CIRES History - Development of the Solid-Earth Program

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START > 1967-1972 | 1972-1980 | 1980-1993 | 1993-2002 > Remaining Chapters

1972-1980. Youth: The Years of Early Growth

Development of the Solid-Earth Program and the Impact of a Washington Decision

The details of the development of solid-earth studies within CIRES are given in chapter five. Because a solid-earth geophysicist had been recruited as director in response to NOAA's intent to use CIRES as a means to strengthen its research capabilities in that discipline, a plan was developed to start recruiting in that field immediately, to be followed shortly by recruitment in the atmospheric sciences.

The recruitment of two new fellows through the Department of Geological Sciences (see chapter five) brought to light some fundamental problems in institute-department relations. First, in order to attract the caliber of talent desired to make CIRES a center of excellence in its fields of science, the director insisted on offering appropriate salaries. These were somewhat higher than those typical in geological sciences, and the attitude of the chair was that no one in the department should get salaries that high until everyone did. In the end it was possible to convince the department that, by accepting these salary levels, they would eventually establish a new standard for compensation in the department.

A similar problem arose later, when chemistry had become a major activity in CIRES, because the stipend offered to visiting fellows by CIRES was substantially higher than the then-usual stipend to postdoctoral chemists. The story of the evolution of CIRES is in large measure the story of the merging of differing academic cultures among the disciplines that joined.

Another immediate fundamental problem was the feeling among the faculty rostered in geological sciences that these CIRES people were not "real" members of the department. Even though CIRES-rostered faculty taught the full load expected of research-active faculty and participated fully in departmental committees, student advising, and other normal service activities, it took years to overcome this attitude of "us" and "them."

With the addition of three fellows, a core of solid-earth expertise had been established. A fundamental shift in the operating circumstances occurred in January 1973. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in Washington issued a directive that all solid-earth research was to be removed from NOAA and transferred to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Department of Interior. This meant the end of the research functions of the Earth Sciences Laboratory, in both seismology and geomagnetism. Although it would have been possible to keep in NOAA the important work of accumulating and analyzing current earthquake data and issuing regular earthquake location bulletins, a wise decision was made also to transfer this routine data-handling function to the U.S.G.S. The goal was to preserve the close contact of those gathering and archiving data with those doing research using those data, an important condition for controlling the quality of the database.

Wilmot Hess

A person with Kisslinger's scientific interests had been brought in as director in large part because of NOAA's wish to strengthen its solid-earth research capabilities. The plan for building the staff was also based on this premise. After the OMB decision, he asked Hess if he should withdraw as director (six months after taking up the position) to make room for a person more directly involved in the areas of science remaining in NOAA. Hess responded that, unless Kisslinger wanted to quit, he would have the full support of ERL in the development of the Institute. It was clear, however, that because of the change in NOAA's mission, its funds could not be used to support solidearth research. This restriction soon applied also to the Visiting Fellows program, entirely funded by NOAA. It is noteworthy that during the years of transition Robert White, NOAA Administrator, recognized that frontier research on the oceans and atmospheres could not ignore the solid earth that formed the floor under those parts of the Earth system. He frequently turned to CIRES as a useful link between the research goals of his agency and the solid-earth community.

Kisslinger had decided from the beginning of his term, before this OMB decision, that every effort should be made to broaden the basis of CIRES funding, to make the Institute less vulnerable to the uncertainties of political decisions in Washington. The small but outstanding group of fellows moved swiftly to solicit funds from other agencies, especially the National Science Foundation, National Aeronautic and Space Administration, Department of Energy, and the Geological Survey. Sponsoredproject research funding, including the funds from NOAA that were totally committed to the Visiting Fellows program, increased from $280,000 in 1972 to $1 million for the first time in 1977, and to $3 million by 1980. This was well before the massive development of the NOAA-funded Research Associates program, which accounts for a large fraction of current funding.

In view of the change with regard to the status of solid-earth research, it was fortunate for CIRES that the Geological Survey initiated its earthquake prediction program in 1974. This led immediately to the creation of the Aleutian Islands Seismic Network, designed, developed, and managed by E. R. Engdahl until he left NOAA for the Geological Survey in 1977. The full funding by Congress of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program in 1977 provided substantial support for a number of projects in theory, laboratory investigations, and field studies.

Next > The Atmospheric Sciences Capability also Grows

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