58560 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 7, 2008 / Notices 

Organizations can receive a DUNS 

number at no cost by calling the 

dedicated toll-free DUNS Number 

request line at 1–866–705–5711 or by 

accessing the Grants.gov Web site at 

http://www.Grants.gov. 

Department of Commerce Pre-Award 

Notification Requirements for Grants 

and Cooperative Agreements: The 

Department of Commerce Pre-Award 

Notification Requirements for Grants 

and Cooperative Agreements contained 

in the Federal Register notice of 

February 11, 2008 (73 FR 7696) are 

applicable to this solicitation. 

Paperwork Reduction Act: This 

document contains collection-ofinformation requirements subject to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). The 

use of Standard Forms 424, 424A, 424B, 

SF-LLL, and CD–346 have been 

approved by OMB under the respective 

control numbers 0348–0043, 0348–0044, 

0348–0040, 0348–0046, and 0605–0001. 

Notwithstanding any other provisions of 

law, no person is required to respond to, 

nor shall any person be subject to a 

penalty for failure to comply with a 

collection of information subject to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act unless that 

collection displays a currently valid 

OMB Control Number. 

Executive Order 12866: This notice 

has been determined to be not 

significant for purposes of E.O. 12866. 

Administrative Procedure Act/ 

Regulatory Flexibility Act: Prior notice 

and an opportunity for public comment 

are not required by the Administrative 

Procedure Act for rules concerning 

public property, loans, grants, benefits, 

or contracts (5 U.S.C. 533(a)(2)). Because 

notice and opportunity for comment are 

not required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 533 or 

any other law, the analytical 

requirements of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C 601 et seq.) are 

inapplicable. Therefore, a regulatory 

flexibility analysis is not required and 

has not been prepared. 

Dated: October 2, 2008. 

Edith J. McCloud, 

Associate Director for Management, Minority 

Business Development Agency. 

[FR Doc. E8–23739 Filed 10–6–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–21–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[Docket No. 0809261277–81278–01 I.D. 

GF001] 

Cooperative Institute for Satellite 

Climate Studies 

AGENCY: National Environmental 

Satellite Data and Information Service 

Program Office (NESDISPO), National 

Environmental Satellite Data and 

Information Service (NESDIS), National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA), Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of funding availability. 

SUMMARY: NOAA National 

Environmental Satellite Data and 

Information Services (NESDIS) invites 

applications for a Cooperative Institute 

(CI) that will focus on (1) Climate and 

satellite research and applications, (2) 

climate and satellite observations and 

monitoring, and (3) climate research and 

modeling. Through this competition, 

NOAA intends to establish 

competitively a new CI according to the 

policy and procedures described in 

NOAA Administrative Order 216?107 

and the Cooperative Institute Interim 

Handbook both available at http:// 

www.nrc.noaa.gov/ci. The proposed CI 

should be composed of two or more 

member institutions (e.g., multiple 

universities). At least one research 

institution should be in Maryland, 

Washington DC or the adjacent states 

(Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia 

and Virginia). At least two research 

institutions should be in North Carolina 

or the adjacent states (Virginia, 

Tennessee, South Carolina and Georgia), 

with a presence in Asheville, North 

Carolina. NOAA has identified three 

research themes that will address 

specific needs within the NOAA 

Mission Support Satellite Service 

program and the NOAA Climate Goal 

that would benefit from collaborations 

with the CI. The CI should possess 

outstanding capabilities to work in the 

three research themes summarized 

below, as well as possess the capability 

to conduct outreach and education 

activities in support of these research 

themes. I. Climate and Satellite 

Research and Applications: Research 

conducted under this theme is 

associated with the development of new 

and innovative uses of non-NOAA 

satellite assets that can ultimately be 

transitioned into NOAA operations to 

support climate information needs. This 

theme also includes performing research 

and development aimed at improving 

the utilization of long time series of 

satellite measurements that will offer 

NOAA scientists a homogeneous record 

of satellite radiances. II. Climate and 

Satellite Observations and Monitoring: 

