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1. NASA’s Cryospheric Science Program
Future of
Greenland Ice Sheet Science Workshop
March 22, 2023
Thorsten Markus and Kaitlin Harbeck

2. Hopes for FOGSS 2023
• Updates on challenges outlined in FOGSS 2022
• What actions took place in the last year to address these?
• Increased informal collaboration
• Opportunistic and synergistic science
• Increased data sharing – 2023 is the Year of Open Science!
• Inspiration for early-career scientists and a warm welcome to
the cryospheric sciences community
• Continued definition of future research priorities
• Coordination of Greenland fieldwork activities

3. Some general updates
• Fiscal Year 2023 NASA Earth Science budget almost $220M lower than
proposed (still a small increase compared to FY2022)
• Cryospheric sciences incurred a 7% budget reduction for FY23
• Grants process is still (way too) slow.
This has now reached the attention at the SMD level
• Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Working Group at
HQ level
• Field Safety Working Group at HQ level, with cryospheric sciences
representation and leadership
• ROSES 2023 includes a cryospheric sciences solicitation
• New guidelines for open science and data management plans for ROSES 2023!
• NISAR launch date currently early 2024

4. Proposals submitted to this program will be evaluated using a
dual-anonymous peer review process in which, not only are
proposers unaware of the identity of the members on the
review panel, but the reviewers do not have explicit knowledge
of the proposal teams during the scientific evaluation of the
proposal. The overarching objective of dual-anonymous peer
review is to reduce unconscious bias in the evaluation of the
merit of a proposal.
Pilot proposal calls have been very successful so far.
Will likely become the default process.
NASA Science is moving towards using dual-anonymous
peer review (DAPR) for proposal evaluations

5. The Cryosphere Program is not the only opportunity for cryospheric research at NASA.
Other programs/solicitations with frequent cryosphere/polar components:
Modeling, Analysis & Prediction Program (MAP)
Physical and biological oceanography (PO, OBB)
NASA Sea Level Change Team (N-SLCT)
Interdisciplinary Science (IDS)
Earth Surface & Interior (ESI)
Making Earth System Data Records for Use in Research Environments (MEaSUREs)
Specific satellite mission Science Teams: GRACE, ICESat-2, NISAR, Decadal Survey Missions,
etc.
Technology opportunities: Instrument Incubator Program (IIP), Advanced Information
Systems Technology (AIST), Airborne Instrument Technology Transition (AITT), etc.
Furthermore….

6. New Investigators Program (NIP)
• The NIP supports outstanding scientific research and career development of
scientists and engineers at the early stages of their professional careers
• NASA places particular emphasis on the PI’s ability to promote and increase the
use of space-based remote sensing through the proposed research
• Solicited every three 3 years; is being solicited in ROSES 2023
Special features:
• In general, early career is defined as having obtained Ph.D. degree within five years
• Single PI as the only essential member of an NIP proposal; collaboration encouraged
(no Institutional or Science PI; no Co-I’s)
• Average award size $80-90K/year
Early Career Programs

7. Student Programs
Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Sciences and Technology (FINESST)
•FINESST is an annual solicitation, and succeeds the NASA Earth and Space Science
Fellowship (NESSF)
• The purpose is to provide relevant research and/or technology development project
training in disciplines needed to achieve the goals of NASA Science Mission Directorate
(SMD)
• FINESST grants (up to $50K/ year) are for student-designed research projects that
contribute to NASA SMD’s science, technology, and exploration goals
• Awards are grants to institutions, with the advisor as the Principal Investigators (PI) and
the and the graduate student researcher as the Future Investigator (FI).
• FINESST is a GRANT program for PI led research teams, not a FELLOWSHIP program that
students apply to

8. Decadal Survey Missions

9. PLUS:
Decadal Survey Incubation
Planetary Boundary Layer
Surface Topography and Vegetation
Earth System Explorers
Greenhouse Gases
Ice Elevation
Ocean Surface Winds and Currents
Ozone and Trace Gases
Snow depth and Snow Water Equivalent
Terrestrial Ecosystem Structure
Atmospheric Winds
Decadal Survey Missions

10. We realize that there are concerns and there is some apprehension in the science
community but it is a step in the right direction and we all are on a learning curve.
Gladly hear your thoughts!
Cloud data storage and cloud computing
Open Science
Open Source Science

11. We are serving you! So please talk to us with any
questions, concerns, issues, ideas.

12. Backup

13. From the ground From the air
From space From the computer
NASA cryosphere science portfolio

14. The Cryospheric Science Program
The Cryospheric Sciences Program supports
investigations of polar ice, including the Antarctic
and Greenland ice sheets, polar glaciers, and sea
ice in the Arctic and Southern Oceans, that are
based on satellite and airborne remote sensing.
The program seeks to improve our understanding
of cryospheric processes, link the cryosphere to
the global climate system, and/or advance
predictive capabilities.

