Biological Oceanography

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Bathycryroe fosteri (Lawrence P. Madin, WHOI)

The Biological Oceanography Program supports marine ecological projects in environments ranging from estuarine and coastal systems to the deep sea, and in the Great Lakes.  Proposals submitted to the Program should have a compelling ecological context and address topics that will contribute significantly to the understanding of marine ecosystems.  The Biological Oceanography Program often co-reviews and supports proposals projects with programs in the Directorate of Biology (BIO). Proposals may be more appropriate for programs in the BIO, as the lead program, if the primary focus is on organismal physiology, cell biology, biochemistry, molecular genetics, population biology, systematics, etc. Similarly, some ocean-focused, interdisciplinary studies may be more appropriately directed to one of the other programs in the Division of Ocean Sciences or programs in the Office of Polar Programs as the lead program.  Investigators are advised to contact a Program Officer by phone or e-mail and to browse existing award abstracts to determine the appropriate program for their proposal.

MULTI-DISCIPLINARY PROGRAMS

The Biological Oceanography Program is actively involved in numerous multi-disciplinary programs that involve other NSF Programs as well as collaborative efforts with other Federal Agencies.   As Examples:

● CAMEO: Comparative Analysis of Marine Ecosystem Organization (with NOAA)
● CNH: Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems
● ESE: Environment, Society, and the Economy (ESE)
● ETBC: ETBC: Emerging Topics in Biogeochemical Cycles (cross-NSF)
● GLOBEC: Global Ocean Ecosystem Dynamics (with NOAA and NASA)
● LTER: Long Term Ecological Research (cross-NSF)
● MSM: Multi-Scale Modeling (cross-NSF)
● RIDGE 2000: (with Marine Geology and Geophysics)

COOPERATIVE RESEARCH WITH THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION AND EUROPEAN SCIENTISTS

In October of 2001 the European Commission and the National Science Foundation signed an Implementing Arrangement to foster cooperative activities in the area of environmental research between European Union and US Scientists.  This activity is under the framework of the Agreement for Scientific and Technological Cooperation between the European Community and the Government of the United States of America, entered into force in 1998.  The EC-NSF agreement was established to give particular attention to research on climate change, marine science and technology, seismic risk and hazards reduction, Arctic processes, and environmental biology.  Since the agreement was signed, there have been annual meetings between the EC (Directorate-General for Research: Environment Directorate) and the NSF (Division of Ocean Sciences) to identify areas of common interest and to discuss ways to facilitate collaborative efforts.  Most recently, these meetings were included in the Joint Consultative Meetings between the EC and the US Government. 

The NSF Division of Ocean Sciences is active in these meetings and has helped develop specific research directions as well as facilitate effective cooperation between the funding agencies and between scientists on both sides of the Atlantic.  The Division supports US researchers in collaborative efforts either through submissions to targeted announcements or by providing support for proposals with collaborative efforts submitted to our regular target dates.   Targeted announcements include planning for cooperative research activities and parallel calls for proposals on the ecology and oceanography of harmful algal blooms (see The EU-US Scientific Initiative on Harmful Algal Blooms, A Report from a Workshop Jointly Funded by the European Commission - Environment and Sustainable Development Programme and the U.S. National Science Foundation 5-8 September 2002 - Trieste, Italy).

More recently   EC-NSF discussions have focused on climate change, ocean acidification, and marine ecosystems of the North Atlantic (see the following series of reports available using International GLOBEC’s website.

In FY2010 and beyond we are anticipating supporting U.S. scientists engaged in collaborative environmental research with European scientists via European Commission Programs, particularly in the areas of climate effects on ocean ecosystem dynamics, carbon and geochemical cycles, ocean acidification. There may be opportunities and resources for targeted announcements in these areas (e.g., to link specifically with EC calls for proposals in their Framework Program), but we also expect that many of the successful collaborations will develop as investigator-initiated proposals submitted to our regular 15 August and February target dates.

We will periodically update this web page to provide current links to European Commission announcements and planning documents, and we will issue timely “Dear Colleague” letters to inform interested U.S. investigators about EC announcement of opportunity with suggestions about how to time submissions to the Program to align with EC review and funding schedules. Some projects may be supported as joint efforts with the Chemical Oceanography and Physical Oceanography Program within the Division of Ocean Sciences.

We also encourage cooperation with European colleagues in proposals responding to other NSF opportunities such as:  Emerging Topics in Biogeochemistry (ETBC), MultiScale Modeling (MSM),
or Environment, Society and the Economy (ESE), all of which may be appropriate avenues for funding collaborative projects.

Links providing useful background information for the European Commission, Directorate-General for Research / Environment Programme:

Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) / Cooperation with US Scientists / EPOCA / CARBOOCEAN / EUROCEANS / European Commission Marine environment research projects

Addition (7/31/09): Environment (including Climage Change) Calls: FP7-ENV-2010

COMMUNITY PLANNING

SBC LTER investigators lauch a towed vehicle, the scanfish, from the R/V Pt. Sur in the Santa Barbara Channel. (SBC staff)

The Division of Ocean Sciences and the Biological Oceanography Program encourage and support community planning efforts to identify opportunities and priorities for future research. The process may result in recommendations for emerging or continuing science directions across the discipline(s) and, in turn, these efforts may result in new funding opportunities.

