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5
Interdisciplinary and Multi-mission Ocean Research
THE NEED FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY AND MULTI-AGENCY APPROACHES
Major ocean research and management challenges facing our nation require interdisciplinary
approaches that cut across the defined missions of individual government agencies. The complexity of
these challenges should be matched by the use of sophisticated approaches that draw on strong expertise
from a range of disciplines in order to enhance knowledge and to apply that knowledge to the
development of scientifically sound management strategies. Interdisciplinary studies not only increase the
breadth of research possible, but also provide the opportunity for scientific advances that result from the
transfer of technology, approaches, and ideas from one field to another. Basic research in the marine
sciences contributes to other scientific disciplines while advances in other fields yield opportunities for
progress in ocean research. For example, recent advances in genomics and bioinformatics have only just
begun to be applied to marine science, but already there have been dividends in terms of the ability to
characterize marine microbial communities and to provide a greater range of microbial diversity to
understand the fundamental properties of microbial genomes. Similar synergies exist for studies in
complex dynamical systems, nanotechnology, robotics, resource economics, and co-management
governance structures, among others.
Coordinated and collaborative efforts can also reduce unnecessary duplication of efforts and
allow the best use of limited available funding. The need for strong interdisciplinary, multi-agency
approaches to ocean research has been highlighted in the U.S. Ocean Action Plan, in congressional
testimony by NOAA Administrator Vice Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher (2006), and in Grand Challenges
in Environmental Sciences (NRC, 2001).
The major themes and "Overarching Opportunities" identified in the draft plan are
interdisciplinary in nature and require expertise from a variety of fields for substantial progress to be
made. It is important to understand how ecosystem health affects human health, and how climate change
will affect both the basic functioning of the ocean ecosystem and the services that the ocean provides to
human populations. "Increasing Resilience to Natural Hazards," ecosystem-based management, and many
of the other critical topics identified in the draft require collaborations of a range of scientists, including
climate scientists, ecologists, physical oceanographers, engineers, and economists and other social
scientists.
The committee was encouraged by the acknowledgement in the draft plan of the importance of
interdisciplinary science, as well as approaches that cut across agency missions. The six major research
themes identified in the draft plan lend themselves to interdisciplinary ocean research efforts (Figure 4-1)
and to collaboration both within and across agencies. The selection of the three overarching opportunities
identified as key efforts that "must be pursued" forecasting ocean processes, ecosystem-based
management, and the ocean observing system indicates recognition of the importance of
multidisciplinary and multi-mission goals and approaches. Pursuing these opportunities will contribute to
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a range of disciplines and to several identified themes, and cut across mission agencies. The opportunities
will also require the diverse skills of broad interdisciplinary teams.
The committee was also encouraged that descriptions of major research areas identified the need
for integration, systems approaches, and collaboration in the conduct of research as well as in the
gathering of data. However, the extent to which general language on these topics was fleshed out to
identify important linkages among the six major themes and multidisciplinary needs within research
priorities was uneven, and in some instances quite weak (see chapters 3 and 4 for additional discussion of
linkages). For example, the "Enhancing Human Health" theme generally missed the opportunity to
emphasize linkages, including those emphasized in the NRC report From Monsoons to Microbes:
Understanding the Ocean's Role in Human Health (NRC, 1999a) such as:
o The relationship between ecosystem health and the contribution of oceans to human health
and disease;
o The relationship between marine biodiversity and the provision of novel marine compounds;
o How climate change effects on the oceans may alter the effects of oceans on human health
and disease; and
o How an enhanced understanding of physical and chemical ocean processes may improve
predictions of effects of oceans on human health and disease.
The importance of the combined effects of rising sea levels with storm surges and high wave
episodes, along with their impacts on coastal erosion, represents an important linkage between "The
Ocean's Role in Climate" and "Increasing Resilience to Natural Hazards" theme that is not discussed.
Similarly, the draft plan does not make an explicit connection between "Enabling Marine Operations" and
"Stewardship of Our Natural and Cultural Ocean Resources." This is especially important because of the
inclusion of the living marine resources element of the "Stewardship" theme. Although the draft plan is
organized into distinct themes, these challenges do not occur in isolation, and in fact, affect each other.
Pointing out cross-theme linkages throughout the plan is important because it more accurately identifies
both the range of specific expertise needed to address the major themes and the scope of interdisciplinary
and multi-agency efforts that are of high value.
Stovepiping of research into distinct themes without clearly defined interconnections can also
result in both duplication of efforts and missed opportunities for multi-agency collaboration. Planned
redundancy and overlap in agency research efforts can improve the quality of data collection. However,
unplanned redundancy utilizes resources that could otherwise be designated to increase the scope and
complexity of approaches used to address pressing scientific challenges. For example, the NRC report, A
Geospatial Framework for the Coastal Zone: National Needs for Coastal Mapping and Charting (2004),
found that "at least 15 federal agencies are involved in the primary collection or use of coastal geospatial
data... This has resulted in a chaotic collection of charting products that can frustrate the efforts of users
to take advantage of existing datasets and build on past studies."
