This grant supports a sedimentary geology, deep-time, and Earth-life system science community coordinating Office (STEPPE, Sedimentary geology, Time, Environment, Paleontology, Paleoclimate, and Energy) to facilitate collaboration and communication among existing and new initiatives, build capacity, and promote research into the deep-time record of Earth processes. The Geological Society of America (GSA), the Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM), and the Paleontological Society (PS) will provide financial and in-kind support to the office.
Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts: To predict the boundaries for human life on this planet--those imposed by climate change, energy, water issues, and our impact on the biosphere--we must have an integrated, deep-time perspective, or our vision will be incomplete, and our ability to make predictions about natural and human-made events and outcomes will be limited. Single sub-disciplines or even whole disciplines cannot provide the breadth and depth of information needed to address real-world issues. All sedimentary crust research groups examine different parts of a larger research problem, and current initiatives reflect different perspectives and/or emphases for sedimentary-crust research, especially in the deep past. It is clear that broad segments of the community is working toward an integrated approach, but lack a platform to coordinate and integrate these efforts. The 2011 National Research Council report on Understanding Earth's Deep Past, states that it is essential to make "A transition from single researcher or small group research efforts to a much broader-based interdisciplinary collaboration of observation-based scientists with climate modelers for team-based studies of important paleoclimate events," and this requires coordination. The STEPPE office will provide that platform and that coordination. The STEPPE office will help facilitate the EarthCube vision for geoscience cyberinfrastructure by bringing together various relevant geoinformatics efforts, and work to ensure that other cyberinfrastructure needs are articulated and coordinated. In addition, the STEPPE office will work with the community and with education partners to develop state-of-the-art education and outreach programs involving K-12, decision makers, and the general public through formal and informal educational activities. The STEPPE office will enhance communication between the research community and State, Federal and international agencies and organizations, including industry, in order to build capacity and voice community perspectives. The office will ensure that the independence and importance of existing and planned community initiatives is maintained, and also enhanced through this group effort. The office will promote individual initiatives and coordinate efforts among them. Better communication, coordination and collaboration will help to develop more effective research strategies for the entire community and help meet goals of the 2009 NSF GeoVision Report. The office will help the community develop new strategies and tools for understanding Earth-environment-life relationships with greater sophistication, and for application to our understanding of Earth-system processes.
