including present and past relationships between geological processes and
the evolution and ecology of microbial life.
• To promote increased interactions between the Earth and planetary science
research communities and to exploit the basic research opportunities
arising in the study of solar and extrasolar planets, EAR should initiate a
cooperative effort with the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) and NSF-Astronomy in planetary science.
Instrumentation and Facilities
The EAR Instrumentation and Facilities (I&F) Program has been highly
successful, but it is under increasing stress from the rising costs of purchasing,
operating, and maintaining state-of-the-art research equipment. To take advantage
of novel technologies, EAR will have to expand the resources devoted to major
facilities and observatories, as well as to individual laboratories. Technologies
targeted for future investments might include neutron-scattering facilities, smart
synchrotron beamlines, laser-based materials analysis, geochemical and
geochronometric instrumentation, and mobile instrumentation for ground-based
remote-sensing and biogeochemical analyses.
• EAR should seek more resources to support the growing need for new
instrumentation, multiuser analytical facilities, and long-term
observatories, and for ongoing support of existing equipment.
• The I&F program should encourage its user communities to identify
research priorities and develop a consensus regarding how many
laboratories are needed and how their operational costs should be
apportioned among the EAR core programs, the I&F program, and
participating academic institutions.
Education
To maintain its vitality, Earth science must attract talented new
practitioners. The educational requirements for these practitioners are becoming
more demanding, especially given the need to keep pace with the crossdisciplinary aspects of Earth science. Within EAR, there are many opportunities
for blending education with basic research.
• EAR should institute training grants and expand its fellowship program to
facilitate broad-based education for undergraduate and graduate students
in the Earth sciences.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
8
About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the
original work has been recomposed from XML files created
from the original paper book, not from the original
typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths,
word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific
formatting, however, cannot be retained,
and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted.
Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative
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the evolution and ecology of microbial life.
• To promote increased interactions between the Earth and planetary science
research communities and to exploit the basic research opportunities
arising in the study of solar and extrasolar planets, EAR should initiate a
cooperative effort with the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) and NSF-Astronomy in planetary science.
Instrumentation and Facilities
The EAR Instrumentation and Facilities (I&F) Program has been highly
successful, but it is under increasing stress from the rising costs of purchasing,
operating, and maintaining state-of-the-art research equipment. To take advantage
of novel technologies, EAR will have to expand the resources devoted to major
facilities and observatories, as well as to individual laboratories. Technologies
targeted for future investments might include neutron-scattering facilities, smart
synchrotron beamlines, laser-based materials analysis, geochemical and
geochronometric instrumentation, and mobile instrumentation for ground-based
remote-sensing and biogeochemical analyses.
• EAR should seek more resources to support the growing need for new
instrumentation, multiuser analytical facilities, and long-term
observatories, and for ongoing support of existing equipment.
• The I&F program should encourage its user communities to identify
research priorities and develop a consensus regarding how many
laboratories are needed and how their operational costs should be
apportioned among the EAR core programs, the I&F program, and
participating academic institutions.
Education
To maintain its vitality, Earth science must attract talented new
practitioners. The educational requirements for these practitioners are becoming
more demanding, especially given the need to keep pace with the crossdisciplinary aspects of Earth science. Within EAR, there are many opportunities
for blending education with basic research.
• EAR should institute training grants and expand its fellowship program to
facilitate broad-based education for undergraduate and graduate students
in the Earth sciences.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
8
About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the
original work has been recomposed from XML files created
from the original paper book, not from the original
typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths,
word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific
formatting, however, cannot be retained,
and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted.
Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative
version for attribution.