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The FY 2002 Budget Request for the Earth Sciences
Subactivity is $116.79 million, an increase of $980,000, or 0.8
percent, over the FY 2001 Current Plan of $115.81 million.
(Millions of Dollars)
|
FY 2000
Actual |
FY 2001
Current Plan |
FY 2002
Request |
Change |
Amount |
Percent |
Earth Sciences Project Support |
65.81
|
78.28
|
79.19
|
0.91
|
1.2%
|
Instrumentation and Facilities |
27.16
|
28.47
|
28.52
|
0.05
|
0.2%
|
Continental Dynamics |
9.18
|
9.06
|
9.08
|
0.02
|
0.2%
|
Total, EAR |
$102.15
|
$115.81
|
$116.79
|
$0.98
|
0.8%
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The Earth Sciences Subactivity (EAR) supports research
and educational activities to improve our understanding of the range
of processes that govern the behavior and characteristics of the
Earth's surface environment, which have resulted in the historical
changes of the Earth and its environment, and determine its internal
structure, composition and dynamics. Funding is provided for theoretical,
computational, laboratory and field studies, and for state-of-the-art
scientific infrastructure needs. The new understanding gained from
such studies provides the fundamental scientific basis for the discovery
and use of mineral, energy, and water resources; the prediction
of natural hazards such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides,
and floods, and the mitigation of their impacts; and for environmentally
sound decision-making. Supported projects often occur in partnership
with and complement focused efforts by other federal and state agencies.
Supporting over 45 percent of federally supported basic research
in the earth sciences performed in colleges and universities, EAR
plays a crucial role in advancing both research and education.
Research in the Earth Sciences is directly related
to areas of increasing societal concern. Water, for example, is
a vital national resource that is threatened by misuse and pollution
engendered by growing populations and our industrial economy. Research
in support of water resources management and water quality protection,
therefore, is critical to all levels of our society. EAR fosters
research that builds understanding of the processes by which water
circulates and is stored in the global hydrologic system and of
the associated cycling of chemical substances. EAR supported research
studies the processes that reshape landforms and natural processes
of self-cleansing, which are critical to preserving this resource.
The immediate effect of this research is through the application
of new tools to protect waters and the environment. NSF-supported
efforts in the hydrologic sciences have led to better precipitation
estimates that are contributing to more reliable flood forecasting.
Hydrologic models have been refined for easier application and there
has been solid advancement toward a more physical basis for the
application of models in protecting sensitive environments. As a
result of EAR support, more powerful computational tools are now
available for quantifying the water cycle and understanding the
transport of groundwater pollutants.
The FY 2002 Budget Request includes $79.19 million
for Earth Sciences Project Support to provide funds for three main
activities. The first is support for individuals and groups of scientists
whose research lays the foundation of excellence and capability
across all disciplines of the Earth Sciences. Supported programs
include disciplinary studies in geology and paleontology, petrology
and geochemistry, tectonics, geophysics, and the hydrologic sciences.
The second is support for interdisciplinary research to help understand
the parameters and processes that govern the behavior of complex
planetary systems and gain insight into the character and behavior
of the Earth's environment. The third is the integration of research,
education and public awareness through the support of digital libraries
and other human resources activities within the geosciences. Priorities
for FY 2002 include support for:
multidisciplinary studies of the hydrological
and biogeochemical cycles and processes that govern the character
and dynamics of the Earth's surface and the intersection of the
geosphere and biosphere;
improving understanding of natural hazards such
as floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions;
expanding the geophysical observational capabilities
of the Earth Sciences in order to better understand the structure,
dynamics and evolution of the North American continent; and
enhancement of capabilities for computationally
challenging planetary research such as dynamic modeling of earth
system processes, managing very large data sets, and integrating
and synthesizing data between disciplines.
Support for the Instrumentation and Facilities
Program totals $28.52 million. This supports shared research facilities
such as Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) for
seismological research, the University Navstar Consortium (UNAVCO)
for precision geodetic measurements using Global Positioning Systems
(GPS), accelerator-based mass spectrometers, ion-beam microprobes,
and synchrotron beam lines. The program also funds the research and
educational needs for instrumentation at universities and colleges.
Priorities for FY 2002 include support for:
enhancement of seismic, geodetic and other geophysical
observational platforms on the North American continent to obtain
higher resolution imaging of Earth structures underneath the continent
and improved understanding of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions
and related active tectonic processes;
development of ultra-high pressure technology
enabling laboratory investigations of Earth and other planetary
bodies under extreme conditions existing in deep planetary interiors;
and
the IRIS facility, to enhance operation and deployment
of the Global Seismic Network, continue making available portable
seismic arrays to facilitate focused geophysical research, and
to sustain the Data Management System which makes available data
on seismic events to researchers world-wide.
Support for the Continental Dynamics Program totals
$9.08 million. This supports large coordinated multidisciplinary
and multi-institutional field projects designed to understand the
characteristics and processes that control the structure, behavior
and evolution of the Earth's crust. This funding will enable continued
support for U.S. scientists and engineers to participate in coordinated
national and international continental scientific drilling activities
as well as an increased emphasis on collaborative multidisciplinary
studies to understand the Earth as a functioning dynamic system.
Priorities for FY 2002 include:
national and international continental scientific
drilling focusing on the mechanics of earthquake initiation, continental
paleoclimatic history, and the detailed mechanisms that control
eruptive volcanism;
science activities related to the San Andreas
Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD), an interagency research effort
designed to monitor a seismically active fault zone and expand
our understanding of earthquake physics; and
support for field laboratories focusing on geological
and geophysical processes that shape and alter the planet's continental
crust.
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