• General Program Description
  • Program Objectives
  • Facility Program Management
  • ATM Sponsored LAOF Facilities
  • Access to Facilities and Services

• Facilities Description Summaries
• Points-of-Contact
• Interagency Coordinating Committee for Airborne Geosciences Research and Applications (ICCAGRA)

General Program Description

The National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Atmospheric Sciences (ATM), Lower Atmospheric Observing Facilities (LAOF) Program consists of planning, budgeting, coordination, and oversight of multi-user national facilities that are sponsored by NSF for the geosciences research community. Program Management resides within ATM in the UCAR and Lower Atmospheric Facilities Oversight Section (ULAFOS) which provides a single point for coordination.

Geosciences research often requires specialized facilities, instrumentation and field support services to carry out scientific field work that is needed to understand the complex, interdependent geophysical processes, often covering remote areas of the globe. Making platforms and instrumentation available to support scientific experiments depends upon adequate acquisition, operation, maintenance, upgrading and replacement of these facilities. Also these platforms and instruments may collect large and sometimes unique data sets that must be validated, archived and made available to the research community. Likewise both pre- and post-planning for scientific field programs (e.g., experimental design, operational plans, logistical support) in which NSF sponsored facilities are deployed is an important element of the overall program.

As indicated in Figure (1) a field program is a multifaceted process that requires many phases of planning and facility utilization over relative long periods of time. Although the Facilities Program is not directly responsible for the science proposal grant aspects, there is significant coordination and support required from the resources sponsored by the Facilities Program throughout the life cycle of a scientific field project. Continual coordination and involvement with the science community is essential by the Facility Managers and Joint Office for Science Support in assisting the science team members in preparing for and conducting a successful program that utilizes NSF sponsored facilities.

  FIGURE 1. (click on image for larger picture)

Program Objectives

The objectives of the LAOF Program are to provide:

• Within ATM budget and programmatic priorities, sponsorship of a suite of multi-user observational instrumentation and platforms for the scientific and educational needs of the geosciences community.
• Base funding requirements for the sponsored facilities and allocation of deployment pool funding for approved facility deployments.
• Long-range facility planning and budgeting.
• Base support for pre- and post-planning field program activities.
• Coordination for interagency and international activities involving national facilities.
• Agency representation on federal committees dealing with facilities.

Facility Program Management

NSF sponsored facilities are managed and operated by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and select universities. The Facility Managers provide support directly to the science community on facility needs and capabilities as well as process their requests for use of the NSF sponsored national facilities. UCAR JOSS management supports the science community in planning and conducting field programs and data management. Chart 1 provides the present points-of-contact in each organization.

ATM Sponsored LAOF Facilities

Figure 2 contains the current sponsored facilities that receive base funding support and indicates which facilities are currently eligible for deployment pool funding allocations. Facilities Summaries provides a brief description of the facilities. Each of the organizations operating and maintaining NSF sponsored national facilities has available complete facility descriptions and procedures for requesting the facilities and ay be obtained directly from the Facility Managers.

NSF Sponsored Lower Atmospheric Observing Facilities

Access to the Facilities & Services

The national facilities are available on a competitive basis to all qualified scientists requiring facilities and services to carry out their research objectives. There are established procedures and priorities for requesting their use. The deployment of the facilities is driven by the scientific merit, capabilities of the facilities to carry out the proposed observations and scheduling of the facility for the requested time. ATM budgets annually for deployment costs associated with these multi-user facilities, but with no specified amount assigned to any facility. Semi-annually (Oct. & Apr.) a facility allocation panel reviews the facility use requests and recommends allocations of deployment funding for the facilities being requested for research projects by the principle investigators. Normally, principle investigators having approved NSF science research grants have first priority and receive full deployment pool allocation funding for the facilities requested. Other requests are considered based on scientific merit and facility availability, with the deployment costs varying from full cost recovery to full or partial support by the deployment pool.

Additional information may be obtained from the various facility homepages at:

• Atmospheric Technology Division, National Center for Atmospheric Research: www.atd.ucar.edu
• Joint Office of Science Support: www.joss.ucar.edu
• South Dakota School of Mines and Technology: www.sdsmt.edu
• Atmospheric Science Department, University of Wyoming: www-das.uwyo.edu/atsc/facilities
• Colorado State University, CHILL National Radar Facilitiy: olympic.atmos.colostate.edu/CHILL/CSU-CHILL.html