At the request of the National Science Foundation, the National Research Council is conducting a study which will assess (1) the state-of-the-art of the multi-disciplinary field of earth surface processes, (2) the fundamental research questions in the future for the field, and (3) the challenges and opportunities facing the research community and the nation in answering these questions (for the full committee statement of task, click here). The committee is addressing the task by considering research on the dynamic biological, chemical, physical, and human processes, interactions, and feedback mechanisms that affect the shape of Earth's surface across a range of spatial and temporal scales, from continental interiors to the oceans, and from polar to equatorial regions. The committee is dedicated to generating a report that will be used by a wide audience including policymakers, agency managers, scientists from many disciplines, and society.
The report will have the greatest impact on future research if it has strong input from a broad spectrum of the interested community. During its few scheduled study meetings, the committee cannot hear from all of the many interested individuals who have important input to this topic, so the committee seeks your help in the form of written contributions on the following set of questions:
1. What have been the four most significant conceptual and/or technological advances in earth surface processes in the last 15 years?
2. What are two emergent and fundamental questions that earth surface processes research can address?
3. What challenges (organizational, administrative, conceptual, philosophical, etc.) exist in conducting the research needed to answer the fundamental questions identified in Question 2?
If your input is longer than a few paragraphs or if you would like to submit a formatted document, please send your input via e-mail to Jared Eno.
Comments received by June 15, 2008, will be considered at the committee's next meeting (June 24-26, 2008). However, the committee welcomes any ideas until August 2008. The final report will be released in February 2009. Please note that any written comments submitted to the committee (whether by mail, e-mail, fax, or the project's comment form) will be included in the study's public access file.
Announcements about this questionnaire have been distributed nationally and internationally. The committee is very grateful for your responses to these questions and encourages you to notify interested colleagues of the opportunity to participate in this important process.
Committee Charge and Schedule
