Please submit comments on the Earth System History (ESH) Program,
as solicited below, by electronic mail to Jennifer Giesler
(jgiesler [at] agu.org) in the ESH Secretariat at the American Geophysical
Union.
Deadline for submissions is: 30 June 2001
Dear Colleague,
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is seeking comments on its Earth
System History (ESH) Program. Research in ESH is an initiative of the
U.S. Global Change Research Program coordinated by NSF and funded by
contributions from the Divisions of Atmospheric Sciences, Earth
Sciences, Ocean Sciences, and the Office of Polar Program at NSF as well
as the Office of Global Programs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA).
Over the years, ESH has served a growing community of researchers
engaged in an energetic and evolving research effort with the goal of
understanding natural variability in the Earth's system beyond the
instrumental record and across geologic time, especially in terms of
climate-related processes.
To achieve these goals, ESH emphasizes interdisciplinary and coupled
research to understand the mechanisms, processes, and linkages between
critical elements of the atmosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere,
and terrestrial systems. Accordingly, the ESH program supports research
in quantification and development of biotic, physical, and geochemical
proxy indicators, geochronological techniques, and statistical analysis
relevant to ESH goals. Furthermore, scientific questions in ESH are
organized within six broadly defined Areas of Special Interest that
include: 1) Paleoclimate Variability at Annual-Decadal Resolution; 2)
Rapid Climate Change; 3) Extreme Warm Conditions; 4) Spatial Patterns
and Continuous Records of Climate Change; 5) Arctic Paleoclimate
Studies; and 6) Modeling of Past Climate Change. The current ESH Program
announcement can be viewed on the NSF web site at:
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2000/nsf0011/nsf0011.html.
Given the scientific community's interest in ESH, as evidenced by the
growing number of research proposal submissions, it seems timely to
consider the question; "Are the current ESH Areas of Special Interest
relevant to emerging scientific research directions?" In an effort to
ensure that ESH reflects the state-of-the-art in science and addresses
important scientific questions, your thoughts on the future intellectual
focus of ESH research are requested. It would be most effective if you
offered your evaluation of the current Areas of Special Interest and
what scientific questions ESH might pursue in the future.
Please submit your comments by electronic mail to Jennifer Giesler
(jgiesler [at] agu.org) in the ESH Secretariat at the American Geophysical
Union by June 30, 2001. All verbatim comments will be collated, with
full attribution and presented to the ESH Steering Committee. The ESH
Steering Committee will then analyze the comments and provide NSF with
recommendations based on community input.
We thank you in advance for your help in shaping the future of
scientific research in ESH.
David J. Verardo, NSF Director of Paleoclimate
Richard Poore, NSF Director of Marine Geology and Geophysics
Lisa J. Graumlich, Chair of the ESH Steering Committee