Geosciences

To strengthen and enhance the national scientific enterprise through the expansion of fundamental knowledge and increased understanding of the integrated Earth system through the support of basic research in the atmospheric, earth, and ocean sciences. Objectives include the discovery of new knowledge of the atmosphere from the sun to the Earth's surface over the entire spectrum of physical and chemical phenomena; a better understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological character of the Earth and the processes that govern its evolution; increased insight into the world's oceans, their composition, structure, behavior, and tectonics. Support is also provided for undergraduate student research, graduate and postdoctoral fellowships, facility enhancement, instrumentation, and laboratory equipment; and for research opportunities for women, minority, and disabled scientists and…