 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|||
 |
 |
 |
|||||||
| Copyright © 2012. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Terms of Use and Privacy Statement |
Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 28
4. INTERNATIONAL GEOSCIENCE ACTIVITIES IN
U.S. SCIENTIFIC INTERESTS
BACKGROUND
tor its continued progress
~ . . .
Geoscience, more than exclusively laboratory-based sciences,
depends on global investigations and international research cooperation
~ ~ ~ . Therefore, effective study and application
or geoscience requires its practitioners to travel. Geoscientists must
observe and study rocks in their natural environment to fully
understand their origin, composition, and geometric configurations, and
from such data to understand the processes that have shaped the Earth.
The more opportunities geoscientists have to examine geological
phenomena in different parts of the world, the more perceptive their
interpretations will be.
Modern modes of transportation and communication make it easier for
the geologist to travel and to share scientific information and ideas
with colleagues in other countries. But a misunderstanding of
proposals for international scientific efforts and travel exists among
some program administrators and funding officials. This attitude stems
in part from a mistaken notion that geology is a purely descriptive
science and that there is no basis for conducting field investigations
abroad when much of the United States remains geologically unmapped.
This conception is incorrect and is particularly harmful today.
The development of the plate tectonics model has revolutionized
geoscience thinking and created a picture of the earth as a whole. No
longer do geoscientists view the ocean basins as immutable and the
continents as fixed.
Although plate tectonics was proposed only about 20 years ago, the
concept is already accepted by most geoscientists. Briefly, plate
tectonics postulates that the earth's crust is divided into discrete
segments or plates that move continually. The separation of plates
along m~d-ocean ridges leads to the formation ot new crustal material
collision at continental boundaries causes mountains to rise, and
slippage along other boundaries creates earthquake-prone zones such as
the San Andreas fault in California. Plate tectonics provides an
explanation for such features as deep submarine trenches, similarities
between rocks in northeastern North America and northwestern
the wide variety of Geologic terraces in Alaska and the
Europe,
~ 7 ~ _ the presence of
warm-water fossils in the ancient rocks of Antarctica.
28
OCR for page 29
29
Development of the plate tectonics concept has been described as a
revolution in the earth sciences, with an effect equal to that created
in biology by Darwin's theory of natural selection. The concept itself
is a product of global studies by geoscientists from many countries,
and the World-Wide Standard Seismic Network and the U.S.-initiated Deep
Sea Drilling project have provided considerable scientific data for
testing the model.
Acceptance of the plate tectonic theory does not resolve all
questions regarding the composition and structure of the earth's
crust. As with most scientific hypotheses, the concept reveals a new
generation of unsolved geologic problems. It also demonstrates the
need for global research. For example, collisional tectonics are not
active in the United States today. Yet episodes of past tectonic
collisions are recorded in some of our mountain chains. Geoscientists
need to examine the rocks and the structures in areas where processes
of collision are still active, such as in the Himalayas, in order to
better interpret the sequence of tectonic events that produced some of
the mountain ranges in North America in older geologic eras.
Continuing applications of the plate tectonics concept have
emphasized the need for expanded U.S. participation in international
geoscience programs, including on-site visits by American geoscientists
to research locales in other countries.
There are other important reasons why geoscientists from the United
States should take part in global investigations and international
cooperative endeavors. Geology is a science that can aid in resolving
some of the fundamental problems that confront human society in almost
all parts of the world. The identification and assessment of mineral
and energy resources; the development of early warning systems to
mitigate the damaging effects of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and
seismic sea waves; and the application of geoscience knowledge to urban
land use studies are examples of ways in which the geosciences can
contribute to the world's welfare. When U.S. geoscientists contribute
to solving such problems in other parts of the world, they provide
valuable assistance to local scientific colleagues and government
officials. They also gain useful knowledge that can be applied to
similar problems in the United States.
Finally, geoscience, like all fields of science, flourishes best in
an environment of free and open communication. Conversations with
geologists from other countries at scientific meetings, and especially
on field excursions can be a source of inspiration for new research or
can suggest alternative solutions to difficult scientific problems.
