UNAVCO was a non-profit university-governed consortium that facilitated geology research and education using geodesy .
133-595: UNAVCO was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA ), and United States Geological Survey ( USGS ) to support geology research. It operated the U.S. National Science Foundation's Geodetic Facility for the Advancement of Geoscience (GAGE Facility). UNAVCO had 120 US academic member organizations and supported over 110 organizations globally as associate members. On January 1, 2023, UNAVCO merged with
266-465: A 'merit review' process, the current version of which was introduced in 1997. Reviews are carried out by ad hoc reviewers and panels of independent scientists, engineers, and educators who are experts in the relevant fields of study, and who are selected by the NSF with particular attention to avoiding conflicts of interest. For example, reviewers cannot work at the NSF itself, nor for the institution that employs
399-438: A better understanding of continental deformation. A few questions EarthScope addressed include: Earth's continents are compositionally distinct from the oceanic crust. The continents record four billion years of geologic history, while the oceanic crust gets recycled about every 180 million years. Because of the age of continental crusts, the ancient structural evolution of the continents can be studied. Data from EarthScope
532-702: A chemical spill that contaminated the drinking water of about 300,000 West Virginia residents. In early 2018, it was announced that Trump would cut NSF Research Funding by 30% but quickly rescinded this due to backlash. As of May 2018, Heather Wilson, the secretary of the Air Force, signed that letter of intent with the director of NSF initiating partnership for the research related to space operations and Geosciences , advanced material sciences , information and data sciences , and workforce and processes. The NSF seeks to fulfill its mission chiefly by issuing competitive, limited-term grants in response to specific proposals from
665-1011: A collection of globally distributed permanent GNSS/GPS stations called the NASA Global GNSS Network (GGN), which forms part of the International GNSS Service (IGS) network. UNAVCO operated the Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO), the geodetic component of the EarthScope program funded by the National Science Foundation. The PBO consisted of several major observatory components: a network of 1,100+ permanent, continuously operating Global Positioning System (GPS) stations many of which provided data at high-rate and in real-time, 78 borehole seismometers, 74 borehole strainmeters, 28 shallow borehole tilt meters, and six long baseline laser strain meters. UNAVCO operated
798-583: A foundation for a lifetime of integrated contributions. The NSF is broadly organized into four offices, seven directorates, and the National Science Board . It employs about 2,100 people in permanent, temporary and contractual positions at its headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia . Prior to 2017, its headquarters were located in Arlington, Virginia . In addition to around 1,400 permanent employees and
931-462: A funding rate of 26.6%. According to FY 2020 numbers, the median annualized award size is $ 153,800 and the average duration of an award is 2.9 years. In 2022 the NSF has started funding open source software as part of their Pathways to Enable Open-Source Ecosystems (POSE) program. Although the federal government had established nearly 40 scientific organizations between 1910 and 1940, the US relied upon
1064-567: A large amount of information which will contribute to the understanding of continental dynamics and for the quantification of seismic hazards. There were seven topics the EarthScope program addressed with the use of the observatories. Convergent margins, also known as convergent boundaries , are active regions of deformation between two or more tectonic plates colliding with one another. Convergent margins create areas of tectonic uplift , such as mountain ranges or volcanoes. EarthScope focused on
1197-738: A more detailed insight into faulting and earthquakes than ever before. This project provided a much needed data upgrade from work done in previous years thanks to many technological advances. New data enabled an improved study and understanding of faults and earthquakes that increased our knowledge of the complete earthquake process, allowing for the continued development of building predictive models. Detailed information on internal fault zone architecture, crust and upper mantle structure, strain rates, and transitions between fault systems and deformation types; as well as heat flow, electromagnetic/magnetotelluric, and seismic waveform data, were all made available. A few questions EarthScope addressed include: Through
1330-406: A more integrated approach than did most academic departments at the time, encouraging physicists, chemists, engineers, and metallurgists to cross departmental boundaries and use systems approaches to attack complex problems of materials synthesis or processing. The NSF expanded these laboratories into a nationwide network of Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers . In 1972 the NSF launched
1463-557: A number of programs that support institution-wide research during this decade including the Graduate Science Facilities program (started in 1960), Institutional Grants for Science (started in 1961), and Science Development Grants, better known as Centers of Excellence program (started in 1964). Notable projects conducted during this decade include creation of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (1960), creation of
SECTION 10
#17328584772931596-519: A primarily laissez-faire approach to scientific research and development. Academic research in science and engineering occasionally received federal funding. Within University laboratories, almost all support came from private contributions and charitable foundations. In industrial laboratories, the concentration of workers and funding (some through military and government programs as a result of Roosevelt 's New Deal ) would eventually raise concern during
1729-431: A proposal to reduce the NSF social sciences directorate's budget by 75%. Economist Robert A. Moffit suggests a connection between this proposal and Democratic Senator William Proxmire's Golden Fleece Award series criticizing "frivolous" government spending — Proxmire's first Golden Fleece had been awarded to the NSF in 1975 for granting $ 84,000 to a social science project investigating why people fall in love. Ultimately,
1862-571: A prototype of a system that was used to address several key elements of the production of EarthScope products. One of the prototype systems was the receiver reference model. It provided crustal thickness and average crustal Vp/Vs ratios beneath USArray transportable array stations. The main function of the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) and USArray, was to provide high quality data for earthquake monitoring, source studies and Earth structure research. The utility of seismic data
1995-680: A remote-sensing technique, and PBO (Plate Boundary Observatory), a fixed array of GPS receivers and strainmeters, the EarthScope project provided spatially continuous strain measurements over wide geographic areas with decimeter to centimeter resolution. The Global Strain Rate Map (GSRM) is a project of the International Lithosphere Program whose mission is to determine a globally self-consistent strain rate and velocity field model, consistent with geodetic and geologic field observations collected by GPS, seismometers, and strainometers. GSRM