The use of "promotion of partnerships among disciplines and activities" as stated criteria to
prioritize research needs in the draft plan is commended. The committee agrees with the statement in the
"Next Steps" section of the draft that these partnerships and collaborative activities should reach beyond
U.S. federal agencies and academic institutions. Scientific expertise and advances are greatly expanding,
both in the industrialized and developing world. Taking fullest advantage of opportunities and benefits for
multidisciplinary and multi-mission programs to meet the challenges identified in this document requires
reaching beyond the boarders of the U.S., to the private sector, and to other governmental and non-
governmental entities whenever taking that step will strengthen science and stewardship. The European
Union (EU), in particular, has greatly expanded the number and scope of large multidisciplinary research
programs in ocean sciences and related fields. An even broader range of interdisciplinary and
international scientific efforts are represented by several research efforts of the International Council for
Science (ICSU), including the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), the Scientific
Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR), and the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). All of
these efforts have very extensive ocean components that include significant involvement of U.S. scientists
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and institutions. Partnerships between these EU and ICSU efforts and U.S. efforts should be encouraged,
and lessons learned from the structure and organization of these research programs should be applied to
similar U.S. efforts. An expanded consideration of international research collaborations would improve
the final plan.
IMPLEMENTATION
The focus on interdisciplinary science starts off in the right direction through much of the ORPP.
However, the real test of a commitment to move beyond historical disciplinary and organizational barriers
will be determined by whether the Implementation Strategy presents a pathway to break down barriers
between disciplines and agencies to facilitate multidisciplinary, multi-mission programs. This could be
most effectively accomplished by developing the Implementation Strategy in an open and transparent
manner. As implementation planning proceeds, it will also be important to ensure that the separation of
research challenges into six separate themes does not result in a de-emphasis of the interconnectedness of
the challenges, or a narrowing of approaches to address them.
The "Next Steps" section of the current document includes statements endorsed by the committee
that may help guide the implementation of the current plan in a positive direction, but that also raises
some concern. The committee encourages the major emphasis on coordination and collaboration among
the broadly defined research and management communities. However, we question whether restricting
collaborative efforts to "existing mechanisms" will impede the pace or scope of scientific progress. A
thorough investigation of the current regulations that affect the ability of agency scientists to participate in
collaborative research efforts is beyond the scope of this report. Nevertheless, there are examples of
impediments to agency-academia and multi-agency collaborative research that indicate that reliance on
"existing mechanisms" may sometimes be problematic. For example, restrictions that limit participation
by agency scientists in the preparation of proposals can ultimately limit their participation in research
relevant to agency missions, and can affect the scope and quality of research contained in proposals.
Conversations with agency scientists also suggest that streamlining red tape required to conduct
interagency collaborative research would increase the frequency and extent of such collaborations. An
examination of whether new mechanisms to foster multi-agency research efforts would improve the
quality and scope of interdisciplinary, multi-agency science may be warranted. A starting point for such
an investigation may be the discussion of problems and potential solutions surrounding funding of multi-
agency and agency-academia collaborative research in Bridging Boundaries through Regional Marine
Research (NRC, 2000a).
ADDRESSING THE STATEMENTS OF TASK
Statement of Task (5): Does the document adequately identify multidiscipline and/or multi-mission
issues?
The committee was encouraged by the emphasis the current document places on the importance
of multidisciplinary research and multi-mission issues. However, the committee did not believe the
current document adequately incorporates or highlights multidisciplinary and multi-mission research
needs within the descriptions of research themes and priorities.
The emphasis above on multidisciplinary, multi-mission efforts and collaboration should not be
interpreted as a recommendation to abandon or downplay the importance of development of strong
expertise within disciplines. Scientific advances, training, and expertise within disciplines are required for
effective multidisciplinary efforts. Advances in narrowly defined fields can be critical to solutions of
important scientific challenges, and can help identify the most important contributions from other
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disciplines. The importance of strong professional training programs in disciplines that contribute to
ocean research is also highlighted in Chapter 7 of this report.
RECOMMENDATIONS
· The ORPP should provide a more comprehensive description of the needs and opportunities for
multidisciplinary research, as well as research partnerships (multi-agency and
agency/academic/industry/international), for each societal theme. A more thorough description
of the needs and opportunities for multidisciplinary collaborative efforts in the current document
should set the model for the implementation phase of this planning effort.
· The Implementation Strategy for the ORPP should evaluate the adequacy of existing
mechanisms for interagency and agency-academia collaborative research to identify
opportunities to improve collaboration among sectors. Barriers that result from burdensome red
tape as well as those resulting from specific prohibitions should be considered.
· Disciplinary expertise and research should not be neglected in the description of important
research and training needs presented in this document. Such expertise is critical to progress in
all areas of science, and it is necessary for the success of multidisciplinary research programs.
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
ocean research
