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Request For Demonstrations and Development Proposals 2008-2009
And
Proposal Guidelines
The Mid-Atlantic Bight National Undersea Research Center (MAB
NURC), administered by the Institute of Marine and Coastal
Sciences at Rutgers University, announces opportunities for
demonstration and research development during calendar years
2008-2009.
MAB
NURC Regional Research Priorities for 2008-2009
- Studies
demonstrating capabilities and advantages of autonomous
underwater vehicles (AUVs)
- Exploring
and mapping the distribution of living resources using
AUVs
- Development
of Undersea Technology facilitated by broadband
capabilities at the Long-term Ecosystem Observatory
(LEO-15)
Demonstration
Proposals are REQUIRED and DUE May 21, 2008 for full
consideration. Proposals received after May 21 will be
reviewed on a rotational basis dependent on funds.
CENTER
CONTACTS
For information
related specifically to the Mid-Atlantic Bight undersea
science and technology programs, please contact:
Michael P.
De Luca, Director
NOAA Undersea Research Center
Rutgers University
71 Dudley Road
New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903
Voice: 732-932-6555, ext. 508; Fax: 732-932-8578
email: deluca@marine.rutgers.edu
For general
information about the National Program or other NURP centers,
contact:
NOAA
Undersea Research Program
SSMC3, R/OR2
1335 East-West Highway
Silver Springs, MD 20910
PH: 301-713-2427; FAX: 301-713-1976
email: karen.kohanowich@noaa.gov
Demonstration or development proposals are required
and must be submitted by email by May 21, 2008.
Proposals should be 2-3 pages not including cover pages, forms
or addenda. Proposals should provide a summary of the proposed
research demonstration or development, describe research goals
and facilities/equipment requirements, outline time or
logistic constraints, specify area of operations including
depths, and estimate the level of support required. This will
ensure that appropriate research guidelines are addressed, and
permit operations staff to evaluate feasibility. Demonstration
proposals have a limit of $15,000 per project, to include
platform costs, travel, transportation, and salaries for NURP
technical support (such as REMUS operators). Proposals
for support of science beyond technical demonstrations or
developments are discouraged during this funding cycle.
Proposals should be sent to the appropriate contact listed
above.
Proposal requirements:
- One
original, signed copy with requisite forms and cover page
- Digital
proposal in MS Word or Adobe PDF format
- All
materials should be sent to M.P. De Luca via address above
Request for Demonstration and Development Proposals
for Undersea Investigations
I. Funding Opportunity Description
A.
Mid-Atlantic Bight National Undersea Research Center at
Rutgers University
The National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is responsible
for the assessment, protection, development and utilization of
U.S. underwater resources and understanding the role of oceans
in climate and environmental change. To help address this
mandate, NOAA funds the NOAA Undersea Research Program (NURP),
which consists of a national office in Silver Spring, Maryland
and six regional centers that specialize in undersea research
and technology. The MAB Center supports undersea research to
improve knowledge of processes governing change and stability
in ecosystems of coastal and oceanic waters and seabed south
of Montauk Point, New York and off New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. The Center
provides undersea technology with an emphasis on the REMUS
Autonomous Undersea Vehicle (AUV) and the LEO-15 Observatory
and associated sensors in order to address research questions
at a range of scales. Qualified proposals are eligible to
receive support in the way AUV and LEO-15 Node access,
including operators and divers, data download and processing,
and AUV shipment and operator travel costs.
Modest funds will be available for development project
supplies. Final
proposals are peer reviewed, and ranked according to
scientific merit, relevance to NOAA and Center priorities, and
feasibility. Additional information is available at the
Center’s web site: http://marine.rutgers.edu/nurp/mabnurc.html
About
the National Undersea Research Program
NOAA’s Undersea
Research Program (NURP) is a comprehensive underwater research
program that places scientists underwater, directly through
the use of submersibles, underwater laboratories, and wet
diving, or indirectly by using remotely operated vehicles (ROVs),
autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), and observatories. This
in situ approach allows acquisition of otherwise unobtainable
observations, samples, and experimentation related to NOAA
national research priorities. NURP is primarily a grant
program with most of its funding going to the extramural
(outside NOAA) research community, primarily academia. NURP-supported
research must meet competitive and high standards of peer
review.
