Strategic Guidance for the National Science Foundation's Support of the Atmospheric Sciences An Interim Report (2005) / Chapter Skim
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3 Modes of Support and Issues of Balance
3 Modes of Support and Issues of Balance
Pages 39-68
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From page 39... ...
, small centers, large national centers, cooperative agreements to support facilities at universities and other locations, NSF-wide initiatives, interagency programs, and field programs—is described and some preliminary analysis of their strengths and limitations are offered. The committee intends to provide a more detailed evaluation of the modes in its final report, in which the questions of which modes are best suited for meeting NSF's Division of Atmosphenc Sciences' (ATM's)
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Over the past 10 years, 570 graduate students, on average, have been supported by ATM research grants each year, constituting a large percentage of graduate students in atmospheric science departments The funding is
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SBIR and STTR grants, which receive about 2.7 percent of the NSF's extramural research budget, have funded the development and demonstration of a number of innovative instruments currentRy used in atmospheric research. An increasing fraction of NSF grants are for multiple PIs collaborating on a larger-scale project (see Figure 3-2)
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The Geospace Environment Modeling (GEM) program supports basic research into the dynamical and structural properties of the magnetosphere.
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MODESOFSUPPORTA2VDISSUESOFBAL~VCE A B 43 100 90 80 Eli 7o ,:, 60 so 40 30 20 10 o 9OI 1 60 `,, 70 v 60 ~ so c 40 9 30 20 in ,` FIGURE 3-2 Percent of grants (top panel) and folding (bottom panel)
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For example, grants to individual and multiple PIs have enabled the development of theory, analysis of observation and model results, process studies, provision of data to a broad suite of users, and development and acquisition of instruments by universities. Second, it has provided multiple options and flexibility in the ways ATM supports PIs, including unsolicited proposals, solicitation for new money that came in via various NSF-wide initiatives, ATM-inihated solicitations, and solicitations for field programs.
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One option to be more effective is to pool some of the funding for exploratory research from all ATM programs and run an internal competition to which program directors can submit promising, highnsk ideas for consideration.
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Box 3-2 lists atmospheric science centers established over the past 15 years along with the science problems they are addressing. Because these centers are supported primarily by other parts of NSF, they provide an opportunity to expand the overall NSF level of support for atmospheric sciences.
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CISM consists of research groups at eight universities and several government and private nonprofit research organizations and commercial fimms. The centers mandate is to construct a comprehensive physics-based numerical simulation model that describes the space environment from the Sun to the Earth, thus enabling reliable prediction of space weather events at least two days in advance Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA)
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The specific objectives for NCAR were laid out in the 1959 "Blue Book" authored by the University Committee on Atmospheric Research ("UCAR"; see Box 3-3)
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EN u F \t 1'1'(11~1 1N'1~ 1\ \t EN OF E 1/ I N E BOX 3-3 Four Compellhlg Reasons for Establishing a National institute for Atmospheric Research identified h1 the "Blue Boor ("UCAR,' 1959)
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, MM5, Weather Research and Forecast [WRF Model) Expensive large facility acquisition, maintenance and support (e.g., aircraft computers, Mauna Loa Solar Observatory iMLSO;)
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The instruments at MLSO include: · Advanced Coronal Observing System, which consists of three instruments that monitor the flow of plasma and energy from the Sun's chromosphere through its corona and into interplanetary space · Precision Solar Photometric Telescope, which measures brightness on the solar disc · Coordinated Helioseismic Obsenvations (ECHO) , in coordination with a second telescope operated by the Astronomical institute of the Canaries at Tenerife, obsenves pulsations in the photosphere and low chromosphere, to monitor the Sun's energy budget in several important wavelength ranges Advanced Stokes Polarimeter at the Dunn Solar Telescope at National Solar Observatory's Sacramento Peak site collects precise polarization measurements to infer the three-dimensional magnetic field and themmodynamic structure of the solar photosphere Fabry-Perot interferometer at the Early Polar Cap Observatory at Resolute Bay measures wind speeds in the mesosphere, and will be used to support the Advanced Modular incoherent Scatter Radar (AMISR)
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In the initial conception, NCAR was to be involved in only basic research in "recognition that there is a need in atmospheric research for work to progress on a broader basis than that which is possible under the constraints imposed on applied research and development responsive to operational requirements" ("UCAR," 1959, p, 21)
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BOX J 5 UCAR Activities Besides NCAR The UCAR Ottice of Programs, whose portfolio includes Unidata, whose function is =providing data, tools, and community leadership for enhanced earth-system education and research" The Joint Office for Science Support (J055) , which arranges logistics for international conferences and complex field programs, helps conduct the field program, and archives the field catalog and data (note that on October 1, 2005, part of JOSS will move f ram UCAR to NCAR The Cooperative Meteorological Education and Training (COMET)
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atmospheric research and operations have benefited greatly from the existence and productivity of NCAR. Yet scientific collaborations among widely dispersed Investigators with different sets of priorities at other organizations are difficult to implement.