2128-906: A salt solution to improve conductivity with the ground. The Plate Boundary Observatory PBO consisted of a series of geodetic instruments, Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers and borehole strainmeters, that were installed to help understand the boundary between the North American Plate and Pacific Plate . The PBO network included several major observatory components: a network of 1100 permanent, continuously operating Global Positioning System (GPS) stations, many of which provide data at high-rate and in real-time, 78 borehole seismometers , 74 borehole strainmeters, 26 shallow borehole tiltmeters, and six long baseline laser strainmeters. These instruments were complemented by InSAR ( interferometric synthetic aperture radar ) and LiDAR ( light detection and ranging ) imagery and geochronology acquired as part of
2261-412: A search engine that used the links between Web pages as a ranking method, which they later commercialized under the name Google . In 1996 NSF-funded research established beyond doubt that the chemistry of the atmosphere above Antarctica was grossly abnormal and that levels of key chlorine compounds are greatly elevated. During two months of intense work, NSF researchers learned most of what is known about
2394-471: A spatially dense set of seismic recordings, these signals could also be used to visualize the actual continuous seismic waves, providing new insights and interpretation techniques into complex wave propagation effects. Using signals recorded by the array of seismometers, the EarthScope project animated seismic waves as they sweep across the USArray transportable array for selected larger earthquakes. This illustrated
2527-402: A variety of perspectives. Themes include disagreements over administrative structure, patents and inclusion of social sciences, a populist -versus-scientist dispute, as well as the roles of political parties, Congress, and President Truman . Commonly, this debate is characterized by the conflict between New Deal Senator Harley M. Kilgore and OSRD head Vannevar Bush . Narratives about
2660-542: A variety of scales, ranging from continental-scale changes in water storage using gravity space missions, to regional and local changes using INSAR , GNSS, leveling, and relative gravity measurements of surface deformation accompanying aquifer-system compaction. Space geodesy utilizes electromagnetic signals propagating through the atmosphere, providing information on tropospheric temperature and water vapor and on ionospheric electron density. National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation ( NSF )
2793-736: A whole. Examples of national facilities include the NSF's national observatories, with their giant optical and radio telescopes; its Antarctic research sites; its high-end computer facilities and ultra-high-speed network connections; the ships and submersibles used for ocean research; and its gravitational wave observatories. In addition to researchers and research facilities, NSF grants also support science, engineering and mathematics education from pre-K through graduate school. Undergraduates can receive funding through Research Experiences for Undergraduates summer programs. Graduate students are supported through Integrative Graduate Education Research Traineeships (IGERT) and Alliance for Graduate Education and
SECTION 20
#17328584772932926-523: Is a digital model of the global velocity gradient tensor field associated with the accommodation of present-day crustal motions. The overall mission also includes: (1) contributions of global, regional, and local models by individual researchers; (2) archive existing data sets of geologic, geodetic, and seismic information that can contribute toward a greater understanding of strain phenomena; and (3) archive existing methods for modeling strain rates and strain transients. A completed global strain rate map provided
3059-586: Is an active imaging system whereby laser pulses are emitted by the scanner and the time and intensity of the returning pulses, reflected by the surface or object being scanned, are recorded. The round-trip time for pulses enables the taking of millions/billions of points, from which a 3D "point cloud" is generated to accurately map the scanned surface/object. The primary capability of TLS is the generation of high-resolution 3D maps and images of surfaces and objects over scales of meters to kilometers with centimeter to sub-centimeter precision. Repeat TLS measurements allow
3192-606: Is an application already in use. In fact, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded the Arizona Geological Survey and its partner universities funding to adopt and maintain eight Transportable Array stations. The stations will be used to update Arizona's earthquake risk assessment. For EarthScope to live up to its potential in the Earth sciences , the connections between the research and
3325-618: Is an independent agency of the United States federal government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health. With an annual budget of about $ 9.9 billion (fiscal year 2023), the NSF funds approximately 25% of all federally supported basic research conducted by the United States' colleges and universities. In some fields, such as mathematics, computer science, economics, and
3458-453: Is essential for the nation's economic health and global competitiveness, and for national defense. This support has manifested in an expanding National Science Foundation budget from $ 1 billion in 1983 to $ 8.28 billion in 2020. NSF has published annual reports since 1950, which since the new millennium have been two reports, variously called "Performance Report" and "Accountability Report" or "Performance Highlights" and "Financial Highlights";
3591-462: Is greatly increased when noise levels, unwanted vibrations, are reduced; however broadband seismograms will always contain a certain level of noise. The dominant sources of noise are either from the instrumentation itself or from ambient Earth vibrations. Normally, seismometer self noise will be well below the seismic noise level, and every station will have a characteristic noise pattern that can be calculated or observed. Sources of seismic noise within
3724-493: Is one of the principal U.S. statistical agencies . It is a part of the NSF's Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate (SBE). In May 2011, Republican Senator Tom Coburn released a 73-page report, " National Science Foundation: Under the Microscope ", receiving immediate attention from such media outlets as The New York Times , Fox News , and MSNBC . The report found fault with various research projects and
3857-699: Is the change in shape and volume of continental and oceanic crust caused by stress applied to rock through tectonic forces. An array of variables including composition, temperature, pressure, etc., determines how the crust will deform. A few questions EarthScope addressed include: Continental deformation is driven by plate interactions through active tectonic processes such as continental transform systems with extensional, strike-slip, and contractional regimes. EarthScope provided velocity field data, portable and continuous GPS data, fault-zone drilling and sampling, reflection seismology, modern seismicity, pre- Holocene seismicity, and magnetotelluric and potential field data for
3990-501: Is the electromagnetic equivalent of the seismic arrays. The portable sensors were moved in a rolling grid similar to the Transportable Array grid, but were only in place about a month before they were moved to the next location. A magnetotelluric station consists of a magnetometer , four electrodes , and a data recording unit that are buried in shallow holes. The electrodes are oriented north-south and east-west and are saturated in
4123-464: Is used to measure deformation on or near to the surface of the Earth as well as to measure the physical properties of rock within the vicinity of the installations. At many of the geodetic measurement sites, meteorological data are also collected to aid with processing of the geodetic data. UNAVCO archived and distributed data from the EarthScope program Plate Boundary Observatory , which later became part of
