Findings and Recommendations - Basic Research Opportunities in Earth Science - page 113

• The I&F program has grown to comprise one-quarter of the EAR budget, a
level of funding the committee deems necessary to maintain and improve
facilities critical for basic research. The recommended level of funding
($10 million), combined with the I&F components of natural laboratories
($5 million), would retain the current balance between the research
programs and I&F.
• EAR currently spends about $3 million on education, or about 3% of its
annual budget. Given the opportunities for enhancing research-based
education and its importance for the future of Earth science, a rough
doubling of this budget is plausible. For example, the Geosciences
Directorate's contribution to the IGERT program alone was $10 million in
FY 1999. The committee takes no position on how these funds would be
allocated between EAR-Education and Human Resources and other core
programs.