Research conducted under this theme 

involves (1) Designing indices and 

applications that incorporate satellite 

observations to detect, monitor and 

investigate climatic changes and their 

impacts on coastal and open ocean 

ecosystems, (2) identifying and meeting 

the satellite climate needs of a wide 

variety of users, including research, 

business and industry, and government 

and private sector users, and (3) 

contributing significantly to climate 

reanalysis projects when satellite data is 

a key input. III. Climate Research and 

Modeling: Research conducted under 

this theme is focused on improving 

climate forecasts on mesoscale, regional 

and global scales when satellite data is 

a key input, and developing regional 

ecosystem models that can incorporate 

satellite observations to predict the 

impact of climate change on these 

ecosystems, particularly those located in 

the Mid-Atlantic region. The CI is also 

expected to play a significant role in 

National Centers for Environmental 

Prediction (NCEP) Climate Test Bed 

projects when satellite data is a key 

input. This announcement provides 

requirements for the proposed CI and 

includes details for the technical 

program, evaluation criteria, and 

competitive selection procedures. 

Applicants should review the NOAA CI 

Policy and CI Interim Handbook (both 

available at http://www.nrc.noaa.gov/ci) 

prior to preparing a proposal for this 

announcement. 

DATES: Proposals must be received by 

NESDIS no later than January 5, 2009 5 

p.m., E.T. Proposals submitted after that 

date will not be considered. 

ADDRESSES: The standard application 

package is available at http:// 

www.grants.gov. For applicants without 

Internet access, an application package 

may be received by contacting Ingrid 

Guch, NOAA/NESDIS, 5200 Auth Road, 

Room 701, Camp Springs, Maryland 

20746. Applicants are strongly 

encouraged to apply online through the 

Grants.gov website. Paper submissons 

are only acceptable only if internet 

access is not available. Grants.gov 

requires applicants to register with the 

system prior to submitting an 

application. This registration process 

can take several weeks, involving 

multiple steps. In order to allow 

sufficient time for this process, you 

should register as soon as you decide 

that you intend to apply, even if you are 

not yet ready to submit your proposal. 

If an applicant has problems 

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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 7, 2008 / Notices 58561 

downloading the application package 

from Grants.gov, contact Grants.gov 

Customer Support at (800)518–4726 or 

support@grants.gov. For non-Windows 

computer systems, please see http:// 

www.grants.gov/MacSupport for 

information on how to download and 

submit an application through 

Grants.gov. If a hard copy application is 

submitted, please include an original of 

two unbound copies of the proposal. 

Paper submissions should be submitted 

to Mrs. Guch at the above-listed address. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

a copy of the Federal Funding 

Opportunity announcement and/or 

application package, please access 

grants.gov; the NOAA Cooperative 

Institute Web site (http:// 

www.nrc.noaa.gov/ci) or contact Ingrid 

Guch, NOAA/NESDIS; 5200 Auth Road, 

Room 701; Camp Springs, Maryland 

20746, or by phone at (301) 763–8282 

ext. 152, or fax to (301) 763–8108, or via 

internet at ingrid.guch@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: One of 

NOAA’s strategic goals is to 

‘‘understand and describe climate 

variability and change to enhance 

society’s ability to plan and respond.’’ 

The Satellite Climate Studies CI will 

provide strong and sustained academic 

partners towards realizing this goal. It is 

essential for NOAA federal scientists to 

substantially collaborate with 

outstanding researchers in academia in 

order to produce climate information 

and services that are based on satellite 

data and knowledge from many 

disciplines (physics, chemistry, biology, 

geography, earth science, oceanography, 

meteorology and sociology, etc.). The 

sustained nature of a Satellite Climate 

Studies CI (5–10 years) will provide 

significant opportunity to enhance 

NOAA’s operational decision support 

tools to provide climate services for 

national socioeconomic benefits, a key 

goal area of research specified by 

NOAA’s 5-year Research Plan and 20- 

year Research Vision. Additionally, the 

Satellite Climate Studies CI will also 

serve another important function in 

support of NOAA’s ongoing research: 

Educating, training and sustaining a 

world class workforce. These goals will 

be accomplished through NOAAacademia projects in which the research 

institution brings a strong heritage in 

satellite remote sensing and climate 

applications. CI Concept/Program 

Background: A CI is a NOAA-supported, 

non-Federal organization that has 

established an outstanding research 

program in one or more areas that are 

relevant to the NOAA mission to 

understand and predict changes in the 

Earth’s environment and conserve and 

manage coastal and marine resources to 

meet our Nation’s economic, social, and 

environmental needs. The CI is 

established at research institutions that 

also have a strong education program 

with established graduate degree 

programs in NOAA-related sciences. 

