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Please see the full solicitation for complete information about the funding opportunity. Below is a summary assembled by the Research & Innovation Office (RIO).  

Program Summary

DOE’s Atmospheric System Research program 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.

Projects must address one of the following research topics. PIs should clearly indicate to which topic or topics they are responding.

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. Some sub-topics of interest include:  

• the formation and growth of new atmospheric particles;  
• effects of aerosol composition, mixing state, and physical properties on growth, aging, and removal processes;  
• processes that drive the life cycle (formation, growth, transformations, and loss) of secondary organic aerosols;  
• processes and characteristics that influence the cloud nucleating properties of aerosol particles; and  
• processes and properties that drive aerosol direct and indirect radiative effects.

Note that applications focused on ice nucleation may be more responsive to FOA topic 4 on mixed-phase cloud and ice cloud processes.

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 and Some sub-topics of interest include:  

• interactions between dynamical processes and microphysics (such as condensate, precipitation, and/or aerosols);
• process affecting, and impacts of, vertical transport within convective systems;  
• processes enabling initiation and organization of convective systems;  
• processes controlling precipitation formation and intensity;  
• how soil moisture, surface fluxes, and aerosol properties are altered by deep convective precipitation events; and
• the influences of land/sea breezes and/or the urban heat island on the above phenomena.

Note that applications focused primarily on processes occurring in the atmospheric boundary layer are unlikely to be responsive to this topic.

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 must be integral to the proposed research. Some sub-topics of interest include:  

• warm boundary-layer cloud microphysical, precipitation, and radiative transfer processes;  
• the influence of aerosol particles on cloud microphysics, dynamics, thermodynamics, radiative properties, macrophysics, and/or precipitation; and  
• the influence of clouds or precipitation on aerosol chemical properties and microphysical properties through aqueous-phase chemistry, vertical transport, and/or wet removal;  

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. Some sub-topics of interest include:  

• processes controlling mixed-phase cloud formation, maintenance, lifetime, precipitation, and radiative effects;
• environmental processes and aerosol properties controlling the partitioning between liquid and ice in mixed-phase clouds;
• environmental processes controlling the maintenance of supercooled liquid water clouds; transition from supercooled liquid water to mixed-phase, and formation of ice precipitation from supercooled liquid water clouds;
• aerosol-cloud interactions in mixed-phase clouds;
• ice nucleation processes;
• secondary ice production processes; and
• factors controlling ice crystal size distributions and precipitation production.

Reference the full DOE solicitation for complete details.

Deadlines

Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Internal Deadline: 11:59pm MST November 9, 2023

DOE Pre-Application Deadline: 3:00pm MST November 30, 2023  

DOE Application Deadline: 9:59pm MST February 13, 2024

Internal Application Requirements (all in PDF format)

• Project Narrative (4 pages maximum): Include: 1) Topic(s) to which the project responds to; 2) Background/Introduction: Explanation of the importance and relevance of the proposed work as well as a review of the relevant literature; 3) Project Objectives: This section should provide a clear, concise statement of the specific objectives/aims of the proposed project; 4) Proposed Research and Methods: Identify the hypotheses to be tested (if any) and details of the methods to be used including the integration of experiments with theoretical and computational research efforts; and 5) Timetable of Activities: Timeline for all major activities including milestones and deliverables.
• Lead PI Curriculum Vitae
• Budget Overview (1 page maximum): A basic budget outlining project costs is sufficient; detailed OCG budgets are not required.

To access the online application, visit:

Eligibility

PIs are not required to be in tenure-track appointments. The PI on a pre-application or application may be listed as a senior or key personnel on no more than one other submission.

Limited Submission Guidelines

Applicant institutions are limited to no more than three applications as the lead institution.  There is no limitation to the number of applications on which an institution appears as a subrecipient.

Award Information

Ceiling: $945,000 total for 3-year projects; $630,000 total for 2-year projects

Floor: $200,000 total for 2-year or 3-year projects.

Anticipated Number of Awards: 15-20