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Title:The U.S. Global Ocean Ecosystems Dynamics Program
      Northwest Atlantic Field Studies Phase 2 (NSF 95-143)
Type:Program Announcement
Exposure:Public
NSF Org:GEO
Date:September 29,1995
Delete:July 1996
Replaces:NSF 92-57



THE U.S. GLOBAL OCEAN ECOSYSTEMS DYNAMICS PROGRAM

NORTHWEST ATLANTIC FIELD STUDIES,
PHASE 2

Announcement of Opportunity

Deadline: 15 January 1996

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Directorate for Geosciences, Division of Ocean Sciences and

NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION Coastal Ocean
Program and National Marine Fisheries Service

INTRODUCTION  

The Division of Ocean Sciences of the National Science Foundation
(NSF), and the Coastal Ocean Program and National Marine Fisheries
Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) announce an opportunity for ecosystem dynamics studies in
the Northwest Atlantic on Georges Bank and surrounding regions as
part of the U.S. Global Ocean Ecosystems Dynamics (U.S. GLOBEC)
research program. This announcement solicits proposals for field
observation and process studies commencing in 1997, for modeling
investigations, and for retrospective data analysis, as described
below and in planning documents of the U.S. GLOBEC program. This is
the second in a sequence of announcements for U.S. GLOBEC studies
in the Northwest Atlantic, a program which began in 1993.

The deadline for proposals is Monday, 15 January 1996. Contingent
on the availability of funds and facilities, final decisions on
awards will be made by 1 July 1996. Funding of individual proposals
may be provided by NSF and/or NOAA.

DESCRIPTION

U.S. GLOBEC Background: The primary objective of the U.S. GLOBEC
Program is to understand how climate variability affects the
distribution, abundance, production and population dynamics of
zooplankton and fish populations in the sea. The approach is to
develop a fundamental understanding of how physical and biological
processes interact to control the population dynamics of marine
animals, with a focus on those animals that spend all or some of
their lives as plankton. U.S. GLOBEC is the U.S. component of the
international GLOBEC program sponsored by the Scientific Committee
on Oceanic Research (SCOR) of the International Council of
Scientific Unions and by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic
Commission (IOC) of UNESCO. The U.S. GLOBEC studies in the
Northwest Atlantic/Georges Bank region are integral parts of the
pan-North Atlantic Cod and Climate Change Program sponsored by the
International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES).

The overall objectives of the U.S. GLOBEC Program have been
articulated by the U.S. GLOBEC Scientific Steering Committee (SSC)
in the U.S. GLOBEC Initial Science Plan (available as U.S. GLOBEC
report no.1, February 1991) and Global Ocean Ecosystems Dynamics
and Climate Change: A Long Range Science Plan 1995-2005 (report
no.12, April 1995). Prospective investigators who intend to respond
to this Announcement of Opportunity should obtain a copy of the
Implementation Plan for U.S. GLOBEC, NW Atlantic/Georges Bank,
(report no.6, June 1992). Important details on research objectives
and hypotheses to be tested during Phase Two of the program are
given in that report. These details are NOT repeated in this
Announcement of Opportunity. As background, (1) a brief description
of Phase One activities can be found in the U.S. GLOBEC Newsletter,
No. 4., and (2) U.S. GLOBEC report no. 2, February 1991, ~GLOBEC:
Northwest Atlantic Program, GLOBEC U.S./Canada Meeting on Northwest
Atlantic Fisheries and Climate.~ All of the above-mentioned reports
and the newsletter are available from the U.S. GLOBEC Office,
Department of Integrative Biology, University of California,
Berkeley, CA 94720-3140. Most are also available on the U.S. GLOBEC
home page on the World-Wide Web at
http://www.usglobec.berkeley.edu/usglobec/globec.homepage.html