Graduate study abroad, faculty exchanges, and the sharing of geoscience
data and reports with foreign colleagues are among the ways in which
the United States can maintain a mutually beneficial international flow
of scientific ideas. Many mechanisms already exist to facilitate
global geoscientific studies and international cooperation. The
problem is to assure that such devices are well publicized and
appropriately funded and that potential users are encouraged to become
involved.
OCR for page 30
30
EVOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL GEOSCIENCE ACTIVITIES
In the early years of the nineteenth century, geology was still a
fledgling science with only a few geologists in the United States.
Most of these could best be described as natural scientists, with
training in chemistry, physics, or mathematics. They had an entire
continent to explore and describe. It is little wonder that they and
their immediate successors were scarcely concerned with field
investigations in other parts of the world or with cooperative
scientific research investigations with foreign colleagues.
These conditions slowly changed. After the Civil War geoscientists
became more numerous, and by the time the Geological Society of America
was founded in 1888, there were perhaps 200 geologists in North America
(Eckel, 1982, p. 7~. Graduate education became more common, and many
Americans went to Europe for advanced training. Those who traveled to
Europe had opportunities to exchange information and opinions with
European scientists and to study classic geologic areas in the Alps,
Scandinavia, and elsewhere. They returned home to educate a generation
of earth scientists, and set in motion the geologic exploration and
resource development of a continent.
THE INTERNATIONAL GEOLOGICAL CONGRESS
With the growth of geological research in both America and Europe
came a recognition of the need for a world standardization of rock
nomenclature and map symbols, lest the science degenerate into
provincial and incompatible fragments (Greene, 1982, p. 193~. The time
was appropriate for the creation of an international geological
organization. This matter was discussed by a small international group
of geoscientists chaired by the venerable American geologist, James
Hall, at a meeting in Buffalo in 1876. Recognizing the need for an
international geological conference to establish rules for compiling
geological maps and for creating rock nomenclature and geological
terms, the Buffalo group called on the Geological Society of France for
assistance. The society responded by forming an organizing committee
to plan an International Geological Congress to be held in conjunction
with the Paris Exposition of 1878.
This first International Geological Congress (IGC) was convened on
August 29, 1878, at the Trocadero Palace in Paris, with an attendance
of slightly more than 300 geologists from 22 countries, including 8
from the United States. The 1878 IGC council established three
commissions to recommend (1) international standards for geological
maps, (2) standards for geological terms, and (3) rules for assigning
names to paleontological and mineral species, and asked these
commissions to submit their proposals to the next congress (Congres
International de Geologie, Paris, 1878~. A pattern was set that was to
serve the geological profession for many years.
The congresses were held generally at 3-year intervals until the
start of World War I. Then, after a lapse of nearly a decade, they
OCR for page 31
31
were revived (in 1922) on a 4-year cycle, and, except for the period of
World War II, they have continued to the present. The United States
has hosted 2 of the 26 congresses that have been held to date--the
fifth in 1891 and the sixteenth in 1933. Both of these meetings were
in Washington, D.C.
It has been over 50 years since an International Geological
Congress met in the United States, and, in the view of many
geoscientists, we are overdue to again serve as host. An invitation
has been issued by the National Academy of Sciences, and the
twenty-eighth IGC will meet in Washington, D.C., in July 1989, but
governmental support at a level comparable with that provided by the
governments of other host countries is not yet assured.
THE INTERNATIONAL UNION OF GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES
The format and frequency of the meetings of the International
Geological Congress served the world geoscience community adequately
for many decades. But the congress lacked mechanisms for activities
and communication between sessions. A more permanent type of
organization was needed. After an unsuccessful attempt in 1952, a
proposal to create what is now the International Union of Geological
Sciences (JUGS) was approved by the twenty-first congress in 1960
(JUGS, 19611.
