This award provides partial support for the Board on Earth Sciences and Resources (BESR) over the next 30 months. NSF provides approximately 20% of the total cost of core support for BESR; additional support is also requested from the Department of Energy, Department of Interior, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. BESR coordinates the National Research CouncilOs advice to the federal government on solid earth science issues. The Board identifies opportunities for advancing basic research, reports on applications of earth sciences in such areas as disaster mitigation and resource utilization, and analyzes the scientific underpinnings and credibility of earth science information for resource, environmental and other applications and policy decisions. The BoardOs actions address the overall health of the earth sciences and the education or earth scientists that is vital to maintaining and increasing the nationOs capability to make wise use of the Earth and its resources. As enunciated in the BoardOs 1993 report, OSolid-Earth Sciences and SocietyO, the challenge to the earth science community is to develop an integrate approach to the solid earth and its resources. Worldwide improved living standards and population increases combine to pose new problems extending from basic issues of the physics and chemistry of the earth to complex considerations of resources, environment, and land utilization. The Board is giving increased emphasis to the impact of transition from a field traditionally focused on resource discovery, assessment, and extraction to one increasingly dominated by environmental concerns.
