Program Announcements
Directorate for Geosciences
Target Dates: August 15, 1995 and February 15, 1996
The National Science Foundation (NSF), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office of Naval Research (ONR), and the Department of Energy (DOE) support U.S. participation in the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE), a key element of the U.S. Global Change Research Program and the World Climate Research Programme. In another U.S. Global Change effort, NOAA supports long-term climate activities in the North Atlantic under the Atlantic Climate Change Program (ACCP). The goals of WOCE are to understand the general circulation of the ocean well enough to be able to model its present state and to predict its evolution in relation to long-term climate changes. Global climate models will require such an oceanographic component. The goals of ACCP are similar, but focus more specifically on interactions between the Atlantic Ocean and the global atmosphere on seasonal to multi-decadal time scales. Activities to address this goal include observational, modeling, and paleoclimate studies. ACCP components incorporated in this announcement include ocean-atmosphere interaction, modeling, and ocean observations.
U.S. WOCE activities are coordinated by a Science Steering Committee (SSC) and by several implementation panels. Many elements of the internationally coordinated Implementation Plan have been identified as U.S. contributions. Potential research areas and field programs in WOCE are prioritized by the SSC in a manner consistent with the scientific objectives, the implementation plans, and the current budget levels. ACCP activities are coordinated by a Science Working Group consisting of oceanographers, meteorologists and paleoclimatologists.
The NSF Division of Ocean Sciences and the NOAA Climate and Global Change Program will consider proposals from U.S. scientists under this announcement. Part I of the announcement covers all activi-ties associated with an international plan developed by a panel of the International WOCE Science Steering Group. This plan combines WOCE Core Projects 1 and 3 with ACCP plans in the North Atlantic and is described in "The U.S. Contribution to WOCE and ACCP: A Program Design for an Atlantic Circulation and Climate Experiment." Copies of this document can be obtained from the U.S. WOCE Office. Part II covers activities associated with an international plan to integrate all data sets collected during WOCE with each other and with other data sets relevant to understanding the ocean circula-tion and its relation to climate. Other studies include analysis and interpretation of WOCE data with other data sets and assimi-lation of these data into ocean or coupled ocean- atmosphere models.
The first target date for submissions in response to this announcement, for both NSF and NOAA funding, is 15 August 1995. Future target dates are listed in the General Information section below.
Part I - Atlantic Circulation and Climate Experiment (ACCE)
The SSC and Federal funding agencies have agreed to the architecture, major design features, and review process for the WOCE/ACCP ACCE Program. The Program Design document provides the scientific basis for U.S. proposals. It spells out the specific objectives and a strategy of the U.S. program, and integrates this program with other U.S. and international activities. Its further evolution will be guided by an Atlantic Ocean Science Steering Committee (AOSSC), in collaboration with principal investigators (PI).
The ACCE Program Design document was reviewed by a specially-convened panel, with the recommendation that it serve as a basis for proposals submitted in response to this announcement. Individual proposals may address any specific issues raised in the plan, but proposers should be prepared to provide full justification for their proposed work, particularly in terms of detailed sampling schemes and error estimates of specific observations, or resolution and uncertainties involved in particular models. Individual proposals will be subject to both mail and panel review as deemed appropriate by agency program directors. Copies of the Program Design are available from the U.S. WOCE Office.
Normal selection criteria for proposals to NSF/NOAA include research performance, competence and prior record of the principal investigator, intrinsic merit of the research, and utility or relevance of the research with respect to current U.S. WOCE and ACCP plans. Individual proposals will also be judged on the following criteria:
In the event that a PI wishes to propose an approach different from that detailed in the ACCE Program Design, his/her proposal should relate this to the scientific objectives so that reviewers will clearly understand the rationale and specific goals from the proposal. Each proposal must adhere to agreed ACCE data management policies (full and open data exchange). Interested proposers are urged to contact the U.S. WOCE Office (see below), where the director will assist principal investigators in contacting the appropriate member(s) of the AOSSC in order to ensure preparation of proposals that most effectively contribute to the overall goals of ACCE. Further information is available on the the World Wide Web (http://www-ocean.tamu.edu/WOCE/uswoce.html).
Proposals prepared in response to Part I of this program announcement should be submitted to the NSF Physical Oceanography Program and be identified by entering "WOCE/ACCP ACCE" in the Program Announcement block on the cover page. Proposers are encouraged to provide the Director of the U.S. WOCE Office with an informational copy of the proposal (at the time of initial submission) which the AOSSC may review for relevance to the ACCE plan. The AOSSC review is one of several elements in the evaluation process implemented jointly by NSF and NOAA. Proposers are asked to submit to this external review on a voluntary basis.
Analysis and modeling are indispensable tools for the synthesis of WOCE results, for the design of global observing systems, and for the use of ocean measurements as indices of global change. This part of the announcement provides the necessary update to the Program Announcement for WOCE Modeling and 1994 Field Activities of 1 July 1992. Current plans are for a more comprehensive Program Announcement for WOCE Synthesis and Analysis to be issued in 1996 to supercede Part II on this announcement.
NSF and NOAA wish to encourage a wide variety of modeling and analysis projects under the auspices of WOCE and have supported such projects since the inception of the program. These projects include, but are not limited to: global applications of existing models; theoretical studies relating to large-scale ocean circulation and the role of the ocean in climate; process and sensitivity studies that address basic scientific questions; and studies that address particular aspects of the WOCE observational data base. Projects involving the assimilation of WOCE data into appropriate ocean or coupled ocean-atmosphere models are also encouraged.
