October 30, 2003

David E. Steitz/Etta Jane Pagani
Headquarters, Washington
(Phone: 202/358-1730/1034)

RELEASE: 03-348

NASA ANNOUNCES RESEARCH GRANTS IN INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE

NASA has awarded approximately $47.4 million in grants to researchers 
from 23 states conducting interdisciplinary scientific 
investigations. The research is expected to expand understanding of a 
variety of aspects of Earth system science. 

Sponsored by NASA's Earth Science Enterprise Earth Observing System 
Interdisciplinary Science Program (EOS/IDS), the research will use 
the vast wealth of new data from Earth Observing Satellites. The 
topics span a range of innovative interdisciplinary research, with a 
focus in emerging scientific areas identified in the Strategic Plan 
of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program. 

Broad thematic topics of the research projects include global 
ecosystems, climate trends and variation, consequences of climate and 
sea level changes. The researchers will examine effects of increased 
human activities on coastal regions as well. NASA also aims to expand 
knowledge of the carbon cycle on Earth through the use of new classes 
of models.

NASA received 348 proposals in response to the EOS/IDS research 
announcement. The proposals were peer-reviewed by scientific experts 
from academia and government. A list of the awardees, their 
institutions and research titles is available on the Internet at: 

http://research.hq.nasa.gov/code_y/nra/current/NRA-03-OES-03/winners.html  
For more information about NASA and agency research programs on the 
Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov  
For more information about NASA's Earth Science Enterprise research on 
the Internet, visit:

http://www.earth.nasa.gov  

	
-end-