Coordinating Office for Research on the Sedimentary Crust, Deep-Time and the Earth-Life System

该基金支持一个沉积地质学、深部时间和地球-生命系统科学社区协调办公室（STEPPE，沉积地质学、时间、环境、古生物学、古气候和能源），以促进现有和新项目之间的合作和交流，建设能力，并促进对地球过程深部记录的研究。美国地质学会（GSA）、沉积地质学会（SEPM）和古生物学会（PS）将为该办公室提供财政和实物支持。智力价值和更广泛的影响：为了预测这个星球上人类生活的界限——那些由气候变化、能源、水问题和我们对生物圈的影响所强加的界限——我们必须有一个综合的、深入的视角，否则我们的视野将是不完整的，我们对自然和人为事件及其结果做出预测的能力将受到限制。单个子学科甚至整个学科都不能提供解决现实世界问题所需的广度和深度的信息。所有的沉积地壳研究小组都研究一个更大的研究问题的不同部分，目前的倡议反映了沉积地壳研究的不同观点和/或重点，特别是在过去。很明显，社区的广大部分正在朝着综合方法努力，但缺乏一个平台来协调和整合这些努力。2011年国家研究委员会关于了解地球深层过去的报告指出，“从单个研究人员或小组研究努力过渡到基于观测的科学家与气候建模者进行更广泛的跨学科合作，以进行基于团队的重要古气候事件研究”是至关重要的，这需要协调。草原保护方案办公室将提供这一平台并进行协调。STEPPE办公室将通过汇集各种相关的地理信息学工作，帮助促进地球科学网络基础设施的EarthCube愿景，并努力确保其他网络基础设施需求得到明确和协调。此外，STEPPE办公室将与社区和教育合作伙伴合作，通过正式和非正式的教育活动，开发包括K-12、决策者和公众在内的最先进的教育和推广计划。STEPPE办公室将加强研究界与州、联邦和国际机构和组织（包括工业界）之间的沟通，以便建立能力并表达社区的观点。办事处将确保维持现有和计划中的社区倡议的独立性和重要性，并通过这一小组努力加以加强。该办公室将促进个别倡议并协调它们之间的努力。更好的沟通、协调和合作将有助于为整个社区制定更有效的研究策略，并有助于实现2009年NSF地理远景报告的目标。该办公室将帮助社区开发新的战略和工具，以更复杂地理解地球-环境-生命的关系，并将其应用于我们对地球系统过程的理解。

This grant supports a sedimentary geology, deep-time, and Earth-life system science community coordinating Office (STEPPE, Sedimentary geology, Time, Environment, Paleontology, Paleoclimate, and Energy) to facilitate collaboration and communication among existing and new initiatives, build capacity, and promote research into the deep-time record of Earth processes. The Geological Society of America (GSA), the Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM), and the Paleontological Society (PS) will provide financial and in-kind support to the office.Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts: To predict the boundaries for human life on this planet--those imposed by climate change, energy, water issues, and our impact on the biosphere--we must have an integrated, deep-time perspective, or our vision will be incomplete, and our ability to make predictions about natural and human-made events and outcomes will be limited. Single sub-disciplines or even whole disciplines cannot provide the breadth and depth of information needed to address real-world issues. All sedimentary crust research groups examine different parts of a larger research problem, and current initiatives reflect different perspectives and/or emphases for sedimentary-crust research, especially in the deep past. It is clear that broad segments of the community is working toward an integrated approach, but lack a platform to coordinate and integrate these efforts. The 2011 National Research Council report on Understanding Earth's Deep Past, states that it is essential to make "A transition from single researcher or small group research efforts to a much broader-based interdisciplinary collaboration of observation-based scientists with climate modelers for team-based studies of important paleoclimate events," and this requires coordination. The STEPPE office will provide that platform and that coordination. The STEPPE office will help facilitate the EarthCube vision for geoscience cyberinfrastructure by bringing together various relevant geoinformatics efforts, and work to ensure that other cyberinfrastructure needs are articulated and coordinated. In addition, the STEPPE office will work with the community and with education partners to develop state-of-the-art education and outreach programs involving K-12, decision makers, and the general public through formal and informal educational activities. The STEPPE office will enhance communication between the research community and State, Federal and international agencies and organizations, including industry, in order to build capacity and voice community perspectives. The office will ensure that the independence and importance of existing and planned community initiatives is maintained, and also enhanced through this group effort. The office will promote individual initiatives and coordinate efforts among them. Better communication, coordination and collaboration will help to develop more effective research strategies for the entire community and help meet goals of the 2009 NSF GeoVision Report. The office will help the community develop new strategies and tools for understanding Earth-environment-life relationships with greater sophistication, and for application to our understanding of Earth-system processes.