[Federal Register: March 17, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 51)]
[Notices]
[Page 12687-12690]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17mr03-56]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Science Financial Assistance Program Notice DE-FG01-
03ER03-22: AmeriFlux Research in Support of North American Carbon
Program (NACP)
AGENCY: Department of Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Notice inviting grant applications.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Biological and Environmental Research (OBER) of
the Office of Science (SC), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), hereby
announces its interest in receiving applications for enhancement of the
AmeriFlux Research Program.
DATES: The deadline for receipt of formal applications is 4:30 p.m.,
e.d.t., May 5, 2003, to be accepted for merit review and to permit
timely consideration for award in Fiscal Year 2003.
[[Page 12688]]
ADDRESSES: Formal applications referencing Program Notice DE-FG01-
03ER03-22 must be sent electronically by an authorized institutional
business official through DOE's Industry Interactive Procurement System
(IIPS) at: http://e-center.doe.gov (see also http://www.sc.doe.gov/
production/grants/grants.html
). IIPS provides for the posting of
production/grants/grants.html). IIPS provides for the posting of
solicitations and receipt of applications in a paperless environmental
environment via the Internet. In order to submit applications through
IIPS your business official will need to register at the IIPS Web site.
The Office of Science will include attachments as part of this notice
that provide the appropriate forms in PDF fillable format that are to
be submitted through IIPS utilizing no more than four files. Color
images should be submitted in IIPS as a separate file in PDF format and
identified as such. These images should be kept to a minimum due to the
limitations of reproducing them. They should be numbered and referred
to in the body of the technical scientific application as Color image
1, Color image 2, etc. Questions regarding the operation of IIPS may be
E-mailed to the IIPS Help Desk at: HELPDesk@pr.doe.gov, or you may call
the help desk at: (800) 683-0751. Further information on the use of
IIPS by the Office of Science is available at: http://www.sc.doe.gov/
production/grants/grants.html.
If you are unable to submit the application through IIPS, please
contact the Grants and Contracts Division, Office of Science at: (301)
903-5212, in order to gain assistance for submission through IIPS or to
receive special approval and instruction on how to submit printed
applications.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Roger C. Dahlman, Program Manager,
SC-74, OBER/Germantown Bldg, U.S. Dept of Energy, 1000 Independence
Ave, SW., Washington, DC 20585-1290 (301) 903-4951, E-mail:
roger.dahlman@science.doe.gov, fax: (301) 903-8519. The full text of
Program Notice DE-FG01-03ER03-22 is available via the Internet using
the following Web site address: http://www.sc.doe.gov/production/
grants/grants.html.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to match their research
applications to the terms of scope for this announcement, and therefore
preapplications are not required. Brief questions for clarification can
be addressed to Dr. Dahlman, by e-mail, roger.dahlman@science.doe.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The North American Carbon Program (NACP) is
a framework for providing scientific information on sources and sinks
of CO2, CH4 and CO for North America. It is a
planned field program of experiments, flux measurements, data analysis,
and modeling that will be implemented by various Federal Agencies. The
NACP is discussed briefly as an element of Carbon Cycle Chapter of the
Climate Change Research Program Strategic Plan posted on the Web site,
http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/straplan2003/ccspstratplan2003-
11nov2002.pdf
(pp 100-111), and reviewed by the December 2002 Workshop
in Washington DC. A discussion of NACP is available from the U.S.
Global Change research Office (see reference below). The initial phase
of NACP will start in the 2003-2006 time frame, and will include
measurement and modeling of carbon sources and sinks of North America.
The NACP is an important component of U.S. Federal Agencies' research
on carbon cycle science.
Carbon dioxide flux measurement is one key approach for estimating
net carbon gain or loss by terrestrial ecosystems of North America.
Such measurements are currently carried out at a network of AmeriFlux
sites that are partially representative of different ecosystems of
North America. As described in the NACP Report (2002), AmeriFlux
measurements are expected to contribute significantly to the goals of
NACP, and a ``high priority enabling development'' calls for the
``transformation of the AmeriFlux network into an integrated, near-real
time network'' that will support goals of the NACP. With upgraded
instrumentation and advanced measurement technology, it is anticipated
that atmospheric CO2 concentration can also be determined at
an accuracy and precision that can augment real-time and flask sampling
networks. Augmented measurement capability offers the potential of
substantially increasing knowledge of terrestrial carbon budgets and
atmospheric CO2 concentration for important regions of North
America.