The CI provides significant coordination 

of resources among all non-government 

partners and promotes the involvement 

of students and post-doctoral scientists 

in NOAA-funded research. The CI 

provides mutual benefits with value 

provided by all parties. NOAA 

establishes a new CI competitively 

when it identifies a need to sponsor a 

long-term (5–10 years) collaborative 

partnership with one or more 

outstanding non-Federal, non-profit 

research institutions. For NOAA, the 

purpose of this long-term collaborative 

partnership is to promote research, 

education, training, and outreach 

aligned with the NOAA mission; to 

obtain research capabilities that do not 

exist internally and/or to expand 

research capacity in NOAA-related 

sciences to: 

—Conduct collaborative, long-term 

research that involves NOAA 

scientists and those at the research 

institution(s) from one or more 

scientific disciplines of interest to 

NOAA; 

—Utilize the scientific, education, and 

outreach expertise at the research 

institution(s) that, depending on 

NOAA’s research needs, may or may 

not be located near a NOAA facility; 

—Support student participation in 

NOAA-related research studies; and 

—Strengthen or expand NOAA-related 

research capabilities and capacity at 

the research institution(s) that 

complements and contributes to the 

NOAA ability to reach its mission 

goals. A CI will consist of one or more 

research institutions that demonstrate 

outstanding performance within one 

or more established research programs 

in NOAA-related sciences. These 

institutions may include Minority 

Serving Institutions and universities 

with strong departments that can 

contribute to the proposed activities 

of the CI. CIs, conduct research under 

approved scientific research themes 

(see Section I.B of the Full Funding 

Opportunity announcement) and 

Tasks (additional tasks can be 

proposed by the CI): 

i. Task I activities are related to the 

management of the CI, as well as general 

education and outreach activities. This 

task also includes support of 

postdoctoral and visiting scientists 

conducting activities within the 

research themes of the CI that are 

approved by the CI Director, in 

consultation with NOAA, and are 

relevant to NOAA and the CI mission 

goals. 

ii. Task II activities usually involve 

on-going direct collaboration with 

NOAA scientists. This collaboration 

typically is fostered by the collocation 

of Federal and CI employees. 

iii. Task III activities require minimal 

collaboration with NOAA scientists and 

may include research funded by other 

NOAA competitive grant programs. 

Electronic Access: The full text of the 

full funding opportunity announcement 

for this program can be accessed via the 

Grants.gov Web site at http:// 

www.grants.gov. The announcement 

will also be available by contacting the 

program officials identified under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. 

Applicants must comply with all 

requirements contained in the full 

funding opportunity announcement. 

Statutory Authority: 15 U.S.C. 313, 49 

U.S.C. 44720(b), 15 U.S.C. 2901, 15 

U.S.C. 1540, 33 U.S.C. 883d, 118 Stat. 

71 CFDA: 11.440, Environmental 

Sciences, Applications, Data, and 

Education 

Funding Availability: NOAA expects 

that approximately $13M will be 

available for the CI In the first year of 

the award. The Task I budget should not 

exceed $400,000. The final amount of 

funding available for Task I will be 

determined during the negotiation 

phase of the award based on availability 

of funding. Funding for subsequent 

years is expected to be constant 

throughout the period and will depend 

on the quality of the research, the 

satisfactory progress in achieving the 

stated goals described in the proposal, 

continued relevance to program 

objectives, and the availability of 

funding. 

Eligibility: Eligibility is limited to 

non-Federal public and private nonprofit universities, colleges and research 

institutions that offer accredited 

graduate level degree-granting programs 

in NOAA-related sciences, as described 

in the CI Interim Handbook located at 

http://www.nrc.noaa.gov/ci/. 

Cost Sharing Requirements: To stress 

the collaborative nature and investment 

of a CI by both NOAA and the research 

institution, cost sharing is required. 

There is no minimum cost sharing 

requirement; however, the amount of 

cost sharing will be considered when 

determining the level of the CI 

commitment under the NOAA standard 

evaluation criteria for overall 

qualifications of applicants. Acceptable 

cost-sharing proposals include, but are 

not limited to, offering a reduced 

indirect cost rate against activities in 

one or more Tasks, waiver of indirect 

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58562 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 7, 2008 / Notices 

costs assessed against base funds and/or 

Task I activities, waiver or reduction of 

any costs associated with the use of 

facilities at the CI, and full or partial 

salary funding for the CI director, 

administrative staff, graduate students, 

visiting scientists, or postdoctoral 

scientists. 

