OCB Activity Proposal Solicitations

Below you can find information about our open proposal solicitation and funded OCB activities from the previous solicitation. We typically release OCB solicitations in the fall every 1-2 years, depending on availability of funds.

 

2020 OCB Activity Solicitation

The Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry (OCB) Program is soliciting proposals for OCB activities that will take place or begin during the 2020 calendar year. We seek proposals for OCB-relevant workshops and activities as follows:

  • Scoping workshops (~50-70 people) that bring together an appropriate body of expertise to foster discussions and develop forward momentum in a specific OCB-relevant research area (list of previous OCB scoping workshops)
  • Working groups (~8-12 members) to address targeted science goals/questions and develop products that benefit the broader OCB community (current OCB working groups on OCB website under Activities > Small Group Activities)
  • Synthesis activities to bring together existing data sets, model outputs, etc. to support and inform future research efforts (recent example: Coastal CARbon Synthesis, CCARS)
  • Intercomparison activities to assess and build consensus on best practices (methodological, modeling, data analysis, etc.) for advancing OCB-relevant research (recent examples: Intercomparison and Intercalibration of Ocean Metaproteomic Analyses, Ocean Carbonate System Intercomparison Forum)
  • Training activities (~30-50 participants plus instructors as needed) to build capacity in different areas of OCB research (recent examples here)

To get familiar with OCB’s current slate of activities, PIs are strongly encouraged to explore the OCB website before preparing and submitting a proposal. If you have questions about the relevance, timeliness, appropriate format, etc. of a proposed activity, please contact Heather Benway for guidance before submitting.

 

Scientific Scope

OCB’s overarching goal is to explore the ocean’s role in the global carbon cycle and the response of marine ecosystems to environmental changes of the past (paleo), present, and future (prediction). Proposed activities should address one or more of OCB’s current research priorities:

  • Climate- and human-driven changes in ocean chemistry (e.g., acidification, deoxygenation, nutrient loading, etc.) and associated impacts on marine ecosystems
  • Ocean carbon uptake and storage, including processes from the air-sea interface to the deep ocean
  • Marine organism-mediated carbon cycling and export via the biological pump
  • Benthic carbon cycle feedbacks, from shallow to deep-sea marine habitats
  • Carbon cycling and associated biogeochemical fluxes and exchanges along the aquatic continuum, from rivers to the coastal ocean
  • Marine organism response to environmental change, including molecular, physiological, ecological, and evolutionary processes

OCB especially encourages proposals that:

 

Proposal Guidelines

Proposals should be a maximum of 5 pages in length and explicitly address:

1) How the activity supports and advances OCB research and observational priorities

2) Activity products and outcomes that will benefit the broader OCB community

All proposals should include the rationale for and detailed description of the activity, a budget, and a budget justification. No salary support may be included in the budget. Budget should explicitly note and account for the anticipated number of participants in the proposed activity. Please note that due to U.S. federal funding sources, the OCB Project Office must prioritize support for U.S.-based activities and scientists. Please carefully consider and provide reasonable cost estimates for travel, meal and coffee break catering/per diem, housing, meeting room and A/V costs, transportation, publications, etc. A good first estimate  is ~$800-1,000 per person for the above during a three-day meeting. If you are receiving support from another program or organization, please include a letter of support indicating their commitment and note the details in the budget.

Scoping Workshops and Training Activities

The maximum budget for scoping workshops and training activities is $70,000. These proposals should include preliminary logistical information concerning time frame and venue, as well as anticipated outcomes (reports, special journal volumes, etc.) and their benefits to the broader OCB community.

Other Activities

Other proposed activities should be a maximum duration of 2 years with a total target budget of $20,000-$30,000 to cover travel, analytical costs, shipping and publication costs, etc. We will consider larger budget requests if adequately justified. If the activity is a follow-on from a previous OCB activity, this connection should be explicitly made and PIs should address how this activity will serve the OCB community and further advance the scientific ideas put forth in the initial activity. Proposals should also include a draft timeline for the activity with target dates for products and outcomes, as well as anticipated OCB Project Office scientific and/or logistical support needs.

Please submit activity proposals electronically to the OCB Project Office (hbenway@whoi.edu) by midnight (eastern) on October 16, 2019 for consideration by the OCB Scientific Steering Committee (SSC). The OCB SSC will discuss and rank all proposals based on the following criteria: 1) Scientific merit (40%); 2) programmatic relevance (20%); 3) potential community impact (20%); and 4) timeliness with regard to OCB’s current scientific priorities and previous activities (20%). Decisions will be announced before the end of 2019.

 

2019-2020 Funded OCB Activities  

With 11 proposals, the decision process was especially challenging in the last solicitation. The proposals were scored based on scientific merit, relevance to OCB, potential benefits to the broader OCB community, and timeliness. The following new OCB activities were selected for funding in 2019-2020:

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Funding for the Ocean Carbon & Biogeochemistry Project Office is provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The OCB Project Office is housed at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.