A Vision for NSF Earth Sciences 2020-2030
EARTH IN TIME
Committee on Catalyzing Opportunities for Research in the Earth Sciences (CORES):
A Decadal Survey for NSF’s Division of Earth Sciences
Board on Earth Sciences and Resources
Division on Earth and Life Studies
A Consensus Study Report of
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This activity was supported by a grant between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Foundation under Grant No. EAR-1823050. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-67600-7
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Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/25761
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Front cover: Image of the Pioneer Mountains, Idaho. Courtesy of Donna Whitney.
Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. A Vision for NSF Earth Sciences 2020-2030: Earth in Time. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25761.
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COMMITTEE ON CATALYZING OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESEARCH IN THE EARTH SCIENCES (CORES): A DECADAL SURVEY FOR NSF’S DIVISION OF EARTH SCIENCES
JAMES A. YODER (Chair), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
GREGORY C. BEROZA, Stanford University, Stanford, California
TANJA BOSAK, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
WILLIAM E. DIETRICH (NAS), University of California, Berkeley
TIMOTHY H. DIXON, University of South Florida, Tampa
ANDREA DUTTON, University of Wisconsin–Madison
DIANA F. ELDER,1 Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff
ALEJANDRO N. FLORES, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho
MICHAEL FOOTE, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
SHEMIN GE, University of Colorado Boulder
GEORGE E. GEHRELS, University of Arizona, Tucson
DOUGLAS HOLLETT, Melroy & Hollett Technology Partners, Arlington, Virginia
BRUCE HOUGHTON, University of Hawaii at Manoa
KATHARINE W. HUNTINGTON, University of Washington, Seattle
STEVEN D. JACOBSEN, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
DENNIS V. KENT (NAS), Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey
CAROLINA LITHGOW-BERTELLONI, University of California, Los Angeles
PAUL E. OLSEN (NAS), Columbia University, New York City, New York
DONALD L. SPARKS, University of Delaware, Newark
DONNA L. WHITNEY, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Staff
DEBORAH GLICKSON, Study Director
ELIZABETH EIDE, Senior Board Director
SAMMANTHA L. MAGSINO, Senior Program Officer
ERIC J. EDKIN, Program Coordinator
RAYMOND CHAPPETTA, Research Assistant and Senior Program Assistant (until April 2020)
___________________
1 Resigned from the committee.
BOARD ON EARTH SCIENCES AND RESOURCES
ISABEL P. MONTAÑEZ (Chair), University of California, Davis
ESTELLA A. ATEKWANA, University of Delaware, Newark
BRENDA B. BOWEN, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City
CHRISTOPHER (SCOTT) CAMERON, Geological Consulting, LLC, Houston, Texas
NELIA W. DUNBAR, New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources, Socorro
RODNEY C. EWING, Stanford University, Stanford, California
CAROL P. HARDEN, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
ROBERT L. KLEINBERG, Institute for Sustainable Energy, Boston University, Massachusetts
THORNE LAY, University of California, Santa Cruz
ZELMA MAINE-JACKSON, Washington State Department of Ecology, Richland
MICHAEL MANGA, University of California, Berkeley
MARTIN W. MCCANN, Stanford University, Stanford, California
JEFFREY N. RUBIN
JAMES A. SLUTZ, National Petroleum Council, Washington, DC
SHAOWEN WANG, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
ELIZABETH J. WILSON, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Staff
ELIZABETH EIDE, Director
ANNE LINN, Scholar
DEBORAH GLICKSON, Senior Staff Officer
SAMMANTHA L. MAGSINO, Senior Staff Officer
NICHOLAS ROGERS, Financial Business Partner
COURTNEY DEVANE, Administrative Coordinator
ERIC EDKIN, Program Coordinator
RAYMOND CHAPPETTA, Research Assistant and Senior Program Assistant (until April 2020)
ELLENI GIORGIS, Program Assistant
Reviewers
This Consensus Study Report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.
We thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
Susan Brantley (NAS), The Pennsylvania State University
Michelle Coombs, U.S. Geological Survey
Karen Fischer, Brown University
Gordon Grant, U.S. Forest Service
Thorne Lay (NAS), University of California, Santa Cruz
Jennifer Macalady, The Pennsylvania State University
Cathryn Manduca, Carleton College
Lisa Park Boush, University of Connecticut
Roberta Rudnick (NAS), University of California, Santa Barbara
Blair Schoene, Princeton University
Philip Skemer, Washington University in St. Louis
Jane Willenbring, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Jack Williams, University of Wisconsin–Madison
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the report nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Norman Sleep (NAS), Stanford University, and George Hornberger (NAE), Vanderbilt University. They were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Academies.
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Acknowledgments
Many individuals assisted the committee and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine staff in their task to create this report. Over the course of five meetings, town halls and listening sessions, and webinars, the committee engaged with interested colleagues in academia, industry, and government. The committee greatly appreciated the chance to learn not only from the participants of these meetings and webinars, but also from each of the respondents to the questionnaire and from the facility operators, who kindly answered many questions.
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Preface
I would like to briefly introduce the report with my personal observations as an outsider to the Earth science field, in that my background is in oceanography. However, I spent a few years at both the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Science Foundation, and have served on two other recent decadal surveys—Sea Change: 2015-2025 Decadal Survey of Ocean Sciences and Thriving on Our Changing Planet: A Decadal Strategy for Earth Observation from Space. Because of this, I have experience with the process of developing a decadal report and insights into its potential impact.
During the committee discussions, I was so impressed with the importance of Earth science research. Much of the science was new to me, and I soon learned to appreciate the excitement of Division of Earth Sciences (EAR)-supported research over such a broad range of topics. I also learned just how much of EAR research is at the heart of what society needs to know from scientists: volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, landslides, distribution of essential elements across and below the Earth’s surface, climate change, changes to the global water cycle, and relations between geology and biology, just to mention a few research areas that are reflected in our report’s scientific questions. Such research is not only compelling; it is essential for our well-being here on Earth. As I write this, the committee is working on the final draft of the report during the coronavirus pandemic. Years ago, Dr. Rita Colwell and colleagues demonstrated how environmental processes helped spread the bacteria that caused cholera. Perhaps research that strengthens the connections between Earth sciences and human health may eventually help us to better understand the processes that spread other harmful pathogens.
I was very pleased with how well the committee worked together and how seriously they took their task. There were of course disagreements at times on content, wording, and organization, although these discussions were always professional and with respect for other members’ points of view. In addition, committee members were cognizant of their responsibility to represent the broader Earth science research community and paid close attention to input we received at meetings and from questionnaires, town halls, and listening sessions.
There was the anticipated tension of trying to stay within the task guidance of working with a level EAR budget, and yet have the report reflect an optimistic view of the future. As one would expect, we likely erred a bit on the optimistic side.
On behalf of the committee, I thank those who took the time to meet with the committee and to otherwise provide us with much needed information. Finally, a special thanks goes to the National Academies staff who worked to keep us on time and on message. Without that discipline, this report could not have been written in the time allowed.
James A. Yoder, Chair
Committee on Catalyzing Opportunities for Research in the Earth Sciences (CORES): A Decadal Survey for NSF’s Division of Earth Sciences
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Contents
NSF Directorate for Geosciences and Division of Earth Sciences
Approach to Selecting Questions
Connecting the Science Questions to Infrastructure
3 INFRASTRUCTURE AND FACILITIES
Types of Infrastructure Discussed
Relationship Between Current Infrastructure and the Science Priorities
Evaluation, Assessment, and Prioritization of Facilities and Infrastructure
Recommendations for Possible New Initiatives
Conclusions and Recommendations for Cyberinfrastructure and Human Infrastructure
Partnerships With Other Federal Agencies
5 A DECADAL VISION FOR EARTH SCIENCES
A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff
B Community Input Questionnaire
D Current Research Infrastructure Provided by Multi-User Facilities