Earth Sciences Program
Earth Sciences Program supports researchers studying Earth's interior, surface, water systems, and geologic record to advance foundational knowledge of Earth processes and changing life and environments.
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation
Due Dates: Rolling (full proposals accepted anytime)
Funding Amounts: $110 million anticipated across GEO Core, with 200–350 awards estimated; requests for up to five years encouraged where justified
Summary: Supports foundational research on Earth's interior, surface, water systems, landscapes, and changing life and environments through time.
Key Information: Unaffiliated individuals cannot apply; extraterrestrial research must advance knowledge of processes on Earth.
Description
The Earth Sciences Program, administered by NSF’s Directorate for Geosciences through the GEO Core solicitation, supports foundational research on Earth’s interior and surface processes, past and present. Its scope includes physical and chemical processes shaping Earth from core to crust, tectonics, high-temperature processes, and interactions among hydrologic, geomorphic, and geochemical processes. Research may also examine water systems, landscape evolution, and changes in life and environments recorded in the geologic record.
Projects may focus on one discipline or connect several, using theory, observations, computation, field campaigns, or laboratory studies. NSF welcomes incremental advances and ambitious, potentially transformative research, including new theories, methods, tools, and datasets. Proposals need not promise a near-term product, deployment, or commercial outcome.