Research themes highlighted currently by the Program as a result of community input and interest include:

●  The Changing pH of the Ocean
●  Long-Term Research
●  Population Connectivity
●  Ocean Ecology and the Carbon Cycle

RAPID and EAGER OPPORTUNITIES

Grants for Rapid Response Research (RAPID) and EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) replace the Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER) program. RAPID is a funding mechanism to support quick-response research on natural or anthropogenic disasters and similar unanticipated events. Requests may be for up to $200K and of one year duration. The EAGER mechanism supports high-risk, exploratory and potentially transformative research. Requests may be for up to $300K and of up to two years duration. As with SGER projects, these opportunities are not intended to develop a proposal, generate preliminary data or solely for "ship-of-opportunity" situations.  For more information on these funding opportunities refer to the Grant Proposal Guide, Chapter II.D.1 and 2. If you are considering submission contact Larry Harding by e-mail (lharding@nsf.gov) for to discuss your project. RAPID and EAGER proposals should not be submitted prior to discussion with and approval by the Program.

SUPPLEMENT SUPPORT

Student researcher examines Xestospongia muta (Joseph Pawlik, UNC-W)

The Biological Oceanography Program may provide supplemental support for Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU), Research Experience for Teachers (RET) and Research Opportunity Awards (ROA). Otherwise, in accordance with the NSF Proposal and Award Manual X.C.4, supplement support is generally not available except in unusual circumstances where additional funding is needed to ensure adequate completion of the original scope of the awarded project.  The Program generally reserves these latter supplements for what we consider unforeseeable, emergency situations.   Before submitting any supplement request, an investigator should contact Gayle Pugh (gpugh@nsf.gov).

Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU): REU activities should provide meaningful research opportunties for undergraduate students. Investigators are encouraged to include REU activities as a component of a new or renewal proposal rather than anticipate supplement funding.  REU requests as part of a proposal should be embedded in the proposal at the time it is submitted for review as directed in solicitation NSF 07-7569.

REU supplements to ongoing projects provide a mechanism to support unique opportunities that develop once the project is in progress. REU activities should provide meaningful experiences that expose the student(s) to highly collaborative, inter-disciplinary science. Projects may involve multi-investigator approaches that include a mix of labs, principle investigators, post-docs, graduate students and undergraduates.  REU supplement requests to ongoing projects should be sent via e-mail to Gayle Pugh (gpugh@nsf.gov) by February 1.

Research Experiences for Teachers (RET): RET activities are designed to enhance the professional development of science teachers through participation in new or on-going NSF-funded research projects as detailed in the "Dear Colleague" Letter NSF 05-047. In general, PIs are encouraged to include outreach programs for K-12 teachers within the broader impacts of a proposal at the time of submission.  Supplement to ongoing projects are intended to provide opportunities for novel ideas that transpire after the project is underway. The request should come at a time when there is at least 12 mos. of duration before the scheduled end of the project. RET supplement requests to ongoing projects should be sent via e-mail to Gayle Pugh (gpugh@nsf.gov) by February 1.

Research Opportunity Awards (ROA): ROA activities are part of the NSF-wide Research at Undergraduate Institutions program (see NSF 00-144).  ROAs enable faculty at predominately undergraduate institutions, including community colleges, to pursue research as visiting scientists with NSF-supported investigators at other institutions.  The purpose of ROA activities is to enhance the research productivity and professional development of science faculty at undergraduate institutions.  In addition, research activities should contribute to basic knowledge in science and provide opportunities to integrate research and undergraduate education.  ROA activities are encouraged as part of a proposal at the time of submission and ROA supplements enable support for unexpected opportunities that come along after a project is awarded.

Proposal Submission Tips

Proposals submitted to the Program for the 15 February and August target dates that are fully compliant with the Grant Proposal Guidelines (GPG) enable the Program, reviewers and panelists to focus on the merits of the proposed research and broader impacts during the evaluation process. Proposals that have errors or are not compliant create distractions for those responsible for evaluating the proposal thereby detracting from merits of the project. You should review your proposal thoroughly before submission to ensure that your proposal is compliant with the most current version of the GPG, make sure your CV is complete and up-to-date, and double check your references. Reviewers often comment that numbered references make reviewing excessively tedious. Incorrect/inaccurate references annoy reviewers especially if it is their research that is improperly cited. If you have requested a ship through UNOLS the final request should be included in the supplementary documents section. In addition, international participants and federal employees are generally not funded by the Program in accordance with the GPG sections I.E.6. and I.E.7., respectively. We advise you to contact the Program prior to submission if you have questions regarding support for Federal employees or International participants. Support for state and local governments is only available for educational opportunties (see GPG I.E.4.). Finally, your proposal will be reviewed by your colleagues and leading scientists in the field of the proposed study. Be considerate of the time and effort it takes to review proposals and submit only your best work.