User Research Facilities in the Earth Sciences

The past several decades have seen an explosion in the availability of state-of-the-art research facilities, facilities that have been specifically constructed and operated for use by the general scientific community. Earth scientists have recognized the power of these methods for frontier research and are taking advantage of them in increasing numbers. “User- friendliness” is the key that makes these shared instruments very effective components in our arsenal of collaborative and interdisciplinary research tools.