Dear Colleagues, 

Wishing you all a very happy start to 2026. 

As we reflect on 2025 and look forward to the new year, we want to thank our community for its work, passion and patience. We couldn't fulfill our mission to promote the progress of science, advance national health, prosperity and welfare, and help secure national defense without you. 

To better serve that mission, the U.S. National Science Foundation Directorate for Geosciences (NSF GEO) reorganized on Dec. 15, 2025, as part of a larger agency effort. NSF GEO will no longer be organized into separate divisions, as we instead look to work more effectively together across the whole directorate to advance Earth system science. NSF has also launched streamlined merit review processes to expedite project funding and reduce administrative burden.  

Throughout this transition, our goal remains the same as it was when the agency was founded 75 years ago, to advance the progress of science and technology by investing in your thoughtful, innovative and compelling ideas. The directorate remains committed to investing in Earth, atmosphere, geospace, and ocean science and technology research and education through our active and upcoming funding opportunities.  

America's innovation ecosystem is built on a unique partnership among government, academia, industry and nonprofit research institutions. We will continue to catalyze this ecosystem to make deep and meaningful impacts on the lives of the American people. 

We look forward to sharing additional information on agency activities and funding opportunities. Please stay tuned as these changes take effect on our website in the coming months.  

Thank you again for being a part of our community. 

The NSF National Geophysical Facility 

The U.S. National Science Foundation awarded $200 million to the EarthScope Consortium to manage the NSF National Geophysical Facility (NSF NGF) over five years. The facility ensures the U.S. is at the forefront of using geodesy and seismology to study the deformation of Earth's surface and address questions about Earth's structure, evolution and dynamics. The new facility will help us study and prepare for natural hazards, manage resources and enhance national security. 

NSF NGF combines and streamlines the existing NSF Seismological Facility for the Advancement of Geosciences and the NSF Geodetic Facility for the Advancement of Geosciences capabilities into a single facility while expanding instrumentation, data services and cyber infrastructure, and implementing a bold vision to train and build the future workforce. 

NSF and partners have supported infrastructure to collect and analyze geodetic, seismic and related geophysics information for the scientific community since the mid-1980s. The agency posted a solicitation announcing the competition for the management and operations of the new facility in September 2023 and finalized the award in September 2025.