PD-21-7700 Education Programs in Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences

The National Facilities program supports the operation of national user facilities: National Facilities areresearch facilities with specialized instrumentation available to the scientific research community in general and the materials research community in particular.These facilities provide unique research capabilities that can be located at only a few highly specialized laboratories in the Nation. They provide open user service for scientists and engineers from a broad range of disciplines including biology, chemistry, geosciences, materials research. and physics. Theyinclude facilities and resources for research using high magnetic fields, ultraviolet and x-ray synchrotron radiation, neutron scattering, and nanofabrication. Theyserve as science and technology-related resources and experiences for students. Theyconduct student and teacher education, general public awareness activities, curriculum development, and educational research.

The Marine Geology and Geophysics Core Program supports research on all aspects of the geology and geophysics of the present ocean basins and margins, as well as those of the Great Lakes. The Program supports science that includes: Structure, composition, tectonics, and evolution of the oceanic lithosphere Paleoceanography, paleoclimate, and sea level change Submarine volcanology, petrology and geochemistry of the oceanic crust and upper mantle lithosphere Marine hydrogeology, water-rock interaction, seeps and gas hydrates Hydrothermal venting and in situ fluid processes, and associated geochemistry Geochemical indicators of life operating below the seafloor Marine sedimentology, stratigraphy, sediment transport, and diagenesis Mid-ocean ridge spreading, back-arc rifting, transform processes, and ocean island/seamount formation and evolution Submarine components of subduction zone systems and passive margins Marine geohazards (e.g., earthquakes, faulting, mass wasting, geological aspects of tsunamis) Coastal processes (e.g., geological aspects of hurricanes, sea-level change, erosion, offshore deposition) The Marine Geology and Geophysics Program supports acquisition of new field data and the leveraging of and/or synthesis of existing data. The program supports analytical and laboratory experimental projects, methods development, and modeling. All activities should have relevance to and advance the understanding of marine geoscience processes. The Program interfaces with NSF programs across the Geosciences and across the Agency. For proposals that cross between Programs, proposers should contact the relevant Programs to seek guidance on submission.

The Structure and Physics of the Solid Earth Program (SPSE) aims to advance fundamental knowledge about the ongoing dynamical processes over the age of the Earth that evolve the structure of planet Earth and underpin geohazards. SPSE supports research at all temporal and spatial scales, from the Earth's core to its crust. Through laboratory, field, theoretical, and computational studies, the program encompasses a wide range of disciplines including structural geology, tectonics, and geophysics. Research in these areas can help improve our understanding of natural hazards including earthquakes and mass flows, as well as Earth's formation and its magnetic field.