Doc 11.9, ver. 1.0 | March 2024

A Guide to the North American ALMA
Regional Center and the NAASC
Catherine Vlahakis (NAASC)

ALMA is a partnership of ESO (representing its member states), NSF (USA) and NINS (Japan), together with NRC(Canada), NSTC and ASIAA (Taiwan), and KASI (Republic of Korea), in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. The Joint
ALMA Observatory is operated by ESO, AUI/NRAO and NAOJ.

For further information or to comment on this document, please contact your regional Helpdesk through the ALMA
Science Portal at www.almascience.org. Helpdesk tickets will be directed to the appropriate ALMA Regional
Center at ESO, NAOJ or NRAO.

Version

Date

Editors

1.0

Feb 28, 2024

Catherine Vlahakis

Loreto Barcos Munoz, NAASC Associate Scientist
Erica Keller, NAASC Data Analyst Manager
Arielle Moullet, NAASC Scientist
Sebastian Nikischer, NA ARC Administrative AssistantAdele Plunkett, NAASC Associate Scientist
George Privon, NAASC Associate Scientist
Gerald Schieven, Millimetre Astronomy Group, NRC Herzberg, Astronomy & Astrophysics Programs

In publications, please refer to this document as:
C. Vlahakis, 2024, “A Guide to the North American ALMA Regional Center and the NAASC”, v1.0,
ALMATable of Contents
1

Welcome22Highlights

2

3

About ALMA3

4

About the NAASC

4

4.1 Organization and Role of the ARCs and the NAASC

44.2 Key Services provided by the NAASC

4

5

6

Essential Resources
5.1
5.2
5.3

6

The ALMA Science Portal
The NAASC Website
The ALMA Helpdesk

Getting Help from the NAASC at Each Step of Your Project
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
6.5
6.6
6.7
6.8
6.9

Large Program Support
Learning about ALMA: Documentation, Workshops, and Community Days
Proposal Preparation
Preparing Your Observations
Working with Your Delivered Data Products
Visiting the NAASC
Publishing Your Results
Getting Support for Conferences and Workshops
Promoting ALMA Science

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7
8

8
8
9
9
11
11
12
13
13
14

7

Working with the Community to Improve ALMA

14

8

Student Support

14

9

ALMA Ambassador Program15

10 NAASC Participation and Initiatives in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) 15
11 Addresses for the NAASC, NRC-HAA, and ASIAA

1712 Map of the Area near NRAO Headquarters and the NAASC

18

1

1 Welcome
Welcome to the North American ALMA Regional Center (NA ARC) at the North American ALMA Science Center(NAASC), headquartered at 520 Edgemont Rd., Charlottesville, VA 22903, United States of America. The
NAASC is a multinational institution that works to provide the scientific community of North America (NA)
access to the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). Through the NAASC, we provide support
and outreach services to our peers including visiting scholars, graduate and undergraduate students andpostdocs, underrepresented groups, and other inquisitive parties interested in ALMA science and outreach.
The NAASC also facilitates many private and public training events to the international community. The NAASC
welcomes you to visit and learn about what we do and what we have to offer to the scientific community.
The NAASC is operated by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Charlottesville, Virginia, incollaboration with Canada’s National Research Council Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre(NRC Herzberg), and the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) of Taiwan. The NAASC supports thescience use of ALMA by astronomers in North America and Taiwan and supports research and development
for future ALMA upgrades.
The following websites provide additional information on ALMA and the NAASC, and connect users toresources and tools they will need to use the ALMA observatory:
ALMA Science Portal

http://almascience.nrao.edu

NAASC website

http://science.nrao.edu/facilities/alma

ALMA Helpdesk(also linked from the ALMA Science
Portal and the NAASC website)

https://help.almascience.org

NRC ALMA website

https://nrc.canada.ca/en/research-development/researchcollaboration/research-centres/herzberg-astronomyastrophysics-research-centre

Taiwan ALMA website

http://alma.asiaa.sinica.edu.tw/

2 Highlights
Below is important information for the NA ALMA Community regarding services and operations at the North
American ALMA Science Center (NAASC):●

Get support for Large Programs!
Support services are available for PIs of any proposal type but Large Program PIs are particularly
encouraged to review the support services that are available from the NAASC, ranging from assistancewith proposal preparation to data delivery and analysis. Agreed-upon support can be included in the
ALMA Large Program proposal’s Management Plan. See Section 6.1 of this document – Large Program
Support.

●Visit us!
The NAASC offers face-to-face visits in both in-person and virtual formats. Through the face-to-face(f2f) department of the ALMA Helpdesk, users may request an in-person visit (at NRAO headquarters2

in Charlottesville, VA), a virtual visit, or a virtual “NAASC Chat”. NAASC Chats are an opportunity for auser to interact with NAASC staff members at a dedicated time without committing to a multi-day f2f
visit but when they may need more assistance than is practical through a Helpdesk ticket. The f2f
visitor program supports data reduction visits, visiting scientists, and sabbatical visits, including those
who would like to come for archival research. If you need any help in preparing proposals, reducing
data, or help finishing writing up an ALMA paper, consider signing up for a f2f visit to work closelywith our data analysts and scientific staff. For more information and to request a visit, please see
https://science.nrao.edu/facilities/alma/visitors-shortterm and submit a ticket to the face-to-facevisits department of the ALMA Helpdesk.
●

Get support for your meeting!
The NAASC also offers financial and logistical support to organize conferences and workshops hosted
by the community to promote ALMA science. For proposals requesting more than $10,000, the next
call for applications will open in the summer of 2024. For other proposals, applications are accepted
year-round while funds last. For more information and to request support for your conference orworkshop,
visit
https://science.nrao.edu/facilities/alma/facilities/alma/support-for-naascconferences-and-workshops.