With this announcement, projects involving ocean-basin-scale analyses and interpretation of the multi-parameter data set are especially encouraged. As a first step, highest priority would be for Pacific basin projects, but projects involving other oceans or global syntheses are not excluded. Model simulations of ocean circulation during the WOCE period and comparisons with data are also encouraged.
Analysis and modeling in WOCE will be enhanced by the wider availability of "level 3" data products derived from WOCE and WOCE-related programs. Projects involving the production and distribution of these data products (as envisioned in the concept of WOCE Special Analysis Centers) are needed to support a wider range of modeling and analysis efforts.
Proposals in response to Part II of this program announcement should be submitted to the NSF Physical Oceanography Program and be identified by entering "WOCE/Modeling/Analysis" in the Program Announcement block on the cover page. Success in the review process could lead to funding by either NSF or NOAA, at the discretion of the program managers. Proposals should also observe the priorities stated in the U.S. SSC position paper on modeling proposals (issued March 1993). Copies of this document are available from the U.S. WOCE Office. Proposers are encouraged to provide the Director of the U.S. WOCE Office with an informational copy of the proposal which the SSC may review for relevance and priority with respect to U.S. WOCE goals.
Target dates for submission of proposals in response to this announcement are 15 August and 15 February, similar to the target dates for submission to the Ocean Sciences Research Programs. In particular, the following specific goals for submission of proposals for ACCE are:
Analysis and modeling proposals will be accepted on either of the above target dates, and on the same dates in subsequent years, unless superceded by additional dates in future announcements.
Twenty copies of each Proposal submitted in response to this program announcement should be submitted to the NSF Proposal Processing Unit, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Room P-60, Arlington Virginia, 22230, and be identified by entering "WOCE/ACCP Activities" in the Program announcement block on the cover page.
Questions regarding the U.S. WOCE program should be addressed to the Director of the U.S. WOCE Office, Dr. Piers Chapman, Department of Oceanography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843-3146, Ph: 409/845-1443 (uswoce@astra.tamu.edu). Questions regarding proposal preparation or submission may be directed to Dr. Richard Lambert, Physical Oceanography Program, Room 725, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22230, Ph: 703-306-1583 (rlambert@nsf.gov) and/or Dr. David Goodrich, NOAA Office of Global Programs, 1100 Wayne Ave., Suite 1225, Silver Spring, MD 20910, Ph: 301-427-2089, ext 38 (goodrich@ogp.noaa.gov).
Grants awarded as a result of this announcement are administered in accordance with the terms and conditions of NSF GC-1, "Grant General Conditions," or FDP-II, "Federal Demonstration Project General Terms and Conditions, "depending on the grantee organization. Copies of these and other NSF publications are available at no cost from the NSF Forms and Publications Unit, phone (703) 306-1130, or via e-mail pubs@nsf.gov (Internet). More comprehensive information is contained in the NSF Grant Policy Manual (NSF 88-47, July 1989), for sale through the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. The telephone number at GPO is (202) 783-3238 for subscription information.
NSF provides awards for research in the sciences and engineering. The awardee is wholly responsible for the conduct of such research and preparation of the results for publication. The Foundation does not assume responsibility for such findings or their interpretation. In accordance with Federal statutes and regulations and NSF policies, no person on grounds of race, color, age, sex, national origin, or disability shall be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any program activity receiving financial assistance from NSF.
The Foundation welcomes proposals on behalf of all qualified scientists and engineers, and strongly encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to compete fully in any of the research and research-related Programs described in this document.
NSF is equipped with TDD (Telephonic Device for the Deaf) which enables the hearing impaired to request information on NSF programs, employment, or other matters. The number is (703) 306-0090. Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities (FASED) provides funding for special assistance or equipment to enable persons with disabilities (investigators and other staff, including student research assistants) to work on an NSF project. See Program Announcement NSF 91-54 or contact the program coordinator (703)306-1636.
Copies of the text of most program announcements and other key NSF publications are available electronically using the Science and Technology Information System (STIS). The full text can be searched online, and copied from the system. Forms and tables, however, are not included. Instructions for use of the system are in NSF 94-4 "STIS Flyer." ****The printed copy of the STIS flyer is available from the Forms and Publications Unit, 4201 Wilson Blvd Room P-15, Arlington, Virginia 22230 or call 703-306-1130. Or, if you have access to the Internet, send a request to pubs@nsf.gov. In your request, include the reference to "NSF 94-4 STIS Flyer", the number of copies, your name, and a complete mailing address.
The information requested on the proposal forms is solicited under the authority of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended. It will be used in connection with the selection of qualified proposals and may be disclosed to qualified reviewers and staff assistants as part of the review process; to applicant institutions/grantees; to provide or obtain data regarding the application review process, award decisions, or the administration of awards; to government contractors, experts, volunteers and researchers as necessary to complete assigned work; and to other government agencies in order to coordinate programs. See systems of Records, NSF-50, "Principal Investigator/Proposal file and Associate Records," and NSF-51, 60 Federal Register 4449 (January 23, 1995), "Reviewer/Proposal File and Associated Records," 59 Federal Register 8031 (February 17, 1994). Submission of the information is voluntary. Failure to provide full and complete information, however, may reduce the possibility of your receiving an award.
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Contracts, Policy and Oversight
National Science Foundation
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PT 34
KW 1008004
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
Number 47.050 Geosciences
NSF 95-85
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