Strategic Plan
The Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS) was established in the School of Science in 1967, and from its inception has been highly active in discovery, engagement, and learning. Through growth, refocusing, collaboration, and joint appointments, the department's scope as well as its involvement in interdisciplinary activities has increased dramatically. In 2003 our faculty and staff provide expertise in diverse areas, with particular strength in Tectonics and Geophysics, Atmospheric Dynamics, Engineering and Environmental Geosciences, Atmospheric Chemistry, Biogeochemistry, Climate Change, and Geoscience Education. EAS has a unique combination of faculty across Earth and atmospheric sciences, and is well positioned to lead discovery and learning in issues of fundamental importance to understanding atmospheric processes, geologic processes, and interactions between the Earth's surface and its atmosphere.
During the next decade, major weather, climate, and global observation programs supported by the federal government and international agencies will focus on enhanced understanding and predictability of interactions of the atmosphere with other components of the Earth system, and of interactions between atmospheric phenomena of different scales. In the Earth sciences, initiatives such as EarthScope, a dense array of ground and satellite-based observations, will dramatically advance our understanding of the three-dimensional structure of the North American continent through time, and will provide exciting opportunities to develop new understanding of dynamic Earth processes. Drawing on both Earth and atmospheric sciences, interdisciplinary research initiatives supported by federal and international agencies will focus considerable resources on scientific issues underlying environmental management and global and regional climate change, such as carbon cycling, and are at the core of the National Science Foundation's new 10-Year Agenda for Environmental Research and Education . In fact, a t the national and international level, recognition of complex interactions among components of the Earth system is driving traditionally defined areas of basic and applied research to expand their boundaries to include an interdisciplinary view of Earth processes. EAS faculty and staff are already active in these major disciplinary and interdisciplinary areas, and this strategic plan outlines the goals and actions we will pursue over the next 5 years to build upon our successes and develop and evaluate new initiatives in discovery, learning, and engagement.