NOAA’s
Mission: To understand and predict changes in
the Earth’s environment and conserve and manage coastal and
marine resources to meet the Nation’s economic, social, and
environmental needs.
NURP responds to
NOAA’s mission by using its expertise in undersea in situ
science and technology.
NURP’s
Mission: To support NOAA’s mission through
advanced undersea research, sampling, observation,
experimentation, and education.
NURP’s mission
directly supports NOAA by providing an improved
understanding of the nation’s underwater resources to enable
effective ecosystem-based management. NURP supports
targeted research that enables NOAA to achieve its Ecosystem
Mission Goal to “protect, restore and manage the use of
coastal and ocean resources through ecosystem-based
management.”
The NOAA Strategic
Plan identifies five fundamental activities by which the
Ecosystem Goal can be met:
- Monitor
and observe the
land, sea, atmosphere and space and create a data
collection network to track Earth’s changing systems.
- Understand
and describe
how natural systems work together through
investigation and interpretation of information.
- Assess
and predict changes
in natural systems and provide information about
the future.
- Engage,
advise and inform
individuals, partners, communities and industries
to facilitate information flow, assure coordination and
cooperation, and provide
assistance in the use, evaluation and application of
information.
- Manage
coastal and ocean resources to optimize benefits to the
environment,
the economy, and public safety.
NURP supports
primarily the activity to Understand and Describe,
and also contributes information to support activities to Monitor
and Observe, Assess and Predict, Engage, Advise and Inform, and
Manage.
Regional
Areas of Interest for 2008-2009
AUV
capabilities and broadband-instrumentation at LEO-15 – MAB-NURC is particularly interested in studies demonstrating
capabilities and advantages of autonomous underwater vehicles
(AUVs), particularly as they pertain to the exploration
and mapping the distribution of living resources and in the
Development of Undersea Technology facilitated by broadband
capabilities at the Long-term Ecosystem Observatory (LEO-15).
The MAB Center will entertain proposals that
demonstrate advanced, novel, and cost-effective applications
of AUVs to address challenges in the description and
quantification of underwater processes, especially
bio-physical interactions. The Center has a REMUS
–100 AUV (100 m depth capacity) with YSI CTD, upward and
downward looking RDI ADCP, Marine Sonics sidescan sonar, and
Aanderaa oxygen optode; optionally, a LOTEK MAP hydrophone for
the detection and geo-location of CDMA-coded acoustic (76.8
kHz) transmitters is available. Access to the vehicle is
provided along with operators, internally and externally
supported navigation aids, and includes data reporting and
processing (e.g. sidescan output, acoustic transmitters
mapping, etc.). The
AUV can be used locally or in the coastal US or Great Lakes.
The Center has also established a Long-term Ecosystem
Observatory (LEO) at an inner shelf site (15 m depth) located
directly offshore of the Rutgers University Marine Field
Station at Tuckerton, NJ (LEO-15). Guest ports are available
to supply power, operate instruments, and transmit data. It is
available to all qualified investigators who wish to conduct
in situ experiments, and provides an excellent site to test
and deploy sampling and sensing equipment, especially those
with moderate to high power and data stream requirements.
Development of sensors for studying living resources is of
special interest. A description of the LEO-15 nodes is
available on the Internet:
http://marine.rutgers.edu/nurp/facilities.html
For additional information on REMUS AUV and LEO-15 please
contact Rose Petrecca, Technical Director, at petrecca@marine.rutgers.edu.
Forms (click
on individual form for Word file)
Applicant
Agreement
Biographical
Sketch (or use NSF format)
Budget
Sheet
Cover
Sheet
Current
and Pending Support (or use NSF format)
Project
Summary
Table
of Contents (and Checklist)
Time
Request Form
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