Findings and Recommendations - New Research Opportunities in the Earth Sciences - page 85

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Findings and Recommendations
Basic research in the Earth sciences has numerous frontiers, with significant
progress being made in both subdisciplinary arenas and interdisciplinary coordinated
efforts. It is essential to sustain both types of activities, as individual-investigator
research remains the most effective and innovative mechanism by which the field
advances, even while the complexity and intrinsic interdisciplinarity of complex,
dynamic geosystems demand coordination of multiple subdisciplinary efforts.
Chapter 2 reviewed the status and prospects of basic research advancing in the next
decade in seven important dynamic geosystems spanning a wide range of future
research activity in the Earth sciences: (1) the early Earth; (2) thermo-chemical
internal dynamics and volatile distribution; (3) faulting and deformation processes;
(4) interactions among climate, surface processes, tectonics, and deeper Earth
processes; (5) co-evolution of life, environment, and climate; (6) coupled
hydrogeomorphic-ecosystem response to natural and anthropogenic environmental
change; and (7) interactions of biogeochemical and water cycles in terrestrial
environments. Chapter 2 also outlined exciting advancements in geochronology and
isotope geochemistry. How to position research facilities for geochronology to better
service the diverse needs of these interdisciplinary efforts while sustaining the
advances of technical approaches in isotope geochemistry warrants detailed
consideration.
This chapter presents the findings and recommendations of the committee
regarding promising research opportunities over the next decade as relevant to the
responsibilities of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Earth
Sciences (EAR). Suggestions for new and enhanced instrumentation and facilities to
support these research opportunities are outlined, and important partnerships and
coordination between EAR and other programs and agencies engaged in Earth
science research that will help pursue these opportunities are also discussed. This
chapter also summarizes the committee's findings and suggestions with regard to
sustaining and diversifying the Earth science research community and education in
the discipline.