Request for Targeted Proposals
Russian-American Long-term Census of the Arctic (RUSALCA)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Cooperative Institute for Arctic Research (CIFAR)
The announcement of opportunity can be found on the CIFAR website at:
http://www.cifar.uaf.edu/
Proposal Deadline: 5:00 p.m. Alaska time on Thursday, 31 August 2006
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), through its
Cooperative Institute for Arctic Research (CIFAR), requests proposals
for participation in the Russian-American Long-term Census of the Arctic
(RUSALCA) research program in the Bering and Chukchi Seas that is
limited to proposals in two areas: 1) Studies of primary productivity
and related hydrographic measurements including dissolved oxygen,
pigments, and nutrients; and 2) modeling proposals for the RUSALCA study
area utilizing RUSALCA data and providing products that can be used in
diagnostic studies and in the design of sampling strategies. Proposals
are requested for work to begin in 2007 or 2008 for a period of up to
five years.
The RUSALCA program began in summer 2004 with a multidisciplinary cruise
examining ocean dynamics, nutrients, and ecosystems in this region and
operates under the auspices of two Memoranda of Understanding between
NOAA and, respectively, the Russian Academy of Sciences and Roshydromet.
The RUSALCA objectives are to support NOAA's Climate Observation and
Analysis Program and a Russian interagency Federal Target Program "World
Ocean." The RUSALCA program is focused on gathering long-term
observations towards understanding the causes and consequences of the
reduction in sea ice cover in the northern Bering Sea and the Chukchi
Sea in the Arctic Ocean. For 2007 and beyond, NOAA and CIFAR intend to
continue the RUSALCA Program with an annual cruise focused on physics in
the Bering Strait region. It is anticipated that a multi-disciplinary
and geographically more extensive cruise will be sponsored every 2 to 4
years in the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas depending on resources.
This solicitation is limited to proposals in two targeted areas:
- Proposals to Provide Temporal Extension to Measurements of Primary
Productivity and Related Hydrographic Indicators of Ecosystem Status
Measurements of dissolved nutrients, oxygen, and plankton pigments are
fundamental to ecosystem assessment and can lend unique insights into
physical circulation. Proposals are sought that will provide high
quality measurements needed by other funded RUSALCA projects addressing
carbon cycling and ecosystem functioning. In addition, primary
productivity measurements taken during RUSALCA cruises are sought that
when coupled with satellite remote sensing data can provide valuable
input to ecosystem modeling efforts.
- Proposals to Develop a Model-based Analysis and Synthesis Capability
NOAA desires to support an atmosphere-ice-ocean modeling effort focused
on the Northern Bering and Chukchi Seas. The model(s) should be of high
resolution to capture key processes in this region in ways that will
further understanding of the causes and consequences of the reduction of
sea ice in the region. In addition, the model must be amenable to uses
in the design of optimum sampling strategies for continued monitoring in
the RUSALCA region. The ocean component of the model should allow for
inclusion of biological processes.
The complete announcement of opportunity, including more detailed
instructions for proposal submission, is available at the CIFAR website:
http://www.cifar.uaf.edu