The principal objectives of JUGS are to (1) encourage and promote
the study of geological problems, (2) facilitate international
cooperation in geological research, and (3) collaborate with the
International Geological Congress in safeguarding the long-established
activities of the congress. The first of these objectives has been
promoted through the work of 10 JUGS commissions and 3 committees
concerned with various aspects of the geosciences. The second has been
aided by programs involving its 23 affiliated scientific associations,
by cooperative endeavors with other scientific unions through the
auspices of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU), and
by working with UNESCO and other intergovernmental organizations.
In recent years, JUGS has established a Research Development
Program, a series of annual seminars, and an expanded publication
program to enhance the level of international cooperation in basic
research and in the application of research results to the solution
certain societal problems, e.g., mineral resource identification,
assessment of geological hazards, and the exchange of methods of
management of geoscientific data. -
As a nongovernmental international body, JUGS is represented in the
United States by the National Academy of Sciences and has maintained
close relations with the USGS. Its status as a nongovernmental
organization has enabled JUGS to concentrate on scientific problems and
largely to avoid political controversy, but it also has hindered the
union in obtaining the level of funding needed to provide adequate
support for its geoscientific research program.
Since its inception in 1960, U.S. geoscientists have participated
OCR for page 32
32
actively in JUGS. Three have been elected as officers, and others have
served as chairmen or members of various boards, commissions, and
committees.
THE INTERNATIONAL UNION OF GEODESY AND GEOPHYSICS
U.S. geoscientists have also participated extensively in the
International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), an older sister
union within the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU).
The JUGS and IUGG have been closely associated in several programs
sponsored by ICSU. Currently they are cooperating in a major
international scientific program on the origin, evolution, and dynamic
processes of the lithosphere, through joint membership in the
Interunion Commission on the Lithosphere (JCL) organized by ICSU in
1980.
The objectives of IUGG are to promote and coordinate physical,
chemical, and mathematical studies of the earth and its immediate
spatial environment. IUGG is concerned with the earth's geometrical
shape; gravity and magnetic fields; internal structure and seismicity;
volcanism; hydrologic cycle and glaciers; oceans, atmosphere,
ionosphere, and magnetosphere; solar terrestrial relations; and studies
related to the moon and planets. Cooperative studies in these subjects
are conducted by seven semiautonomous associations, each responsible
for a specific range of studies within the overall scope of IUGG
interests. U.S. geologists and geophysicists have participated most
actively in the International Association on Seismology and Physics of
the Earth's Interior (IASPEI), the International Association on
Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI), and the
International Association on Hydrological Sciences (IAHS), each of
which has close working relations with affiliates of JUGS.
In the United States, adherence to IUGG has been actively
maintained by the National Academy of Sciences through the American
Geophysical Union, and until recently the Geophysics Research Board of
the National Research Council leas maintained an overview of many of the
programs with which IUGG is involved.
THE IGY AND ITS SUCCESSORS
The International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957-1958, sponsored by
the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU), set a new
pattern of post-World War II international cooperation in earth science
research. Although focused primarily on the atmospheric sciences,
oceanography, and solid-earth geophysics, the IGY showed the potentials
of a well-defined, time-restricted, global research program in
marshaling financial, logistical, and scientific resources.
The IGY was followed by the Upper Mantle Project, 1962-1970, also
sponsored by ICSU, which concentrated on the earth's crust. Then the
JUGS joined with International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG)
to organize the International Geodynamics Project (1971-19799. The
OCR for page 33
33
Geodynamics Project was in turn succeeded in 1980 by the decade-long
International Lithosphere Program, concerned primarily with the
continental crust and its mineral resources, also directed by an ICSU
interunion commission. These international geoscience research
programs have become a principal channel for cooperation between U.S.
geoscientists and their foreign colleagues. American geoscientists
have made substantial contributions to the planning and execution of
the programs and have benefited from the opportunities thus provided
for conducting research on a global scale and for exchanging of
scientific data and concepts. However, the ICSU-sponsored research
programs have been severely handicapped by inadequate financial
support.