●

Become an ALMA Ambassador or attend an Ambassador-led workshop!
The ALMA Ambassador Program provides in-depth training and up to $10,000 in research or travel
grant to organize proposal preparation and data processing workshops at institutions across North
America. See https://science.nrao.edu/facilities/alma/ambassadors-program/ for details.

●

Get calibrated data on demand!
The NRAO Science Ready Data Products (SRDP) initiative now provides on-demand generation ofcalibrated measurement sets for data from Cycle 5 to present. It also provides the ability for users torequest re-imaging of data products via the ALMA User-Defined Imaging (AUDI). More information on
SRDP and AUDI can be found at: https://science.nrao.edu/srdp; requests for calibrated measurement
sets and re-imaging can be made at: data.nrao.edu.

●

Stay up-to-date!
To stay informed about NAASC news and opportunities, subscribe to the NRAO e-news list and registerwith the ALMA Science Portal (NA ARC registered users are automatically added to the NA ALMA User
mailing list). NRAO and the ALMA Observatory have Twitter feeds that provide news, updates andhighlights – sign up on Twitter to follow @TheNRAO and @almaobs to receive these updates.

3 About ALMAThe Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) enables transformational research into the physics
of the cold universe, where the sky is dark in the visible part of the spectrum but shines brightly at(sub)millimeter wavelengths. ALMA is a global collaboration involving partners in North America, Europe, andEast Asia, in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. The telescope has 66 high-precision antennas located on
the Chajnantor plateau of the Chilean Andes, 5000 m above sea level. ALMA operates at frequencies between
35 GHz and 950 GHz and can image the sky at resolutions as fine as 0.005” with unprecedented sensitivity.
The capabilities of ALMA are outlined in the ALMA Proposer’s Guide and details on the telescope are given in
the ALMA Technical Handbook. New users can learn about ALMA and get an introduction to radio
interferometry in the ALMA Primer. These documents are available on the ALMA Science Portal athttps://almascience.nrao.edu/documents-and-tools.

34 About the NAASC
4.1 Organization and Role of the ARCs and the NAASC
ALMA, an international facility, serves a worldwide community of astronomers, scientists, and otherprofessionals. To interact with the geographically distributed user community, the three partners haveestablished ALMA Regional Centers, or ARCs. These are the North American ARC (NA ARC), based in
Charlottesville, VA; the East Asian ARC (EA ARC), based in Mitaka, Japan; and the European ARC (EU ARC),
based in Garching, Germany. The ARCs are staffed by scientists with expertise in radio astronomy,
millimeter/submillimeter astronomy, and interferometry, and their purpose is to work with the scientificcommunity to maximize the productivity of the ALMA telescope. The NA ARC is part of the NAASC,
concentrating on internationally agreed core ALMA functions.
Each astronomer who uses ALMA is assigned an ARC for user support at the time they register with the ALMA
Science Portal and when they update their affiliation. Astronomers in North America, East Asia, or Europe areassigned to the ARC associated with their region. Astronomers from Taiwan can select either the NA ARC or
the EA ARC. Astronomers elsewhere in the world can select any one of the three ARCs.
The NAASC is located in part at NRAO Headquarters,on the Grounds of the University of Virginia (UVa), a
short walk from the UVa Department of Astronomy(Section 12). The NRAO and UVa Astronomy sharecolloquia, journal clubs, science group meetings andlunch talks. Several NAASC staff have joint or adjunctappointments at UVa. The NAASC is also located inpart at NRC Herzberg Astronomy & Astrophysics,
located in Victoria, BC, Canada. A list of NAASC staff,
including research interests, is available here:
http://science.nrao.edu/facilities/alma/ALMApeople/
Stone Hall on the Campus of the University of Virginia
and headquarters of the North American ALMA
Science Center.

4.2 Key Services provided by the NAASC
The key services provided by the NAASC to the North American astronomical community include:●

Phase 2 Group (P2G) – P2G staff assist users by preparing ALMA Scheduling Blocks (SBs) in anticipationof the upcoming observing cycle. This effort also includes follow-up on change requests reported
during the course of the cycle and making the appropriate edits to the SBs before placement into theobserving queue.

●

Contact Scientists – ARC staff are assigned to each approved project to provide support and oversightof approved observing programs, and are the main point of contact between PIs and ALMA for
approved projects.

●

Tool and algorithm development – Includes calibration and imaging pipeline heuristics, analysisUtils,
Splatalogue, simalma, the QA2 reporting script for manual calibration, and algorithm research anddevelopment (see Section 6.3 of this guide for more information on simalma and Splatalogue).

