NSF Budget Request for FY 1994: Geosciences

The fiscal year 1994 National Science Foundation budget request for Geosciences is $448.53 million, which is an increase of $27.49 million, or 6.5%, above current funding if the supplemental funding legislation is passed.

The section of the NSF budget document on Geosciences is 8 pages long. The following information presents a general overview of this area of the NSF budget, taken only from the budget section entitled “Geosciences” (GEO).

ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES funding would increase by $7.48 million, or 5.3%, to $149.10 million.

EARTH SCIENCES funding would increase by $6.47 million, or 7.8%, to $89.65 million.

OCEAN SCIENCES funding would increase by $13.54 million, or 6.9%, to $209.78 million.

Under the heading of “NSF and Interagency Initiatives” the budget document states:

“This request provides support for the GEO Activity participation in several interagency initiatives, which are coordinated by the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering and Technology (FCCSET). Each GEO Subactivity provides a unique contribution to these interdisciplinary activities.... [consisting of:]

"$4.58 million to augment Global Change research and facilities support across all Subactivities, including support for U.S. participation in large international field projects and climate modeling programs in the Atmospheric Sciences Subactivity and the joint expedition to the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea in the Ocean Sciences;

"$2.07 million for High Performance Computing and Communications, including Grand Challenge activities in the Earth Sciences Subactivity and massively parallel processing at the National Center for Atmospheric Research; and

"$100,000 to begin interdisciplinary research on Advanced Materials.”

The budget document states that a $1.78 million decrease in the Mathematics and Science Education initiative “is due to a reduction in undergraduate and postdoctoral support.”

The document continues that other increases include:

"$6.50 million for the initial steps of procurement of an Arctic research vessel in the Ocean Sciences Subactivity;

"$3.04 million for acquisition and deployment of digital seismographs in the Earth Sciences Subactivity to enhance capabilities of the Global Seismic Network.

"$2.65 million for covering the increased costs of international agreements in the Ocean Drilling Program in the Ocean Sciences Subactivity;

"$1.88 million for research on earthquake hazards and on the dynamics of the Earth’s interior; and

"$500,000 for conversion of a surplus military C-130 aircraft into a research aircraft for the National Center for Atmospheric Sciences.”

The budget document provides additional information under an “explanation of increases” for each of the three GEO subactivities.