Landscapes on the Edge New Horizons for Research on Earth's Surface (2010) / Chapter Skim
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4 Mechanisms for Developing Initiatives and Sustaining Growth in Earth Surface Processes
4 Mechanisms for Developing Initiatives and Sustaining Growth in Earth Surface Processes
Pages 119-132
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From page 119... ...
The first section of the chapter provides a brief review of the mechanisms already in existence at NSF that can support research in Earth surface processes. The next section elaborates on actions and targeted mechanisms for data collection and distribution, technology development, and community building that can accelerate growth in the field.
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From page 120... ...
, and Paleo-Perspectives on Climate Change.1 The SEP section, with its programs of Geobiology and Low-Temperature Geochemistry; Geomorphology and Land Use Dynamics; Hydrologic Sciences; Sedimentary Geology and Paleobiology; and Education currently provides the primary support in the nation for research relevant to Earth surface processes, although Earth surface process-related research is only one portion of the total research portfolio that SEP and its programmatic disciplines are tasked to address. Importantly, Earth surface processes is a rapidly progressing, integrative research field that also overlaps other disciplinary elements within EAR, the other divisions in GEO, and other NSF directorates including Biological Sciences; Computer and Information Science and Engineering; Engineering, Mathematical and Physical Sciences; and Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences.
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From page 121... ...
to enable crossdisciplinary research and educa tion at the intersection of mathematical sciences and geosciences; • Dear Colleague Letters announce special funding opportunities for interdisciplinary research. For example, three Dear Colleague Letters issued in February 2009 are relevant to Earth surface processes: (1)
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From page 122... ...
Furthermore, although the descriptions of the supporting mechanisms for Earth surface processes research in this chapter focus on implementation within the U.S. domestic research framework, a clear need exists for international collaborations and networks of research that stretch across key global surface environments.
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From page 123... ...
, and those collected for the GeoEarthScope program are available at the GEON OpenTopography portal.11 The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's National Geophysical Data Center12 is an example of a readily accessible online resource for geophysical data that includes observations from space and models of the seafloor and solid Earth. The results produced by large observatory networks such as the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER)
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From page 124... ...
Consequently, a committee of site data managers was convened to investigate ways to promote data sharing and yet protect the data collected by individual investigators from use without attribution. By 1990, network guidelines had been established requiring each site to develop its own data management policy.
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From page 125... ...
. Modeling Until recently, there was no coordinated effort among Earth surface processes researchers to build community models.
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From page 126... ...
We are entering an era of being able to measure real time Earth surface processes with high accuracy. Hundreds of wireless devices uplinked to broadband systems can be positioned across a landscape and monitored simultaneously to document sap flow, soil moisture, overland flow, groundwater levels, air temperature, solar radiation, suspended sediment concentrations, and other attributes.
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From page 127... ...
Many individual researchers have built experimental facilities for particular research projects, but the maintenance of these by individual scientists is taxing and facilities often fall into decline once a project is completed. National facilities enable concentration of shared resources so that technically challenging problems can be undertaken in a costeffective manner.
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From page 128... ...
Coordinated, interdisciplinary field campaigns ("joint field campaigns") and the use of shared laboratory facilities, observatories and experimental field sites, research centers, federal data repositories, and other organized networks and programs can help build the communication base necessary to link research in many fields.
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From page 129... ...
. • Joint field campaigns tackling shared fundamental problems of the interaction of climate and Earth surface processes that could involve atmospheric scientists and Earth surface scientists.
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From page 130... ...
The ultimate goal is to create opportunities for discoveries that are equally advanced in the fields of ecology and Earth surface processes and are obtainable only because of strong interdisciplinary interactions (see also Chapter 3)
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From page 131... ...
• Joint field campaigns conducted by climate scientists and Earth surface scientists, including ecologists, geomorphologists, and hydrologists, which will enable under lying mechanisms to be quantified that link biota, ecosystems, and Earth surface processes. New coalitions are necessary to build reliable models for prediction on the shorter-term and evolutionary time scales.
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From page 132... ...
• Workshops that engage geospatial scientists with Earth surface scientists to examine the integration of existing and emerging geospatial technologies at specific experi mental field sites and to process and synthesize remote-sensing data. These data serve as inputs to model development that could eventually extend from local, controlled experimental sites to global models.
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