4●Online data reduction guides for a range of ALMA observing modes – These CASA guides can befound at http://casaguides.nrao.edu/ and more information on CASA can be found at
http://casa.nrao.edu.

●

Principal Investigator (PI) data reduction and imaging – Includes Pipeline processing and coordinating
and managing the calibration, imaging, and delivery of PI data products through the ALMA Archiveand the delivery of calibrated measurement sets through the Labor-saving Added Value Automation(LAVA) service. We also provide ALMA Data Mining Toolkit (ADMIT) products for interferometricobservations which offer a quick-look of data including line identification for well-known chemical
species and moment maps. For more information about ADMIT products, see the ADMIT CASA guide.

●

Re-generation of calibrated measurement sets – The delivered calibrated data and ADMIT products
are retained on disk for a period of ONE month. After that, users can request re-generation ofcalibrated measurement sets via the ALMA Helpdesk. Archival users can also request calibrated datafrom Cycles 1-4 via the ALMA Helpdesk. This service is restricted to projects whose PIs have NA
designated as their ARC for support. If the user is not a PI or delegated co-I, and is requesting
calibrated measurement sets for public data, there will be a limit of FIVE such requests per calendar
year per requestor. For Cycles 5-present, users can request re-generation of calibration measurement
sets at: data.nrao.edu as part of NRAO’s Science Ready Data Products initiative. This service isprovided to all users worldwide, as long as the data is publicly available in the ALMA Archive. If thedata is still proprietary, only the PI or delegated co-(P)Is may make the request.

●

NAASC Community Day events – Training events,
often hosted by ALMA Ambassadors (Section 9), which
are part of the NAASC’s mission to develop strategicplans and initiatives to grow and inform the ALMA userbase through the use of schools, tutorials, andworkshops.

●

ALMA Helpdesk – Overall management of the ALMA
Helpdesk activities including routine ticket reviews,
enforcement of ticket service level agreements andformulation of new Knowledgebase articles based onuser questions.

●

Documentation – Review and assistance in the
preparation of the ALMA documentation including the
ALMA Call for proposals, Proposer’s Guide, Users’
Policies, Science Primer, Technical Handbook, Guide to
the NA ARC and the NAASC, software user guides, anddocumentation on how to access NAASC services.

●Face-to-face visitor program – Visits (Section 6.6) can
include proposal preparation and data reduction visits
of PIs (or co-Is), or any scientist doing archival
research. We also provide support for visiting
scientists, and sabbatical visits.

ALMA Ambassadors and NAASC Staff at theposter reception during the Ambassador
training session – 2019 February●

Computing and archive infrastructure – The NAASC operates a copy of the ALMA data archive
including LUSTRE access and management of users to the NRAO cluster-processing pipeline.

●

Extension and optimization of ALMA capabilities – NAASC staff interface with the JAO and the ALMA
Science Advisory Committees on setting the priorities for expansion and improvement of ALMA’s
5capabilities for future cycles and support the JAO in carrying out related activities. In the next several
cycles, work will focus on the ALMA2030 Wideband Sensitivity Upgrade.
●

NA ALMA Development Program – Aimed at keeping ALMA at the forefront of scientific discovery
over the long-term. Over the next several years, this program will deliver a new wideband correlator
and an upgraded Band 6 receiver as part of the ALMA2030 Wideband Sensitivity Upgrade.

●

Funding support – Providing opportunities for student funding (including archival research) and page
charge support for U.S.-based investigators.

●

Science outreach events – The NAASC works closely with the NRAO Department of Diversity andInclusion (ODI) to promote STEM education through a wide range of initiatives.

5 Essential Resources
5.1 The ALMA Science Portal
The ALMA Science Portal is the primary access point to ALMA for all science users, and can be found at:
http://almascience.nrao.edu
At the ALMA Science Portal, users can:
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●

Register as an ALMA user
Access the ALMA Call for Proposals, the ALMA Proposer’s Guide, the ALMA Technical Handbook, the
ALMA Primer, and other documentation
Download the ALMA Observing Tool, the software used to prepare and submit ALMA proposals
Search and access public data from the ALMA Archive
Access Knowledgebase articles from the ALMA Helpdesk
Access software tools and documentation, including a sensitivity calculator, the ALMA Observation
Support Tool, and Splatalogue
Get an overview of ALMA’s scientific capabilities.

Every astronomer who intends to submit an ALMA proposal as a PI, or appear on one as a co-PI or coinvestigator (Co-I), must register with the ALMA Science Portal. Once registered and logged in, users will beable to:●●●Submit an ALMA proposal as a PI
Participate as a co-I or co-PI on ALMA proposals
Manage their user profile and demographic information, including:o Updating user affiliation – Users are responsible for ensuring that their profile is correct
throughout the cycle but it is particularly important (for proper observing time accounting
across the Executives) that a user affiliation is correct if a proposal is being submitted. See
details in the ALMA Users’ Policies.
o Updating personal information that is used to track proposal statistics as we continue to remove
bias from the proposal review process.
o Specifying areas of expertise and conflicts of interest, necessary for the proper disseminationof proposal review during the distributed peer review process.

