NOAA Climate Change Research Competitions Deadlines Approaching

Government Agency Concerned with Atmosphere and Oceans Has Broad Variety of Projects They Wish to Fund

Climate change and the study of the effects of greenhouse gases is creating a great deal of work for scientists via government grants. In return, the US government is gaining greater access to tools, data and understanding of global climate change. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has 12 competitions open for federal funding, with Letter of Intent deadlines less than two months away. The competitions involve data analysis, local research, investigations in the arctic, and other activities.

The competitions are available to most institutions, public and private, except for the federal government. Proposals will have to include not only information about the proposed research, but effects of that research on the environment, locations and resources used, impact on species, and other possible results of conducting the research.

Funding is, the NOAA notice notes, contingent on NOAA funding in 2008, but is expected to be for around 63 projects, as in the past, with annual amounts between approximately $50,000 and $200,000. In addition to new research existing projects funded by NOAA may return for further work in a similar area.

The competitions listed cover abrupt climate change, a research program in the Arctic, Atlantic ocean circulation, and research into the composition of the atmosphere and its relationship to climate. Detecting climate change is an area of research, and analysis of climate dynamics for the purpose of experimental detection, both in general and for the Americas in particular are being considered for funding.

One competition covers to what degree climate varies and this variation can be reliably predicted. Another competition is described as "Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA)," and another "Sector Applications Research Program (SARP)." Finally, as competition is issued in stewardship of scientific data, and the transition of applications used in research to climate services organizations in the future.