The Department of Energy’s BER is offering the Atmospheric System Research (ASR) Grant to Advance Earth System Understanding.

The goal of ASR is to quantify the interactions among aerosols, clouds, precipitation, and radiation to improve understanding of key cloud, aerosol, precipitation, and radiation processes that affect the Earth’s radiative balance and hydrological cycle, especially processes that limit the predictive ability of regional and global models. For the most part, ASR investments are based on measurements of radiation, aerosols, clouds, precipitation, thermodynamics, turbulence, and state variables from the ARM user facility. ARM’s continuous observational datasets are supplemented with process models, laboratory studies, and shorter-duration ground-based and airborne field campaigns to target specific atmospheric processes in different atmospheric and climatic regimes and across a range of spatial and temporal scales. ASR’s four priority research areas are focused on reducing the large uncertainties in Earth system prediction that can be traced to: aerosol processes, warm boundary-layer processes, convective processes, and high-latitude processes. Specific topics solicited in ASR funding opportunity announcements vary from year to year to take advantage of new ARM data, respond to ASR-relevant workshop reports, and maintain a balanced research portfolio. Not all ASR priority research areas will be solicited every year.

More information on ASR is available at: https://science.osti.gov/ber/Research/eessd/Atmospheric-System-Research-Program and background material on EESSD priorities is available in the 2018 EESSD Strategic Plan at https://science.osti.gov/-/media/ber/pdf/workshop-reports/2018_CESD_Strategic_Plan.pdf. Workshop reports relevant to topics in this FOA include:

·      ASR New Strategies for Addressing Anthropogenic-Biogenic Interactions of SOA in Climate Models Workshop Report (2015),

·      BER Climate and Environmental Sciences Division ACME – ARM – ASR Coordination Workshop Report (2015),

·      Atmospheric System Research Marine Low Clouds Workshop Report (2016),

·      Atmospheric System Research Treatment of Convection in Next-Generation Climate Models: Challenges and Opportunities Workshop Report (2016),

·      BER Absorbing Aerosols Workshop Report (2016),

·      Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) User Facility ARM Mobile Facility Workshop Report (2019),

·      NOAA-DOE Precipitation Processes and Predictability Workshop Report (2021), and

·      DOE-NOAA Marine Cloud Brightening Workshop Report (2022).

·      DOE ASR Program’s Workshop on the Future of Atmospheric Large Eddy Simulation (LES) report (2023)

The goals of ASR are closely aligned with the long-term cloud, aerosol, precipitation, and background meteorological measurements from ARM fixed sites and mobile facility deployments. As a DOE SC user facility[1], ARM provides the scientific research community with strategically located in situ and remote sensing observations that are necessary to improve the understanding and representation of relevant atmospheric processes in Earth system models. The ARM facility consists of three fixed observation sites; three mobile observatories; an aerial observation component; and infrastructure to collect, process, and deliver data to the research community.

[1] General information about the SC User Facilities may be found at https://science.osti.gov/User-Facilities. 

Non-domestic institutions may be proposed as team members in a multi-institutional team and may be proposed as subrecipients under another organization’s application.

Federally affiliated entities must adhere to the eligibility standards below:

III.A.1. DOE/NNSA National Laboratories

DOE/NNSA National Laboratories are neither eligible to submit applications under this FOA nor to be proposed as subrecipients under another organization’s application.

III.A.2. Non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs

Non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs are eligible to submit applications under this FOA and may be proposed as subrecipients under another organization’s application. If recommended for funding as a lead applicant, funding may be provided through an interagency agreement to the FFRDC’s sponsoring Federal Agency. If recommended for funding as a proposed subrecipient, the value of the proposed subaward may be removed from the prime applicant’s award and may be provided through an Inter-Agency Award to the FFRDC’s sponsoring Federal Agency. Additional instructions for securing authorization from the cognizant Contracting Officer are found in Section VIII of this FOA.

III.A.3. Other Federal Agencies

Other Federal Agencies are eligible to submit applications under this FOA but are not eligible to be proposed as subrecipients under another organization’s application. Instead, they must submit their own collaborative application as a team member in a multi-institutional team. If recommended for funding, either as the sole applicant or in a multi-institutional team, funding will be provided through an interagency agreement. Additional instructions for providing statutory authorization are found in Section VIII of this FOA.

The goal of ASR is to quantify the interactions among aerosols, clouds, precipitation, and radiation to improve understanding of key cloud, aerosol, precipitation, and radiation processes that affect the Earth’s radiative balance and hydrological cycle, especially processes that limit the predictive ability of regional and global models. For the most part, ASR investments are based on measurements of radiation, aerosols, clouds, precipitation, thermodynamics, turbulence, and state variables from the ARM user facility. ARM’s continuous observational datasets are supplemented with process models, laboratory studies, and shorter-duration ground-based and airborne field campaigns to target specific atmospheric processes in different atmospheric and climatic regimes and across a range of spatial and temporal scales. ASR’s four priority research areas are focused on reducing the large uncertainties in Earth system prediction that can be traced to: aerosol processes, warm boundary-layer processes, convective processes, and high-latitude processes. Specific topics solicited in ASR funding opportunity announcements vary from year to year to take advantage of new ARM data, respond to ASR-relevant workshop reports, and maintain a balanced research portfolio. Not all ASR priority research areas will be solicited every year.

More information on ASR is available at: https://science.osti.gov/ber/Research/eessd/Atmospheric-System-Research-Program and background material on EESSD priorities is available in the 2018 EESSD Strategic Plan at https://science.osti.gov/-/media/ber/pdf/workshop-reports/2018_CESD_Strategic_Plan.pdf. Workshop reports relevant to topics in this FOA include:

·      ASR New Strategies for Addressing Anthropogenic-Biogenic Interactions of SOA in Climate Models Workshop Report (2015),

·      BER Climate and Environmental Sciences Division ACME – ARM – ASR Coordination Workshop Report (2015),

·      Atmospheric System Research Marine Low Clouds Workshop Report (2016),

·      Atmospheric System Research Treatment of Convection in Next-Generation Climate Models: Challenges and Opportunities Workshop Report (2016),

·      BER Absorbing Aerosols Workshop Report (2016),

·      Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) User Facility ARM Mobile Facility Workshop Report (2019),

·      NOAA-DOE Precipitation Processes and Predictability Workshop Report (2021), and

·      DOE-NOAA Marine Cloud Brightening Workshop Report (2022).

·      DOE ASR Program’s Workshop on the Future of Atmospheric Large Eddy Simulation (LES) report (2023)

The goals of ASR are closely aligned with the long-term cloud, aerosol, precipitation, and background meteorological measurements from ARM fixed sites and mobile facility deployments. As a DOE SC user facility[1], ARM provides the scientific research community with strategically located in situ and remote sensing observations that are necessary to improve the understanding and representation of relevant atmospheric processes in Earth system models. The ARM facility consists of three fixed observation sites; three mobile observatories; an aerial observation component; and infrastructure to collect, process, and deliver data to the research community.

[1] General information about the SC User Facilities may be found at https://science.osti.gov/User-Facilities.