UNAVCO - Misplaced Pages Continue
4256-699: The Antarctic Treaty reserving Antarctica for peaceful and scientific research, and a presidential directive gave the NSF responsibility for virtually all U.S. Antarctic operations and research in form of the United States Antarctic Program . In 1963, President John F. Kennedy appointed Leland John Haworth as the second director of the NSF. During the 1960s, the impact of the Sputnik Crisis spurred international competition in science and technology and accelerated NSF growth. The NSF initiated
4389-547: The Arctic and Antarctic . Survey-grade GPS receivers, Terrestrial Laser Scanners, and supporting power and communications systems for continuous data collection and campaign surveying could be provided. Operation and maintenance services were also provided for long term data collection, with on-line data distribution from the UNAVCO community archive. The UNAVCO GAGE Facility provided global infrastructure support to NASA/JPL in operating
4522-509: The Continuously Operating Caribbean GNSS/GPS Observational Network (COCONet) , which consisted of 50 planned continuously operating GPS/weather stations integrated with 65 existing GPS stations operated by partner organizations. COCONet provides open-format GPS and meteorological data for these stations for use by scientists, government agencies, educators, students, and the private sector. UNAVCO
4655-539: The Gemini Observatory and the Arecibo Observatory , all of which are funded in whole or in part by NSF. The NSF's astronomy program forged a close working relationship with NASA , also founded in 1958, in that the NSF provides virtually all the U.S. federal support for ground-based astronomy, while NASA's responsibility is the U.S. effort in space-based astronomy. In 1959 the U.S. and other nations concluded
4788-586: The Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) to form EarthScope Consortium. The UNAVCO GAGE Facility, as a World Data Center , provided access to scientific data for quantifying the motions of rock, ice, and water at or near the Earth's surface. Geodetic Imaging Data is collected by various sensors deployed on satellites, aircraft, and on the ground to provide high-resolution terrain models and deformation measurements. Data collected from strain and seismic borehole instruments
4921-541: The National Defense Research Committee and the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) both from 1941 to 1947. Despite broad agreement over the principle of federal support for science, working out a consensus on how to organize and manage it required five years. The five-year political debate over the creation of a national scientific agency has been a topic for academic study, understood from
5054-497: The National Nanotechnology Initiative , dedicated to the understanding and control of matter at the atomic and molecular scale. NSF's roughly $ 300 million annual investment in nanotechnology research was still one of the largest in the 23-agency initiative. In 2001, NSF's appropriation passed $ 4 billion. The NSF's "Survey of Public Attitudes Toward and Understanding of Science and Technology" revealed that
5187-562: The Network of the Americas (NOTA) . The UNAVCO GAGE Facility managed a community pool of high accuracy portable GPS / GNSS receiver systems used for a range of research applications. The GAGE Facility at UNAVCO maintained a pool of Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) instruments to support Earth science investigators. TLS technology is based on lidar (Light Detection And Ranging) and is sometimes referred to as ground-based lidar or tripod lidar. It
5320-921: The United States Geological Survey (USGS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Several international organizations also contributed to the initiative. EarthScope data are publicly accessible. There were three EarthScope project observatories: These observatories consisted of boreholes into an active fault zone, global positioning system (GPS) receivers, tiltmeters , long-baseline laser strainmeters , borehole strainmeters, permanent and portable seismometers , and magnetotelluric stations. The various EarthScope components provided integrated and highly accessible data on geochronology and thermochronology , petrology and geochemistry , structure and tectonics , surficial processes and geomorphology , geodynamic modeling, rock physics , and hydrogeology . USArray, managed by IRIS,
5453-690: The ozone hole . In 1998 two independent teams of NSF-supported astronomers discovered that the expansion of the universe was actually speeding up, as if some previously unknown force, now known as dark energy , is driving the galaxies apart at an ever-increasing rate. Since passage of the Small Business Technology Transfer Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–564, Title II), NSF has been required to reserve 0.3% of its extramural research budget for Small Business Technology Transfer awards, and 2.8% of its R&D budget for small business innovation research. NSF joined with other federal agencies in
UNAVCO - Misplaced Pages Continue
5586-444: The "Science Mobilization Act" (S. 1297), which did not pass. Perceiving organizational chaos, elitism, over-concentration of funds in elite universities, and lack of incentives for socially applicable research, Kilgore envisioned a comprehensive and centralized research body supporting basic and applied research which would be controlled by members of the public and civil servants rather than scientific experts. The public would own
5719-572: The 2007 fiscal year (October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007), and in 2007 NSF requested $ 6.43 billion for FY 2008. President Obama requested $ 7.373 billion for fiscal year 2013. Due to the October 1, 2013 shutdown of the Federal Government, and NSF's lapse in funding, their website was down "until further notice", but was brought back online after the US government passed their budget. In 2014, NSF awarded rapid response grants to study
5852-695: The Division of Environmental Sciences (1965), deep sea exploration endeavors Project Mohole (1961) and the Deep Sea Drilling Project (1968–1983), the Ecosystems Analysis Program (1969), and ownership of the Arecibo Observatory (1969). In 1969, Franklin Long was tentatively selected to take over directorship of the NSF. His nomination caused some controversy due to his opposition to the current administration's antiballistic missile program and
5985-438: The Earth are caused by any of the following: the actions of human beings at or near the surface of the Earth, objects moved by wind with the movement being transferred to the ground, running water (river flow), surf, volcanic activity, or long period tilt due to thermal instabilities from poor station design. A new approach to seismic noise studies was introduced with the EarthScope project, in that there were no attempts to screen
6118-483: The Earth sciences community. Invigoration is self-perpetuating as evidenced by participation from thousands of organizations from around the world and from all levels of students and researchers. This leads to a significantly heightened awareness within the general public, including the next cohort of prospective Earth scientists. With further evolution of the EarthScope project, there were opportunities to create new observatories with greater capabilities, including extending
6251-532: The Earth. The Reference Network was composed of permanent seismic stations spaced about 300 km apart. The Reference Network provided a baseline for the Transportable Array and Flexible Array. EarthScope added and upgraded 39 stations to the already existing Advanced National Seismic System , which was part of the Reference Network. The Magnetotelluric Facility was composed of seven permanent and 20 portable sensors that recorded electromagnetic fields . It