Evaluation and Selection Procedures: 

The general evaluation criteria and 

selection factors that apply to full 

applications to this funding opportunity 

are summarized below. The evaluation 

criteria for full applications will have 

different weights and details. Further 

information about the evaluation criteria 

and selection factors can be found in the 

full funding opportunity announcement. 

Evaluation Criteria for Projects: 

Proposals will be evaluated using the 

standard NOAA evaluation criteria. 

Various questions under each criterion 

are provided to ensure that the 

applicant includes information that 

NOAA will consider important during 

the evaluation, in addition to any other 

information provided by the applicant. 

i. Importance and/or relevance and 

applicability of proposed project to the 

program goals (25 percent): This 

criterion ascertains whether there is 

intrinsic value in the proposed work 

and/or relevance to NOAA, Federal, 

regional, state, or local activities.—Does 

the proposal include research goals and 

projects that address the critical issues 

identified in the NOAA 5-year Research 

Plan, the NOAA Strategic Plan, and the 

priorities described in the program 

priorities section (see section I.B. of the 

Full Funding Opportunity 

announcement).—Is there a 

demonstrated commitment (in terms of 

resources and facilities) to enhance 

existing NOAA and CI resources to 

foster a long-term collaborative research 

environment/culture?—Will most of the 

staff at the CI be located near one of two 

NOAA facilities, the National Center for 

Weather and Climate Prediction in 

Riverdale Park, Maryland, or the 

National Climactic Data Center in 

Asheville North Carolina, to enhance 

collaborations with NOAA? Examples 

include (1) Academic institution of 

higher learning in Asheville North 

Carolina metropolitan area and/or 

Washington DC metropolitan area; and/ 

or (2) Office space located in Asheville 

North Carolina metropolitan area and/or 

Washington DC metropolitan area 

hosting at least 20 consortium 

personnel; and/or (3) Willingness to 

allow at least 20 students or professors 

to work at the NOAA site in Asheville 

North Carolina metropolitan area and/or 

Washington DC metropolitan area. ii. 

Technical/scientific merit (30 percent): 

This criterion assesses whether the 

approach is technically sound and/or 

innovative, if the methods are 

appropriate, and whether there are clear 

project goals and objectives.—Does the 

project description include a summary 

of clearly stated goals to be achieved 

during the five year period that reflect 

the NOAA strategic plan and goals? 

—Does the CI involve partnerships with 

other universities or research 

institutions, including Minority Serving 

Institutions and universities with strong 

departments that can contribute to the 

proposed activities of the CI? iii. Overall 

qualifications of applicants (30 percent): 

This criterion ascertains whether the 

applicant possesses the necessary 

education, experience, training, 

facilities, and administrative resources 

to accomplish the project.—If the 

institution(s) and/or PIs have received 

current or recent NOAA funding, is 

there a demonstrated record of 

outstanding performance working with 

NOAA and/or NOAA scientists on 

research projects?—Is there nationally 

and/or internationally recognized 

expertise within the appropriate 

disciplines needed to conduct the 

collaborative/interdisciplinary research 

described in the proposal?—Is there a 

well-developed business plan that 

includes fiscal and human resource 

management, as well as strategic 

planning and accountability?—Are there 

any unique capabilities in a missioncritical area of research for NOAA?— 

Has the applicant shown a substantial 

investment to the NOAA partnership, as 

demonstrated by the amount of the cost 

sharing contribution? iv. Project costs (5 

percent): The budget is evaluated to 

determine if it is realistic and 

commensurate with the project needs 

and time-frame. v.Outreach and 

education (10 percent): NOAA assesses 

whether this project provides a focused 

and effective education and outreach 

strategy regarding NOAA’s mission to 

protect the Nation’s natural resources. 

—Is there a strong education program 

with established graduate degree 

programs in NOAA-related sciences that 

also encourages student participation in 

NOAA-related research studies? 

