Support for a Workshop: Priorities in Solid Earth Science, October 26, 2002, Denver, CO

University Of Maryland, College Park, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

This proposal is submitted by Brown on behalf of an ad-hoc Workshop Planning Committee, as follows: Michael Brown (Laboratory for Crustal Petrology, Department of Geology, University of Maryland); Jessica Faust Larsen (Geophysical Institute, Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Alaska Fairbanks); Cathryn Manduca (DLESE Community Issues and Groups, Geology Department, Carleton College); Tracy Rushmer (Department of Geology, University of Vermont); Basil Tikoff (Department of Geology & Geophysics, University of Wisconsin-Madison); and, Ben van der Pluijm (Department of Geological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor). The PI's request support for a one-day workshop to be held on Saturday October 26, 2002, in Denver, CO, which is the day before the Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America. The Workshop is proposed as the first in a series to support a specific agenda - the integration of the Solid Earth Sciences as the central core of Geology through the development and promotion of research priorities, educational initiatives and outreach. The Solid Earth Sciences concern the characterization, origin, and evolution of planetary lithospheres. Various processes have modified the lithosphere throughout geologic time. Investigating them requires studies of not only active environments but also the geologic record of ancient events. Research in the Solid Earth Sciences is inherently multidisciplinary and increasingly interdisciplinary. This approach characterizes not only larger projects supporting multiple scientists (e.g., Continental Dynamics and Instrumentation & Facilities Programs at NSF) but also most of the smaller projects within the Solid Earth Sciences (e.g., Petrology & Geochemistry and Tectonics Programs at NSF). The Solid Earth Sciences represent an essential element at the core of Earth Sciences; educational programs should reflect the inherently multidisciplinary and increasing interdisciplinary nature of the Solid Earth Sciences, and the foundation the Solid Earth Sciences provide for the other elements of Earth Science. The PI's contend that any new long-range plans for Earth Sciences at NSF must advocate continued and readily identifiable support for research, education and outreach in the Solid Earth Sciences. The record shows that advances in Solid Earth Sciences are achieved when research support is provided through small grants to individual PIs (e.g., Geophysics, Petrology & Geochemistry and Tectonics Programs), through support of infrastructure (e.g., Instrumentation and Facilities Program), through large grants to several PIs (e.g., Continental Dynamics Program) and through integration among the sub- disciplines (e.g., the Plate Tectonics revolution). The PI's agenda for the Solid Earth Sciences will complement the EarthScope initiative, but it is not dependent upon EarthScope being funded. This request is for support to enable attendance by 50-100 participants (minimum 50, maximum 100) representative of the spectrum of Solid Earth Sciences and sympathetic to the symbiotic relationship between research, education and outreach. The participants will be selected from a pool composed of invited and self-motivated applicants to ensure balance, both across the Solid Earth Sciences and among research, education and outreach. The primary goal of the Workshop is to promote an integrated and coherent approach to planning for the future of the Solid Earth Sciences. The integration will be both across the sub-disciplines in the Solid Earth Sciences and among the synergistic activities of research, education and outreach. The outcomes of the Workshop will be: a report to be submitted to the Division of Earth Sciences by December 1, 2002, and customized versions to be submitted to Eos, Geotimes and GSA Today during the month of December, 2002; and, formation of an Integrated Tectonics Forum to continue the process.