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Tools:
The Implementation Agenda
GEO
Investments in Research Capability
Successfully addressing
the new challenges and opportunities in research and education requires
new investments as well as new modalities. Intensive observing, computing,
and information systems will be needed to support the proposed efforts
described throughout this plan. Clearly the total scope of this plan extends
beyond GEO, but is complementary to the efforts of other NSF directorates
and other federal agencies. The global nature of the agenda and impacts
also makes international partnerships necessary and attractive.
Infrastructure
and Technology
Geosciences research
often requires large investments in facilities and instrumentation as
well as other forms of infrastructure. Many geosciences field projects
require significant capital investments in order to study complex, interdependent
processes extending over large areas and long periods of time. Driven
by unprecedented technological developments and innovations, geosciences
discovery has exceeded the most optimistic expectations of a mere ten
years ago. These rapid advances set the stage for a "golden age" of discovery
about the Earth system – discovery that is poised to benefit mankind as
never before. However, without a continuing and expanded attention to
the simultaneous development of supporting infrastructure and the application
of emerging technologies, the scientific agenda outlined in this plan
will be jeopardized. It is important to remember that technology does
not drive science, but that science and technology, evolving together
and in response to each other, allow for advances that neither one could
accomplish in isolation. By design, these infrastructures must support
both research and educational programs and allow these two activities
to be easily intertwined.
Implicit in the
theme and title of this document is the need to vastly improve and extend
facilities for collection and analysis of geoscience data. An understanding
of the Earth's environment and habitability must be based on observations
of a broad range of parameters describing the state of a multitude of
complex and interrelated Earth systems. To predict how the Earth's environment
and habitability will change in the future requires us to collect and
analyze data that show how the planet has changed and evolved in the past
and also characterize its present status.
In
order to monitor and describe the conditions and evolution of Earth systems,
the geosciences require facilities and observing capabilities that often
cover vast scales in space and time. On the global scale, synoptic views
from high-resolution satellite sensors reveal patterns in atmospheric
and ocean circulation, geological structures and the near-Earth space
environment. Global networks of land-based and ocean-based sensors observe
the details of internal processes within the ocean and atmosphere and
monitor the occurrence of earthquakes and volcanoes.
Field investigations
of Earth's structure and processes are an integral component of the geoscience
endeavor. Exploration of new regions, whether it be through oceanographic
cruises, geological mapping, seismic profiling, or atmospheric probing
with aircraft, balloons and rockets, remains the basis of much of geoscience
discovery and requires the maintenance of increasingly complex support
facilities.
In the laboratory,
many of the tools and techniques of physics and chemistry are used to
study the structure and composition of Earth's organic and inorganic forms.
The mass spectrometer and electron microscope now complement the optical
microscope in the toolkit of geoscientists for determining the isotopic
composition and structure of both rocks and organic materials. Laboratory
facilities now allow mineral physicists to replicate the pressure and
temperature conditions in the deepest parts of Earth's interior.
The geosciences
probe deeply into the dimension of time. The historic record in rock,
ice and water provides information on the state of Earth systems in the
past, essential for understanding the evolution of the planet and predicting
its future. Acquiring long and continuous core samples of ice and of rock
(both on land and under the oceans) requires the support of complex and
expensive drilling facilities. The precise dating of samples from these
cores and other geological materials requires the development and support
of highly precise analytical facilities.
One
important aspect of data collection in the geosciences is examination
in real time. For example, field programs are now using so-called "targeted
observations" to maximize the predictability of geophysical systems. This
activity cannot be performed after the fact. The value of real-time data
in geoscience research and education is well established, and this mode
of data gathering must continue to be supported and expanded if the solid
Earth, atmosphere, and hydrosphere are truly to be studied as a coupled
system.
As is the case in
all sciences, modern computational facilities have become an essential
resource for research in the geosciences; however, the highly data-intensive
nature of much of the Earth sciences creates some unique problems. Massive
data archiving and distribution systems, both hardware and software, are
required to provide access to geodata. Global communications systems,
including the Internet, are increasingly important in collecting data
from remote parts of the planet and distributing them to researchers.
The scale and complexity of models for describing the dynamics of individual
Earth systems (oceans, atmosphere, or interior), let alone the interactions
among them, requires access to the most powerful of supercomputers. The
geosciences play a central role in developing and using information technology.
The geosciences
have benefited greatly from the technological revolution of the past five
decades. In the years immediately following World War II, new ventures
into the oceans and space required that geoscientists develop and build
special-purpose instrumentation from the ground up: sensors, recorders,
timing and power systems, etc. With the explosion of digital technology,
many of the building blocks required for observing systems can now be
found in the commercial marketplace. To remain at the cutting edge of
exploration and discovery, however, there remain significant challenges,
especially in the area of sensor technology and analytical equipment.
