Earth 4D: Subsurface Science & Exploration
Beneath our feet is a vast, unexplored world consisting of tens of kilometres of thick crust containing water, gases, nutrients, resources, and various forms of life. The Earth 4D program’s multidisciplinary team draws on geology, chemistry, planetary science, and engineering to investigate the interactions between the subsurface and the surface on Earth. They seek to inform and expand our understanding of planetary evolution and the possibility of finding life elsewhere.
RESEARCH AND SOCIETAL IMPACT HIGHLIGHTS
Surveillance innovation and the distribution of resources and opportunities
Several program members provided important direction and input into the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s report Origins, Worlds, and Life: A Decadal Strategy for Planetary Science and Astrobiology 2023-2032. This planning and policy document sets the 10-year plan and priorities for NASA research and missions, and formulates a community consensus about the most compelling scientific questions in the field for the decade ahead.
Embracing a spectrum in the search for life beyond Earth
In the search for life beyond Earth, distinguishing between living and non-living is difficult. Suggested by Earth 4D Fellow Heather Graham (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center) and Program Co-Director Barbara Sherwood Lollar (University of Toronto), a more inclusive representation in the search for extracellular life could be to recognize a spectrum, or “grayness”, in what could be considered life on other planets.
As the origin of life is not a singular event, and, hindered by making comparisons of what life is on Earth, researchers may miss clues in identifying potential life elsewhere. By recognizing the limitations posed by grayness, life detection researchers will be better able to develop methods sensitive to prebiotic chemical systems and life with alternative biochemistries.
Digging deeper to explore ancient waters
Underground water aquifers have the potential to serve as both a valuable source of scientific insight into the Earth’s past and a potential source of risk for today’s subsurface activities. Program Co-Directors John Mustard (Brown University) and Barbara Sherwood Lollar, along with Fellows Jennifer McIntosh (University of Arizona), Christopher Ballentine (University of Oxford), Joseph Michalski (University of Hong Kong), Advisor Jeffrey McDonnell (University of Saskatchewan), and their trainees and collaborators, critically evaluated the extent of groundwater two to ten kilometres below our feet, and assessed the water volumes to be greater than that of ice sheets. Accurate estimates of aquifer volume and connectivity are necessary for safely planning subsurface activities such as hydrogen production, nuclear waste storage, and carbon sequestration. These ancient waters may also support microbial ecosystems still active today, knowledge about which could inform mission planning for exploring potentially habitable zones elsewhere in the solar system.
Bringing experts and researchers together to discuss life on Mars
In collaboration with the International Space Science Institute (ISSI) in Switzerland, Program Co-Directors John Mustard and Barbara Sherwood Lollar organized a two-day virtual workshop in October 2021. Convening international academic and space agency researchers, the group discussed the scientific, technological, and mission requirements for finding extant subsurface life on Mars. This virtual meeting laid the groundwork for a series of in-person workshops with the ISSI.
Path to Societal Impact
We invite experts in industry, civil society, healthcare and government to join fellows in our Earth 4D: Subsurface Science & Exploration program for in-depth, cross-sectoral conversations that drive change and innovation.
Experts from academia, industry, and international space agencies and CIFAR fellows in the Earth 4D program are developing the science, technology, and requirements for Mars missions to understand the limits of habitability.
Areas of focus:
- Accessing information about water kilometres under the surface of planets, both in our own solar system and elsewhere
- Developing international mission architectures for subsurface Mars exploration
Founded In
2019
Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Earth & Planetary Sciences
Geology
Environmental Science
Geochemistry, including isotope geochemistry and bio-geochemistry
Astrobiology
Geobiology
Hydrogeology
Microbiology
Planetary and environmental modelling
Minerology
Astronolmy
Planetary evolution
Contact
Fellows & Advisors
Program Directors
John Mustard
Program Co-Director
Barbara Sherwood Lollar
Program Co-Director
Fellows
Chris Ballentine
Fellow
Morgan L. Cable
Associate Fellow
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Steven D'Hondt
Fellow
Heather Graham
Fellow
Michael Manga
Fellow
Jennifer McIntosh
Fellow
Joseph Michalski
Fellow
Victoria J. Orphan
Fellow
Magdalena R. Osburn
Fellow
Nita Sahai
Fellow
Nigel J.T. Smith
Fellow
Vlada Stamenkovic
Fellow
Richard G. Taylor
Fellow
Advisors
Jan Amend
Advisory Committee Chair
Fumio Inagaki
Advisor
Jeffrey McDonnell
Advisor
Bénédicte Ménez
Advisor
Université de Paris
Gordon "Oz" Osinski
Advisor
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars
Élise Devoie
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2023-2025
Jacqueline Goordial
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars 2021-2023
Timothy Goudge
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars 2021-2023
Jihua Hao
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars 2021-2023
Mang Lin
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2023-2025
Vashan Wright
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2023-2025
Related News
Announcement
Newest CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars take on high-risk, high-reward pursuits
16 distinguished early-career researchers join the prestigious CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars program
May 23, 2023
Earth 4D: Subsurface Science and Exploration
New study reveals Earth’s crust has largest reservoir of water, ahead of ice sheets
New modelling by Earth 4D researchers quantifies salty water reservoirs.
October 01, 2021
Earth 4D: Subsurface Science and Exploration
Heather Graham is questioning assumptions about what life can be
She is making sure we can trust future claims of alien life by thinking about how life forms might evolve differently on...
February 03, 2021
Award
Earth 4D program co-director Barbara Sherwood Lollar receives Canada’s highest science honour
University of Toronto geochemist is the 2019 recipient of the Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Enginee...
May 06, 2019
Earth 4D: Subsurface Science and Exploration
Looking for life under Mars
Researchers say we must “go deeper” on Mars
February 04, 2019Support Us
CIFAR is a registered charitable organization supported by the governments of Canada, Alberta and Quebec, as well as foundations, individuals, corporations and Canadian and international partner organizations.