[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 17 (Monday, January 27, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3884-3886]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-1866]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Research
Energy Research Financial Assistance Program Notice 97-07;
Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program
AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Notice inviting grant applications.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Health and Environmental Research (OHER) of the
Office of Energy Research, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), hereby
announces its interest in receiving applications to support the
experimental and theoretical study of radiation and clouds in
conjunction with the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program as
part of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP).
DATES: Formal applications submitted in response to this notice must be
received by 4:30 p.m., EDT, April 29, 1997, to permit timely
consideration for award in fiscal year 1998.
ADDRESSES: Formal applications should be forwarded to: U.S. Department
of Energy, Office of Energy Research, Grants and Contracts Division,
ER-64, 19901 Germantown Road, Germantown, MD 20874-1290, ATTN: Program
Notice 97-07. This address also must be used when submitting
applications by U.S. Postal Service Express Mail, any commercial mail
delivery service, or when hand-carried by the applicant.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Patrick A. Crowley, Office of
Health and Environmental Research, Environmental Sciences Division, ER-
74, U.S. Department of Energy, 19901 Germantown Road, Germantown, MD
20874-1290. Telephone: (301) 903-3069, fax (301) 903-8519, or by
Internet e-mail address, p.crowley@oer.doe.gov. Program information is
available on the ARM WWW page: http://www.arm.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice requests applications for grants
to support the following four efforts:
(1) Continuation and enhancement of activities previously funded by
DOE under the auspices of the ARM program via responses to earlier
announcements.
(2) The modeling of clouds and radiation including aerosol effects
for use in General Circulation Models (GCMs) and related models.
Analysis of ARM and other data for refining, supporting, and validating
model development are key aspects of research sought in this category.
These activities should be closely tied to the analysis and use of data
from the current and
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planned facilities at three Cloud and Radiation Testbed sites: the
first is centered near Lamont, Oklahoma; the second has instruments
operating on the Island of Manus, Papua, New Guinea, and later will
have other sites in the Tropical Western Pacific; and the third site in
the North Slope of Alaska region.
(3) The extension of fundamental research results or methodology to
the development and evaluation of new analytic methods and algorithms
that take advantage of ARM data. Methods and algorithms that are
proposed to evolve from these efforts must be suitable for automated
use in the routine processing of ARM data streams. Successful
applications will use data from current or projected ARM instruments
(singly, in combination, or in combination with data from outside the
ARM program, e.g. Satellite data), to provide new ARM community data
streams of high credibility and useability within the ARM Science Team.
(4) The development of advanced instrumentation for high accuracy/
precision radiometric observations and for profiling of all three
phases of water in the atmosphere and lower stratosphere. Short wave
radiometry is of particular present interest.
The use of ARM data to support activities in other programs with
goals related to those of ARM through non-ARM funded participation in
the ARM Science Team is encouraged. Researchers whose activities align
with ARM goals and for whom this is a desirable option are encouraged
to contact the ARM Program Office.
One of the major scientific objectives of the Environmental
Sciences Division (ESD) is to improve the performance of predictive
models of the Earth's climate and to thereby make predictions of the
response of the climate system to increasing concentrations of
greenhouse gases. The purpose of the ARM Program is to improve the
treatment of radiation and clouds in the models used to predict future
climate, particularly the General Circulation Models (GCMs). This
program is one element of a major effort to improve the quality of
current models and to support the development of sets of climate models
capable of making regional prediction of climate and climate change.
The major component of the ARM Program is an experimental testbed for
the study of models of the terrestrial radiation field, properties of
clouds, the full life cycle of clouds, and the incorporation of these
process-level models into climate models. This testbed is referred to
as the Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART). The first ARM CART site
began operation in calendar year 1992, with instruments spread over an
area of approximately 60,000 sq. km., centered on Lamont, Oklahoma. The
Tropical Western Pacific (TWP) site will consist initially of island-
based suites of instrumentation focused on cloud and radiative
properties in the tropical ocean environment. The first of the TWP
Atmospheric Radiation and Clouds Stations (ARCS) is operating on the
island of Manus, Papua New Guinea, and the second is planned for Nauru
in 1998. Similar instrumentation will be deployed to a North Slope of
Alaska site late in 1997.
To ensure that the program meets the broadest needs of the research
community and the specific needs of the DOE, ESD, successful applicants
will participate as ARM Science Team members along with selected
scientists from other ESD programs that relate to the ARM Program.
Costs for participation in ARM Science Team meetings and subcommittee
meetings should be based on two trips of 1 week each to Washington,
D.C., and two trips of 3 days each to Chicago, Illinois.
Successful applicants for continuation or enhancement of previously
awarded grants will demonstrate (a) the continued relevance of their
work to the goals of the ARM Program; (b) the quality and relevance of
work conducted under previous support to the goals of the ARM Program,
including a listing of publications and presentations; and (c) relevant
contribution to the development of the ARM program under previous
funding. Applications should include a special section covering items
(b) and (c) entitled ``Accomplishments Under Previous Support.''
