Letter from the Division Director

Dear Colleague,

The NSF enjoyed considerable funding growth during the past two fiscal years, and the budget of the Division of Ocean Sciences(OCE) increased along with that of the agency. Since FY 2000, the OCE budget increased about $60 million to our current level of $281 million. The bulk of the budget increase during this period was approximately evenly divided among agency-wide priority areas, core research programs, and facilities (ship operations, instrumentation, marine tech support, etc.). We also initiated a midsize infrastructure fund based on advice from the Advisory Committee for Geosciences. Our FY 2003 budget (which begins 1 October of this year) is pending before Congress, and the early signs are promising for significant NSF (and OCE) budget increases. Such increases would be great news for basic science in general and oceanography in particular and would lead to new opportunities for academic researchers and educators.

What are some of these opportunities? The NSF budget grows in several ways. Some of the future growth will be associated with agency-wide priority areas such as Biocomplexity and Nanotechnology. All NSF directorates, including Geosciences (which encompasses OCE) participate in these programs, and there is considerable intra-agency discussion and negotiation on the specific topics, priorities, directorate funding levels, etc. for these programs. There is not space in this article to provide important details on these programs; I refer you to the NSF website https://www.nsf.gov/home/crssprgm/, which provides information to help you submit competitive proposals. OCE Program Officers can also provide information. I encourage you to look into the opportunities that these programs provide.

Increasing the size and duration of research grants funded through NSF core programs is also an agency priority. Most of the proposals OCE receives in response to the biannual target dates associated with our core research programs are 3-year proposals. In the future, I encourage you to consider submitting proposals requesting funds for up to 5 years. We will give every consideration to proposals that justify more than 3-year duration and larger budgets. Check with one of our Program Officers for additional guidance.

To implement the strategy articulated in “NSF Geosciences Beyond 2000,”developed with the Advisory Committee and involving extensive community input, the Directorate for Geosciences (atmospheric, earth and ocean sciences) has identified additional research priorities. At present, the four Geosciences priority areas are water cycle, biogeosciences, carbon cycle and natural hazards. Proposals in response to a water cycle announcement last spring are in review, and a biogeosciences research announcement has recently been released. There will be future opportunities for oceanographers, particularly for ocean and integrated carbon cycle studies. The Directorate for Geosciences is also planning joint research programs in cooperation with the scientific directorates of the European Community. Guidance for these opportunities will be posted on our web page and widely distributed in other ways.

In addition to Agency and Directorate priorities, OCE plans to advance several Division-specific programs. This fall, OCE and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) plan to issue a joint solicitation for proposals in the area of Oceans and Human Health. In preparation for the Ocean Observatories Initiative, OCE will also be seeking interdisciplinary proposals for time series science, beginning with the February 2003 target date.

OCE is very much involved in developing new infrastructure for ocean sciences. Our two largest infrastructure programs, the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) and the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP), have been approved for inclusion in a future budget request by the National Science Board. Briefly stated, OOI will provide infrastructure funding for coastal, open ocean and regional scale observatories. In 2004, IODP will begin a new decade of scientific ocean drilling, and NSF and international partners will provide funding for new drilling platforms and capabilities. OCE is also working with our partners in the Navy to implement the Federal Oceanographic Facilities Committee (FOFC) plan for renewal of the academic research vessel fleet. Specifically, we are developing final plans for the Alaska Region Research Vessel (ARRV) and plan to submit the construction plan for this vessel to the National Science Board for their consideration. We also anticipate a major role, perhaps the lead role, for funding construction of Regional class vessels and are supporting Navy in planning for the Ocean class. In other news: the new ROV, Jason-2, completed sea trials; a study is underway to evaluate options to replace Alvin with a more capable deep-diving submersible; we are evaluating proposals to put long coring capability on UNOLS ships and we anticipate a proposal to upgrade the seismic capabilities of RV Ewing. Other interesting projects are under consideration.

On another front, the Division will be updating its data policy in the near future to reflect changes in opportunities for data sharing that have developed since our policy was last modified in 1994. The National Science Foundation requires the sharing of findings, data and other research products, but leaves it up to the Programs to implement this sharing policy in ways appropriate to the scientific field and to the circumstances. When finalized, the new policy will be announced and included with award letters.

Finally, OCE is perpetually seeking Program Officers, particularly for 2-year assignments. This is an exciting time to work for NSF. Please contact the relevant Program Director, or me, if you want to discuss the possibilities.

Sincerely,

James A. Yoder
Director
Division of Ocean Sciences