The intent of this solicitation therefore is to augment the
AmeriFlux network and enhance CO2 and carbon measurement
capabilities in support of the NACP. This solicitation requests
applications that will address the following technical requirements.
(1) Creation of selected new AmeriFlux sites for obtaining
micrometerological data on the exchanges of CO2 and energy
using the eddy covariance technique, where it is determined that new
sites would provide essential and critical support for initial field
program(s) of NACP. New AmeriFlux sites must be compatible with
observation and intensive field programs of NACP, which are designed to
measure and understand sources and sinks of CO2 and
CH4 in North America. Expanded AmeriFlux research will also
support development and testing of intensive field program
methodologies, and will participate in different approaches for
estimating CO2 and fluxes and carbon sinks. An initial phase
of NACP intensive research is planned for the upper Midwest region of
the USA, which is approximately bounded by Minnesota/Wisconsin on the
north, Missouri/Oklahoma on the south, Indiana on the east and Nebraska
on the west. It is possible that NACP field programs may be restricted
to only a portion of this region. This solicitation is requesting
applications for new AmeriFlux research in the Midwest region.
The NACP envisions a number of intensive field studies possibly at
other geographical locations in the south east, north east, and western
United States, and ultimately decisions on location and phasing of
future intensives will guide the selection of new AmeriFlux sites.
Strong consideration in the selection of new sites will be based on
potential contributions to NACP priorities, particularly those that
fill geographical or biogeographical gaps within the region of the
first intensive field program, and with critical biomes and/or climatic
zones that currently lack coverage. Pending availability of funds,
applications for creating new sites at other geographical locations of
the U.S. may be supported in Fiscal Year 2004 or later.
New-site applications must, of course, be based on representative
vegetation, and demonstrate that sites possess appropriate physical
attributes amendable to producing high-quality net ecosystem exchange
(NEE) or CO2 data. Diversity of regional ecosystem types,
and the inclusion of types that theoretically represent terrestrial
carbon sinks are important considerations for new site selection. New-
site selections that involve agricultural ecosystems will be
coordinated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) because a
companion Agriflux intramural program has been proposed by USDA as
another component of NACP. Applicants are strongly encouraged to review
the current extant and properties of AmeriFlux sites, and proposed new
sites responsive to these criteria. Information about current research
strategy of the AmeriFlux
[[Page 12689]]
network can be obtained from the Web site, http://public.ornl.gov/
ameriflux/Participants/Sites/Map/index.cfm.
(2) Upgrading micrometeorological and biological measurements at
existing AmeriFlux sites within the upper Midwest region that are
currently co-located with planned field program(s) of NACP, as noted in
item (1) above. Upgrades that will be considered include:
Instrumentation for better quantifying CO2 fluxes; precise
measurements of atmospheric CO2; enhanced measurement
capacity to deliver the full suite of core measurements recommended in
the AmeriFlux science plan, http://public.ornl.gov/ameriflux/About/
scif.cfm
; improved availability, calibration, quality control and
documentation of site data; redundancy of equipment to minimize data
gaps; and systemic corresponding biological measurements for
independent estimation of net ecosystem productivity (NEP). Priority
will be given to requests that improve cohesion of network
measurements. With improved precision and accuracy of atmospheric
CO2 concentration measurements, emphasis will be placed on
sites that will augment initial phases of NACP intensive field programs
and observing networks. In addition, since the overall value of the
AmeriFlux network and its contribution to NACP depend on data sharing
and data inter-comparison, only those existing AmeriFlux sites that
have made NEE, biological and NEP data available to the science
community through the AmeriFlux network data system (Carbon Dioxide
Information Analysis Center) will be eligible for upgrade awards.
For both items (1) and (2) applicants are strongly encouraged to
review NACP goals and major elements (NACP, 2002), and explain and
justify how proposed research will likely contribute to the overall
NACP research strategy, and specifically how the research will improve
measurements of carbon flux measurements and estimates of carbon
budgets and sinks. Importantly, the proposed research must demonstrate
a capability to produce high-quality measurements and provide seasonal
and annual estimates of net ecosystem exchange of CO2.
