A National Repository for Geological Cores Collected in the Polar Regions

CONTACTS

PROGRAM GUIDELINES

Solicitation  13-532

Important Notice to Proposers

A revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), NSF 13-1, was issued on October 4, 2012 and is effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 14, 2013. Please be advised that, depending on the specified due date, the guidelines contained in NSF 13-1 may apply to proposals submitted in response to this funding opportunity.

Please be aware that significant changes have been made to the PAPPG to implement revised merit review criteria based on the National Science Board (NSB) report, National Science Foundation's Merit Review Criteria: Review and Revisions. While the two merit review criteria remain unchanged (Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts), guidance has been provided to clarify and improve the function of the criteria. Changes will affect the project summary and project description sections of proposals. Annual and final reports also will be affected.

A by-chapter summary of this and other significant changes is provided at the beginning of both the Grant Proposal Guide and the Award & Administration Guide.

DUE DATES

Full Proposal Deadline Date:  April 16, 2013

SYNOPSIS

The Antarctic Earth Science Program in the Antarctic Sciences Section of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Polar Programs provides support for the curation and long-term storage of core material collected on the Antarctic continent and its margins. Currently, the Antarctic Marine Geology Research Facility (AMGRF) at Florida State University is fulfilling this role. The AMGRF was established in 1963 and is housed in a single-story, 10,000 sq. ft. building on the Florida State University campus. The AMGRF houses approximately 21,000 meters of deep-sea sediment cores collected from over 90 United States Antarctic Program (USAP) research cruises. In addition, the AMGRF is also a repository for nearly 3,000 meters of core collected during NSF supported drilling programs in the Antarctic. These projects include: the Dry Valleys Drilling Project, Cape Roberts Project, SHALDRIL 1 and 2, and ANDRILL 1 and 2.

In accordance with NSF policy that all facility awards must be re-competed after an appropriate period of operation (NSB-08-12 and NSB-08-16), this solicitation seeks the services of a qualified organization to provide a core curation facility and services for geological cores collected in the polar regions. The award will be administered as a Cooperative Agreement and will cover a five-year operating period beginning June 1, 2014. A programmatic review will be held prior to the completion of the initial period of support and the results will guide the decision whether to renew the Cooperative Agreement for another five-year period.

What Has Been Funded (Recent Awards Made Through This Program, with Abstracts)

Map of Recent Awards Made Through This Program