6384-690: The EarthScope project. The arrays included the Pacific Northwest Geodetic Array, EarthScope's Plate Boundary Observatory, the Western Canadian Deformation Array, and networks run by the US Geological Survey. The daily GPS measurements from ~1500 stations along the Pacific/North American plate boundary provided millimeter-scale accuracy and could be used monitor the displacements of the earths crust. With
6517-467: The GeoEarthScope initiative. PBO also included comprehensive data products, data management and education and outreach efforts. These permanent networks were supplemented by a pool of portable GPS receivers that could be deployed for temporary networks to researchers, to measure the crustal motion at a specific target or in response to a geologic event. The Plate Boundary Observatory portion of EarthScope
6650-456: The NSF delivered ozone sensors, along with balloons and helium, to researchers at the South Pole so they can measure stratospheric ozone loss. This was in response to findings earlier that year, indicating a steep drop in ozone over a period of several years. The Internet project continued, now known as NSFNET . In 1990 the NSF's appropriation passed $ 2 billion for the first time. NSF funded
6783-598: The NSF has 53 existing contracts. The NSF also supports research through several offices within the Office of the Director, including the Office of Integrative Activities, and Office of International Science and Engineering. The NSF organizes its research and education support through eight directorates, each encompassing several disciplines: An eighth directorate, the Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP),
SECTION 50
#17328584772936916-541: The National Science Foundation prior to the 1970s typically concentrated on Vannevar Bush and his 1945 publication Science—The Endless Frontier. In this report, Vannevar Bush, then head of the Office of Scientific Research and Development which began the Manhattan Project , addressed plans for the postwar years to further foster government commitment to science and technology. Issued to President Harry S. Truman in July 1945,
7049-543: The National Science Foundation. which provided for a National Science Board of twenty-four part-time members. In 1951 Truman nominated Alan T. Waterman , chief scientist at the Office of Naval Research , to become the first Director. With the Korean War underway, the agency's initial budget was just $ 151,000 for 9 months. After moving its administrative offices twice, NSF began its first full year of operations with an appropriation from Congress of $ 3.5 million, far less
7182-622: The OMB's 75% reduction proposal failed, but the NSF Economics Program budget did fall 40%. In 2012, political science research was barred from NSF funding by the passage of the Flake Amendment, breaking the precedent of granting the NSF autonomy to determine its own priorities. In fiscal year 2020, NSF received 42,400 proposals and awarded 12,100, for a funding rate of 28%. In FY 2021, the estimates are 43,200 and 11,500 respectively, giving
7315-539: The Professoriate (AGEP) programs and through the Graduate Research Fellowships, NSF-GRF . K–12 and some community college instructors are eligible to participate in compensated Research Experiences for Teachers programs. In addition, an early career-development program (CAREER) supports teacher-scholars that most effectively integrate research and education within the mission of their organization, as
7448-596: The Research Experience in the Solid Earth Science for Students (RESESS) internship program. RESESS was a summer internship program dedicated to increasing the diversity of students entering the geosciences. UNAVCO Members were educational or non-profit institutions chartered in the United States (US) or its Territories with a commitment to scholarly research involving the application of high precision geodesy to Earth science or related fields. Associate Membership
7581-473: The Smith bill made it to President Truman's desk, but it was vetoed. Truman wrote that regrettably, the proposed agency would have been "divorced from control by the people to an extent that implies a distinct lack of faith in the democratic process". The third attempt began with the introduction of S. 2385 in 1948. This was a compromise bill cosponsored by Smith and Kilgore, and Bush aide John Teeter had contributed in
7714-581: The U.S. came from USArray transportable array and Advance National Seismic System broadband seismic stations. Results were obtained in the time and the frequency domain. Waveform fit and amplitude-phase match figures were provided to allow users to evaluate moment tensor quality. Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment and techniques provide a unique opportunity for earth scientists to study regional and local tectonic plate motions and conduct natural hazards monitoring. Cleaned network solutions from several GPS arrays merged into regional clusters in conjunction with
7847-457: The USArray over the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of California . There is much promise for EarthScope tools and observatories, even after retirement, to be used by universities and professional geologists . These tools include the physical equipment, software invented to analyze the data, and other data and educational products initiated or inspired by EarthScope. The science produced by EarthScope and
7980-586: The ability to measure tectonic plate motion and to establish stable terrestrial and celestial reference frames required to improve accuracy. Geodetic research associated with earthquakes, volcanoes, and landslides aims to provide early warnings and mitigate future hazard events. Ice covers approximately 10% of Earth's land surface at the present, with most of the ice mass being contained in the Greenland and Antarctic continental ice sheets . Designing and undertaking geodetic experiments that enable researchers to improve
8113-400: The agency's move to a more nimble international posture. Rather than maintain dedicated offices, NSF will dispatch small teams to specific international institutions. Teams may work for up to a week on-site to evaluate research and explore collaborations with the institution. In addition to the research it funds in specific disciplines, the NSF has launched a number of projects that coordinate
SECTION 60
#17328584772938246-414: The almost $ 33.5 million requested with which 28 research grants were awarded. After the 1957 Soviet Union orbited Sputnik 1 , the first ever human-made satellite, national self-appraisal questioned American education, scientific, technical and industrial strength and Congress increased the NSF appropriation for 1958 to $ 40 million. In 1958 the NSF selected Kitt Peak , near Tucson, Arizona , as
8379-427: The best judges of the direction and needs of their field. While Bush and Kilgore both agreed on the need for a national science policy, Bush maintained that scientists should continue to own the research results and patents , wanted project selection limited to scientists, and focused support on basic research, not the social sciences, leaving the market to support applied projects. Sociologist Daniel Kleinman divides
8512-449: The biennial "Science & Engineering Indicators" report to the US president and Congress, as required by the NSF Act of 1950. In 1977 the first interconnection of unrelated networks was developed, run by DARPA . During this decade, increasing NSF involvement lead to a three-tiered system of internetworks managed by a mix of universities, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. By