Review and Selection Process: An 

initial administrative review/screening 

is conducted to determine compliance 

with requirements/completeness. All 

proposals will be evaluated and 

individually ranked in accordance with 

the assigned weights of the above-listed 

evaluation criteria by an independent 

peer review panel. At least three 

experts, who may be Federal or nonFederal, will be used in this process. If 

non-Federal experts participate in the 

review process, each expert will submit 

an individual review and there will be 

no consensus opinion. The merit 

reviewers ratings are used to produce a 

rank order of the proposals. The 

Selecting Official selects proposals after 

considering the peer reviews and 

selection factors listed below. In making 

the final selections, the Selecting 

Official will award in rank order unless 

the proposal is justified to be selected 

out of rank order based upon one or 

more of the selection factors. 

Selection Factors for Projects: The 

merit review ratings shall provide a rank 

order to the Selecting Official for final 

funding recommendations. The 

Selecting Official shall award in the 

rank order unless the proposal is 

justified to be selected out of rank order 

based on one or more of the following 

factors: 1. Availability of funding 2. 

Balance and distribution of funds a. By 

research area b. By project type c. By 

type of institutions d. By type of 

partners e. Geographically 3. 

Duplication of other projects funded or 

considered for funding by NOAA/ 

federal agencies. 4. Program priorities 

and policy factors. 5. Applicant prior 

award performance. 6. Partnerships 

with/Participation of targeted groups. 7. 

Adequacy of information necessary for 

NOAA staff to make a National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 

determination and draft necessary 

documentation before recommendations 

for funding are made to the NOAA 

Grants Officer. 

Intergovernmental Review: 

Applications under this program are not 

subject to Executive Order 12372, 

‘‘Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs.’’ 

Limitation of Liability: In no event 

will NOAA or the Department of 

Commerce be responsible for proposal 

preparation costs if these programs fail 

to receive funding or are cancelled 

because of other agency priorities. 

Publication of this announcement does 

not oblige NOAA to award any specific 

project or to obligate any available 

funds. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA): NOAA must analyze the 

potential environmental impacts, as 

required by the National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA), for applicant 

projects or proposals which are seeking 

NOAA federal funding opportunities. 

Detailed information on NOAA 

compliance with NEPA can be found at 

the following NOAA NEPA Web site: 

http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/, including 

our NOAA Administrative Order 216–6 

for NEPA, http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/ 

NAO216_6_TOC.pdf, and the Council 

on Environmental Quality 

implementation regulations, http:// 

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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 7, 2008 / Notices 58563 

ceq.eh.doe.gov/nepa/regs/ceq/ 

toc_ceq.htm. Consequently, as part of an 

applicant’s package, and under their 

description of their program activities, 

applicants are required to provide 

detailed information on the activities to 

be conducted, locations, sites, species 

and habitat to be affected, possible 

construction activities, and any 

environmental concerns that may exist 

(e.g., the use and disposal of hazardous 

or toxic chemicals, introduction of nonindigenous species, impacts to 

endangered and threatened species, 

aquaculture projects, and impacts to 

coral reef systems). In addition to 

providing specific information that will 

serve as the basis for any required 

impact analyses, applicants may also be 

requested to assist NOAA in drafting of 

an environmental assessment, if NOAA 

determines an assessment is required. 

Applicants will also be required to 

cooperate with NOAA in identifying 

feasible measures to reduce or avoid any 

identified adverse environmental 

impacts of their proposal. The failure to 

do so shall be grounds for not selecting 

an application. In some cases if 

additional information is required after 

an application is selected, funds can be 

withheld by the Grants Officer under a 

special award condition requiring the 

recipient to submit additional 

environmental compliance information 

sufficient to enable NOAA to make an 

assessment on any impacts that a project 

may have on the environment. 

The Department of Commerce PreAward Notification Requirements for 

Grants and Cooperative Agreements: 

The Department of Commerce PreAward Notification Requirements for 

Grants and Cooperative Agreements 

contained in the Federal Register notice 

of February 11, 2008 (73 FR 7696), are 

applicable to this solicitation. 

Paperwork Reduction Act: This 

document contains collection-ofinformation requirements subject to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). The 

use of Standard Forms 424, 424A, 424B, 

and SF-LLL and CD–346 has been 

approved by the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) under the respective 

control numbers 0348–0043, 0348–0044, 

0348–0040, 0348–0046, and 0605–0001. 

