Dissertation Research: History of "The Coral Reef Problem" from Explorations to Explosions

论文研究：“珊瑚礁问题”从探索到爆炸的历史

• 批准号: 0522664
• 负责人: Angela Creager
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Princeton University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-08-01 至 2008-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0522664&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dissertation; Research; History; Coral; Reef

Project SummaryA History of the "Coral Reef Problem," from Explorations to ExplosionsIntellectual MeritThe objective of this project is to produce a history of what became knownas the "coral reef problem," from European naturalists' first explorationsin the Pacific to the mid-twentieth century, when new types of coralresearch were made possible through the aftermath of the U.S. nuclearweapons testing programs at the coral atolls of the Marshall Islands. Thisquestion consumed participants ranging from naval policymakers toscience administrators, and it was taken up by a diverse but mutuallyrecognized group of naturalists and scientists from a variety of distinctbackgrounds and disciplines. What united them was a common discourseon the formation of coral reefs, but what divided them promises to offerinsights into the practice of studying nature and the ways of formulatingtheories as they changed over this time.Scientists have used coral reefs as a place to juxtapose kingdoms ofnature, the present and the past, and conceptions of the individual and thecommunity. Reefs have constituted a point of intersection for many of theclassic notions of how the study of nature should be divided: they are atonce animal, vegetable, and mineral. The "life" of a single reef unites thepresent and the ancient past. They are renowned as complex ecosystems,but students of their growth and shapes have treated them as organicindividuals.For these reasons, the coral reef problem at issue in this dissertation hasbeen of sustained intellectual significance to scientists over the past twohundred years. The project will be a history of the ideas those scientistsproduced. And when science has commanded the attention of politics andthe fascination of society-as over evolution and the Bomb-coral reefshave been the experimental and explosive proving ground for some ofscience and culture's deepest reaching questions.Broader ImpactsThis project will be of interest, then, to anyone who hopes to understandhow science has brought coral reefs from the periphery of ourunderstanding to the center of our conceptions of what is most complex,fragile, and valuable about nature. It will also be of substantial relevanceto historians, philosophers, and science teachers interested in the way thatscientific problems have been asked, answered, challenged, and testedduring the development of modern professional science. This projectshows how members of very different scientific disciplines-naturalhistorians, geologists, zoologists, ecologists, and physical geographers-set about attacking the exact same question: how are coral reefs formed?

项目摘要“珊瑚礁问题”的历史，从探索到爆炸智力价值这个项目的目标是产生一个历史，从欧洲博物学家在太平洋的第一次探索到世纪中期，美国在马歇尔珊瑚环礁的核武器试验项目使新型珊瑚研究成为可能群岛这个问题吸引了从海军政策制定者到科学管理者的参与者，它被一个多元化但相互认可的自然学家和科学家群体所接受，他们来自各种不同的背景和学科。将他们联系在一起的是关于珊瑚礁形成的共同论述，但将他们区分开来的是，随着时间的推移，他们对研究自然的实践和制定理论的方式的看法也发生了变化。科学家们将珊瑚礁作为一个地方，将自然王国、现在和过去以及个人和集体的概念并列在一起。珊瑚礁是许多关于自然研究如何划分的经典观念的交汇点：它们同时是动物、植物和矿物。一个珊瑚礁的“生命”将现在和古代联系在一起。珊瑚礁以其复杂的生态系统而闻名，但研究其生长和形状的学者却把它们当作有机个体来对待。由于这些原因，本论文所讨论的珊瑚礁问题在过去的两百年里一直对科学家具有持续的智力意义。这个项目将是这些科学家所产生的思想的历史。当科学已经引起了政治的注意和社会的迷恋--就像进化论和炸弹一样--珊瑚礁已经成为一些科学和文化最深刻问题的实验和爆炸性的试验场。更广泛的影响那么，这个项目将是有趣的，对于任何希望了解科学如何将珊瑚礁从我们理解的边缘带到我们概念的中心的人来说，复杂、脆弱、珍贵的大自然。这也将是实质性的relevanceto历史学家，哲学家，和科学教师感兴趣的方式，科学问题已经问，回答，挑战，并在现代专业科学的发展测试。这个项目展示了不同学科的成员--自然历史学家、地质学家、动物学家、生态学家和自然地理学家--如何着手解决同一个问题：珊瑚礁是如何形成的？