[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 55 (Tuesday, March 23, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13977-13979]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-7064]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Office of Science, Office of Science Financial Assistance Program 
Notice 99-16; Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice inviting grant applications.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Biological and Environmental Sciences (OBER) of 
the Office of Science (SC), 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). This notice 
requests applications for grants to support renewals of activities 
currently funded by DOE under previous Special Research Grant Program 
Notices issued for the ARM Program. A very limited number of new 
research efforts may be funded.

DATES: Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a two page 
(maximum) brief preapplication. All preapplications, referencing 
Program Notice 99-16, should be received by

[[Page 13978]]

DOE by 4:30 P.M., E.D.T., April 12, 1999. A response to the 
preapplications discussing the potential program relevance and 
generally encouraging or discouraging a formal application will be 
communicated to the applicant by April 19, 1999.
    The deadline for receipt of formal applications is 4:30 P.M., 
E.D.T., June 7, 1999, in order to be accepted for merit review and to 
permit timely consideration for award in Fiscal Year 2000.

ADDRESSES: Preapplications referencing Program Notice 99-16, should be 
sent by E-mail to [email protected]. Preapplications will also 
be accepted if mailed to the following address: Dr. Patrick Crowley, 
Office of Biological and Environmental Research, SC-74, U.S. Department 
of Energy, 19901 Germantown Road, Germantown, MD 20874-1290.
    Formal applications, referencing Program Notice 99-16, should be 
sent to: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Grants and 
Contracts Division, SC-64, 19901 Germantown Road, Germantown, MD 20874-
1290, ATTN: Program Notice 99-16. This address must be used when 
submitting applications by U.S. Postal Service Express Mail or any 
other commercial mail delivery service, or when hand-carried by the 
applicant.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Patrick Crowley, preferably by e-
mail [email protected], otherwise by telephone: (301) 903-3069, 
or at the Office of Biological and Environmental Research, SC-74, U.S. 
Department of Energy, 19901 Germantown Road, Germantown, MD 20874-1290. 
The full text of Program Notice 99-16 is available via the Internet 
using the following web site address: http://www.er.doe.gov/production/
grants/grants.html.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: New efforts should address one or more of 
the following within the context of ARM needs and data capabilities:
     Upper tropospheric water vapor concentration and 
transport.
     Use of ARM data to quantitatively test cloud and radiation 
parameterizations used in General Circulation Models (GCMs) and 
Tropical Western Pacific (NWP) Models.
     The statistics of cloud fields and their interaction with 
atmospheric radiation.
     Research using Single Column Models focussing on 
applications of data to improve the models and extrapolate the 
improvements to GCMs.
     New efforts to develop ice water path and cloud parameter 
retrievals with focus on ice content.
    One of the major scientific objectives of the Environmental 
Sciences Division 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 to gather data 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 and second of 
the TWP Atmospheric Radiation and Clouds Stations (ARCS) are operating 
on the island of Manus, Papua New Guinea and on Nauru respectively. 
Similar instrumentation is gathering data in the vicinity of Point 
Barrow, on the North Slope of Alaska and an island site near Atqasak 
will be instrumented to compliment the Point Barrow measurements.
    To ensure that the program meets the broadest needs of the research 
community and the specific needs of the DOE Environmental Sciences 
Division (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, DC, and two (2) trips of 3 days each to 
Chicago, IL.
    Successful applicants for renewal or enhancement of previously 
awarded grants, will demonstrate: (a) 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, particularly the 
design and development of CART facilities, as a result of previous 
funding. Renewal applications should include a special section covering 
items (b) and (c) entitled ``Accomplishments Under Previous Support.''
    Successful applicants for new grants will demonstrate the role of 
their research in the improvement of General Circulation Models 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 four 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; (c) experimental studies to 
obtain key laboratory data; or (d) the analysis of existing data, 
including field data and satellite data, to support model development 
or testing.
    The efforts proposed 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.

Program Funding

    It is anticipated that approximately $3,000,000 will be available 
for multiple awards for this activity in FY 2000, contingent upon 
availability of appropriated funds. Multiple year funding of awards is 
expected, also contingent upon availability of funds. The allocation of 
funds will depend on the number and quality of the applications 
received. It is anticipated that most of the funds will support 
renewals of existing research. Typical ESD awards are $200,000 per 
year, but range from $50,000 to $600,000.
    Collaborative applications are encouraged. Awards are anticipated 
to begin on or about November 1, 1999.
    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):


[[Page 13979]]


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 will include program policy factors such as the 
relevance of the proposed research to the terms of the announcement and 
an agency's programmatic needs. Note, 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.
    Applications for renewal of ongoing efforts must include an 
``Accomplishments under Previous Support'' section, which should not 
exceed ten (10) additional double-spaced pages. The technical portion 
of the application should not exceed twenty-five (25) doubled-spaced 
pages. An abstract of less than 200 words must be included with the 
application. Lengthy appendices are discouraged.
    Information about the development, submission of applications, 
eligibility, limitations, evaluation, 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 Science Financial Assistance 
Program. Electronic access to the Guide and required forms is made 
available via the World Wide Web at: http://www.er.doe.gov/production/
grants/grants.html. 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.
    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).
    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, D.C., on March 16, 1999.
John Rodney Clark,
Associate Director of Science for Resource Management.
[FR Doc. 99-7064 Filed 3-22-99; 8:45 am]
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