Notwithstanding any other provision 

of law, no person is required to, nor 

shall a person be subject to a penalty for 

failure to comply with, a collection of 

information subject to the requirements 

of the PRA unless that collection of 

information displays a currently valid 

OMB control number. 

Executive Order 12866: This notice 

has been determined to be not 

significant for purposes of Executive 

Order 12866. 

Executive Order 13132 (Federalism): 

It has been determined that this notice 

does not contain policies with 

Federalism implications as that term is 

defined in Executive Order 13132. 

Administrative Procedure Act/ 

Regulatory Flexibility Act: Prior notice 

and an opportunity for public comment 

are not required by the Administrative 

Procedure Act or any other law for rules 

concerning public property, loans, 

grants, benefits, and contracts (5 U.S.C. 

553(a)(2)). Because notice and 

opportunity for comment are not 

required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 or any 

other law, the analytical requirements 

for the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.) are inapplicable. 

Therefore, a regulatory flexibility 

analysis has not been prepared. 

Mary E. Kicza, 

Assistant Adminstrator for Satellite and 

Information Services. 

[FR Doc. E8–23826 Filed 10–6–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA) 

[Docket No. 0809181228–81232–01; I.D. 

GF001] 

Cooperative Institute To Investigate 

the Use of Satellite Applications for 

Regional and Global-Scale Forecast 

Systems 

AGENCY: OAR Cooperative Institutes 

Program Office (CIPO), Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Research (OAR), National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA), Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of funding availability. 

SUMMARY: NOAA Office of Oceans and 

Atmospheric Research (OAR) invites 

applications for a Cooperative Institute 

(CI) that will collaborate with NOAA 

scientists to improve weather forecast 

and warning accuracy; contribute to 

improvements in water resource 

forecasting capabilities; provide 

integrated weather information to meet 

future aviation and surface 

transportation needs; advance satellite 

sensor technology; develop highperformance computing, visualization, 

and scientific workstation technologies; 

and enhance environmental literacy to 

improve understanding. The CI would 

also conduct research needed to develop 

multiscale (global to local) data 

assimilation techniques with a strong 

satellite data emphasis, and provide the 

scientific expertise and the necessary 

computing infrastructure to help NOAA 

move forward on these issues. Through 

this competition, NOAA intends to 

establish competitively a new CI 

according to the policy and procedures 

described in NOAA Administrative 

Order 216–107 and the Cooperative 

Institute Interim Handbook both 

available at http://www.nrc.noaa.gov/ 

ci/. The proposed CI should be within 

daily commuting distance of NOAA 

facilities in Boulder and Fort Collins, 

Colorado. NOAA has identified five 

research themes that will address 

identified needs within the NOAA 

Weather and Water Goal that would 

benefit from collaborations with the CI. 

I. Satellite algorithm development, 

training and education. Research 

conducted under this theme is 

associated with development of 

satellite-based algorithms for weather 

forecasting, with emphasis on regional 

and mesoscale meteorological 

phenomenon. This work includes 

applications of basic satellite products 

such as feature track winds, 

thermodynamic retrievals, sea surface 

temperature, etc., in combination with 

model analyses and forecasts, as well as 

in situ and other remote sensing 

observations. Applications can be for 

current or future satellites. Also under 

this theme, satellite and related training 

material will be developed and 

delivered to a wide variety of users, 

with emphasis on operational 

forecasters. A variety of techniques can 

be used, including distance learning 

methods, Web-based demonstration 

projects and instructor-led training. 

II. Regional to Global Scale Modeling 

Systems. Research conducted under this 

theme is associated with the 

improvement of weather/climate models 

(minutes to months) that simulate and 

predict changes in the Earth system. 

Topics include atmospheric and ocean 

dynamics, radiative forcing, clouds and 

moist convection, land surface 

modeling, hydrology, and coupled 

modeling of the earth system. 

III. Data Assimilation. Research 

conducted under this theme will 

develop and improve techniques to 

assimilate environmental observations, 

including satellite, terrestrial, oceanic, 

and biological observations, to produce 

the best estimate of the environmental 

state at the time of the observations for 

use in analysis, modeling, and 

prediction activities associated with 

weather/climate predications (minutes 

to months) and analysis. 

IV. Climate-Weather Processes. 

Research conducted under this theme 

will focus on using numerical models 

and environmental data, including 

satellite observations, to understand 

processes that are important to creating 

environmental changes on weather and 

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