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About EAR

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The U.S. National Science Foundation Division of Earth Sciences (EAR) supports research, infrastructure and education focused on the planet.

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What we support

EAR advances research on the structure, composition and evolution of the planet. The division invests in researchers who use observations, experiments, sampling and modeling to unravel the processes that formed early Earth and gave rise to life as we know it.

EAR projects guide natural resources like minerals, water, living things and energy sources and provide fundamental knowledge necessary to help prepare for geologic hazards like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods and landslides.

EAR funds research, infrastructure and education to enable scientists to study how magmas form beneath volcanoes, travel back in time to reimagine entire landscapes and apply scientific techniques to more precisely forecast Earth's future changes.

EAR programs

Program

Chemical Evolution of the Solid Earth and Volcanology (CESEV)

Next Required Due Date: Proposals Accepted Anytime
Supports research on the planet's origin and the ongoing compositional evolution of the Earth's core, mantle and continental crust, including the interactions between these layers from the nanoscale (a fraction of a dust speck) to the whole Earth.
Posted December 6, 2024
Program

Life and Environments Through Time (LET)

Next Required Due Date: Proposals Accepted Anytime
Supports research on climate, environments and life throughout Earth's history.
Posted December 6, 2024
Program

Structure and Physics of the Solid Earth (SPSE)

Next Required Due Date: Proposals Accepted Anytime
Supports basic research on tectonic processes and the structural geology and geophysics of the Earth through time, from the core to the lithosphere.
Posted December 6, 2024
Program

Water, Landscape, and Critical Zone Processes (WaLCZ)

Next Required Due Date: Proposals Accepted Anytime
Supports research to better understand the processes that shape our planet’s surface, drive weathering and soil development, control water availability and quality and help regulate Earth’s climate.
Posted December 6, 2024

Our research infrastructure

EAR invests in research infrastructure, including geophysical and high-pressure research, to provide state-of-the-art equipment and assets for the earth sciences community.

NSF Geodetic Facility for the Advancement of Geoscience (NSF GAGE): NSF GAGE serves a broad spectrum of geosciences disciplines that use geodetic instrumentation and data, including Earth, atmospheric and polar sciences.

NSF Seismological Facility for the Advancement of Geoscience (NSF SAGE): NSF SAGE is a distributed, multiuser national facility operated by EarthScope Consortium providing seismic and related geophysical instrumentation and services to support research and education in the geosciences.

NSF Facility for Open Research in a Compressed Environment (FORCE): A facility hosted at Arizona State University to study matter at extremely high pressure and high temperature under conditions of compression and stress.

Who we are

EAR includes both federal employees and scientists from research institutions in temporary positions through the "Intergovernmental Personnel Act."

Leadership:

Dr. Dena Smith-Nufio
EAR Division Director

Dr. Steven Mackwell
EAR Acting Deputy Division Director

Stay connected

Subscribe to EAR email updates
Be notified of the latest news, funding opportunities and events from EAR by sending an email to earth@listserv.nsf.gov with your name in the message body to subscribe.

EAR news and announcements
Keep up with the latest news.

Become a reviewer
Gain insights into what makes a good proposal to NSF and the NSF merit review criteria.

Reach out to program directors
Contact NSF program directors to determine if your research idea is a good fit.

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