215 



APPENDIX A 



national trade, the environmental constraints on growth in developing countries, 

 environment-related technological change, and decision making in the public and 

 private sectors in response to short- and long-term environmental risks. 



The Directorate for Geosciences supports projects in basic research aimed 

 at understanding and modeling earth systems. Atmospheric sciences, canh sciences, 

 ocean sciences, and arctic and antarctic research are among specific areas of focus. 

 Work in these areas includes understanding the weather and climate variations, 

 groundwater supplies and quality, nuclear waste disposal capabilities, and ocean 

 drilling. The largest portion of the division's resources is devoted to atmospheric 

 and ocean sciences, including $$1.4 million to support the National Center for At- 

 mospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, and a number of oceanographic centers. 

 NSF provides about 50 percent of fi:deral suppon for basic geoscience research. 



NSF also houses a small extramural grants program in scientific, techno- 

 logical, and international affairs that funds projects in policy research and analysis 

 and some international cooperative scientific activities. 



NSF is often commended for the strong merit review system that it t :ploys 

 in distributing research funds. Grants are highly competitive, with only about 15 

 percent of proposed projects receiving funding each year. Although funds for 

 environment-related research in the social and economic sciences have increased 

 in recent years, these fields have not received nearly as much suppon as the health 

 and physical sciences. 



NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION 



The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admiaistrarion, a division of the Com- 

 merce Depanment, supports an envirotunental research program to monitor the 

 status and trends of the oceans and atmosphere. The research program is operated 

 primarily through the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research; supporting offices 

 include the Nauonal Environmental Satellite Dau and Information Service, the 

 Nadonal Marine Fisheries Service, the Nauonal Ocean Service, and the Nauonal 

 Weather Service. More than $}oo million was allocated in 1991 for environment- 

 related research at NOAA, a substanual increase over the $116 million appropriated 

 in 1989.'°^ The National Weather Service is undertaking a major modernization 

 and restructuring program to improve its e£kctivcness in observing and understanding 

 the atmosphere. '"i 



Climate and global change research has become a primary focus at NOAA, 

 much of it aimed at intemauonally based oceanic and atmospheric trends. The 

 largest portion of the research effort is now centered on the U.S. Global Change 

 Research Program; NOAA is a key agency in establishing an integrated monitoring 

 program for measuring earth systems, for developing conceptual and predicuve system 

 models, and for maintaining a global environmental sciences data management 

 system. 



Other research programs at NOAA include coastal and ocean research 