6

o

●
●
●

Setting an option to receive automatic email notifications of observing progress, delegate
access to their data to other ALMA users or delegate the right to trigger Target of Opportunity
observations to other ALMA users.

Access SnooPI, the tool for PIs and collaborators to monitor the status of their observing programs
Submit ALMA Helpdesk tickets
Access their proprietary data through the ALMA Archive.

Once registered with the ALMA Science Portal, a user assigned to the NA ARC is automatically added to the
NA ALMA User mailing list. This list is used by the NA ARC Manager and other designated NAASC staff tocommunicate news, events, science highlights and upcoming science conferences to the NA ALMA User
community. These emails may be sent every 6-8 weeks (or more) depending on the urgency of information.
To stay informed about NAASC news and opportunities, we also recommend that you subscribe to the NRAO
e-news list. Also, NRAO and the ALMA Observatory have Twitter feeds that provide news, updates andhighlights. If you haven't already done so, sign up on Twitter to follow @TheNRAO and @almaobs to receive
these updates.

5.2 The NAASC Website
The NAASC website provides up-to-date news and information of particular use to North American ALMA
users, and can be found at: https://science.nrao.edu/facilities/alma.
At the NAASC website, users get information on:
●
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ALMA and NAASC news and events
ALMA development activities, including updates on the Wideband Sensitivity Upgrade
Data reduction and analysis support including instructional videos on interferometry and CASA
Financial support for visiting the NAASC, publications, and organizing conferences and workshops
Student and postdoc programs
Scientific and training activities, including workshops on ALMA proposal preparation, data processing
and analysis
NAASC staff, contacts, and feedback avenues

NAASC Staff members Adele Plunkett (Left) andAndy Lipnicky (2nd from Right) at the high sitewith ALMA engineer Pablo Carrillo (2nd fromLeft) and an ABC Nightline correspondent (Right)– 2019 March.

7

5.3 The ALMA Helpdesk
The ALMA Helpdesk is the main user resource for getting help. The ALMA Helpdesk is a website that can beaccessed from the ALMA Science Portal, from the NAASC website, or directly at: https://help.almascience.org.
The ALMA Helpdesk includes a library of Knowledgebase articles that address a number of common issues
and questions. As the user types a question, Knowledgebase articles are searched in real time and relevant
articles are presented as the question is being typed. If the user does not find an answer in the articles ordocumentation suggested, the user can submit a ticket. While it is necessary to log in before submitting aticket, users can browse and search the Knowledgebase articles and ALMA Science Portal documentation
without logging in.
The ALMA Helpdesk has the following departments in order to direct tickets to the appropriate people at theuser’s affiliated ARC:●

General Queries (NA) – Science Portal/Registration, Documentation, Webpages, Proposal reviews andassessment, Project tracking, other●

Project Planning (NA) – Available Capabilities, Call for Proposals, Sensitivity Calculator, Simulators,
Splatalogue, otherObserving Tool (NA) – Proposal Preparation, Proposal Submission (general), Phase2 process
Proprietary Period Extension Requests (NA)

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Data Reduction (NA) – CASA, pipeline processing, etc.
Proposal Change Requests (NA) – request for a change to a submitted proposal or accepted project
Archive and Data Retrieval (NA) – archive access and queries, obtaining your ALMA data, archival
research
Face to Face Support (NA) – Data reduction, science, short term, other

ALMA Helpdesk staff will make every effort to respond to tickets promptly. During normal operations, users
can expect a response within two business days. During the last week before the Call for Proposals, a single
department called “Proposal Submission Emergency” is set up across all ARCs that will answer urgent tickets
concerning proposal submission. Triage for this department will start 72 hours before the deadline with 24hour coverage by Europe (EU), North America (NA), and East Asia (EA).

6 Getting Help from the NAASC at Each Step of Your Project
The NAASC provides user support through all stages of an ALMA project, from learning the observatory’s
capabilities to the publication of results.

6.1 Large Program Support
All ARCs provide support for ALMA Large Programs. As stated in the ALMA Proposer’s Guide, prospective PIsof Large Programs are strongly encouraged to contact their ARC for support in order to better prepare forsubmitting a Large Program proposal – especially when preparing the Management Plan. The sections below
describe the services that are available to all PIs that may be especially relevant to Large Program PIs, bothwhen preparing an ALMA proposal and to help with data processing and analysis. Large Program PIs should
review these services carefully and decide if any/all of the services are relevant for their program. It is strongly
recommended that Large Program PIs reach out to the NA ARC well ahead of submitting their proposal to get

8agreement on the services that will be provided by the NA ARC such that they can be included in the proposal
Management Plan. Such service can include, but are not limited to:
1. Access to computing resources (e.g. NA ARC high speed computing system, disk space, or server areas(e.g. ftp) where data can be staged and shared with members of the proposal team). Any NA ALMA
user can request access to the NA ARC computing systems, but Large Programs are particularly
encouraged to secure access to disk space and the high speed computing system prior to proposal
submission, to help with data processing and analysis.
2. Support in optimizing observing strategy and OT setup.
3. Dedicated data analyst support throughout the QA2 Process including incremental checks of the data
to ensure the final quality of the delivered data.
4. Face-to-face or virtual visits to the ARC for proposal preparation or data processing support.
5. Other support provided on request (e.g. help with press releases, page charges, limited travel
support).
Additional services may be available upon request and Large Program PIs should contact the NA ARC early inthe proposal preparation process to discuss their needs.

