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Cover: Contours of equal solar internal rotational rate from an analysis of data from the first year of GONG (Global Oscillations Network Group) operation. Noteworthy is the strong shear at the base of the convection zone (r = 0.7). Deeper rotation rates are uncertain. (From H.M. Antia, S. Basu, and S.M. Chitre. 1998. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 298:543.)
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TASK GROUP ON GROUND-BASED SOLAR RESEARCH
EUGENE N. PARKER,
University of Chicago,
Chair
KAREN L. HARVEY,
Solar Physics Research Corporation
GORDON J. HURFORD,
California Institute of Technology
JUDITH L. LEAN,
Naval Research Laboratory
RICHARD A. McCRAY,
University of Colorado, Boulder
RONALD L. MOORE,
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
ROBERT ROSNER,
University of Chicago
PHILIP H. SCHERRER,
Stanford University
CAROLUS J. SCHRIJVER,
Stanford-Lockheed Institute for Space Research
PETER A. STURROCK,
Stanford University
ALAN M. TITLE,
Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center
ARTHUR CHARO, Senior Program Officer
CARMELA J. CHAMBERLAIN, Senior Project Assistant
SPACE STUDIES BOARD
CLAUDE R. CANIZARES,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Chair
MARK R. ABBOTT,
Oregon State University
FRAN BAGENAL,
University of Colorado
DANIEL N. BAKER,
University of Colorado
LAWRENCE BOGORAD,*
Harvard University
DONALD E. BROWNLEE, *
University of Washington
ROBERT E. CLELAND,
University of Washington
GERARD W. ELVERUM, JR.,
TRW Space and Technology Group
ANTHONY W. ENGLAND, *
University of Michigan
MARILYN L. FOGEL,
Carnegie Institution of Washington
RONALD GREELEY,
Arizona State University
BILL GREEN, former member,
U.S. House of Representatives
CHRISTIAN JOHANNSEN,
Purdue University
ANDREW H. KNOLL,
Harvard University
JONATHAN I. LUNINE,
University of Arizona
ROBERTA BALSTAD MILLER,
CIESIN-Columbia University
BERRIEN MOORE III, *
University of New Hampshire
GARY J.OLSEN,
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
MARY JANE OSBORN,
University of Connecticut Health Center
SIMON OSTRACH, *
Case Western Reserve University
MORTON B. PANISH, *
AT&T Bell Laboratories (retired)
CARLÉ M. PIETERS, *
Brown University
THOMAS A. PRINCE,
California Institute of Technology
PEDRO L. RUSTAN, JR.,
U.S. Air Force (retired)
JOHN A. SIMPSON, *
Enrico Fermi Institute
GEORGE L. SISCOE,
Boston University
EUGENE B. SKOLNIKOFF,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
EDWARD M. STOLPER,
California Institute of Technology
NORMAN E. THAGARD,
Florida State University
ALAN M. TITLE,
Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center
RAYMOND VISKANTA,
Purdue University
PETER VOORHEES,
Northwestern University
ROBERT E. WILLIAMS, *
Space Telescope Science Institute
JOHN A. WOOD,
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
JOSEPH K. ALEXANDER, Director (as of February 17, 1998)
MARC S. ALLEN, Director (through December 12, 1997)
* |
Term ended in 1998. |
COMMISSION ON PHYSICAL SCIENCES, MATHEMATICS, AND APPLICATIONS
PETER M. BANKS,
Environmental Research Institute of Michigan,
Co-chair
W. CARL LINEBERGER,
University of Colorado,
Co-chair
WILLIAM BROWDER,
Princeton University
LAWRENCE D. BROWN,
University of Pennsylvania
MARSHALL H. COHEN,
California Institute of Technology
RONALD G. DOUGLAS,
Texas A&M University
JOHN E. ESTES,
University of California at Santa Barbara
JERRY P. GOLLUB,
Haverford College
MARTHA P. HAYNES,
Cornell University
JOHN L. HENNESSY,
Stanford University
CAROL M. JANTZEN,
Westinghouse Savannah River Company
PAUL G. KAMINSKI,
Technovation, Inc.
KENNETH H. KELLER,
University of Minnesota
MARGARET G. KIVELSON,
University of California at Los Angeles
DANIEL KLEPPNER,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
JOHN KREICK,
Sanders, a Lockheed Martin Company
MARSHA I. LESTER,
University of Pennsylvania
M. ELISABETH PATÉ-CORNELL,
Stanford University
NICHOLAS P. SAMIOS,
Brookhaven National Laboratory
CHANG-LIN TIEN,
University of California at Berkeley
NORMAN METZGER, Executive Director
Preface
This report was prepared by the Task Group on Ground-based Solar Research, which was formed in response to a request from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Given the intimate complementarity between ground- and space-based studies of the Sun, the task group's work was also supported by NASA. The original charge to the task group called for an assessment of the scientific and financial context in which ground-based solar research will be conducted in the coming decade, consideration of strategies and priorities for ground-based solar research, an evaluation of the posture and roles of solar observatories and other research institutions (with special attention to the mission and management of the National Solar Observatory; NSO), and an assessment of whether projected capabilities will be able to meet U.S. scientific and programmatic needs for ground-based solar research. (The complete statement of task for the study is presented in Appendix A).
The task group held three 3-day meetings over the course of the study and heard presentations from NSF and NASA officials, the directors of the National Optical Astronomy Observatories (NOAO) and the NSO, staff scientists based at the NSO (Kitt Peak and Sacramento Peak), and researchers based at Air Force and Navy laboratories and at universities. (Meeting agendas are presented in Appendix B; brief biographies of task group members are given in Appendix C.) Community input to the study was solicited at national meetings and in newsletters. In addition, the task group created a public discussion group that was posted on the World Wide Web.
As the study progressed, the task group concluded that issues related to future instrumentation for ground-based research were central to developing a strategy for dealing with current needs and future directions in solar research. Therefore, that aspect of the charge received particular attention, along with the attendant implications for the future role and structure of the NSO. Chapter 1 of the report addresses the scientific context for ground-based solar research. In Chapter 2, the current program is assessed from the perspective of a three-part strategic framework, and needs for the future are addressed. Chapter 3 then presents a strategy for ground-based solar research for the next decade and a set of prioritized recommendations to implement that strategy. Appendix D, Appendix E, Appendix F, Appendix G, Appendix H, Appendix I, Appendix J supply illustrative and supporting details, and Appendix K gives definitions for the acronyms used in the report.
Acknowledgment of Reviewers
This report has been reviewed by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council's (NRC's) Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the authors and the NRC in making the published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The contents of the review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report:
Marshall H. Cohen, California Institute of Technology,
Harold K. Forsen, Bechtel Corporation (retired),
Peter V. Foukal, Cambridge Research and Instrumentation, Inc.,
Peter Goldreich, California Institute of Technology,
Martha P. Haynes, Cornell University,
Louis J. Lanzerotti, Lucent Technologies,
Jeffrey Linsky, University of Colorado,
Dimitri M. Mihalas, University of Illinois,
Sabatino Sofia, Yale University, and
Roger K. Ulrich, University of California, Los Angeles.
Although the individuals listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, responsibility for the final content of this report rests solely with the authoring task group and the NRC.