THE INTERNATIONAL GEOLOGICAL CORRELATION PROGRAM
The International Geological Correlation Program (IGCP) is special
in that it has dual sponsorship. Begun about 15 years ago by JUGS,
IGCP was originally designed to improve worldwide stratigraphic
correlations. This objective was foundering from lack of money when
UNESCO offered to co-sponsor the program and to provide a substantial
increase in its financial support. Therefore, since 1973 IGCP has been
a joint endeavor of JUGS and UNESCO, with the JUGS giving scientific
direction and overview and UNESCO contributing funds and maintaining
the program secretariat. The program includes many types of
investigations whose scope transcends national boundaries. Unlike the
Geodynamics Project or the Lithosphere Program, IGCP is an open-ended
activity. The UNESCO affiliation makes possible the participation in
IGCP of certain counties that tend to favor programs sponsored by
intergovernmental rather than nongovernmental bodies. The
participation of geoscientists from Third World countries is an
important aspect of the IGCP. Some U.S. geoscientists have
participated prominently in this excellent program, but current funding
is inadequate.
Earth System Science
A particularly exciting new global development is the recognition
of Earth System Science, closely linked to an International Council of
Scientific Unions initiative on the Geosphere and Biosphere (National
Research Council, 1986~.
Awareness of phenomena such as the rising carbon dioxide content of
the atmosphere is forcing atmospheric scientists, oceanographers,
geologists, and ecologists to work together in an unprecedented way.
The developing Earth System Science Program, which has been
enthusiastically welcomed by many federal agencies including NSF, NASA,
NOAA, and the USGS, has defined as its goal (NASA, 1986~:
To obtain a scientific understanding of the entire Earth
System on a global scale by describing how its component parts
OCR for page 34
34
and their interactions have evolved, how they function, and how
they may be expected to continue to evolve on all time scales.
INTERGOVERNMENTAL ACTIVITIES
International geoscience research activities are sponsored by
various intergovernmental organizations, e.g., UNESCO, other United
Nations bodies, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
UNESCO earth-science program has been viewed by knowledgeable U.S.
geoscientists as one of the better designed and more successful
programs within the UNESCO science sector, although it has suffered
from the pervasive UNESCO flaws of poor management, excessive
administrative costs, and politicization. American geoscientists have
not been prominent in UNESCO-sponsored earth-science activities, except
for the IGCP. How the United States withdrawal from UNESCO will affect
U.S. geoscience interests remains conjectural, but to date we have not
developed a plan for alternative action.
AGENCY-SPONSORED PROGRAMS
The impetus of World War II propelled the United States into the
forefront of many international activities, including the geosciences.
As noted in Chapter 2, the war itself prompted activities in strategic
mineral supplies by the USGS and the Bureau of Mines and in the
military application of geology by the USGS. Immediately after the
war, the policy of aiding less-developed countries led to a foreign
assistance program, sponsored through the Department of State and
carried out largely by the USGS, to help identify and develop resources
both for the benefit of those countries and to ensure a better supply
of raw materials to the industrialized nations. Although these
programs were focused on practical goals, they had important effects on
both research and education in the United States. They not only
provided the United States with valuable updated geologic and mineral
information from other parts of the world, they also established
personal contacts for fostering mutually beneficial technical
activities.
Concomitant with the foreign aid programs, a newly awakened
interest in basic scientific research led to increased support for
travel to international meetings, especially through the Office of
Naval Research and the National Science Foundation (NSF), though by no
means limited to them. In the 1960s, the NSF took the lead in
developing programs such as Foreign Exchange Fellowships and Foreign
Field Institutes. Direct research support was provided in some
countries through the use of foreign currencies as specified in Public
Law 480.
Finally, as the heads of governments became increasingly aware of
the ever-growing importance of science and technology, a number of
bilateral agreements were made between the United States and other
countries, e.g., Japan, Yugoslavia, and most recently, China, for
OCR for page 35
35
cooperative efforts in selected areas of science. In most of these
cooperative efforts, the management of the U.S. portion of the research
program was delegated to the NSF or to several agencies including the
NSF.