6.2 Learning about ALMA: Documentation, Workshops, and Community Days
Preparing for an ALMA project begins with learning about the observatory’s capabilities and the tools needed
to design observations, prepare proposals, and submit proposals. The NAASC provides user documentation,
including Observing with ALMA: A Primer, at the ALMA Science Portal.
The NAASC helps to organize NRAO Community Days and other regional workshops in the USA and Canada topromote ALMA to the astronomical community, describe the tools needed to write proposals, and provide
training on techniques for PI and archival data processing. These workshops feature talks on the observatory’s
capabilities, mm/submm interferometry observing techniques, the tools required to design effective ALMA
projects, data processing, and data visualization. Attendees learn to use the ALMA Observing Tool (OT), thesoftware used to prepare and submit observing proposals. The workshops may include a hands-on session to
introduce attendees to imaging ALMA data with CASA. At the request of the hosts, the workshops may also
include talks and information on CASA tasks for simulating ALMA observations. Future workshops arearranged in response to the level of interest from the user community. NRAO Community Days and ALMA
workshops can be organized and hosted by university groups or research institutes, or can be tied to otherscientific meetings or workshops.
The NAASC also supports NRAO special sessions, splinter sessions, webinars and training events at AAS
meetings and other meetings of the astronomical community throughout the year.
Finally, the NAASC hosts periodic “Data Reduction Parties” – workshops that focus specifically on datacalibration and imaging. These workshops are aimed at helping users process their own ALMA data or archival
data.
To request a community day event at your institution and/or see a list of workshops, Community Days, andtraining events, visit the workshops page at: https://science.nrao.edu/facilities/alma/community

6.3 Proposal Preparation
A Call for Proposals is issued prior to each scheduling period, or "Cycle". The Call and supporting documents
are made available on the ALMA Science Portal (see Section 5.1). These documents describe the capabilitiesof the observatory for the upcoming cycle and the policies and procedures for submitting proposals.
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ALMA proposals are prepared using the ALMA Observing Tool (ALMA OT), an application that can be
downloaded from the ALMA Science Portal. Proposals must include a scientific and technical justification, alist of targets and frequencies to be observed, and details such as the sensitivity and angular resolution
required to meet the science goals. The ALMA OT includes a sensitivity and exposure time calculator. Users
must be registered with the ALMA Science Portal to be able to submit proposals using the ALMA OT.
NAASC staff are available to help users learn how to use the ALMA OT and prepare proposals. We emphasize
here that the ALMA OT is not only used to assemble and submit the scientific and technical justifications, butalso to design and specify fully the observations, so users are encouraged to become familiar with the ALMAOT well in advance of the proposal deadline. The ALMA Helpdesk (see Section 5.3 of this guide) is the primaryresource for those seeking assistance. It may be possible to arrange face-to-face assistance at the NAASC for
particularly challenging proposals (Section 6.6).
The CASA Simulator using the task simalma, and the lower-level tasks simobserve and simanalyze, allow users
to simulate an ALMA observation of a target based on a model with a given source position, structure andbrightness. These tasks also help potential ALMA users visualize how different antenna configurations andtrack durations affect an observation. More information on simulating ALMA observations is available at:
http://casaguides.nrao.edu/index.php?title=Guide_To_Simulating_ALMA_Data.
The ALMA Observation Support Tool (OST) provides another method of simulating ALMA observations. The
OST provides a web interface to the CASA simulation code through which the user can specify observing
parameters and upload a FITS file with a model image, or select a model image from a pre-existing library.
The OST is available from the ALMA Science Portal at https://almascience.nrao.edu/tools.
The NAASC is also responsible for providing the ALMA user community with a complete, up-to-date spectralline catalog – Splatalogue. Splatalogue is an effort to collate and rationally organize existing spectroscopic
catalogues into a single resource for the astronomical community. The focus is on pure rotational and rovibrational transitions of astronomically relevant molecules for observations in the microwave and millimeterwave regions using telescopic infrastructure such as ALMA, JVLA, and the GBT, amongst many others. As of
July 2022, Splatalogue contains over 11.4 million transitions from 1333 species and is updated regularly.
Splatalogue also features an interface that is Virtual Astronomical Observatory (VAO) compliant for interfacingwith external software or websites.
New starting in February 2024, the main page for Splatalogue features options for Basic or Advanced searchcapabilities for the Splatalogue database. Use of the Basic search is limited to:●●Common astronomically detected molecules and vibrational states, such as CO, H2O, methanol,hydrogen cyanide, and others.
Pre-defined “filtered” sets of molecules, such as those relevant to diffuse clouds, comets, planetaryatmospheres, etc.
Search criteria including user defined frequency ranges, as well as ALMA Bands 3-9 and the primary
GBT bands, and lower state energy bounds.