It is essential that NSF continue to support both individuals and facilities
within the academic community in the development of innovative tools for
the advancement of scientific discovery.
In the past, many
of the long-term variations in the Earth's environment had to be inferred
from the cumulative effects of slow changes over long periods of time.
Many global-scale processes were identified only on the basis of extrapolation
from individual measurements at far distant points on the Earth's surface.
In recent years, observational capabilities have vastly improved in resolution
and global coverage, so that many dynamic Earth processes can now be observed
in action, as they occur. In addition to tracking short-term weather systems,
satellite imaging of the atmosphere and oceans allows monitoring of longer-term
changes in climate and global circulation, such as ENSO. GPS technology,
with the ability to provide locations accurate to within millimeters anywhere
on Earth, makes it possible to observe the slow deformation of the Earth's
crust in mountain building and plate boundary interactions.
To
extend modern observing systems to cover all parts of the planet in detail
is clearly beyond the reach of a single agency or even a single country.
Many of the data requirements for basic geoscience research overlap with
the data collection efforts of U.S. agencies such as USGS, NOAA, NASA,
etc. and their international counterparts. The academic community, with
NSF, should form partnerships with other agencies to stimulate and participate
in data collection activities that maintain the highest quality. Such
partnership with other organizations in the development of multi-use facilities
for research and monitoring can help ensure the transition of experimental
techniques to full monitoring capability. Programs such as the Global
Seismographic Network and the Ocean Drilling Program demonstrate that
the academic community, often in partnership with the traditional mission
oriented agencies, can participate in stable, long-term programs that
are committed to the acquisition and archiving of data of the highest
quality and that meet the demands of both mission applications and basic
research.
Challenges for
the Future in Infrastructure and Technology
- Maintaining
and upgrading existing facilities for airborne, shipboard, space-based,
and ground-based instrumentation and platforms
Geoscience research
requires a vast range of capabilities and instrumentation. Specialized
geoscience research facilities include oceanographic research vessels,
ocean observatories, accelerators, aircraft, seismic networks, radar
observatories, and other centers of excellence. Adequate capital and
operating support must be provided to maintain and upgrade essential
specialized facilities.
Many field projects
depend on extensive observational and laboratory facilities. Large
data streams and interactive models require significant investments
in computational systems and coordination between experts in modeling
and observations. Shared access to samples and data requires new approaches
to distribute and integrate information with priority on developing
capabilities that extend the boundaries of current understanding
- Establishing
data collection programs with a commitment to long-term observations
Recent discoveries
of the dynamic time-dependent characteristics of many important phenomena,
whose time-variability is not fully understood, underscore the need
for sustained measurements of environmental parameters and the development
of autonomous sensors. This can be termed "exploring in time," because
often unexpected events or variations are revealed when consistent
measurements are made for extended periods.
- Providing
computational infrastructure necessary to support the increasing demands
of modeling, data analysis and management, and research
Computational
resources at all levels, from desktop systems to supercomputing, are
needed to sustain progress in geosciences. Maintaining a pyramid of
computational resources remains a valid strategy for the geosciences
over the next decade. The challenge for geosciences is to provide
scalable access to a pyramid of computing resources from the high-
performance workstations needed by most scientists to the teraFLOP-and-beyond
capability critically needed for solving the grand-challenge problems.
Although access
to data has improved significantly over the last decade, a revolution
in data interactive access and interpretation is on the horizon. Advances
in networking and data storage driven by economic forces will propel
this revolution. This revolution in access will allow the close coupling
of data acquisition and analysis to improved understanding of the
uncertainties associated with observations. There must also be continued
enhancement of data assimilation, analysis, and verification techniques
used in model simulations. An essential element in future advances
is the ability to integrate data sets from multiple observatories
into models and physically consistent environmental data sets.
- Stimulating
emerging technologies to build better observational, communications,
and computational tools
The availability
of state-of-the-art facilities and equipment is important since it
often determines what research can be accomplished and how successful
and productive it will be. Scientific advances in the environmental
and geosciences require significant investments in extensive facilities
to support the study of complex, interdependent processes extending
over large areas. Over the last decade advances in our knowledge of
the Earth system have been closely linked to the use of technologies,
and this trend is likely to continue for the next decade. Nevertheless,
it is not clear exactly which established and/or emerging technologies
will have the greatest impact on discovery.
It is important
for GEO to support the building, testing, and development of new observational,
laboratory, computational and communications capabilities, as well
as sample and data access systems. However, to capitalize on future
opportunities, the geosciences must have technological groups, instrument
centers and facilities in adequate numbers, size, capabilities, scientific
emphases, and locations to enable research and educational efforts
to succeed.
