emphasis on observational strategies for measuring surface deformation, high-resolution topography, surface properties, and the variability of the earth's magnetic and gravity fields. The report found that NASA is uniquely positioned to implement these observational strategies and that a number of agency programs would benefit from the resulting data. In particular, the report strongly endorses the near-term launch of a satellite dedicated to L-band InSAR measurements of the land surface, which is a key component of the U.S. Geological Survey's hazards mitigation program and the multi-agency EarthScope program.

Next Generation Earth Systems Science at the National Science Foundation

Next Generation Earth Systems Science at the National Science Foundation PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780309224468
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book Here

Book Description
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has played a key role over the past several decades in advancing understanding of Earth's systems by funding research on atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, geologic, polar, ecosystem, social, and engineering-related processes. Today, however, those systems are being driven like never before by human technologies and activities. Our understanding has struggled to keep pace with the rapidity and magnitude of human-driven changes, their impacts on human and ecosystem sustainability and resilience, and the effectiveness of different pathways to address those challenges. Given the urgency of understanding human-driven changes, NSF will need to sustain and expand its efforts to achieve greater impact. The time is ripe to create a next-generation Earth systems science initiative that emphasizes research on complex interconnections and feedbacks between natural and social processes. This will require NSF to place an increased emphasis on research inspired by real-world problems while maintaining their strong legacy of curiosity driven research across many disciplines ? as well as enhance the participation of social, engineering, and data scientists, and strengthen efforts to include diverse perspectives in research.

Evolving the Geodetic Infrastructure to Meet New Scientific Needs

Evolving the Geodetic Infrastructure to Meet New Scientific Needs PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309497817
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 125

Get Book Here

Book Description
Satellite remote sensing is the primary tool for measuring global changes in the land, ocean, biosphere, and atmosphere. Over the past three decades, active remote sensing technologies have enabled increasingly precise measurements of Earth processes, allowing new science questions to be asked and answered. As this measurement precision increases, so does the need for a precise geodetic infrastructure. Evolving the Geodetic Infrastructure to Meet New Scientific Needs summarizes progress in maintaining and improving the geodetic infrastructure and identifies improvements to meet new science needs that were laid out in the 2018 report Thriving on Our Changing Planet: A Decadal Strategy for Earth Observation from Space. Focusing on sea-level change, the terrestrial water cycle, geological hazards, weather and climate, and ecosystems, this study examines the specific aspects of the geodetic infrastructure that need to be maintained or improved to help answer the science questions being considered.

Opportunities in the Hydrologic Sciences

Opportunities in the Hydrologic Sciences PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309042445
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 367

Get Book Here

Book Description
Hydrologyâ€"the science of waterâ€"is central to our understanding of the global environment and its many problems. Opportunities in the Hydrologic Sciences explains how the science of water historically has played second fiddle to its applications and how we now must turn to the hydrologic sciences to solve some of the emerging problems. This first book of its kind presents a blueprint for establishing hydrologic science among the geosciences. Informative and well-illustrated chapters explore what we know about the forces that drive the global water system, highlighting promising research topics in hydrology's major subfields. The book offers specific recommendations for improving hydrologic education, from kindergarten through graduate school. In addition, a chapter on the basics of the science is interesting for the scientist and understandable to the lay reader. This readable volume is enhanced by a series of brief biographical sketches of past leaders in the field and fascinating vignettes on important applied problems, from the relevance of hydrology to radioactive waste disposal to the study of ancient water flows on Mars. The volume concludes with a report on current research funding and an outline of strategies for scientists and professional societies to advance the field. Opportunities in the Hydrologic Sciences is indispensable to policymakers in science and education, research managers in geoscience programs, researchers, educators, graduate students, and future hydrologists.

Landscapes on the Edge

Landscapes on the Edge PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309152682
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 180

Get Book Here

Book Description
During geologic spans of time, Earth's shifting tectonic plates, atmosphere, freezing water, thawing ice, flowing rivers, and evolving life have shaped Earth's surface features. The resulting hills, mountains, valleys, and plains shelter ecosystems that interact with all life and provide a record of Earth surface processes that extend back through Earth's history. Despite rapidly growing scientific knowledge of Earth surface interactions, and the increasing availability of new monitoring technologies, there is still little understanding of how these processes generate and degrade landscapes. Landscapes on the Edge identifies nine grand challenges in this emerging field of study and proposes four high-priority research initiatives. The book poses questions about how our planet's past can tell us about its future, how landscapes record climate and tectonics, and how Earth surface science can contribute to developing a sustainable living surface for future generations.

New Research Opportunities in the Earth Sciences

New Research Opportunities in the Earth Sciences PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309219248
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 132

Get Book Here

Book Description
The 2001 National Research Council (NRC) report Basic Research Opportunities in Earth Science (BROES) described how basic research in the Earth sciences serves five national imperatives: (1) discovery, use, and conservation of natural resources; (2) characterization and mitigation of natural hazards; (3) geotechnical support of commercial and infrastructure development; (4) stewardship of the environment; and (5) terrestrial surveillance for global security and national defense. This perspective is even more pressing today, and will persist into the future, with ever-growing emphasis. Today's world-with headlines dominated by issues involving fossil fuel and water resources, earthquake and tsunami disasters claiming hundreds of thousands of lives and causing hundreds of billions of dollars in damages, profound environmental changes associated with the evolving climate system, and nuclear weapons proliferation and testing-has many urgent societal issues that need to be informed by sound understanding of the Earth sciences. A national strategy to sustain basic research and training of expertise across the full spectrum of the Earth sciences is motivated by these national imperatives. New Research Opportunities in the Earth Sciences identifies new and emerging research opportunities in the Earth sciences over the next decade, including surface and deep Earth processes and interdisciplinary research with fields such as ocean and atmospheric sciences, biology, engineering, computer science, and social and behavioral sciences. The report also identifies key instrumentation and facilities needed to support these new and emerging research opportunities. The report describes opportunities for increased cooperation in these new and emerging areas between EAR and other government agency programs, industry, and international programs, and suggests new ways that EAR can help train the next generation of Earth scientists, support young investigators, and increase the participation of underrepresented groups in the field.

Basic Research Opportunities in Earth Science

Basic Research Opportunities in Earth Science PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 030907133X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 169

Get Book Here

Book Description
Basic Research Opportunities in Earth Science identifies areas of high-priority research within the purview of the Earth Science Division of the National Science Foundation, assesses cross-disciplinary connections, and discusses the linkages between basic research and societal needs. Opportunities in Earth science have been opened up by major improvements in techniques for reading the geological record of terrestrial change, capabilities for observing active processes in the present-day Earth, and computational technologies for realistic simulations of dynamic geosystems. This book examines six specific areas in which the opportunities for basic research are especially compelling, including integrative studies of the near-surface environment (the "Critical Zone"); geobiology; Earth and planetary materials; investigations of the continents; studies of Earth's deep interior; and planetary science. It concludes with a discussion of mechanisms for exploiting these research opportunities, including EarthScope, natural laboratories, and partnerships.