Elucidation of the Active Geosphere. Kyoto University Acvtive Geosphere investigations for the 21st century COE Program
We present a new multi-disciplinary approach for the Earth sciences that emphasizes the physical and/or chemical processes that are encompassed in the "Active Geosphere". In this framework, we propose an integrated study of the processes that take place throughout many realms of the Earth. We will study magma transport deep in the Earth's lithosphere, tectonic stresses in the shallow Earth's crust, general circulations of oceans and the atmosphere, and multi-timescale variations of the climate system. Common threads that link these processes include the water and energy flows that couple all portions of the Geosphere. We emphasize the field survey and observations in Asia and Oceania because much of the Earth's dynamic activities are focused in this region. For example, most of the world's earthquakes and volcanic eruptions take place along the plate boundaries of the Pacific plate, and organized cumulus convections with interactions with oceans drive the Asia-Monsoon and El Nino-Southern Oscillations that control much of the world's weather and climate from intra-seasonal to inter-decadal time scales.
Since such phenomena evolve and interact on a variety of space and time scales, a new interdisciplinary approach based on optimal inter-related areas of the Earth sciences and recent advances in observational and computational technologies is required. The program sets traditional fields of the Earth sciences, such as Aeronomy, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Seismology, Volcanology, Geodesy, Geology, and Material Science for the Earth, as the primary ingredients, and then creates a melting pot of Field Survey/Observations, Satellite Measurements, Data Analyses, and Laboratory and Numerical Experiments, that encourage cross-disciplinary studies. Particular attention will be given to the themes of the water and heat flows throughout the Active Geosphere.
This approach is central to our interpretation of the Active Geosphere and, in a wider sense, to the sustainable coexistence of human beings on the Earth. The challenge is to improve our understanding of the complex processes within the Active Geosphere and obtain new perspectives on the individual components.
For the next 5 years from 2003 to 2007, the Graduate School of Science, RASC, and DPRI of Kyoto University will promote international research and educational activities through the 21st Century Centers of Excellence (COE) Program. ( Open a New Window )