NSF FY 2001 Request: Major Research Equipment, Polar Programs

The following information and excerpts are from the National Science Foundation’s FY 2001 submission to Congress for Major Research Equipment and Polar Programs.

MAJOR RESEARCH EQUIPMENT:

The FY 2001 Major Research Equipment budget would increase $45.04 million, or 48.2%, from $93.50 million to $138.54 million. “The Major Research Equipment account provides funding for the construction and acquisition of major research facilities that provide unique capabilities at the cutting edge of science and engineering,” states the budget document. Funding is requested for the following seven projects in FY 2001:

Earthscope USArray and San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth: The budget document describes this as“a distributed, multi- purpose geophysical instrument array that will allow scientists to make major advances in our knowledge and understanding of the structure and dynamics of the North American continent.” “This project is composed of two elements. The first element is USArray, which is a dense array of high-capability seismometers that will be deployed in a step-wise fashion throughout the U.S. to greatly improve our resolution of the subsurface structure. The second element is the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD), which will provide access for the first time to a major active fault at depth to monitor fault conditions and study nucleation and rupture processes of earthquakes.” “The FY 2001 request for funding to initiate construction...is $17.44 million. To complete this project, NSF requests advance appropriations of $28.46 million in FY 2002, $15.74 million in FY 2003, and $13.17 million in FY 2004. Total NSF funding for this project is $74.81 million over the period FY 2001-2004.”

Large Hadron Collider: “The FY 2001 Budget Request includes $16.4 million for construction of two detectors of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). These are ATLAS (A Toroidal Large Angle Spectrometer) and CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid.) To complete the project, this budget requests advance appropriations of $16.86 million in FY 2002 and $9.72 million in FY 2003. Total NSF funding for this project is $81.0 million over the period FY 1999-2003. Oversight of this project is provided through the Physics Subactivity....”NSF and the Department of Energy are providing support to the CERN member states for the LHC, which is to be completed in FY 2005.

Millimeter Array: An expanded array called the Atacama Large Millimeter Array is a collaboration of NSF and “a consortium of European institutions and funding agencies.” The array is to consist of 64 antennas that are 12 meters in diameter. “The US share of the joint array will not exceed $292 million, including design and development funds (FY 1999 dollars); the construction of such an array is expected to take 6-7 years.” “Japan remains interested in the possibility of joining the ALMA partnership as a third major partner at a later date.” $6.0 million is requested in FY 2001 for the Design and Development Phase.

National Ecological Observatory Network: “The FY 2001 Request includes $12.0 million to initiate construction of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). To complete this project, this Budget requests advance appropriations of $20.0 million in FY 2002, $27.0 million in FY 2003, $20.0 million in FY 2004, $14.0 million in FY 2005, and $7.0 million in FY 2006. Total NSF funding for construction of this project, including the experimental facilities, archives and network, is $100.0 million over the period FY 2001-2006.” “NEON will consist of 10 observatories nationwide that will serve as national research platforms for integrated, cutting-edge research in field biology.”

Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation: “The FY 2001 request to continue construction of the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) is $28.2 million. To complete this project, the Foundation requests advance appropriations of $24.4 million in FY 2002, $4.5 million in FY 2003, and $17.0 million in FY 2004. Total NSF funding for this project, including both the experimental facilities and the network, is $81.80 million over the period FY 2000-2004. Oversight of this project will be provided through the Engineering Activity....” “The goal of the NEES Program is to provide a networked, national resource of geographically-distributed, shared-used, next-generation, experimental research equipment installations, with tele- observation and tele-operation capabilities.” “Construction funding for the NEES physical facilities and network integration is scheduled to be completed in FY 2004. When NEES is completed, it will be organized by an NSF-funded NEES Consortium that includes participation from host institutions, affiliate organizations, and the user community.”

South Pole Station: “In FY 1998, $70.0 million was appropriated to begin the South Pole Modernization project, in FY 1999 a second increment of $39.0 million was appropriated, and in FY 2000 an additional $5.4 million was appropriated. This Budget includes a request of $13.5 million in FY 2001 to complete the project. Priorities in implementing the modernization project include increasing safety, minimizing environmental impacts and disruption of ongoing science, and optimizing the use of existing facilities during the modernization.” Modernization will be completed in FY 2005.

Terascale Computing Systems: “As part of the ITR [Information Technology Research] initiative, the Terascale Computing Systems project will enable U.S. researchers to gain access to leading edge computing capabilities.” “The FY 2001 Request includes $45.0 million for acquisition of an additional Terascale Computing Systems. Advance appropriations of $55.0 million are requested for FY 2002.”

U.S. POLAR PROGRAMS:

The FY 2001 U.S. Polar Programs budget would increase $32.41 million, or 12.8%, from $253.00 million to $285.41 million. Polar Programs consists of two budget Activities:

The U.S. Polar Research Programs budget would increase $32.41 million, or 17.0%, from $190.40 million to $222.81 million. This provides “funding for both Arctic and Antarctic research, as well as operations and science support required to support polar researchers.” There are five components within this Activity. The budget for the U.S. Arctic Research Program would increase $7.88 million, or 29.0%, from $27.14 million to $35.02 million. The budget for U.S. Arctic Research Support and Logistics would remain unchanged at $24.93 million. The budget for the Arctic Research Commission would increase $0.31 million, or 43.6%, from $0.70 million to $1.01 million. The budget for the U.S. Antarctic Research Grants program would increase $8.48 million, or 26.8%, from $31.60 million to $40.08 million. The budget for Operations and Science Support would increase $15.75 million, or 14.9%, from $106.03 million to $121.78 million.

The U.S. Antarctic Logistical Support Activities budget would be $62.0 million in FY 2001, unchanged from this year.