8645-553: The boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate in the western United States. EarthScope provided GPS geodetic data, seismic images, detailed seismicity, magnetotelluric data, InSAR , stress field maps, digital elevation models , baseline geology, and paleoseismology for a better understanding of convergent margin processes. A few questions EarthScope addressed include: Crustal strain and deformation
8778-431: The classroom. Their job was to make sure that everyone understood what EarthScope was, what it was doing in the community, and how to use the data it was producing. By generating new research opportunities for students in the scientific community, the program also hoped to expand recruitment for future generations of earth scientists. "To use EarthScope data, products, and results to create a measurable and lasting change on
8911-446: The continuous waveforms to eliminate body and surface waves from the naturally occurring earthquakes. Earthquake signals are not generally included in the processing of noise data, because they are generally low probability occurrences, even at low power levels. The two objectives behind the collection of the seismic noise data were to provide and document a standard method to calculate ambient seismic background noise, and to characterize
9044-524: The country. Building an Earth model of this scale required a complex community effort, and this model is largely the first EarthScope legacy. Researchers analyzing the data left us with a greater scientific understanding of geologic resources in the Great Basin and of the evolution of the plate boundary on the North American west coast. Another geologic legacy desired by the initiative, was to invigorate
9177-454: The creativity of those who wish to sort through the gigabytes of data. Also, because of its scale, the program will undoubtedly be the topic of casual conversation for many people outside of the geologic community. EarthScope chatter will be made by people in political, educational, social, and scientific arenas. The multidisciplinary character of EarthScope helped create stronger network connections between geologists of all types and from around
9310-521: The debate into three broad legislative attempts. The first attempt consisted of the 1945 Magnuson bill (S. 1285), the 1945 Science and Technology Mobilization Bill, a 1945 compromise bill (S. 1720), a 1946 compromise bill (S. 1850), and the Mills Bill (H.B. 6448). The Magnuson bill was sponsored by Senator Warren Magnuson and drafted by the OSRD, headed by Vannevar Bush. The Science and Technology Mobilization bill
9443-447: The deep Earth and how the evolution of continental lithosphere is related to upper mantle processes. The basic idea of how the various melts are formed is known, but not the volumes and rates of magma production outside of Mid-ocean ridge basalts . EarthScope provided seismic data and tomographic images of the mantle to better understand these processes. A few questions EarthScope addressed include: The Education and Outreach Program
9576-747: The development of several curricula based on the NCTM standards , devised by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics . These standards were widely adopted by school districts during the subsequent decade. However, in what newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal called the "math wars", organizations such as Mathematically Correct complained that some elementary texts based on the standards, including Mathland , had almost entirely abandoned any instruction of traditional arithmetic in favor of cutting, coloring, pasting, and writing. During that debate, NSF
9709-669: The drafting process. In 1949, S. 247 was introduced by the same group of senators behind S. 2385, marking the fourth and final effort to establish a national science agency. Essentially identical to S. 2385, S. 247 passed the Senate and the House with a few amendments. It was signed by President Truman on May 10, 1950. Kleinman points out that the final NSF bill closely resembles Vannevar Bush's proposals. (Harley Kilgore) (Vannevar Bush) 1950 Business, labor, farmers, consumers In 1950 Harry S. Truman signed Public Law 507, or 42 U.S.C. 16 creating
9842-474: The education and outreach communities must continue to be cultivated. Enhanced public outreach to museums, the National Park System , and public schools will ensure that these forward-thinking connections are fostered. National media collaboration with high-profile outlets such as Discovery Channel , Science Channel , and National Geographic may secure a lasting legacy within the social consciousness of
9975-481: The effects on the passage of energy waves impinging on those structures. The waves of energy are P-waves generated by earthquakes and are recording the wave velocities. The high quality data that was collected by the permanent seismic stations of USArray and the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) allowed the creation of high resolution seismic imaging of the Earth's interior below the United States. Seismic tomography helps constrain mantle velocity structure and aids in
10108-519: The efforts of experts in many disciplines, which often involve collaborations with other U.S. federal agencies. Examples include initiatives in: NSF's National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) gathers data from surveys and partnerships with other agencies to offer official data on the American science and engineering workforce, graduates of advanced U.S. science and engineering programs, and R&D expenditures by U.S. industry. NCSES
10241-602: The first freely available browser to allow World Wide Web pages that include both graphics and text. Within 18 months, NCSA Mosaic becomes the Web browser of choice for more than a million users, and sets off an exponential growth in the number of Web users. In 1994 NSF, together with DARPA and NASA , launched the Digital Library Initiative. One of the first six grants went to Stanford University , where two graduate students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin , began to develop
10374-558: The foundation, while the NSB meets six times a year to establish its overall policies. The current NSF director is Sethuraman Panchanathan. The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) was established by the National Science Foundation Act of 1950. Its stated mission is "to promote the progress of science, to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare, and to secure the national defense." The NSF's scope has expanded over
10507-568: The globe. Major projects supported by the GI program included the 1,112 station Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO), Polar networks in Greenland and Antarctica ( GNET and ANET , together known as POLENET ), COCONet spanning the Caribbean plate boundary, the multi-disciplinary AfricaArray, and several other smaller continuously observing geodetic networks. Geodetic Data Services (GDS) program provided services for
10640-496: The goals and aims of the agency and published a revised version of the merit review criteria in its 2012 report, to clarify and improve the function of the criteria. However, both criteria already had been mandated for all NSF merit review procedures in the 2010 re-authorization of the America COMPETES Act . The Act also includes an emphasis on promoting potentially transformative research , a phrase which has been included in
10773-418: The imaging and measurement of changes through time and in unprecedented detail, making TLS even more valuable for transformative science investigations. Geology applications include detailed mapping of fault scarps, geologic outcrops, fault-surface roughness, frost polygons, lava lakes , dikes , fissures , glaciers , columnar joints and hillside drainages. Carrying out additional TLS surveys can be useful in
