Federal Register: August 27, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 165)
DOCID: fr27au09-37 FR Doc E9-20740
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Docket ID: [Docket No. 0908101223-91223-01; I.D. GF001]
NOTICE: NOTICES
DOCID: fr27au09-37
DOCUMENT ACTION: Notice of funding availability.
SUBJECT CATEGORY:
Applications for the FY 2010 Ocean Exploration (OE) Program
DATES: Completed pre-proposals are required for all categories and must be received by 5 p.m. (EDT) on October 8, 2009. Full proposal submissions must be received by 5 p.m. (EDT) on December 7, 2009. A complete preproposal is a prerequisite for submission of a full proposal. Applications received after the above deadlines will not be considered.
DOCUMENT SUMMARY:
OER is seeking pre-proposals and full proposals to support its mission, consistent with NOAA's Strategic Plan to search, investigate, and document poorlyknown and unknown areas of the ocean and Great Lakes through interdisciplinary exploration, and to advance and disseminate knowledge of the ocean environment and its physical, chemical, and biological resources.
Competitive OE proposals will be bold, innovative and interdisciplinary in their approach. OER anticipates a total of approximately $3,000,000 including costs for ship and submersible assets will be available through this announcement. Only exploratory proposals will be funded; any other types of projects will not be reviewed. The office priorities for this opportunity support NOAA's mission support goal of: EcosystemsProtect, Restore, and Manage Use of Coastal and Ocean Resources through EcosystemBased Management.
SUMMARY:
Funding Availability:
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
Ocean exploration was defined by the 2000
President's Panel on Ocean Exploration, as ``discovery through
disciplined diverse observations and the recording of the finding.''
NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration and Research seeks to catalyze ocean discovery and understanding at our ocean and Great
[[Page 43672]]
Lakes frontiers through bold and innovative explorations. These
explorations should revolutionize our knowledge baselines by exploring,
characterizing and mapping, at new and/or higher scales, the oceans
living and nonliving resources and its physical, chemical and
biological characteristics. Data and observations resulting from OE
expeditions will result in new discoveries, new insight, new knowledge
and new frontiers and will likely lead to the revision of existing
paradigms or the formulation of new paradigms in the oceans poorly
known and unknown regions. The purpose of this announcement is to
invite the submission of preproposals and full proposals that address ocean exploration and advanced technology development.
Through discovery and the systematic exploration of unknown ocean areas and phenomena, OER serves to ensure NOAA can meet its goal to, ``Protect, Restore, and Manage the Use of Coastal and Ocean Resources Through an Ecosystem Approach to Management'' (New Priorities for the 21st Century, NOAA's Strategic Vision). The results of OER activities are cornerstones upon which ecosystems will be discovered, defined and understood thus enabling them to be protected, restored, and managed. The interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary nature of OER activities also serves NOAA's current strategic plan (New Priorities for the 21st CenturyNOAA's Strategic Plan) goal to ``Understand Climate Variability and Change to Enhance Society's Ability to Plan and Respond.'' The discovery and characterization of new ocean phenomena and dynamic processes provide essential information for understanding oceanatmosphere connections and their influence on climate. The discovery of new habitats and species also provides essential information for understanding the effects of a changing climate on the marine resources upon which we depend.
The need for interdisciplinary ocean exploration is echoed as a priority in NOAA's 20year research vision, Understanding Global Ecosystems to Support Informed DecisionMaking, because they provide a foundation for understanding complex relationships between ocean and terrestrial ecosystems. This need is also elaborated in NOAA's current 5year research plan, Research in NOAA: Toward Understanding and Predicting Earth's Environment, and both the vision and the plan acknowledge the need for new ocean technologies, including new sensors and platforms as well as enhanced information and telecommunications technologies. OERS core activities also directly address the Ocean Research Priorities Plan and Implementation Strategy challenge of ``Expanding the Scientific Frontier: The Need for Fundamental Science,'' which states, ``It is essential that the nation cultivate and investigate new ideas about the ocean and new approaches for exploring the marine environment that may challenge existing interpretations. In doing so, society should recognize and even encourage risktaking in supporting the most exciting and promising ideas for making progress in understanding the ocean.''
Charting The Course For Ocean Science, NSTC Joint Subcommittee On Ocean Science And Technology, Jan. 26, 2007, p. 6.
OER provides a foundation for all six themes in the Ocean Research Priorities Plan through its exploration and discovery mission. Further, as envisioned in the Report of the President's Panel on Ocean Exploration, Discovering the Earth's Final Frontier: A U.S. Strategy for Ocean Exploration, OER also engages in partnerships with other agencies and programs, e.g., the National Science Foundation, the Department of Interior Minerals Management Service, the Office of Naval Research, the Census of Marine Life, and the National Oceanographic Partnership Program, to leverage its pursuit and achievement of NOAA goals. In furtherance of the program objectives stated above, OER encourages proposals that explore the unknown or poorly known, test new ideas, utilize new approaches, and develop new technologies in ocean exploration. Because interdisciplinary expeditions are a keystone of NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, scientists are strongly encouraged to collaborate by submitting a single proposal for a multidisciplinary expedition.
Collaborations that include international representation are also
encouraged. Only exploratory proposals will be funded; any other types of projects will not be reviewed.
Electronic Access:
The full text of the full Federal Funding Opportunity announcement (FFO) for this program can be accessed via the Grants.gov Web site at http://www.grants.gov. The announcement will also be available by contacting the program officials identified under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Applicants must comply with all requirements contained in the full Federal Funding Opportunity announcement.
Statutory Authority: 33 U.S.C. 3403(a)(4).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
For further information contact the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research at (301)7341015 or submit inquiries via email to the Frequently Asked Questions address: OAR.OE.FAQ@noaa.gov. Email inquiries should include the Principal Investigator's name in the subject heading. Inquiries can be mailed to: