Life and Environments Through Time
The LET program funds research on Earth's climate, environments, life, and sedimentary record from the Archean Eon to the Holocene epoch for predicting and planning for global change and ecosystem maintenance.
Funder: National Science Foundation
Due Dates: Proposals accepted anytime
Funding Amounts: Estimated total program funding: $14,000,000 | ~50 awards per year | Standard or continuing grants
Summary: Supports research on the origin and evolution of Earth's climate, environments, life, and sedimentary record from the Archean Eon through the Holocene epoch, with relevance to global change and ecosystem sustainability.
Key Information: No fixed deadline; proposals may be submitted at any time.
Description
The Life and Environments Through Time (LET) program, offered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Geosciences, Division of Earth Sciences, funds research that advances understanding of the patterns and processes related to the origin and evolution of Earth's climate, environments, life, and sedimentary record. The program supports studies at molecular, local, regional, and global scales, spanning from the Archean Eon to the Holocene epoch.
LET-funded research is intended to inform predictions and planning for future global change, and to support the maintenance and security of ecosystem services and human societies. The program encourages projects that integrate geobiology, geochemistry, paleobiology, paleoecology, sedimentology, and sedimentary geology, and welcomes interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches.
Example research topics include:
- Origin, ecology, and evolution of life on Earth
- Biological, geochemical, mineralogical, and sedimentological processes shaping the sedimentary lithosphere
- Paleoclimate and climate proxy studies
- Development of new proxies, tools, and models for understanding life and environments through time
- Geohealth, environmental pollution, and climate change impacts on human health
- Bioeconomy, carbon sequestration, bioremediation, and sustainability
- Conservation paleobiology and ecological change
- Geological hydrogen and related geochemical/microbial processes
The program also supports community workshops, broader impacts activities (e.g., broadening participation, public engagement, infrastructure enhancement), and proposals that cross NSF program boundaries.