10906-437: The imaging and measurement of surface changes over time due to, for example: The incorporation of GNSS/GPS measurements provides accurate georeferencing of TLS data in an absolute reference frame . The addition of digital photography can be used to create photorealistic 3D images. The UNAVCO GAGE Facility provided geodetic support to NSF-OPP (National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs) funded researchers working in
11039-417: The latest available FY 2013 Agency Financial Report was posted December 16, 2013, and the six-page FY 2013 Performance and Financial Highlights was posted March 25, 2013. More recently, the NSF has focused on obtaining high return on investment from their spending on scientific research. Various bills have sought to direct funds within the NSF. In 1981, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) introduced
11172-416: The long-term stewardship of data sets. These services organized, managed, and archived data, and developed tools for data access and interpretation. Services were provided for GNSS/GPS data, imaging data, strain and seismic data, and meteorological data. The UNAVCO Data Archive included more than 2,300 continuous GNSS/GPS stations. The Education and Community Engagement program provided services to communicate
11305-517: The mid-1980s, primary financial support for the growing project was assumed by the NSF. In 1983, NSF budget topped $ 1 billion for the first time. Major increases in the nation's research budget were proposed as "the country recognizes the importance of research in science and technology, and education". The U.S. Antarctic Program was taken out of the NSF appropriation now requiring a separate appropriation. The NSF received more than 27,000 proposals and funded more than 12,000 of them in 1983. In 1985,
11438-425: The moment tensor magnitude, is the most reliable quantity for comparing and measuring the size of an earthquake with other earthquake magnitudes. Moment tensors are used in a wide range of seismological research fields, such as earthquake statistics, earthquake scaling relationships, and stress inversion. The creation of regional moment tensor solutions, with the appropriate software, for moderate-to-large earthquakes in
11571-403: The most recent incarnation of the 'merit review' criteria. Most NSF grants go to individuals or small groups of investigators, who carry out research at their home campuses. Other grants provide funding for mid-scale research centers, instruments, and facilities that serve researchers from many institutions. Still, others fund national-scale facilities that are shared by the research community as
11704-471: The motions of the Earth's surface and crust at many different scales, leading to discoveries in continental deformation, plate boundary processes, the earthquake cycle, continental groundwater storage, and hydrologic loading. The Earth's tectonic plates are continuously in motion, though so slowly that even with the highest precision instruments, months or years of observations are necessary to measure it. The advent of space-based geodetic techniques improved
11837-482: The nature of the major tectonic features. This method gives evidence for differences in thickness and the velocity anomaly of the mantle lithosphere between the stable center of the continent and the more active western North America. These data are vital for the understanding of local lithosphere evolution, and when combined with additional global data, allow the mantle to be imaged beyond the current extent of USArray. EarthScope Automated Receiver Survey (EARS), created
11970-406: The physical processes controlling earthquakes and volcanoes. The goal of USArray was primarily to gain a better understanding of the structure and evolution of the continental crust , lithosphere , and mantle underneath North America. The USArray was composed of four facilities: a Transportable Array, a Flexible Array, a Reference Network, and a Magnetotelluric Facility. The Transportable Array
12103-487: The processes that control the behavior of the San Andreas Fault. Data collected from the various observatories were used to create different types of data products. Each data product addressed a different scientific problem. Tomography is a method of producing a three-dimensional image of the internal structures of a solid object (such as the human body or the earth) by the observation and recording of differences in
12236-412: The professors, but their students as well. Scouting for future seismic station locations created field work opportunities for students. The influx of data helped creaate projects for undergraduate research, master's thesis, and doctoral dissertations. A list of funded proposals can be found on the NSF website. Many applications for EarthScope data currently exist, as mentioned above. The EarthScope program
12369-438: The proposing researchers. All proposal evaluations are confidential: the proposing researchers may see them, but they do not see the names of the reviewers. The first merit review criterion is 'intellectual merit', the second is that of the 'broader societal impact' of the proposed research; the latter reflects a broader global trend for funding agencies to demand evidence of research 'impact' and has been met with opposition from
12502-519: The public had a positive attitude toward science, but a poor understanding of it. During 2004–5 NSF sent "rapid response" research teams to investigate the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster and Hurricane Katrina . An NSF-funded engineering team helped uncover why the levees failed in New Orleans . In 2005, NSF's budget stood at $ 5.6 billion, in 2006 it stood at $ 5.91 billion for
12635-443: The regional and teleseismic wave propagation phenomena. The seismic data collected from both permanent and transportable seismic stations was used to provide these computer generated animations. The seismic moment tensor is one of the fundamental parameters of earthquakes that can be determined from seismic observations. It is directly related to earthquake fault orientation and rupture direction. The moment magnitude , Mw derived from
12768-510: The report made a strong case for federally-funded scientific research, arguing that the nation would reap rich dividends in the form of better health care, a more vigorous economy, and a stronger national defense. It proposed creating a new federal agency, the National Research Foundation. The NSF first appeared as a comprehensive New Deal Policy proposed by Sen. Harley Kilgore of West Virginia. In 1942, Senator Kilgore introduced
12901-658: The research community and establishing cooperative agreements with research organizations. It does not operate its own laboratories, unlike other federal research agencies, notable examples being NASA and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NSF uses four main mechanisms to communicate funding opportunities and generate proposals: dear colleague letters, program descriptions, program announcements, and program solicitations. The NSF receives over 50,000 such proposals each year, and funds about 10,000 of them. Those funded are typically projects that are ranked highest in
13034-565: The researchers using its data products help guide lawmakers in environmental policy, hazard identification, and ultimately, federal funding of more large-scale projects like this one. Besides the three physical dimensions of North America's structure, a fourth dimension of the continent is being described through geochronology using EarthScope data. Improving understanding of the continent's geologic history allow future generations to more efficiently manage and use geologic resources and live with geologic hazards . Environmental policy laws have been
13167-543: The rights to all patents funded by public monies and research monies would be equitably spread across universities. Kilgore's supporters included non-elite universities, small businesses, and the Budget Bureau. His proposals received mixed support. Vannevar Bush opposed Kilgore, preferring science policy driven by experts and scientists rather than public and civil servants. Bush was concerned that public interests would politicize science, and believed that scientists would be
