rapidly in the study of global-scale geosystems, which manifest a more obvious
set of unifying concepts, diagnostic behaviors, and simple symmetries—for
example, the dipolar magnetic field (core dynamo), the shifting mosaic of plate
tectonics (mantle convection), or the largely zonal structure of global circulation
(climate system).
New mechanisms are thus needed to encourage multidisciplinary
collaborations on Critical Zone problems, especially on local and regional scales.
Modeling activities that employ conceptual and numerical tools to integrate
different types of data are clearly important. However, the primary deficiency at
this stage of the science is the difficulty in mounting field work to collect
measurements that are sufficiently localized and simultaneous as well as dense
and comprehensive enough to constrain process-based models of Critical Zone
behaviors. Real progress will require some way to coordinate the field
investigations of hydrologists, pedologists, geochemists, geobiologists,
mineralogists, and other geoscientists in localized regions, often for extended
periods of observation, and to encourage the integration of these data with
controlled laboratory measurements and system-level models.
One mechanism for encouraging this type of problem-focused,
multidisciplinary field work is through the establishment of “natural laboratories”
in which detailed, long-term observations can be made using a variety of
disciplinary tools. As discussed in Chapter 3 , such a program would also provide
new opportunities for scientific advancement in many other areas of Earth
science.
GEOBIOLOGY
Life is inextricably linked to the Earth, so it is not surprising that some of the
most challenging problems of geology and biology are intimately interwoven.
The synthesis of these two sciences is geobiology, which addresses the
interactions of biologic and geological processes, the evolution of life on Earth,
and the factors that have shaped the current and past biospheres. Important issues
include the following:
• origin of prebiotic molecules and life, and its early evolution;
• emergence and divergence of metabolisms and morphologies;
• effects of organisms on the physical and chemical characteristics of Earth
and its fluid envelopes;
• nature of ecosystems and their response to environmental perturbations of
many types; and
• the rules that govern biodiversity dynamics, including selectivity in
SCIENCE OPPORTUNITIES
45
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.
set of unifying concepts, diagnostic behaviors, and simple symmetries—for
example, the dipolar magnetic field (core dynamo), the shifting mosaic of plate
tectonics (mantle convection), or the largely zonal structure of global circulation
(climate system).
New mechanisms are thus needed to encourage multidisciplinary
collaborations on Critical Zone problems, especially on local and regional scales.
Modeling activities that employ conceptual and numerical tools to integrate
different types of data are clearly important. However, the primary deficiency at
this stage of the science is the difficulty in mounting field work to collect
measurements that are sufficiently localized and simultaneous as well as dense
and comprehensive enough to constrain process-based models of Critical Zone
behaviors. Real progress will require some way to coordinate the field
investigations of hydrologists, pedologists, geochemists, geobiologists,
mineralogists, and other geoscientists in localized regions, often for extended
periods of observation, and to encourage the integration of these data with
controlled laboratory measurements and system-level models.
One mechanism for encouraging this type of problem-focused,
multidisciplinary field work is through the establishment of “natural laboratories”
in which detailed, long-term observations can be made using a variety of
disciplinary tools. As discussed in Chapter 3 , such a program would also provide
new opportunities for scientific advancement in many other areas of Earth
science.
GEOBIOLOGY
Life is inextricably linked to the Earth, so it is not surprising that some of the
most challenging problems of geology and biology are intimately interwoven.
The synthesis of these two sciences is geobiology, which addresses the
interactions of biologic and geological processes, the evolution of life on Earth,
and the factors that have shaped the current and past biospheres. Important issues
include the following:
• origin of prebiotic molecules and life, and its early evolution;
• emergence and divergence of metabolisms and morphologies;
• effects of organisms on the physical and chemical characteristics of Earth
and its fluid envelopes;
• nature of ecosystems and their response to environmental perturbations of
many types; and
• the rules that govern biodiversity dynamics, including selectivity in
SCIENCE OPPORTUNITIES
45
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.