(CLOSED) Atmospheric System Research (ASR) (DE-FOA-0003194)

The Limited Submissions Program has confirmed that the limit on applications does not apply to the pre-application phase. As such, we will not need to hold a downselect at this stage. If you are submitting a pre-application please submit your contact information and descriptive title of your proposed activity so that we can follow up after the DOE pre-application response date to ensure that PSU does not exceed the full application limit.

The DOE SC program in Biological and Environmental Research (BER) hereby announces its interest in receiving applications for Atmospheric System Research (ASR) within BER’s Earth and Environmental Systems Sciences Division (EESSD). ASR supports research on key cloud, aerosol, precipitation, and radiative transfer processes that affect the Earth’s radiative balance and hydrological cycle, especially processes that limit the predictive ability of regional and global models. This FOA solicits research grant applications for observational, data analysis, and/or modeling studies that use observations supported by BER, including the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility, to improve understanding and model representation of: 1) Aerosol processes at ARM sites; 2) Convective cloud processes; 3) Aerosol and cloud processes from ARM’s Eastern Pacific Cloud Aerosol Precipitation Experiment (EPCAPE); and 4) Mixed-phase cloud and ice cloud processes. All research supported by awards under this FOA is intended to benefit the public through increasing our understanding of the Earth system.

Topics

Requests for research support under this FOA must address one of the following research topics. PIs should clearly indicate to which topic or topics they are responding. See the full FOA for sub-topic and other details.

1. Aerosol processes at ARM sites: Conduct observational, data analysis, and/or modeling studies using ARM observations to improve understanding of atmospheric aerosol processes that affect the Earth’s energy balance and water cycle. Data from one or more current, upcoming, or past ARM fixed observatories, ARM mobile facility deployments, and/or related ARM-supported field campaigns must be integral to the proposed research. Other data, including PI laboratory data, may be used to augment ARM observations, however data from an ARM site should be primary.

2. Convective cloud processes: Conduct observational, data analysis, and/or modeling studies using ARM observations to improve understanding of convective processes controlling the occurrence, frequency, lifecycle, precipitation, and microphysical and macrophysical properties of convective clouds. Data from one or more current, upcoming, or past ARM fixed sites, ARM mobile facility deployments, and/or related ARM-supported field campaigns must be integral to the proposed research. Other data, including PI laboratory data or data from coordinating campaigns, may be used to augment ARM observations, however ARM data should be primary. Two recent ARM field campaigns that have focused on observations of convective cloud processes are Cloud, Aerosol, and Complex Terrain Interactions (CACTI) and Tracking Aerosol Convection Interactions Experiment (TRACER).

3. Aerosol and cloud processes from ARM’s Eastern Pacific Cloud Aerosol Precipitation Experiment (EPCAPE): Conduct observational, data analysis, and/or modeling studies using observations from ARM’s EPCAPE field campaign to improve understanding of climate-relevant cloud, aerosol, precipitation, and radiation processes and interactions. The EPCAPE campaign (15 February 2023 – 15 February 2024) is being conducted in La Jolla, CA. The focus of EPCAPE is to characterize the extent, radiative properties, aerosol interactions, and precipitation characteristics of stratocumulus clouds in the Eastern Pacific across all four seasons at a coastal location. Data from EPCAPE and/or related ARM-supported campaigns must be integral to the proposed research.

4. Mixed-phase cloud and ice cloud processes: Conduct observational, data analysis, and/or modeling studies using ARM observations to improve understanding of processes controlling the occurrence, frequency, lifecycle, precipitation, and microphysical and macrophysical properties of clouds containing ice crystals, supercooled liquid droplets, and/or both ice crystals and supercooled liquid droplets. Data from one or more current, upcoming, or past ARM fixed sites, ARM mobile facility deployments, and/or related ARM-supported field campaigns must be integral to the proposed research. Other data, including PI laboratory data or data from coordinating campaigns, may be used to augment ARM observations, however ARM data should be primary.

Required use of ARM-supported Observations
ASR supports research that uses observations to improve understanding of atmospheric processes. Proposed research in response to this FOA must use ARM-supported observations and those observations must be integral to the proposal research. Applicants must clearly address which ARM-supported observations will be used in the proposed research and how they are integral to the proposed research objectives in both the pre-application and the application. ARM has a very long and rich data record. Researchers are encouraged to consider using ARM observations from older sites and/or field campaigns, as well as from recent and ongoing campaigns, that are relevant to the solicited research topics. Researchers are also welcome to use DOE BER-sponsored observations from other BER programs and facilities, such as the Environmental Molecular Science Laboratory (EMSL) or BER-supported AmeriFlux sites. Use of additional observational data from other sources (e.g., NASA or NOAA satellite observations or field campaigns sponsored by other agencies) is encouraged only to the extent that the observations complement the DOE data and that they are used to address ASR science objectives.