Submitting Proposals
UPDATE: Due to the number and scope of requests for ACRF resources, all field campaign funds for supporting guest instrumentation and activities at the ACRF sites for FY 2009 are now committed. However, the ACRF will still attempt to accommodate new proposals for guest instrumentation at the expense of the principal investigator or proposals where the need for ACRF resources is minimal. UPDATE: The FY 2011 proposal cycle for use of the mobile facilities and ARM Aerial Facility is now closed. Preproposals for smaller, less complex field campaigns using the ACRF fixed sites can be submitted any time. |
Proposals for conducting field campaigns and scientific research using the ARM Climate Research Facilities at the Southern Great Plains, North Slope of Alaska, Tropical Western Pacific, ARM Mobile Facility (AMF), and/or ARM Aerial Facility (AAF) are welcome from all members of the scientific community. The ACRF is an ideal platform on which to test or validate new instruments; to augment routine data acquisitions; for a short-duration period of data acquisition; or longer, more permanent type of data acquisition. Users wishing to initiate a request should submit a Field Campaign Preproposal Form.
Guidelines
AMF – Requests for use of the AMF should include a deployment time of 6-10 months. Preference will be given to AMF deployments in which the AMF is embedded in a large field campaign. The ACRF may consider proposals for the AMF to participate in a major international field campaign in the year 2012, if the principal investigators can demonstrate the need for substantial preparation time (more than 18 months). In such cases, the principal investigators also must demonstrate that funding is being made available to support the associated research effort of participating international institutions. A new mobile facility (AMF2), designed for use in marine environments, is under development and is expected to be operational by the end of 2010. The ACRF also is accepting preproposals for use of this facility after the conclusion of the Storm Peak Lab Cloud Property Validation Experiment in February 2011.
AAF – The AAF is entertaining proposals for intensive or routine flying above ACRF fixed sites or mobile facilities, as well as proposals for maturation/hardening of instruments. To account for these instrument efforts, AAF flight proposals for FY2011 will need to be smaller in scope than previous campaigns. To learn more, see the AAF proposals page. Requested aircraft can include the DOE AAF leased Cessna 206, the DOE supported G-1, or aerial platforms operated outside the DOE.
Data – As a general condition for use of the ACRF facilities, users are required to include their data in the ARM Climate Research Facility Archive. The data policy for the ACRF is derived from the policies of the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which encourages "free and open" access to data and research results from government-sponsored research.
Exceptions to these guidelines must be approved by the DOE Program Director.
Schedule
Field campaign requests for any of the fixed ACRF sites will be considered at any time. For field campaigns that are larger and more complex (such as those involving an AMF, AAF, or multiple funding organizations), request for preproposals are published in journals in the fall of each year. Preproposals are due February 1 for these campaigns, with invited full proposals due May 1. Proposals are reviewed in the summer and ranked on scientific merit by the ACRF Science Board. Applications are ranked based on the scientific objective of the research, requested resources, and impact on ongoing site operations. Proposal research should be relevant to the ACRF Mission. If extensive support coordination is anticipated, applications should be received at least 1 year in advance of the anticipated start date.
To learn more about the scientific review process and how you can start your own IOP, please see submitting proposals or refer to the IOP Request, Approval, and Implementation Process (pdf).
