Cooperative Institute for Dynamic Earth Research

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Advances in disciplinary tools and major infrastructure efforts have fueled impressive progress in our ability to probe the interior of the Earth and characterize the evolution of the surface environment. New data sets and new methodologies offer valuable insights, yet the emergence of habitable environments on our planet is still poorly understood. Part of the impediment to progress is due to the disciplinary nature of research. A more integrated approach that leverages the knowledge and latest achievements in each of the relevant disciplines is needed to generate new ideas and to identify new observations that distinguish between competing hypotheses. The investigators plan a summer program for the Cooperative Institute for Dynamic Earth Research (CIDER) on the theme of early Earth and the evolution of habitable environments. They seek to lower barriers to more integrated research by promoting cross-disciplinary education of researchers at all career levels. They also intend to develop a workforce that can more effectively engage in interdisciplinary research with the goal of enabling more rapid progress on an important and unsolved research problem.The proposed four-week summer program brings together a cohort of senior graduate students and postdocs from institutions across the country to tackle the important question of how the early Earth developed a habitable environment. Senior participants from various US institutions, and representing a range of disciplines, will serve as instructors and mentors for group research projects. The first two weeks of the program are devoted to lectures and tutorials, covering the basic tools and approaches of the various disciplines. The second two weeks are used to develop research projects in groups with a good mix of disciplinary expertise. The outcome will be a better understanding of Earth evolution, including important questions related to the cycling of water and carbon through the Earth system, which regulates the long-term stability of climate.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.