13300-455: The scientific and policy communities since its inception in 1997. In June 2010, the National Science Board (NSB), the governing body for NSF and science advisers to both the legislative and executive branches, convened a 'Task Force on Merit Review' to determine "how well the current Merit Review criteria used by the NSF to evaluate all proposals were serving the agency." The task force reinforced its support for both criteria as appropriate for
13433-664: The scientific results of the geodetic community, foster education, and grow workforce development and international partnerships. Particular focus was given to providing training, developing educational materials, and facilitating technical short courses to scientists studying geodesy. The program also supported formal education (K-12) and informal public outreach through workshops, educational materials for secondary students and undergraduate level courses, museum displays, and social media interactions. UNAVCO supported geo-workforce development through undergraduate internship programs, graduate student mentoring, and online resources. This included
13566-644: The site of the first national observatory, that would give any astronomer unprecedented access to state-of-the-art telescopes; previously major research telescopes were privately funded, available only to astronomers who taught at the universities that ran them. The idea expanded to encompass the National Optical Astronomy Observatory , the National Radio Astronomy Observatory , the National Solar Observatory ,
13699-566: The social sciences, the NSF is the major source of federal backing. NSF's director and deputy director are appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate, whereas the 24 president-appointed members of the National Science Board (NSB) do not require U.S. Senate confirmation. The director and deputy director are responsible for administration, planning, budgeting and day-to-day operations of
13832-452: The source of forces originating in the upper mantle and their effects on the continental lithosphere. Seismic data gave scientists more understanding and insight into the lower mantle and the Earth's core, as well as activity at the core-mantle boundary . A few questions hoping to be answered by EarthScope included: EarthScope hoped to provide a better understanding of the physics of fluids and magmas in active volcanic systems in relation to
13965-545: The staffs of the NSB office and the Office of the Inspector General , NSF's workforce includes some 200 scientists on temporary duty and 450 contract workers. Scientists from research institutions can join the NSF as temporary program directors, called "rotators", overseeing the merit review process and searching for new funding opportunities. These assignments typically last one–two years, but may extend to four. The NSF also offers contracting opportunities. As of May 2018,
14098-664: The structure and evolution of the North American continent and to understand the processes controlling earthquakes and volcanoes . The project had three components: USArray , the Plate Boundary Observatory , and the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (some of which continued beyond the end of the project). Organizations associated with the project included UNAVCO , the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS), Stanford University ,
14231-610: The subject of some controversy since the European settlement of North America. Specifically, water and mineral rights issues have been the focus of dispute. Representatives in Washington D.C. and the state capitals require guidance from authoritative science in drafting the soundest environmental laws for our country. The EarthScope research community was in a position to provide the most reliable course for government to take concerning environmental policy. Hazard identification with EarthScope
14364-402: The understanding of chemical and geodynamic processes that are at work. With the use of the data collected by USArray and global travel-time data, a global tomography model of P-wave velocity heterogeneity in the mantle could be created. The range and resolution of this technique allowed investigation into the suite of problems that are of concern in the North American mantle lithosphere, including
14497-487: The understanding of ice dynamics allows stronger predictions (through numerical models) of the response of the glaciers to changing climates. Because it is sensitive to mass redistribution and accurate distance measurements, geodesy contributes to research about issues relating to water and the environment. Geodetic observations enable researchers to follow the motion of water within Earth's system at global scales and to characterize changes in terrestrial groundwater storage at
14630-427: The use of data modeling software and the recorded GPS data, the opportunity to quantify crustal deformation caused by plate tectonics , earthquakes, landslides and volcanic eruptions was possible. The goal was to provide models of time-dependent strain associated with a number of recent earthquakes and other geologic events as constrained by GPS data. With the use of InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar),
14763-438: The use of seismology, scientists were be able to collect and evaluate data from the deepest parts of our planet, from the continental lithosphere down to the core. The relationship between lithospheric and the upper mantle processes is something that is not completely known, including upper mantle processes below the United States and their effects on the continental lithosphere. There are many issues of interest, such as determining
14896-402: The use of this new method it became much easier to compare seismic noise characteristics between different networks in different regions. Seismometers of USArray transportable array recorded the passage of numerous seismic waves through a given point near the Earth's surface, and classically these seismograms are analyzed to deduce properties of the Earth's structure and the seismic source. Given
15029-579: The user could add various types of base maps, features, and plate velocities. Educators could access to real time GPS data of plate movement and influences through the UNAVCO website. EarthScope promised to produce a large amount of geological and geophysical data to the door for numerous research opportunities in the scientific community. As the USArray Big Foot project moved across the country, universities adopted seismic stations near their areas. These stations were then monitored and maintained by not only
15162-420: The variation of ambient background seismic noise levels across the United States as a function of geography , season, and time of day. The new statistical approach provided the ability to compute probability density functions (PDFs) to evaluate the full range of noise at a given seismic station, allowing the estimation of noise levels over a broad range of frequencies from 0.01–16 Hz (100-0.0625s period). With
15295-593: The wartime period. In particular, concerns were raised that industry laboratories were largely allowed full patent rights of technologies developed with federal funds. These concerns, in part, led to efforts like Senator Harley M. Kilgore 's "Science Mobilization Act". Amidst growing awareness that US military capability depended on strength in science and engineering, Congress considered several proposals to support research in these fields. Separately, President Franklin D. Roosevelt sponsored creation of organizations to coordinate federal funding of science for war, including
