SEES: Community Driven Management of Synchrotron Facilities for Earth and Environmental Science

同步加速器地球和环境科学（SEES）将开发，管理，运营和支持用户访问美国同步加速器为基础的实验和分析能力，以推进地球和环境科学。SEES将实现尖端研究并培养下一代科学家，重点是在地球上和地球内部的各种条件下，从大气层到最深的内部，对地球和环境材料的特性，过程和行为产生新的理解。 SEES将在位于阿贡国家实验室先进光子源（APS）、劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室先进光源（ALS）、布鲁克海文国家实验室国家同步加速器光源-II（NSLS-II）和斯坦福大学同步加速器辐射实验室（SSRL）的光束线上为地球和环境科学界提供更多的访问和支持。根据该奖项，可供社区使用的光束线数量的扩大，加上新的分析和实验能力，将为环境科学研究活动提供重大的新利益。SEES将利用APS和ALS计划中的DOE升级，进一步提高所有地球和环境科学研究活动的研究能力。通过这种方式，SEES将使具有直接社会效益的基础研究能够解决环境管理，人类健康，自然灾害以及将推动下一个十年技术的资源等问题。就更广泛的影响而言，SEES将重点强调参与科学界的多样性和包容性，寻求扩大STEM中代表性不足的社区成员参与的机制。它还将开展一系列重要的教育和推广活动，与能源部管理的同步加速器光源的教育和推广计划合作。同步加速器辐射为基础的分析方法已经彻底改变了地球材料的物理和化学性质以及相关自然过程的研究。这些先进的能力已被证明是至关重要的，在获得我们目前的理解这些系统，并将允许有关地球的基本问题得到解决，包括：如何板块构造开始？深层地幔结构是如何形成的？初始分异与地壳形成和再循环的早期机制之间有什么联系？氧化态如何影响地幔中熔体起始的深度？什么样的流体辅助物理过程控制着断层传播的速率？矿物、含水胶体和微粒气溶胶如何影响地球表面关键元素的传输？土壤和海洋能将碳封存多久？对气候有什么影响？ 地球化学循环和流体-矿物相互作用如何影响环境污染物的生物利用度和毒性？美国能源部运营的国家同步加速器的光束线具有独特的实验和分析能力，使世界各地的科学家和学生每年能够进行数千次尖端实验。随着APS和ALS计划中的同步加速器源升级，将出现进一步的进展，从而可以进行全新类型的研究。该项目将使地球和环境科学界能够充分利用这些新的资源能力，保持在科学发现的最前沿。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

Synchrotron for Earth and Environmental Science (SEES) will develop, manage, operate, and support user access to U.S. synchrotron-based experimental and analytical capabilities necessary to advance Earth and environmental sciences. SEES will enable cutting-edge research and train the next generation of scientists with a focus on generating new understanding of Earth and environmental material properties, processes, and behavior under the full range of conditions found on and within the Earth, from the atmosphere to the deepest interior. SEES will provide expanded access and support for the Earth and environmental science community at beamlines situated at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory, Advanced Light Source (ALS) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, National Synchrotron Light Source-II (NSLS-II) at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lab (SSRL). The expansion in the number of beamlines available to the community under this award, coupled with new analytical and experimental capabilities, will provide significant new benefit for environmental science research activities. SEES will leverage the planned DOE upgrades at APS and ALS to further increase research capabilities for all Earth and environmental sciences research activities. In this way, SEES will enable fundamental research that has direct societal benefits addressing, for example, environmental stewardship, human health, natural hazards, and the resources that will drive the technology of the next decade. In terms of broader impacts, SEES will place major emphasis on diversity and inclusion of the participating scientific community, seeking mechanisms for broadening participation from members of communities underrepresented in STEM. It will also conduct a significant portfolio of education and outreach activities, working collaboratively with education and outreach programs at the DOE-managed synchrotron light sources.Synchrotron radiation based analytical methods have revolutionized the study of physical and chemical properties of Earth materials and associated natural processes. These advanced capabilities have been proven to be critical in obtaining our current understanding of these systems, and will allow fundamental questions about the Earth to be addressed, including: How did plate tectonics begin? How did deep mantle structures form? What is the connection between initial differentiation and the early mechanisms of crust formation and recycling? How does oxidation state impact the depth of melt initiation in the mantle? What fluid-assisted physical processes control the rates at which faults propagate? How do minerals, aqueous colloids, and particulate aerosols affect the transport of critical elements at the Earth’s surface? How long can soils and oceans sequester carbon and what is the impact on climate? How do biogeochemical cycling and fluid-mineral interactions affect bioavailability and toxicity of environmental contaminants? The availability of unique experimental and analytical capabilities in the beamlines at DOE-operated national synchrotrons enable thousands of cutting-edge experiments to be conducted annually by scientists and students from around the world. Further advances will occur with the planned synchrotron source upgrades at APS and ALS, allowing fundamentally new types of studies to be pursued. This project will enable the Earth and environmental science community to take full advantage of these new source capabilities to remain at the forefront of scientific discovery.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.