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NCAR, the university, and the pnvatesector research communities have become so large and complex that new ways to stimulate NCAR partnerships with the university and pnvate-sector research community may be necessary. In particular, new mteractlons could be instrumental m developing an agenda for the center that meets the needs and interests of both the large, and highly competent, in-house scientific staff and the broader atmospheric research community.
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. These facilities provide scientists with instrumentation necessary to conduct cutting-edge science, are frequently utilized in field programs, and serve to meet educational objectives.
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is a modular, mobile radar facility for studying the upper atmosphere and observing space weather events SRI Intennational is leading the development md construction of AMISR along with several of her partners
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NSF has collaborated with other agencies to develop observing facilities, as it is currently doing in the case of COSMIC, and to deploy observing facilities for large field programs, such as the Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX) campaign.
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These include space-based observational platforms, long-term monitonug efforts, and data archiving. Pooling resources supported by multiple agencies is an important component of many field programs.
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Interagency coordination is a longstanding challenge for federally funded research in the atmospheric sciences, as recognized in many previous reports (e.g., NRC, 1997b, 199S, 2003) , and requires the commitment of other agencies along with NSF.
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providing leadership on prediction of climate variability on seasonal-tointerannual timescales, (c) characterizing the impact of long-temm climate change on climate variability, and (d)
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Recomrnendahon: ATM should be even more proactive in developing clear mechanisms for interagency collaborations. iFIELD PROGRAMS Taking observations of the atmosphere in organized field programs to study specific processes contmues to be integral to atmospheric research.
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. As the atmospheric sciences have become more complex, conducting field programs has presented new challenges for ATM in determining how to support these efforts, including: 1.
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However, many problems related to weather and climate for example, the mteraction between the atmosphere and Earth's surface in the context of heat, moisture, or biogeochemical cycles require sustained, specially designed, and focused measurements for a complete anneal cycle or even several years. There are examples where ATM supported longerterm measurement goals by supporting field programs on an episodic basis (e.g., First ISLSCP [Intemational Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project]
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Finding: A locgsracding challenge m the atmospheric sciences is providing sufficient support for scientists to amalyze data obtamed during field programs and from observational networks. Because analysis comes at the end of a field
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The current balance among the modes is serving the community well, but may need to shift in coming years to respond to a changing research enviromment. For example, domestic budget constraints at NSF amd other federal agencies that support atmospheric research, increasing sophistication and investments in the international research community, and changing societal expectations of research may make it necessary to rely more on some modes of support or to introduce new modes to the ATM portfolio.
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A clear strategic vision would help guide choices among different pnonties and help facilitate interdisciplinary, interagency, and international collaborations. Likewise, a strategic plan would help schedule multiyear commitments of facilities, especially to ensure an approach to field programs that would balance many competing demands.
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Yet, ATM has not developed its own strategic plan Given the changing programmatic environment, ATM should take a more proactive approach to strategic planning. A flexible strategic plan developed with ample community input will enable determination of the appropriate balance of activities and modes of support m the ATM portfolio; help plan for large or long-temm invesmmenrs; facilitate appropriate allocation of resources to interdiscipbna y, inrenagency, and inremarionrl research efforts; and ensure that the United States will contmue to be a leader m atmospheric research.
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