In all cases, the only frequencies shown are those which are NRAO recommended. These are typically selected
as the most recently updated line list from either JPL, CDMS, or SLAIM. Observed astronomical intensities fortransitions found in the Lovas/NIST database are also included along with the NRAO recommended
frequencies. For more information about Splatalogue and its use and functionality, visit
http://splatalogue.online.

106.4 Preparing Your Observations
ALMA proposals are reviewed on their scientific and technical merit, and PIs are informed of the outcome of
the review process by email from the JAO. Programs eligible for scheduling are assigned a Contact Scientist,a member of the NAASC staff who provides a single point of contact for program support. NAASC staff and
the Contact Scientist work with the PI to review observing strategies and prepare Scheduling Blocks. After theobservations are made, the Contact Scientist can assist with questions related to data reduction. The mainmeans of interaction between PIs and NAASC staff is via the ALMA Helpdesk. For particularly complex
observations, however, users may arrange a visit to the NAASC to prepare the observations (Section 6.6).
Observers do not travel to Chile or elsewhere to take part in the ALMA observations. Observatory staff
dynamically schedule ALMA observations, taking into account the weather conditions, instrument status,
availability of the targets, and proposal ranking.

6.5 Working with Your Delivered Data Products
The primary software package used to process ALMA data is CASA (Section 6.3 - http://casa.nrao.edu). A setof CASA Guides – a collection of data reduction and imaging tutorials and step-by-step processing and analysis
examples, including scripts for processing Science Verification data – is available athttps://casaguides.nrao.edu/index.php?title=ALMAguides.
The challenge posed by storing and processing ALMA data is formidable. The NAASC hosts a copy of the ALMA
data archive and the NAASC site serves as the primary data access point for North American users, andprovides a backup of the archive in Santiago. Upon completion of the observations and initial data processing,PIs are notified and given instructions on how to download their data.
ALMA data are processed in two steps: first they are calibrated, and then imaged. Most ALMA data are now
calibrated and imaged using the ALMA Data Reduction and Imaging Pipeline. In some rare cases, observatory
or NA ARC staff may prepare CASA scripts for calibration or imaging. Access to these data products areprimarily available through the ALMA Archive. The archive products include the raw data written in ALMA
Science Data Model (ASDM) format and processed data products. The processed data includes:
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QA0 and QA2 report files which contain important information about your data including how yourdata were processed.
FITS images
Calibration and imaging scripts (either pipeline- or manually-produced)
Calibration tables
Quality Assurance (QA) plots or the weblog if any part was processed by the ALMA pipelineo The weblog is an html-formatted collection of web pages containing diagnostic information
describing the pipeline run.
o

A more detailed description of the pipeline and weblog can be found under the section ALMA
Science Data Tracking, Data Processing and Pipeline, Archive and QA2 Data Products at:https://almascience.org/documents-and-tools#datatrack.

The fully-calibrated measurement set (MS) which includes only the science target data is provided as anadditional "Added Value" service to North American PIs. Calibrated measurement sets are supplied with all
NA-processed deliveries to the PI and (on request) to delegated co-PI or co-Is. Generally, calibrated data
provided to users are ready for science imaging using the ALMA Imaging Pipeline or directly with CASA tasks.
Visit https://casaguides.nrao.edu/index.php?title=ALMA_Imaging_Pipeline_Reprocessing for imaging

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examples. In rare cases, however, users may get best results by refining the calibration themselves, withassistance from NAASC staff (if desired).
The calibrated data are retained on disk for a period of ONE month. After that, for Cycles 1-4, users can request
re-generation of calibrated measurement sets via the ALMA Helpdesk. This service is restricted to projects
whose PIs have NA designated as their ARC for support. If the user is not a PI or delegated co-I, and isrequesting calibrated measurement sets for public data, there will be a limit of FIVE such requests per calendar
year per requestor. For Cycles 5-present, users can request re-generation of calibrated measurement sets at:data.nrao.edu. This service is provided to all users as long as the data is out of proprietary period. If the datais still proprietary, only the PI or delegated co-(P)Is may make the request.
In addition to the calibrated target MS and QA2 information, we also provide the ADMIT products forinterferometric observations. ADMIT is an experimental ALMA development project which is designed to lookthrough science images and automatically provide line identification, moment maps, position-velocity
diagrams, etc. Please note that ADMIT products are not Quality Assured and line identification is only
performed for well-known chemical species. For more information about installing and using ADMIT on yourdata, please see the ADMIT CASA guide
Users are encouraged to visit the NAASC to get help with their data processing (Section 6.6). The NAASC has
computers with ample resources to reduce ALMA data, including powerful desktops and a cluster machine
connected to a high-speed LUSTRE file system. The NAASC also supports remote access to its cluster machine,which can be obtained by submitting a ticket to the ALMA Helpdesk.
Short term or data reduction visitors will be assigned a temporary login and password to work on their data.
This short term visitor account can be used for a couple of days up to a few (2-3) weeks. If additional time isnecessary, one extension can be made for this short term account for up to a few (2-3) weeks. After that, if
the user still needs additional substantial time to work on their data, they will be directed to request a longterm NRAO account. This long-term account can be open for up to a year before renewal. To qualify for a longterm NRAO account, the user must have the support of an NRAO scientific staff member. NAASC staff will be
more than willing to support long-term users working on their data on the NAASC cluster. Note – NAASC
resources are NOT the place for long term curation of user data products. Users will need to make otherarrangements for the long term storage of their data. For information about the cluster, visit:https://info.nrao.edu/computing/guide/cluster-processing. To request remote access to the cluster, submit
a ticket to the ALMA Helpdesk.
On the CASA website, there are recommendations for computing hardware required to process ALMA data
outside of the NAASC (visit https://casa.nrao.edu/casa_hardware-requirements.shtml).

6.6 Visiting the NAASC
The NAASC welcomes short-term visits to Charlottesville, VA, or Victoria, British Columbia from North
American investigators of successful ALMA programs or archival researchers for expert assistance withprocessing and analyzing ALMA data (including archival data), or with setting up technical aspects of ALMA
observing proposals including Large Programs (see Section 6.1).
The NAASC offers face-to-face (f2f) visits in both in-person and virtual formats. Users may request an in-person
visit (at NRAO headquarters in Charlottesville, VA), a virtual visit, or a virtual “NAASC Chat”. NAASC Chats arean opportunity for a user to interact with NAASC staff members at a dedicated time without committing to a
multi-day f2f visit but when they may need more assistance than is practical through a Helpdesk ticket. Inperson visits are expected to last about a week. Virtual visits can vary from a few hours up to a few days

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depending on the purpose and type of visit. NAASC Chats last 1-2 hours. Up to three visitors can be supported
for each scheduled or observed project.
Visitors will have access to office space and high-end computing facilities to process their data, plus support
from NAASC staff. Novice visitors, new to radio interferometry, are required to be accompanied by anexperienced investigator. Investigators who are requesting a short data reduction visit can apply to the NAASC
for assistance with travel expenses for 1-2 members of their team.
To request a visit, send a ticket to the ALMA Helpdesk using the “Face-to-Face Support” department. In-person
f2f visits reduction should be requested at least one month in advance. Virtual f2f visits should be requested
at least two weeks in advance. NAASC Chats should be requested at least one week in advance. More details
about visiting the NAASC are available at: https://science.nrao.edu/facilities/alma/visitors-shortterm.
The NAASC also hosts ALMA Data Reduction Parties during which a group of 10-12 researchers visit the NAASC
at the same time for assistance in data reduction and analysis. These events are similar to individual f2f
support visits except that they also include lectures and can be focused on a specific technique or application,
depending on interest. The dates for these events are announced via the NAASC webpage and the NRAO
eNews newsletter.
Long-term visitors to the NAASC are also strongly encouraged, especially those interested in extending andoptimizing the capabilities of ALMA or improving the data reduction and imaging strategies. The length ofsuch visits is negotiable but they typically last between a few weeks to a year. Visit support can range fromfunding for accommodation, per diem or travel costs, to salary supplements, as needed. More details areavailable at: https://science.nrao.edu/facilities/alma/community1/opportunities/visitorsprogram.

6.7 Publishing Your Results
Upon request, NRAO provides financial support for page charges to authors at U.S. scientific or educational
institutions. The paper may report either original data obtained with an NRAO facility, including ALMA, ororiginal research made with NRAO archival data.
All publications that are funded by NRAO page charges must include the following statement as a footnote or
acknowledgement: "The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science
Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc." and, for ALMA data, theadditional acknowledgment: "This paper makes use of the following ALMA data:
ADS/JAO.ALMA#2011.0.01234.S. ALMA is a partnership of ESO (representing its member states), NSF (USA)and NINS (Japan), together with NRC (Canada), NSTC and ASIAA (Taiwan), and KASI (Republic of Korea), in
cooperation with the Republic of Chile. The Joint ALMA Observatory is operated by ESO, AUI/NRAO and NAOJ."
Details on the page charge support policy are here: http://library.nrao.edu/pubsup.shtml.

6.8 Getting Support for Conferences and Workshops
The NAASC offers support for inclusive conferences and workshops which encourage the participation of
students, postdocs, and early career researchers. There is no restriction on the size of the meeting, and any
wavelength and/or topic with a connection to ALMA science, technology, or broader impact objectives will beconsidered. The NAASC will provide monetary funding (up to $25,000) and provide certain logistical support.
For proposals requesting more than $10,000, we will open the next call for applications in the summer of2024. For other proposals, we will accept applications year-long while funds last. For more information and13to request support for your conference or workshop, please visit
https://science.nrao.edu/facilities/alma/facilities/alma/support-for-naasc-conferences-and-workshops .

6.9 Promoting ALMA Science
The NAASC sponsors ALMA-themed science conferences on roughly an annual basis. A listing of previous
ALMA conferences and information on upcoming conferences is available at:https://science.nrao.edu/facilities/alma/naasc-workshops.
NAASC activities and ALMA results are publicized in the NRAO eNews: http://science.nrao.edu/enews.
The NAASC is also involved in community outreach through special ALMA special sessions and other events at
American Astronomical Society and Canadian Astronomical Society meetings. At these sessions, we provide
attendees with highlights of recent ALMA science, describe the current status of ALMA, and give updates on
the proposal submission and data processing tools.
The Education and Public Outreach (EPO) team at NRAO works with investigators to publicize newsworthy
ALMA projects via news releases, videos, and other outreach products. In addition to providing expertise andadvice on outreach activities, the EPO team can develop images, graphics, and other visuals to promotescience results. To recommend a potentially newsworthy result or for questions, contact the NRAO
Department for Public Relations for ALMA (alma-pr@nrao.edu).

