Extramural Research Programs

There are two main sources for research funds to support paleoclimatic research in the U.S. The National Science Foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The National Science Foundation primarily supports paleoclimatic research through three efforts in the Directorate for Geosciences: Marine Geology and Geophysics, the Paleoclimate program in atmospheric sciences and the Earth System History (ESH) Program. ESH is part of the NSF Global Change Research Programs that support research and related activities that advance fundamental understanding of dynamic physical, biological, and socioeconomic systems as well as interactions among those systems. Additional paleoclimatic research is supported by the Office of Polar Programs, the Division of Earth Sciences and other NSF programs.

The Paleoclimate program supports research on the natural evolution of Earth's climate with the goal of providing a baseline for present variability and future trends through improved understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological processes that influence climate over the long-term. Proposals may be submitted at any time during the year for all programs except those involving the allocation of observational and computing facilities.

The Marine Geology and Geophysics program supports research on all aspects of geology and geophysics of the ocean basins and margins, as well as the Great Lakes.

The Earth System History (ESH) program supports coordinated projects that focus on the past behavior of the coupled Earth-Ocean-Atmosphere-Biosphere system which are conducted to provide insight into the factors that govern environmental variability, rates of climate change, and large-scale responses to climate forcing. NSF has issued a program announcement for Earth System History.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration supports paleoclimatic research through participation in the Earth System History Program with NSF and through an independent call for proposals from the Climate Change Data and Detection program element in the NOAA Climate and Global Change Program at the NOAA Office of Global Programs. The NOAA Climate and Global Change Program represents a NOAA contribution to evolving national and international programs designed to improve our ability to observe, understand, predict, and respond to changes in the global environment. The NOAA Program is a key contributing element of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), which is coordinated by the interagency Committee on Environmental and Natural Resources.

NOAA supports paleoclimatic research through the jointly managed NSF/NOAA Earth System History (ESH) Program Announcement. The NSF/NOAA ESH initiative represents a U.S. contribution to Past Global Changes (PAGES), a core project of the International Geosphere - Biosphere Programme (IGBP). Within the ESH iniative is an area of special emphasis on Paleoclimate Variability that specifically addresses the goals of the PAGES/CLIVAR Program (IGBP-WCRP), and the proposals submitted to the Paleoclimate Variability emphasis are given priority for NOAA funding.

NOAA also supports paleoclimatic research through the NOAA Climate and Global Change Programs Grants. The Climate Change Data and Detection (CCDD) paleoclimatology effort is directed at supporting the CCDD goals of producing long time series of key climate variables, analyzing these time series for information on climate trends and variability, and characterizing the natural background signal of the climate system for the purposes of detection and attribution. For FY 2003, letters of intent must be received at the Office of Global Programs (OGP) no later than May 8, 2002. Full proposals must be received at OGP no later than July 8, 2002.