Additionally, best efforts of the proposed research are expected to
produce core AmeriFlux measurements (e.g., NEE, carbon budgets and
fluxes of ecosystem components, including uncertainty estimates) in
quantities and format that would be compatible with related NACP land-
based carbon inventories and with atmospheric CO2
concentration and profiling data. For item (1) upgraded capacity might
include investments in instrumentation, references gases, more
systematic measurement protocols, for example.
(3) Support of selected Science Team AmeriFlux activities that
would contribute most effectively to science goals in NACP. This could
include, for example, participation in priority field programs that
require synthesis and integration using measurements and modeling of
AmeriFlux results as part of intensive campaigns and NACP biological
inventories. For reference, applicants may wish to review current
AmeriFLux activities (http://public.ornl.gov/ameriflux/Participants/
Sites/Map/index.cfm
). Applications addressing this technical
requirement must identify how proposed augmentation of current research
and analysis would contribute to the NACP.
NACP Reference: The North American Carbon Program (NACP), A Report
of the NACP Committee of the U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Steering Group,
Steven C. Wofsy and Robert C. Harriss, Co-chairs, 2002. Available from
the USGCRP Office, 1717 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Suite 250,
Washington, DC 2006.
Program Funding
It is anticipated that approximately $2.0 million will be available
for grant awards in Fiscal Year 2003, contingent upon availability of
appropriated funds. Previous awards for the creation and operation of a
new site have ranged from $100,000 up to $300,000 per year, with most
not exceeding $200,000. Each site application must provide a
``facility'' budget and an ``operational'' budget. Applications to
create a new AmeriFlux site may be eligible for a multi-year award,
where the first-year budget would include costs of site development and
instrumentation, and successive-year budgets would include nominal
operational costs. Applications to upgrade measurement capacity at an
existing AmeriFlux site would be limited to a one-year award because
most of the investment is expected to be for equipment. Sustaining
operational budgets would be reflected in existing grants or renewal
applications. Multi-year applications may not exceed 3 years in
duration. Most awards are expected to meet these criteria; however,
applications with exceptional budgeting circumstances should discuss
them with the Program Manager for this solicitation. Funding of
multiple year grant awards is contingent upon availability of
appropriated funds.
Merit Review
Applications will be subjected to scientific merit review (peer
review) and will be evaluated against the following evaluation criteria
listed in descending order of importance as codified at 10 CFR
605.10(d):
1. Scientific and/or technical merit of the project.
2. Appropriateness of the proposed method or approach,
3. Competency of applicant's personnel and adequacy of proposed
resources,
4. Reasonableness and appropriateness of the proposed budget.
The evaluation process will include program policy factors such as
the relevance of the proposed research to the terms of the announcement
and agency's programmatic needs. Note that external peer reviewers are
selected with regard to both their scientific expertise and the absence
of conflict-of-interest issues. Non-Federal reviewers may be used, and
submission of an application constitutes agreement that this is
acceptable to the investigator(s) and the submitting institution.
Submission Information
Information about the development and submission of applications,
eligibility, limitations, evaluation, selection process, and other
policies and procedures may be found in 10 CFR part 605, and in the
Application Guide for the Office of Science Financial Assistance
Program. Electronic access to the Guide and required forms is made
available via the World Wide Web at: http://www.sc.doe.gov/production/
grants/grants.html.
DOE is under no obligation to pay for any costs
associated with the preparation or submission of applications if an
award is not made.
The research project description must be 15 pages or less,
exclusive of attachments and must contain an abstract or summary of the
proposed research. On the SC grant face page, form DOE F 4650.2, in
block 15, also provide the PI's phone number, fax number and e-mail
address. Attachments include curriculum vitae, a listing of all current
and pending federal support, and letters of intent when collaborations
are part of the proposed research. Curriculum vitae should be submitted
in a form similar to that of NIH or NSF (two to three pages).
The applicants are asked to submit an electronic copy of the
abstract in ASCII format to karen.carlson@science.doe.gov. The abstract
should include the following information: PI and co-PI's, their
institutions, brief summary of research, including identification of
principal subcontractor/collaborators even if no funds are requested
for their support.
[[Page 12690]]
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 March 7, 2003.
John Rodney Clark,
Associate Director of Science for Resource Management.
[FR Doc. 03-6281 Filed 3-14-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-M