FY 1997 NSF Request: Geosciences
Below is a summary of the FY 1997 NSF budget request for the Geosciences activity, which falls under NSF’s Research and Related Activities appropriation. According to the request: “The FY 1997 Budget Request for the Geosciences Activity (GEO) is $454.0 million, an increase of $36.0 million, or 8.6 percent, over the FY 1996 Estimate of $418.0 million.”
The Geosciences Activity contains three components: Atmospheric Sciences, Earth Sciences, and Ocean Sciences. Details of the request for each subactivity follow, with quotes taken from the budget request document:
ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES: “The FY 1997 Budget Request for the Atmospheric Sciences Subactivity (ATM) is $153.23 million, an increase of $11.20 million, or 7.9 percent, over the FY 1996 Estimate of $142.03 million.” Research in this subactivity “furthers the understanding of weather, climate, and the solar-terrestrial system by expanding the fundamental knowledge of the composition and dynamics of the Earth’s atmosphere and geospace environment.”
The FY 1997 Budget Request includes "$92.06 million for Atmospheric Sciences Research Support which provides funding for individual and group research projects in physical meteorology, large-scale dynamic meteorology, experimental meteorology, climate dynamics, atmospheric chemistry, aeronomy, magnetospheric physics and solar-terrestrial relations.” An $8.20 million increase will enable “enhanced support of the interagency U.S. Weather Research Program (USWRP) and the National Space Weather Program (NSWP), continued support of disciplinary research and international field programs in the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), and participation in an NSF-wide instrumentation program.” The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) would receive $61.17 million, which includes “an increase of $3.0 million [to] allow NCAR scientists and facilities to participate in the USWRP, NSWP and USGCRP activities, as well as to conduct other disciplinary research.”
EARTH SCIENCES: “The FY 1997 Budget Request for the Earth Sciences Subactivity (EAR) is $95.90 million, an increase of $10.50 million, or 12.3 percent, over the FY 1996 Estimate of $85.40 million.” This subactivity “supports research on the structure, composition, and history of Earth and its processes.”
The request includes "$58.80 million for Earth Sciences Project Support, which funds individual and small group research proposals in all disciplines of the Earth Sciences and in interdisciplinary areas such as environmental geochemistry and biogeochemistry, active tectonics, and cooperative studies of Earth’s deep interior.... An increase of $2.26 million in FY 1997 will provide enhanced support for interdisciplinary projects on environmental geochemistry and biogeochemistry and for hydrologic sciences. Other disciplinary research programs will receive small increases to maintain current levels of effort. Additional support will be provided for undergraduate research and postdoctoral fellowships.” Instrumentation and Facilities would receive $27.70 million, to support “shared research facilities and university instrumentation.... An increase of $6.50 million includes $4.50 million for enhanced support for the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) for a global seismic network and its associated data management system.” $9.40 million would go to the “Continental Dynamics Program, which supports large coordinated multidisciplinary and multi-institutional field projects on the continents.” The Earth Science request includes "$10.90 million for research on fundamental earthquake studies, to sustain this element of the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program.”
OCEAN SCIENCES: “The FY 1997 Budget Request for the Ocean Sciences Subactivity (OCE) is $204.87 million, an increase of $14.30 million, or 7.5 percent, over the FY 1996 Estimate of $190.57 million.” This subactivity “supports research to improve understanding of both coastal seas and deep ocean basins, including the sea floor, and the facilities required to gain access to these environments.”
The request includes "$110.18 million for Ocean Sciences Research Support, which includes programs in physical oceanography, chemical oceanography, marine geology and geophysics, biological oceanography, oceanographic technology, and interdisciplinary studies.... An increase of $7.16 million in FY 1997 will provide support for the interdisciplinary Coastal Ocean Processes Program...; the Global Ocean Ecosystems Dynamics program...; the Earth System History program...; and for increased core support to investigator-initiated basic research.” Oceanographic Centers and Facilities would receive $53.65 million, an increase of $5.95 million, of which “over $4 million...will be allocated for an NSF-wide instrumentation program. The remainder will support continued ship and submersible operations, maintenance, and technical support, as well as instrumentation improvements and coordination functions.” The multinational Ocean Drilling Program would receive $41.04 million, an increase of $1.19 million, which “will maintain the current level of effort for the program as operating costs increase.”
