Grand Challenges for Biological and Environmental Research: A Long-Term Vision

• Main Authors: Arkin, A., Baliga, N., Braam, J., Church, G., Collins, J;, Cottingham, R., Ecker, J., Gerstein, M., Gilna, P., Greenberg, J., Handelsman, J., Hubbard, S., Joachimiak, A., Liao, J., Looger, L., Meyerowitz, E., Mjolness, E., Petsko, G., Sayler, G., Simpson, M., Stacey, G., Sussman, M., Tiedje, J., Bader, D., Cessi, P., Collins, W., Denning, S., Dickinson, R., Easterling, D., Edmonds, J., Feddema, J., Field, C., Fridlind, A., Fung, I., Held, I., Jackson, R., Janetos, A., Large, W., Leinen, M., Leung, R., Long, S., Mace, G., Masiello, C., Meehl, G., Ort, D., Otto-Bliesner, B., Penner, J., Prather, M., Randall, D., Rasch, P., Schneider, E., Shugart, H., Thornton, P., Washington, W., Wildung, R., Wiscombe, W., Zak, D., Zhang, M., Bielicki, J., Buford, M., Cleland, E., Dale, V., Duke, C., Ehleringer, J., Hecht, A., Kammen, D., Marland, G., Pataki, D., Riley, M. Robertson, P.;Hubbard, S.;
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; ADVISORY COMMITTEES; ANIMALS; ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY; BIOFUELS; BIOLOGY; BIOSPHERE; CARBON; CLIMATE MODELS; CLIMATES; DECISION MAKING; ECOLOGY; ECOSYSTEMS; EDUCATION; ENERGY DEMAND; ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS; HUMAN POPULATIONS; LAND USE; PHYSICS; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1006492; https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1006492; https://doi.org/10.2172/1006492

The interactions and feedbacks among plants, animals, microbes, humans, and the environment ultimately form the world in which we live. This world is now facing challenges from a growing and increasingly affluent human population whose numbers and lifestyles are driving ever greater energy demand and impacting climate. These and other contributing factors will make energy and climate sustainability extremely difficult to achieve over the 20-year time horizon that is the focus of this report. Despite these severe challenges, there is optimism that deeper understanding of our environment will enable us to mitigate detrimental effects, while also harnessing biological and climate systems to ensure a sustainable energy future. This effort is advanced by scientific inquiries in the fields of atmospheric chemistry and physics, biology, ecology, and subsurface science - all made possible by computing. The Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER) within the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science has a long history of bringing together researchers from different disciplines to address critical national needs in determining the biological and environmental impacts of energy production and use, characterizing the interplay of climate and energy, and collaborating with other agencies and DOE programs to improve the world's most powerful climate models. BER science focuses on three distinct areas: (1) What are the roles of Earth system components (atmosphere, land, oceans, sea ice, and the biosphere) in determining climate? (2) How is the information stored in a genome translated into microbial, plant, and ecosystem processes that influence biofuel production, climate feedbacks, and the natural cycling of carbon? (3) What are the biological, geochemical, and physical forces that govern the behavior of Earth's subsurface environment? Ultimately, the goal of BER science is to support experimentation and modeling that can reliably predict the outcomes and behaviors of complex biological and environmental ...