国家自然科学基金资助体系下的地下水科学领域发展总结和分析

Overview and analysis of the development for groundwater science supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China

地下水属于基础性、战略性水资源,其科学开发利用和保护关系到人类社会与生态系统的协同健康发展。因此,地下水一直是自然科学关注的热点和焦点之一。笔者统计分析了1986~2022年期间国家自然科学基金委对地下水科学领域的资助情况,从受资助项目的学部学科分布、项目类型和主要研究方向入手,总结了地下水科学研究现状,揭示了目前存在的短板和瓶颈问题,并分析了地下水科学发展趋势。研究结果表明:①地下水科学领域资助项目的数量和类型均呈快速增长态势;②地下水科学领域与其他学科领域的交叉融合越来越频繁、紧密,涉及多个学部和学科,申报与资助均呈现“多点开花”态势;③地下水科学作为地球科学的分支学科,面临新的机遇和挑战,许多重大科学问题亟待解决,需进一步提高重大项目支持力度;④地下水科学研究具备与更多相关领域交叉渗透的潜力,如海洋学、化学、气象学和大气科学等,国家自然科学基金委可为地下水科学与其他学科交叉提供培育平台。

Groundwater is a critical and strategic water resource,and its scientific development,utilization,and protection are related with the collaborative healthy development of human society and ecosystems.Therefore,groundwater has always been one of a hotpot and focus in natural science.This paper presents a statistical analysis of the funding of groundwater science from National Natural Science Foundation of China during 1986 to 2022.The current status of groundwater scientific research is summarized based on the discipline distribution,project types and primary research directions of funded projects.Current gaps and bottlenecks are revealed,and the development trend of groundwater science is assessed.The study results indicate that first of all,the number and types of funded projects in the field of groundwater science are increasing rapidly.Secondly,groundwater science is intersected closely with other disciplines via more and more frequency,representing a“multi-point flower”in the application and funding projects.Thirdly,groundwater science,as a branch of Earth science,is facing new opportunities and challenges.Many major scientific issues need to be addressed urgently,so further efforts are needed to enlarge the financial support to major projects.Fourthly,groundwater science research has the potential to intersect with more related fields,such as oceanography,chemistry,meteorology,and atmospheric science.The National Natural Science Foundation of China can serve as a cultivation platform for the intersection of groundwater science and other disciplines.