15428-412: The way that Earth science is taught and perceived in the United States." Education and outreach developed tools for educators and students across the United States to interpret and apply this information for solving a wide range of scientific issues within the earth sciences. The project tailored its products to the specified needs and requests of educators. The EarthScope Education and Outreach Bulletin
15561-473: The world. Earth science has already been promoted as a vital modern discipline, especially in today's “green” culture, to which EarthScope is contributing. The size of the EarthScope project augments the growing public awareness of the broad structure of the planet on which we live. Given that IRIS and UNAVCO operated the seismology and geodesy components of the instrumentation that the project relied on, when these two organizations merged in 2023 they adopted
15694-410: The years to include many areas that were not in its initial portfolio, including the social and behavioral sciences, engineering, and science and mathematics education. The NSF is the only U.S. federal agency with a mandate to support all non-medical fields of research. Since the technology boom of the 1980s, the U.S. Congress has generally embraced the premise that government-funded basic research
15827-443: Was a 15-year program to place a dense network of permanent and portable seismographs across the continental United States. These seismographs recorded the seismic waves released by earthquakes that occur around the world. Seismic waves are indicators of energy disbursement within the earth. By analyzing the records of earthquakes obtained from this dense grid of seismometers, scientists could learn about Earth structure and dynamics and
15960-441: Was a bulletin targeted for grades 5-8 that summarized a volcanic or tectonic event documented by EarthScope and put it into an easily interpretable format, complete with diagrams and 3D models. They followed specific content standards based on what a child should be learning at those grade levels. The EarthScope Voyager, Jr. allowed students to explore and visualize the various types of data that were collected. In this interactive map,
16093-472: Was available to organizations other than U.S. educational institutions, when those organizations shared UNAVCO's mission and otherwise met the qualifications for membership. A board of directors was charged with UNAVCO oversight and governance and was elected by designated representatives of UNAVCO member institutions. Advisory committees for each of the three programs guided the focus of the programs. Space-based geodetic observations have enabled measurement of
16226-613: Was both lauded and criticized for favoring the standards. In 1991 the NSFNET acceptable use policy was altered to allow commercial traffic. By 1995, with private, commercial market thriving, NSF decommissioned the NSFNET, allowing for public use of the Internet. In 1993 students and staff at the NSF-supported National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, developed Mosaic ,
16359-468: Was completed, over 2000 locations had been occupied. The Array Network Facility was responsible for data collection from the Transportable Array stations. The Flexible Array was composed of 291 broadband stations, 120 short period stations, and 1700 active source stations. The Flexible Array allowed sites to be targeted in a more focused manner than the broad Transportable Array. Natural or artificially created seismic waves could be used to map structures in
16492-409: Was composed of 400 seismometers that were deployed in a rolling grid across the United States over a period of 10 years. The stations were placed 70 km apart, and could map the upper 70 km of the Earth. After approximately two years, stations were moved east to the next site on the grid – unless adopted by an organization and made a permanent installation. Once the sweep across the United States
16625-546: Was created in 2022 to accelerate the transition of basic research into real world impact. It has a primary goal of the support of use-inspired research and the translation of research results to the market and society. Prior to October 2018, NSF maintained three overseas offices to promote collaboration between the science and engineering communities of the United States and other continents' scientific communities: All three overseas offices were shut down in October 2018, to reflect
16758-475: Was critical of the social sciences. It started a controversy about political bias and a Congressional Inquiry into federally sponsored research. In 2014, Republicans proposed a bill to limit the NSF Board's authority in grant-writing. EarthScope The EarthScope project (2003-2018) was an National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Earth science program using geological and geophysical techniques to explore
16891-413: Was dedicated to determining the three dimensional structure of the North American continent. Future uses of the data that it produced might include hydrocarbon exploration , aquifer boundary establishment, remote sensing technique development, and earthquake risk assessment. Due to the open and free-to-the-public data portals that EarthScope and its partners maintain, the applications are limited only by
17024-575: Was designed to integrate EarthScope into both the classroom and the community. The program reached out to scientific educators and students as well as industry professionals (engineers, land/resource managers, technical application/data users), partners of the project ( UNAVCO , IRIS, USGS, NASA, etc.), and the general public. To accomplish this, the EOP offered a wide array of educational workshops and seminars, directed at various audiences, to offer support on data interpretation and implementation of data products into
17157-463: Was operated by UNAVCO . The San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD) consisted of a main borehole that cut across the active San Andreas Fault at a depth of approximately 3 km and a pilot hole about 2 km southwest of San Andreas Fault. Data from the instruments installed in the holes, which consisted of geophone sensors, data acquisition systems, and GPS clocks, as well as samples collected during drilling, helped to better understand
17290-441: Was organized into three programs. The three programs focused on: The Geodetic Infrastructure (GI) program integrated all geodetic infrastructure and data acquisition capabilities for continuously operating observational networks and shorter-term deployments. Supported activities included development and testing, advanced systems engineering, the construction, operation, and maintenance of permanent geodetic instrument networks around
17423-481: Was promoted by Harley Kilgore. The bills called for the creation of a centralized science agency, but differed in governance and research supported. The second attempt, in 1947, included Senator H. Alexander Smith 's bill S. 526, and Senator Elbert Thomas 's bill S. 525. The Smith bill reflected ideas of Vannevar Bush, while the Thomas bill was identical to the previous year's compromise bill (S. 1850). After amendments,
17556-478: Was ultimately rejected by President Richard Nixon. William D. McElroy instead took over as the third director of the NSF in 1969. By 1968, the NSF budget had reached nearly $ 500 million. In 1972 the NSF took over management of twelve interdisciplinary materials research laboratories from the Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). These university-based laboratories had taken
17689-440: Was used to find the mean seismic structure of the continental crust, associated mantle, and crust-mantle transition. Variability in that structure was also studied. EarthScope attempted to define continental lithosphere formation and continent structure and to identify the relationship between continental structure and deformation. A few questions EarthScope addressed include: EarthScope acquired 3D and 4D data that gave scientists
#292707