Additional Guidance: This opportunity is open to all interested,
qualified and eligible researchers irrespective of whether they
have been previously involved in the U.S. GLOBEC, NW
Atlantic/Georges Bank program. NSF and NOAA encourage the
submission of multiple/competitive proposals for the components of
the Phase Two program of research. To facilitate access by all
prospective investigators to the information derived from Phase
One, the U.S. GLOBEC Program Managers have asked that all presently
funded PIs make available a summary of the status of their present
work and findings.  Summaries of the objectives, methods, and key
findings (to date) of the currently funded projects are available
on the U.S. GLOBEC Georges Bank Program's World-Wide Web homepage:
http://globec.whoi.edu and on the U.S. GLOBEC homepage listed
above. Also available on the Georges Bank homepage is the text of
all cruise reports from the efforts during winter/spring 1995. If
you are unable to access any of this information, either call or
send an e-mail message to Dr. Bob Groman (508-457-2000;
groman@whoi.edu) or Dr. Phil Taylor (703-306-1587;
prtaylor@nsf.gov).

Northwest Atlantic Project Description and Rationale:      The
Georges Bank region was selected by the U.S. GLOBEC Program because
(1) ecosystems in and around Georges Bank are thought to be highly
sensitive to climatic variability as the Bank is situated in a
faunal, climatic and oceanic boundary region; (2) physical
transport processes in the Georges Bank region are predicted to be
more heavily impacted by climatic variation than other areas in the
North Atlantic Ocean; (3) primary and secondary production on
Georges Bank has supported a commercially valuable fishery; and (4)
Georges Bank is of sufficient size, with a physical circulation
pattern enabling distinct, and trackable populations to develop and
persist for long periods, making them amenable for time-series
studies.


The Georges Bank ecosystem has recently undergone significant
perturbations. Many of the traditional fisheries have collapsed,
with a shift in biomass and production to other fish species. There
have been changes in fish predator-prey interactions as well, an
issue being addresed by a NOAA Coastal Ocean Program (COP) study.
Management plans have been initiated to limit fishing and to
rebuild the groundfish stocks.  Knowledge of the physical and
biological processes acting at the present time will contribute to
a better understanding of changes in the fish stocks during
recovery. On-going monitoring, process research, modeling and
retrospective analyses of past conditions will contribute to an
assessment of when commercially-important stocks will recover.
Information produced by these studies will lead to more effective
advice to fishery management councils to help guide the recovery
process.

U.S. GLOBEC research will continue to focus on target species
chosen to represent key elements of the planktonic assemblages on
Georges Bank and surrounding regions. These are the pelagic eggs,
larvae and juvenile stages of cod (Gadus morhua) and haddock
(Melanogrammus aeglefinus) and the copepods, Calanus finmarchicus
and Pseudocalanus spp. 

Observational evidence suggests that five physical processes are of
greatest importance to biological activities on the Bank:
advection, turbulent mixing, stratification, frontal exchange, and
bottom boundary layer phenomena. Hypotheses concerning the linkages
between these physical processes and the population dynamics of
target species are listed in US GLOBEC Report No. 6, pages 23 and
24; the appropriate one(s) should be addressed in your proposals.
In testing the hypotheses related to Phase Two of this program
(i.e., source, retention, and loss of water and animals to/from the
Bank), four activities and objectives must be addressed:

     - quantification of the abundances of target species in time
     and space on Georges Bank over the winter/spring period;

     - measurement of the vital rates of target species as they
     relate to population dynamics;

     - quantification of rates of physical exchanges of water and
     biota across the boundaries of the Bank; and

     - determination of how physical exchange processes and
     vertical migration behavior influence retention/loss of
     planktonic animals on the Bank.

The Structure of the Research Program: The U.S. GLOBEC Northwest
Atlantic/Georges Bank research program comprises four major
components: broad-scale field survey and observation studies;
process-oriented field studies; modeling investigations; and
retrospective analyses.  Research conducted during Phase Two will
continue to follow this four-pronged approach.