Successful applicants for grants in support of modeling of clouds
and radiation will demonstrate the role of their research in the
improvement of GCMs and/or related models and delineate the path that
their results will take to make those improvements. Successful
applicants will be involved in one or more of three activities: (a) the
development of models and parameterization of radiative transfer or
cloud processes, including aerosol effects, or the testing of these
models in GCMs or process-level models; (b) experimental studies at
CART facilities to test elements of models and their performance or to
obtain key laboratory data; and/or (c) the analysis of existing data,
including field data and satellite data, to support model development
or testing.
Successful applicants for participation in the development of new
analytic methods and derived data products, will demonstrate how the
proposed efforts support the ARM Science Team members involved in the
other categories of research. Applications in this area must recognize
that the program has a developed infrastructure for data treatment and
distribution. The support looked for in this area involves a deeper
more sophisticated algorithmic approach than presently in use. The
successful applications will accent a strong scientific approach to the
problem of data fusion.
Because ARM is well into its intended life cycle, successful
applicants for participation in the ARM instrument development program
will meet either (1) immediate and near-term needs of the ARM Program
for improved radiometric sensors, both broad-band and spectrally
resolved or for instruments capable of high-precision radiometric
calibration, or (2) immediate and near-term needs of the ARM Program
for improved systems for the measurement of the spatial distribution of
all three phases of water, with particular emphasis on vertical
profiles. In each case the application should contain, in appropriate
detail, a discussion of the accuracy and precision of the proposed
measurement methodology as a function of wavelength or altitude
respectively, and the relevance of the proposed measurements to test
models of atmospheric radiative processes. It has been suggested that
the data available from the array of instruments planned or in place in
the program suffer from too little strongly calibrated short wave data.
Applications which address this concern in the near term are
anticipated to be of high interest.
Participants in the adjunct ARM Science Team will apply ARM data to
research programs of interest to DOE and related to ARM goals, but are
funded by other sources. While ARM data is available through the ARM
Data Archive at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ARM Science Team
participation provides investigators the opportunity to receive
tailored data products from the ARM Experiment Center at Pacific
Northwest Laboratory and the opportunity to participate in the design
of ARM facilities and experiments. While there will not be funds to
support the research of applicants under this portion of this notice,
some funds may be available to support the travel of successful
applicants to participate in ARM Science Team activities as indicated
below. Research interest and objectives must be strongly related to the
general goals of ARM outlined above; Global
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Energy and Water Experiment (GEWEX) and its associated programs; the
study of aerosols and their effect on the radiative transfer, including
visibility studies; and the transfer of UV-B radiation through the
atmosphere.
The efforts proposed in support of all five categories should have
as a focus the conduct of research using the CART facilities either in
operation or being developed for ARM. Successful applicants will
participate in the continuing development of the detailed experimental
approaches for CART and guide the evolving development and acquisition
of the experimental equipment.
It is anticipated that approximately $3,000,000 will be available
for awards in fiscal year 1998, contingent upon availability of
appropriated funds. Multiple year funding of awards is expected, also
contingent upon availability of funds. The allocation of funds within
the research areas will depend on the number and quality of the
applications received. It is anticipated that a substantial fraction of
the funds will support continuation of existing research. Typical ESD
awards are $200,000 per year, but range from $50,000 to $600,000.
Information about development, submission, and the selection process,
and other policies and procedures may be found in 10 CFR Part 605, and
in the Application Guide for the Office of Energy Research Financial
Assistance Program. The Application Guide is available from the U.S.
Department of Energy, Office of Health and Environmental Research,
Environmental Sciences Division, ER-74, 19901 Germantown Road,
Germantown, MD 20874-1290. Telephone requests may be made by calling
(301) 903-3338. Electronic access to ER's Financial Assistance Guide is
possible via the Internet using the following WWW site address: http://
www.er.doe.gov/production/grants/grants.html.
Collaborative applications are encouraged. Awards are anticipated
to begin on or about November 1, 1997.
The technical portion of the application should not exceed twenty-
five (25) doubled-spaced pages. For applications requesting
continuation or enhancements to previously awarded grants, the
``Accomplishments Under Previous Support'' section should not exceed
ten (10) additional double-spaced pages. An abstract of less than 200
words must be included with the application. Lengthy appendices are
discouraged.
Technical information on the ARM Program is available from the ARM
Program Office at Pacific Northwest Laboratory, P.O. Box 999, Richland,
WA 99352, telephone (509) 375-6964, or from the Office of Scientific
and Technical Information, P.O. Box 62, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, telephone
(615) 576-8401.
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number for this program
is 81.049, and the solicitation control number is ERFAP 10 CFR Part
605.
Issued in Washington, DC, on January 17, 1997.
John Rodney Clark,
Associate Director for Resource Management, Office of Energy Research.
[FR Doc. 97-1866 Filed 1-24-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
