The Bush Administration is requesting a decrease in the FY 2004
Geosciences Activity budget of 0.5%, or $3.12 million, as compared to
the FY 2003 request. The $687.9 million request is12.9% higher than
the activity's FY 2002 budget. As previously explained, the FY 2003
appropriations bill for the National Science Foundation has not been
enacted.
The Geosciences Activity, as a directorate, has many programs. Readers
wishing to review a particular component of the Administration's request
should read the budget document presented to Congress that is available
at http//:www.nsf.gov/bfa/bud/fy2004/toc.htm
. The Geosciences section can be found on pages 247-266.
There are three subactivities within the Geosciences Activity:
Atmospheric Sciences: The FY 2004 request of $229.9 million is 5.0%,
or $11.0 million, over the FY 2003 request. This is an increase of
13.7%, or $27.8 million, over the FY 2002 budget.
Earth Sciences: The FY 2004 request of $144.3 million is 5.8%, or
$8.9 million, below the FY 2003 request. This is an increase of
14.2%, or $18.0 million, over the FY 2002 budget.
Ocean Sciences: The FY 2004 request of $313.7 million is 1.7%, or
$5.3 million, below the FY 2003 request. This is an increase of
14.2%, or $32.6 million, over the FY 2002 budget.
In looking across the Geosciences Activity, as well as other programs
within the foundation, NSF uses the categories of People, Idea and
Tools. Selections from each category follow:
PEOPLE:
"$2.41 million, an increase of $800,000 over the FY 2003 Request
level of $1.61 million, to maintain the network of coordinated
centers to facilitate collaborations and communications between ocean
science researchers and educators initiated in FY 2002. These Centers
for Ocean Science Education Excellence (COSEE) will foster the
integration of ocean research into high quality educational
materials, allow ocean researchers to gain a better understanding of
educational organizations and pedagogy, provide educators with an
enhanced capacity to understand and deliver high-quality educational
programs in the ocean sciences, and provide material to the public
that will promote a deeper understanding of the ocean and its
influence on each person's quality of life and our national
prosperity;
"$3.42 million, an increase of $620,000 over the FY 2003 Request
level of $2.80 million, to support the Integrative Graduate Education
and Research Training (IGERT) program, which reflects an emphasis on
multidisciplinary training in all areas of NSF-supported research;
"$2.81 million, unchanged from FY 2003, to support the Foundation-
wide ADVANCE program to increase the representation and advancement
of women in academic science and engineering careers; and
"$4.0 million, unchanged from FY 2003, to support the Opportunities
to Enhance Diversity in the Geosciences (OEDG) program, which seeks
to increase the participation in geosciences education and research
by students from groups historically underrepresented in the
geosciences. A secondary goal of the program is to strengthen the
understanding of the geosciences and their contribution to modern
society by a broad and diverse segment of the population."
IDEAS:
"Support for ideas, spanning the geosciences and encompassing
a wide
range of topics, totals $395.10 million in FY 2004, a decrease of
$18.21 million, or 4.4 percent, from the FY 2003 Request of
$413.31million. Projects in the Atmospheric Sciences Subactivity
improve the understanding and prediction of climate, weather, space
weather, and the global environmental system. Earth Sciences
Subactivity research advances knowledge of the structure,
composition, and history of the solid Earth and of the geological and
hydrological processes that modify Earth. Projects in the Ocean
Sciences Subactivity improve knowledge of the global climate system,
coastal environments, the character of the ocean floor, as well as
processes that control the chemical composition, motion, and
biological production of ocean waters.
"GEO will continue to participate in the Climate Change Research
Initiative, with a FY 2004 investment of $20.0 million, that doubles
investments proposed in 2003 totaling $10.0 million. Emphasis in FY
2004 will be placed on understanding the Earth's carbon cycle and
advancing our ability to model dynamic multivariate systems. In FY
2004, GEO will emphasize research on the key physical, chemical and
geologic cycles within the Earth system, the characteristics and
dynamics of which are of paramount importance to science and society.
These activities will be complementary to, and well coordinated with,
the biologically oriented studies of Earth cycles that will be
carried out within the context of the Foundation-wide Biocomplexity
in the Environment priority area."
TOOLS:
The budget document describes how the requested 5.8%, or $13.57
million, increase over the FY 2003 request of $248.3 million will be
allocated among Academic Research Fleet/Ship Operations (+4.8%),
EarthScope Operation (N/A), Incorporated Research Institutions for
Seismology (+7.6%), National Center for Atmospheric Research (+7.1%),
Ocean Drilling Program Operations (-77.0%), Digital Library (+44.8%),
Research Resources (unchanged) and other Facilities (+73.1%)
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