PREFACE: IMPACT OF NEW TECHNOLOGY ON EARTH SCIENCE IN 21st CENTURY

This essay envisages the impact of new technologies on Earth science in the perspective of the strategy for science and technology development. Application of new technology to Earth science in the 21st Century is characterized by the expansion of the range of observations and the enhancement of observational capabilities, accumulation and integration of multi disciplinary Earth observauion data, and the building of the ability to challenge the problem of the prediction of the nonlinear and complex Earth system. Remarkably, Digital Earth as an integration of Earth observation system, and high performance parallel calculation as an efficient tool for the simulation of Earth processes, will play an important role in the development of Earth system science. In the view of methodology, the impact of new technology on the development of Earth science depends, to much extent, on the understanding of the function of these tools by the people who utilize them, and, more importantly, on the innovative radical notions on how to make use of these advanced technologies appropriately.