Support for a U.S.-Taiwan Workshop on the Feedbacks Among Climate, Erosion and Tectonics

认识到气候调节的侵蚀作用支配着活跃山脉的发展，这可以说是板块构造革命之后地球科学中最具变革性的观念转变之一。构造活动区的地形是气候、构造和地表过程相互作用的结果。山体的修筑增加了地形坡度，直接影响侵蚀过程的速度和效率。不断上升的陆地也可以通过改变气流和加热的模式来影响气候，从而影响降水的规模和模式。气候驱动的侵蚀导致的质量重新分配之间的反馈可以影响山带内的应力状态、热结构和随后的变形模式，而这些正是驱动地形增长的机制。然而，这些不同的相互作用和耦合的强度仍然存在争议。此外，这些过程对生活在山区的人类的福祉有很大的影响。该项目支持一个美国-台湾研讨会，该研讨会将评估当前的研究状况，并确定未来跨学科的研究方向。研讨会的一个主要目标是通过开发受益于两国研究专业知识的合作研究项目，加强美国和台湾之间的伙伴关系，从而加强每个国家的研究活动，同时增进对造山、气候和地表过程之间复杂联系的了解。学生和初出茅庐的科学家参加讲习班将确保发展长期合作，从发展科学工作队伍和交流科学思想的角度来看，都是互利的。该项目支持美国科学家参加将于2017年在俄勒冈州立大学举行的美国台湾研讨会。这次研讨会的主要目的是促进关于造山、气候和地表过程之间的联系和反馈的跨学科研究。将在会前和会后实地考察时探索的活跃海岸和喀斯喀特山脉将为研讨会提供背景。具体地说，研讨会的目标有四个方面：(1)评估气候、造山和景观演化之间的反馈如何控制造山系统轨迹的理解现状；(2)确定和完善利用跨学科方法的研究目标，这些方法将导致我们对固体和流体地球系统的理解的下一轮进展；(3)加强美国和台湾科学家之间的新兴合作，并促进针对研究目标的具体研究战略的开发；以及(4)扩大研究目标的范围，将台湾造山带以外的系统包括在内，并增加更多美国研究人员的参与。研讨会围绕两个关键主题组织：该项目由构造计划和地貌学和土地利用动力学(均设在地球科学局地球科学司)和美国国家科学基金会国际科学与工程办公室支持。

The recognition that climatically modulated erosion acts to govern the development of active mountain ranges is arguably one of the most transformative conceptual shifts in the geosciences subsequent to the plate tectonic revolution. Topography in tectonically active regions results from an interplay among climatic, tectonic, and surface processes. The building of mountains increases topographic slopes, which directly influences the rate and efficiency of erosional processes. Rising landmasses can also influence climate by altering patterns of airflow and heating, influencing the magnitude and pattern of precipitation. Feedbacks between the redistribution of mass by climate-driven erosion can influence the state of stress, thermal structure, and subsequent deformation patterns within mountain belts, the very mechanisms that drive the growth of topography. The strength of these various interactions and coupling, however, is still contested. Furthermore, these processes have strong impacts on the well being of humans living in mountainous terrains. This project supports a U.S.-Taiwan workshop that would assess the current state of research and identify future interdisciplinary research directions. A key objective of the workshop is to increase partnerships between the U.S. and Taiwan through the development of collaborative research projects that benefit from research expertise in both countries, thereby strengthening research activities within each country while advancing understanding of the complex linkages among mountain building, climate, and surface processes. The participation of students and early-career scientists in the workshop will ensure the development of long-term collaborations that are mutually beneficial both from the perspective of the development of the scientific workforce and the exchange of scientific ideas. This project supports the participation of U.S. based scientists in a U.S. Taiwan workshop, which will be held at Oregon State University in 2017. The overarching purpose of this workshop is to promote interdisciplinary research on the linkages and feedbacks among mountain building, climate, and surface processes. The active Coast and Cascade Ranges, which will be explored during pre- and post-meeting field trips, will provide the backdrop for the workshop. Specifically, the workshop goals are four-fold: (1) evaluate the current state of understanding in how feedbacks among climate, mountain building, and landscape evolution govern the trajectory of orogenic systems; (2) identify and refine research goals that capitalize on transdisciplinary approaches that will lead to the next set of advances in our understanding of coupled solid and fluid earth systems; (3) strengthen emerging collaborations between U.S. and Taiwan scientists and to foster the development of specific research strategies to address research goals; and (4) broaden the scope of research goals to include systems beyond the Taiwan orogeny and to increase participation from a broader swath of U.S. researchers. The workshop is organized around two key themes: This project is supported by the Tectonics Program and the Geomorphology and Land Use Dynamics (both in the Earth Sciences Division, Geosciences Directorate) and NSF's Office of International Science and Engineering.