[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 9 (Monday, January 14, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1719-1720]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-898]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Docket No. 000616180-2002-04]
RIN 0648-ZA91


NOAA Climate and Global Change Program, Program Announcement; 
Global Carbon Cycle Element, FY 2002

AGENCY: Office of Global Programs (OGP), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of request for applications.

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SUMMARY: This notice serves the following purpose: To announce an 
opportunity for FY 2002 funding for the Global Carbon Cycle program 
area. Details of program emphases and topic areas can be found below in 
supplementary information, and in the GCC program information sheet at: 
http://www.ogp.noaa.gov/mpe/gcc/index/html.
    Potential applicants should look at the specific wording of the 
initial Federal Register notice (cited below in SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION).

DATES: Letters of intent must be received at the Office of Global 
Programs (OGP) no later than February 15, 2002. Applicants who have not 
received a response to their letter of intent within two weeks should 
contact the Program Manager. Full proposals must be received at OGP no 
later than March 29, 2002, except for repeat hydrography proposals to 
be jointly considered with the National Science Foundation (NSF), which 
must be received no later than March 5, 2002, as noted below under 
supplementary information. We anticipate that review of full proposals 
will occur during April and May 2002. September 1, 2002, should be used 
as the proposed start date on proposals.

ADDRESSES: Applications should be sent to: Office of Global Programs, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1100 Wayne Avenue, 
Suite 1210, Silver Spring, MD 20910-5603.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Irma duPree at the above address, 
phone: (301) 427-2089 ext. 107, e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The notice describing the Program and 
funding area descriptions for FY 2002 was published on May 16, 2001 (66 
FR 27070-75) in a notice entitled NOAA Climate and Global Change 
Program. The program description, background and requirements, as well 
as guidelines for applications are included in that notice and are not 
repeated here.
    Global Carbon Cycle (GCC): The U.S. Interagency Carbon Cycle 
Science Program (CCSP) seeks to answer two overarching questions: (1) 
How large and variable are the dynamic reservoirs and fluxes of carbon 
within the Earth system, and how might carbon cycling change and be 
changed in future years, decades and centuries?, and (2) What are our 
options for managing carbon sources and sinks to achieve an appropriate 
balance of risk, costs, and benefits to society? For more detailed 
information on interagency priorities, science planning and agency 
roles, please consult the Internet at: http://www.carboncyclescience.gov.
    NOAA's participation in the CCSP focuses on three main goals: (1) 
Quantifying spatial patterns and variability of carbon sources and 
sinks at global to regional scales; (2) Documenting the fate of 
anthropogenic CO2 in the atmosphere and oceans; and (3) 
Improving future climate predictions by incorporating a dynamic 
understanding of the carbon cycle into models. To achieve these goals, 
the GCC program focuses on oceanic and atmospheric observations, 
process-oriented field studies and modeling. Information and current 
project abstracts can be found on the Internet at: http://www.ogp.noaa.gov/mpe/gcc/index/html
    For FY 2002, GCC is soliciting projects in support of these goals 
in the following topic areas: (A) Global Distribution and Dynamics of 
Carbon Sources and Sinks; (B) Carbon budgets over North America and 
adjacent ocean basins; and (C) Synthesis, Modeling and Interpretative 
studies.
    Global Distribution and Dynamics of Carbon Sources and Sinks: A 
variety of atmospheric, oceanic and terrestrial data has shown that the 
ocean and the terrestrial biosphere currently take up and store a 
significant portion of the carbon released to the atmosphere as a 
result of human activities. Preliminary progress has been made on 
locating sources and sinks of carbon on a regional basis and 
characterizing their magnitude and behavior over time. The results 
obtained thus far are at the limit of detection, however, and cannot be 
extended to many regions of the world due to lack of data.
    In FY2002, GCC is seeking to augment the observational network in 
the ocean and atmosphere to fill in critical spatial and temporal gaps, 
as well as supporting research in network design, parameterization 
improvement, and data management.
    Carbon Budgets over North America and Adjacent Ocean Basins: One 
region of uncertainty in the global carbon cycle budget is North 
America and the adjacent ocean basins. Recent studies indicate that the 
region may be currently taking up carbon at a significant level, 
however data and models needed to monitor budgets at the required 
spatial and temporal resolution are insufficient. Research advances now 
offer the opportunity to resolve the regional pattern of and mechanisms 
responsible for carbon dioxide uptake. In FY 2002, GCC is seeking to 
participate in a coordinated, interagency effort to conduct pilot 
observations, data assimilation, and network design in North America, 
and the North Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
    Synthesis, Modeling and Interpretive Studies: In FY 2002, GCC is 
seeking

[[Page 1720]]

studies using empirical data and synthesized datasets, existing models, 
data assimilation techniques, and theory to advance the ability to 
quantify spatial patterns and variability of carbon sources and sinks 
at global to regional scales; document the fate of anthropogenic 
CO2 in the atmosphere and oceans; and/or improve future 
climate predictions by incorporating a dynamic understanding of the 
carbon cycle into models.
    For detailed information on the types of projects encouraged, 
please consult the GCC information sheet, posted on the Internet at: 
http://www.ogp.noaa.gov/mpe/gcc/index.htm. Contingent on available 
funding, projects awarded under this program announcement will be 
jointly supported by NOAA's Climate and Global Change and Climate 
Observations and Services Programs.
    Contingent on available funding, this announcement serves as notice 
that NOAA and NSF will jointly consider proposals in FY 2002 to conduct 
a repeat hydrographic survey in support of the U.S. Carbon Cycle 
Science and CLIVAR Programs. Proposals for that topic should be 
submitted to NSF under Program Announcement NSF 02-016 via fastlane no 
later than March 5, 2002. Three paper copies should also be sent to 
NOAA/OGP by the same date.
    For further technical information contact: Lisa Dilling at the 
above address, phone: (301) 427-2089 ext. 106, e-mail: 
[email protected], or Krisa Arzayus, (301) 427-2089 ext. 183 e-mail: 
[email protected] or see the web at: http://www.lgp.noaa.gov/mpe/gcc/index/html.
    Other Requirements: The Department of Commerce Pre-Award 
Notification Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreement 
contained in the Federal Register notice of October 1, 2001 (66 FR 
49917) are applicable to this solicitation.
    Classification: It has been determined that this notice is not 
significant for purposes of E.O. 12866.
    It has been determined that this notice does not contain policies 
with Federalism implications as that term is defined in E.O. 13132.
    Because notice and comment are not required under 5 U.S.C. 553, or 
any other law, for notices relating to public property, loans, grants, 
benefits or contracts, a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, 5 U.S.C. 601 
et seq., is not required and has not been prepared for this notice.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required 
to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure 
to comply with, a collection of information subject to the Paperwork 
Reduction Act, unless that collection displays a currently valid Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. This notice involves 
collection-of-information requirements subject to the Paperwork 
Reduction Act. The use of Standard Forms 424, 424A, and SF-LLL have 
been approved by OMB under the respective control numbers 0348-0043, 
0348-0044, and 0348-0046.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 44720; 33 U.S.C. 883d, 15 U.S.C. 2904; 15 
U.S.C. 2931 et seq.

David L. Evans,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 02-898 Filed 1-11-02; 8:45 am]
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