7 Working with the Community to Improve ALMA
The NAASC encourages involvement from the user community to develop and improve ALMA. The NAASC
periodically invites proposals from North American entities for studies or projects for potential inclusion in
the ALMA Development Plan. The primary aims are:●To give groups in North America the opportunity to propose ALMA upgrades that may later be
implemented as part of the ALMA Development Plan
● To support the development of conceptual and detailed designs for ALMA upgrades, and● To encourage relevant long-term research and development.
Development proposal calls are announced at:https://science.nrao.edu/facilities/alma/facilities/alma/science_sustainability/NADevelopmentProgram.

8 Student Support
The NAASC supports student involvement in ALMA research through the NRAO student programs. NRAO has
a Summer Student Program aimed at introducing undergraduate and beginning graduate students to cuttingedge radio astronomy research and engineering. In addition, the Student Observing Support Program funds
undergraduate and graduate students working on eligible ALMA observations, including support for researchwith ALMA archival data. The Reber Pre-Doctoral Program and the Post-Bacc Program offer the opportunity
for students to conduct research at NRAO sites under the mentorship of an NRAO scientist. Details on thestudent programs are available at: http://science.nrao.edu/opportunities/studentprograms.shtml.

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9 ALMA Ambassador Program
The ALMA Ambassador Program provides training (and up to a $10,000 research or travel grant) to early career
researchers (including graduate students and postdocs) interested in expanding their ALMA/interferometry
expertise and sharing that knowledge with their home institutions through the organization community
workshops. Each year the NAASC sponsors a group of selected Ambassadors to travel to Charlottesville,
Virginia, to receive in-depth training in topics related to ALMA proposal writing (including interferometry
basics, ALMA science capabilities, recent ALMA headlines, and use of the Observing Tool), ALMA dataprocessing (including imaging, self-calibration, NRAO's Science Ready Data Products, and CARTA visualization),
as well as guidance with speaking on these topics. The Ambassadors then return to their home institutions oran agreed upon location to host 1-2 day proposal preparation workshops in advance of the ALMA proposal
deadline and 1-2 day data processing workshops later in the year. More information on the ALMA
Ambassadorsprogram,includingupcoming
deadlines,
can
be
found
here: https://science.nrao.edu/facilities/alma/ambassadors-program.

Members of the Cycle 11 ALMA Ambassador cohort visited the NRAO Headquarters andthe NAASC in Charlottesville, VA, for training in February 2024.

10 NAASC Participation and Initiatives in the Office of Diversity andInclusion (ODI)
The Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) National Astronomy Consortium (NAC https://science.nrao.edu/opportunities/student-programs/nac) is a program that had its roots in the NAASC
and is led by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and Associated Universities Inc., (AUI) in
partnership with the National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP), and a number of minority and majority
universities to increase the numbers of students from underrepresented and underserved groups and thoseotherwise overlooked by the traditional academic pipeline into STEM or STEM-related careers. The Nationaland International Non-Traditional Exchange (NINE - go.nrao.edu/NINE) Program is geared towards enticing
the best and brightest, both nationally and internationally, into high quality programs designed to benefit the15

participant, each partnering location, and the radio astronomy community as a whole. The NAASC provides
financial support for the NAC and NINE programs and supports NINE hubs around the world.
The NAASC supports, where possible, the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP https://lsamp.virginia.edu/) program activities. The LSAMP program consists of 11 partner institutions,
including the University of Virginia, and strives for diversification of the Science, Technology, Engineering, andMathematics (STEM) workforce, with an emphasis on increasing the number of underrepresented minority
students earning baccalaureate degrees and matriculating to graduate school.
The NAASC works very closely with ODI on best practice for inclusion of all staff and in supporting safe spaces(https://public.nrao.edu/odi/). The NAASC is also a major corporate sponsor of the International Symposium
on Molecular Spectroscopy and sponsors new initiatives including the LGBTQIA+ reception.

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11 Addresses for the NAASC, NRC-HAA, and ASIAA
North American ALMA Science Center
520 Edgemont Rd.
Charlottesville, VA 22903
USA
Phone: 434-296-0308
Directions: https://science.nrao.edu/facilities/alma/

National Research Council
Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics
5071 West Saanich Road
Victoria, BC V9E 2E7
CanadaPhone: 250-363-6919
Directions: http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/about/directions/victoria.html

Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica
11F of Astronomy-Mathematics Building, National Taiwan University
No.1, Roosevelt Rd, Sec. 4 Taipei 10617, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Phone: +886-2-3365-2200
Directions: http://www.asiaa.sinica.edu.tw/guide/transport.php

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12 Map of the Area near NRAO Headquarters and the NAASCNRAO headquarters and the NAASC are located by the red marker labeled "A"18

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