Frontier Research in Earth Sciences

Integrated Earth Systems (IES) is a program in the Division of Earth Sciences (EAR) that focuses on the continental, terrestrial and deep Earth subsystems of the whole Earth system. The overall goal of the program is to provide opportunity for collaborative, multidisciplinary research into the operation, dynamics and complexity of Earth systems at a budgetary scale between that of a typical project in the EAR Division's disciplinary programs and larger scale initiatives at the Directorate or Foundation level. Specifically, IES will provide research opportunities for the study of Earth systems that operate across components of the Earth encompassing the core of the Earth to the top of the critical zone with a specific focus on subsystems that include all or part of the continental, terrestrial and deep Earth subsystems at all temporal and spatial scales (NROES, 2012). IES will provide opportunities to focus on Earth systems connected to topics which include (but are not limited to) the continents; the terrestrial, surficial Earth systems including physical, chemical and biotic dimensions; linkages among tectonics, climate, landscape change, topography and geochemical cycles including core and mantle processes.