Broad-Scale Studies. The broad scale studies include shipboard
surveys, multi-disciplinary moorings, and analysis of satellite
data. Ship-board studies help to determine the distribution and
abundance of the target organisms in relation to their physical
environment. In addition, there is a continuing need for long-term
mooring-based observations and interpretation of regional satellite
data. The fundamental objective of the broad-scale studies is to
provide the basis for interannual comparison of the population
processes and their coupling to the physical structure and
variability of the environment.

Process Studies.  Process studies are nested within the broad-scale
observations to investigate specific biological and physical
processes. The focus in 1995 was on the influence of water column
stratification on vital rates of the target species.  The focus in
1997 will be on processes associated with source, retention, and
loss of water and organisms, and on how these processes effect the
population dynamics of target species on the Bank (See U.S. GLOBEC
Report 6, pages 36-39 for details). Close cooperation and
interaction between the broad-scale and process components of the
program is essential.

Modeling. Modeling investigators are expected to participate in the
formulation and interpretation of the field studies, and provide
the context for integration of the results. Modeling studies to
date have focused on the development of 3-D models of the flow
field of the Georges Bank and the surrounding regions, and linkages
to the population dynamics of target species. In addition to
site-specific modeling, there is a vital need for modeling which is
more regional in scope.  Thus, proposals for modeling studies that
include the influence of remote physical forcing on Georges Bank
and adjacent seas are strongly encouraged (e.g., projects that
consider the forcing of Georges Bank dynamics by the Gulf Stream or
Labrador Current, or forcing processes that operate over the entire
Northwest Atlantic basin). Further, modeling efforts that
incorporate details of realistic biological/physical interaction
and that allow for data assimilation are encouraged.

Retrospective Analyses. Retrospective studies of existing data are
a useful means of investigating the biological and physical
consequences of climatic variation. Previous studies have included
processing of archived samples and interpretation of existing data
sets. Future retrospective analyses are encouraged that will allow
integration, coordination, and comparison of Georges Bank data with
those from other North Atlantic regions.

PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

PROPOSAL FORMAT

Proposals should be clearly identified by a title starting with the
acronym ~U.S. GLOBEC:~ Proposals submitted in response to this
Announcement of Opportunity should be prepared and submitted in
accordance with the guidelines provided in the NSF brochure, Grant
Proposal Guide (GPG) NSF 95-27. Single copies of this brochure are
available at no cost from the Forms and Publications Unit, phone
(703) 306-1130, or via e-mail from pubs@nsf.gov (Internet).
Proposals will be subjected to initial screening for the
requirements in the GPG and will be returned without review or
advance notification if deficiencies are found. Proposals will NOT
be forwarded to other Programs if found to be inappropriate for
this competition.

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

All proposals involving Federal and/or academic scientists must be
submitted to the address below. Federal scientists will be eligible
for funding by NOAA but not NSF. Proposals must be received by 15
January 1996; proposals received after the deadline will be
returned to the sender un-reviewed. 

Prospective investigators are strongly encouraged to include a
brief discussion of how their proposed programs may lend added
value to work funded during Phase One of this program. Prospective
investigators should provide in their proposals a full scientific
justification for the research and not simply reiterate
justifications laid out in the implementation plan. In addition, it
would be helpful if a brief statement is included as to how your
proposed efforts may be coordinated with efforts of other potential
investigators. Because of the page limitation (GPG, page 5, Project
Description), individual proposals with overly complex structure
and large numbers of investigators are discouraged. Proposal should
be written to allow adequate review of the details of such things
as goals and objectives, conceptual framework, methodological
approaches, integration with other likely projects and synthesis.

For reasons of program planning and development, investigators
intending to submit proposals in response to this announcement are
requested to send by 20 January 1996 a brief (1-2 page) statement
of scope to Dr. Thomas Powell, Chair, U.S. GLOBEC Scientific
Steering Committee (Department of Integrative Biology, University
of California, Berkeley, CA 94720; phone 510-643-0877; fax:
510-643-1142; Internet: zackp@violet.berkeley.edu).

