Findings and Recommendations - Basic Research Opportunities in Earth Science - page 95

analyzed, archived, and distributed to a wide user community. Cosponsorship by
other NSF divisions and other agencies, including state and local government
agencies, should be encouraged. Mechanisms should be considered to facilitate
undergraduate and graduate field-based education at ESNL sites.
SUPPORT OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH
Many basic problems in Earth science encompass a combination of
physical, chemical, and biological processes and are thus intrinsically
multidisciplinary. Although EAR has always sponsored multidisciplinary
research through its core programs, the success of proposals that cross program
boundaries has depended in part on the composition of the review panel and the
assertiveness of NSF staff in seeking partial funding from other relevant
programs. Consequently, programs specifically designed to have a
multidisciplinary focus, such as the Continental Dynamics Program and the
fixed-term special emphasis areas ( Table A.1 ), have been particularly effective
in funding of multidisciplinary research, for both individual investigators and
groups of investigators. The major initiatives discussed in the previous section, if
implemented, will establish new mechanisms for sponsoring multidisciplinary
research. In addition, the committee suggests that EAR initiate fixed-term
programs in two research areas discussed in Chapter 2 —microorganisms in the
environment and planetary science—which offer particular promise for
significantly advancing scientific understanding through multidisciplinary
studies.
Microorganisms in the Environment
The recent flood of information from the application of both geochemical
and biochemical tools has raised exciting questions about how microorganisms
interact with geological and pedological processes. New observations reveal how
little is actually known of the richness of microbial influences on the global
environment and, conversely, of environmental influences on microbial
processes. 21 , 22 Microbial assemblages reflect existing conditions in natural
habitats, and their ability to adapt to pressures resulting from human activities in
the Critical Zone will have a direct impact on the quality of soil,
21 Research Opportunities in Low-Temperature and Environmental Geochemistry,
results of a workshop held in Boston, Massachusetts, June 5, 1999.
22 Opportunities in Basic Soil Science Research, G. Sposito and R.J. Reginato, eds., Soil
Science Society of America, Madison, Wisconsin, 129 pp., 1992.