Interactions
with the field of information technology, both in the commercial sector
and within NSF, will provide opportunities to develop interactive
observation, analysis, and interpretation networks to provide adaptive
experimental capabilities. Shared access to data, interpretive models,
and samples for analysis of Earth system processes requires new approaches
to distributed information management and the development of new technologies
to enhance knowledge and distributed intelligence capabilities. Geosciences
technological capabilities will stimulate this trend and provide observations
crossing the boundaries of atmosphere, ocean, Earth, and related environmental
sciences. Emphasis will be placed on supporting those facilities that
expand and improve access to the most sophisticated capabilities and
data sets.
New
Modes For Research And Education
The Geosciences
Directorate remains dedicated to investing, primarily through the nation's
academic institutions, in the proposed research, educational programs,
and essential infrastructure. While principal investigator-based peer-reviewed
grants will continue to be the primary mode for research investments,
it will be necessary to augment traditional grants with new approaches
to address the multidisciplinary and team-oriented projects that are part
of this strategy.
To undertake the
rich array of multidisciplinary science outlined in this plan, the Directorate
is considering several options to ensure effective responses to the community
needs. Some of the research programs selected to accomplish the objectives
of this plan will require some measure of centralized management of closely
coordinated research activities. GEO will ensure that a healthy balance
is maintained between those organized activities and the distributed management
more typical of the present GEO divisions.
Among the approaches
that will be explored are:
- Longer-term support
for multidisciplinary institutes focused on significant research problems;
- Group proposals
to support teams of researchers to undertake research on specific geoscience
problems that require the application of multiple methodologies; and
- Cooperative support
mechanisms across several science agencies on geoscience research problems
of mutual interest.
Beyond the above
mechanisms, which will provide special support for multidisciplinary research,
it will be necessary to establish new approaches and clear responsibilities
for the handling of interdisciplinary proposals.
In pursuit of its
educational agenda, with the overarching goal of informing citizens and
leaders about the critical issues we will face, we will also need to pursue
innovative approaches and use existing mechanisms with greater vigor.
These include:
- Facilitating
the development of a more integrated graduate education that will result
in greater flexibility in training;
- Using the relevance
and appeal of the geosciences to strengthen interest in undergraduate
science education more broadly;
- Developing a
more systematic and possibly more centralized K-12 effort; continuing
and strengthening the focus on diversity; and
- Working on many
fronts in expanded partnership with the EHR Directorate and others at
NSF.
Collaborations:
An Essential Strategy to Address the Science Agenda
Major innovative
and novel partnerships are needed to achieve a more complete understanding
of Earth as a complex system of interactions among physical, chemical,
biological, geological, and anthropogenic factors and processes, while
focusing on essential scientific questions evolving out of the geosciences.
These partnerships and collaborations will be within the NSF, across the
federal science and mission agencies, with other U.S. institutions and
organizations in both the private and public sectors, and with international
partners in governments and non- governmental organizations around the
world.
Within the NSF
GEO is committed
to enhancing and stimulating new partnerships and collaborations broadly
within the NSF. The key scientific questions are often interdisciplinary
in nature and demand such collaborations and scientific integration to
achieve intellectual substance. GEO will work with and through the NSF
coordination mechanisms and will seek out those new partnerships that
are essential to the realization of the challenges posed by the science
agenda.
Federal Agencies
and Other Organizations Across the Nation
GEO is committed
to working with existing interagency coordinating bodies (e.g., National
Science and Technology Council) and individual agencies to develop the
partnerships and programmatic collaborations necessary to realize the
goals laid out in this plan. In particular, GEO will work closely with
the other Federal science agencies that support environmental research.
GEO is also committed to forging new, creative partnerships with state
agencies and private institutions that share the national goals enunciated
in this plan.
International
Partnerships
It is clear that
many nations and international organizations around the world increasingly
share both the scientific challenges and the goal of gaining a predictive
understanding of Earth systems outlined here. It is evident that the implementation
of science programs flowing from this science agenda will require expanded
and/or new partnerships with other governments and entities abroad. GEO
will work with a variety of national agencies and international institutions
around the world to develop and implement partnership arrangements to
enable the goal and objectives of this plan to be realized. Further, GEO
is committed to playing a key role in U.S. leadership efforts to support
and implement major international cooperative research programs, including
a number of core projects of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme
and the World Climate Research Programme, the Ocean Drilling Program and
the newer International Continental Drilling Program, the Global Seismic
Network, and a number of bilateral scientific programs and projects. Finally,
a special effort will be made to expand collaborations that link U.S.
and foreign scientists, particularly scientists from developing countries.
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