Findings and Recommendations - Basic Research Opportunities in Earth Science - page 79

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Findings and Recommendations

Basic and applied research in Earth science is guided by an ambitious
scientific program to understand the Earth and its history through the
multidisciplinary study of the dynamics and evolution of terrestrial systems.
Chapter 1 discussed how societal needs drive research on system-level problems
and how this approach is being enabled by across-the-board improvements in
observational capabilities and information technologies. Chapter 2 reviewed the
status and prospects of basic research in six important problem areas spanning a
wide range of future activity in Earth science:

1. integrative studies of the Critical Zone, the heterogeneous, near-

surface environment, where complex interactions involving rock, soil,
water, air, and living organisms regulate natural habitats and determine
the availability of life-sustaining resources,

2. geobiology, which addresses the interactions of biological and

geological processes, the evolution of life on Earth, and the factors
that have shaped the biosphere,

3. research on Earth and planetary materials, which uses advanced

instrumentation and theory to determine properties at the molecular
level as the basis for understanding materials and processes at all
scales relevant to planets,

4. investigations of the three-dimensional structure and composition of

the continents, the geologic record of continental formation and
assembly, and the physical processes in active continental deformation
zones,

5. studies of the Earth's deep interior to define better its structure,

composition and state and to understand the machinery of mantle
convection and the core dynamo, and