THE S I11JATION TODAY
Today, the geosciences and mineral development have been virtually
eliminated from the American foreign aid programs; travel support to
attend overseas meetings has been reduced; programs such as NSF's
Foreign Exchange Fellowships and Foreign Field Institutes have been
eliminated; foreign currencies available through Public Law 480 either
have been spent or their use has been restricted; and funding for the
bilateral cooperatives has been given no special appropriation but must
compete with the regular programs of NSF or other agencies. As a
result, the United States is losing some of its contacts with foreign
scientists, contacts that are often the first step in developing
mutually beneficial efforts in science and in commercial applications.
The committee recognizes that lack of funding is not the only
problem. For reasons such as health, security, and terrorism, some
U.S. geoscientists are reluctant these days to consider positions or
research that involves working and living in other countries. Such a
trend can slowly erode the number of geoscientists familiar with the
geology of various parts of the world. As members of a prosperous and
technologically advanced nation, we should assist less developed
countries. This obligation is not altogether altruistic, because
raising the scientific competence of other countries in the development
of their natural resources will also benefit the United States.
The trend can be reversed. Young geoscientists who have interests
in international work should be encouraged. For example, one reason
many younger geoscientists are not pursuing foreign projects is because
they have not made the critical personal contacts and are unfamiliar
either with the relevant geologic problems or with the mechanisms of
obtaining foreign employment. A mechanism should be established
whereby interested geoscientists can be encouraged to visit foreign
countries to establish contacts that would lead ultimately to
scientific cooperation. Young geoscientists should be especially
encouraged, because early involvement in international cooperative
studies commonly sets a pattern for continued interest and study.
Above all we need a stable policy concerning international
geoscience activities.
SUGARY
It is impractical to identify all the contributions that global
geological studies and international cooperation have made to the
development of the United States. How would one document, for example,
the exciting new scientific insights that were obtained by those U.S.
geologists who traveled abroad in the nineteenth century and who were
OCR for page 36
36
hosts to visits by foreign colleagues? How would one measure the
cumulative benefit of attendance by American scientists at
International Geological Congresses for over a century?
On a topical basis, answers are more easily found. For example,
the investigation of earthquakes in the western United States and
efforts to devise a reliable method of predicting them have been aided
by similar studies conducted by Japanese geoscientists. U.S.
geologists have obtained a better understanding of mountain-building
processes from field investigations in the Alps, the Andes, and the
Himalavas. The study of Glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica has
~ , _ ~ ~
provided new clues for interpreting the record of glacial epochs and
related climatic patterns in North America. On a more practical level,
information gained by U.S. geologists from the study of copper deposits
in Chile, coal deposits in Poland, petroleum deposits associated with
freshwater lake beds in China, and phosphate rock in Morocco has been
applied to the investigation of these mineral and energy resources
within our own borders.
Participation in international scientific programs, such as the
Continental Lithosphere Program and IGCP, is another method of
enhancing U.S. capability. Conferences on currently important topics
have the added advantage of focusing the attention of geologists from
all parts of the world on specific geological problems. Periodic
international meetings such as the International Geological Congress
allow U.S. geologists to appraise and benefit from the work of foreign
rn11 =~=ll~C At the ==m" time Am='ir~n e"~1 ski a~= "ether" the
_ _ _ _ _ ~ O ~ _ ~ ^ Ace_ _ _ _ ~~ ^ O _ _ _ _ ~ _ _ _ ~ _ ~ ~ ~~ ~~ _ _—_
scientific reputation of the United States by sharing their geological
knowledge and expertise with scientists from other countries.
The scientific challenge that confronts geologists of the world
today is to decipher the history of the earth from its beginning to
present time. The record of earth events during this period of about
4.5 billion years is fragmentary at best. To carry out this
assignment, geologists must travel to places where fragments of the
record can be found and must seek the cooperation of fellow scientists
in all countries. The entire world is, indeed, the geologist's
laboratory. Geology is burgeoning with opportunities for both pure and
applied studies, and that laboratory must be used more effectively than
at any time in the past.
the
Representative terms from entire chapter:
geological congress