An original and twenty copies of the proposal should be sent
directly to:

          Announcement number (NSF 95-143)
          Biological Oceanography Program
          Division of Ocean Sciences
          National Sciences Foundation
          4201 Wilson Blvd., Suite 725
          Arlington, VA  22230

Proposals may also be submitted electronically. For information,
contact the Electronic Proposal Submission Program Director,
Division of Information Systems, phone (703) 306-0214, or via
e-mail, eps@nsf.gov (Internet).

If you have any questions or require further information, contact
Dr. Phillip Taylor, Division of Ocean Sciences/NSF, (703) 306-1587,
or Mike Dowgiallo, NOAA Coastal Ocean Program, (301) 713-3338.

PROPOSAL REVIEW

The review and support for the U.S. GLOBEC program will be handled
cooperatively by NSF and NOAA. Proposals will be reviewed in
accordance with established NSF and NOAA procedures for external
merit review and the four general criteria described in the Grant
Proposal Guide. Intrinsic merit of the research, technical
soundness and utility, responsiveness of the stated goals of the
U.S. GLOBEC Northwest Atlantic program, and complementarity with
other research projects will be considered in the  evaluation by
panel(s) of expert scientists.

All funded participants of the U.S. GLOBEC program are required to
abide by the U.S. GLOBEC data policy (see U.S. GLOBEC report no. 10
on the U.S. GLOBEC home page) and the policies applying to
recipients of federal funding in ocean sciences. 

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) provide awards for research in
the sciences and engineering. The awardee is wholly responsible for
the conduct of such research and preparation of the results for
publication. The NSF and NOAA, therefore, do not assume
responsibility for such findings or their interpretation. The NSF
and NOAA welcome proposals on behalf of all qualified scientists
and engineers, and strongly encourage women, minorities, and
persons with disabilities to compete fully in any of the research
and research-related programs described in this document.

In accordance with Federal statutes and regulations, and NSF and
NOAA policies, no person on grounds of race, color, age, sex,
national origin, or disability shall be excluded from participation
in, denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under
any program or activity receiving financial assistance from the NSF
and NOAA. Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with
Disabilities provides funding for special assistance or equipment
to enable persons with disabilities (investigators and other staff,
including student research assistants) to work on an NSF project.
Contact the program coordinator in the Directorate for Education
and Human Resources. The telephone number is (703) 306-1636. The
Foundation has TDD (Telephonic Device for the Deaf) capability,
which enables individuals with hearing impairment to communicate
with the NSF Information Center about NSF programs, employment, or
general information. The telephone number is (703) 306-0090.

PRIVACY ACT AND PUBLIC BURDEN
Privacy Act and Public Burden Statements
The information requested on proposal forms is solicited under the
authority of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as
amended. It will be used in connection with the selection of
qualified proposals and may be disclosed to qualified reviewers and
staff assistants as part of the review process; to applicant
institutions/grantees to provide or obtain data regarding the
application review process, award decisions, or the administration
of awards; to government contractors, experts, volunteers and
researchers as necessary to complete assigned work; and to other
government agencies in order to coordinate programs.  See Systems
of Records, NSF-50, ~Principal Investigator/Proposal File and
Associated Records,~ 60 Federal Register 4449 (January 23, 1995),
and NSF-51, ~Reviewer/Proposal File and Associated Records, ~59
Federal Register 8031 (February 17, 1994). Submission of the
information is voluntary. Failure to provide full and complete
information, however, may reduce the possibility of your receiving
an award. 

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is
estimated to average 120 hours per response, including the time for
reviewing instructions. Send comments regarding this burden
estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information
including suggestions for reducing this burden, to:

          Herman G. Fleming
          Reports Clearance Officer
          Contracts, Policy and Oversight
          National Science Foundation
          Arlington, VA 22230

This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance category 47.050.

OMB 3145-0058
PT:34
KW 1008004, 0103001
NSF 95-143 (Replaces NSF 92-57) 
 