15. ROSES A.15: Cryospheric Sciences
• The Cryospheric Sciences Program supports investigations of polar
ice, including the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, polar
glaciers, and sea ice in the Arctic and Southern Oceans, that are
based on satellite and airborne remote sensing. The program
seeks to improve our understanding of cryospheric processes, link
the cryosphere to the global climate system, and/or advance
predictive capabilities. Specifically, this opportunity seeks proposals
that utilize remote sensing data to:
• Improve our understanding of sea ice processes, sea ice-ocean-atmosphere
interactions and their impact on the global climate.
• Improve our understanding of ice sheet, ice shelf, and glacier processes and
how those processes affect ice sheet and glacier mass balance and
ultimately sea level rise.
• Proposals submitted to this program will be evaluated using a dual-
anonymous peer review (DAPR) process.

16. Future of Greenland Ice Sheet
Science Workshop
Section Head
Jennifer Mercer
ANS
Marc Stieglitz
Rainer Amon
Colene Haffke
ARCSS
Greg Anderson (detail)
Colleen Strawhacker
Kelly Brunt
NNA
Colleen Strawhacker
Cyber
Allen Pope
ASSP
Erica Hill
Liam Frink
AON
Roberto Delgado (detail)

17. Arctic Sciences Section Programs and Staff
Arctic Natural Sciences (ANS)
“…supports projects focused on hypotheses-driven
and process-based science that informs an
understanding of the larger Arctic region.”
Arctic Social Sciences (ASSP)
“…supports research on Arctic social and cultural
systems, present and past, and research relevant to
understanding these systems.”
Arctic Observing Network (AON)
“…supports proposals to make field observations to
detect and understand Arctic system change occurring
on time scales longer than the duration of a typical NSF
research grant.”
Arctic System Science (ARCSS)
“…proposals that advance our understanding of the
Arctic as a coupled system, and how the Arctic system
interacts with the Earth System…often
interdisciplinary…with emphasis on the interactions
among system components.”
Rainer Amon, Colene Haffke, Marc Stieglitz
Erica Hill, Liam Frink
Roberto Delgado (detail)
Greg Anderson (detail), Colleen Strawhacker, Kelly Brunt
Jennifer Mercer: Arctic Sciences Section Head

18. Greenland Funded Research (FY18 –FY22)
OAC CSSI, FY18 – FY22: approximately $30,000,000 to 14 Polar Projects
I
45 Projects
Average proposal ~ $560K
Fiscal Year Award Science Budget Number of Awarded Proposals
2018 $2,882,029 13
2019 $10,895,677 13
2020 $9,899,937 17
2021 $19,859,060 32
2022 $5,428,983 12
Total $48,965,686 87

19. Funding Opportunities
Arctic Research Opportunities
NSF 21-526
o General Arctic Science proposals
o Research Networking Activities (RNAs)
o Conferences
o Large Project Support (LPS)
*Sign up for email notices from GEO to be aware of new opportunities
(https://www.nsf.gov/dir/index.jsp?org=GEO)
Photo: Kayla Hubbard

20. Other Funding Opportunities
• OPP Postdoctoral Research Fellowship NSF 22-635
• Arctic Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants
NSF 20-597
• Cyberinfrastructure for Sustained Scientific Innovation (CSSI)
NSF 22-632
https://www.nsf.gov/geo/geo-ci/index.jsp
Photo: Kayla Hubbard

21. NSF Polar Resources
• Arctic Data Center (Allen, Erica): http://arcticdata.io/
o Metadata & data repository; Data portals; Support for data submission
and Data Management Plans; Workshops; Training materials
• Polar Geospatial Center (Allen): http://pgc.umn.edu/
o Open data products; High resolution imagery & tasking for federally-
funded researchers; Community support for imagery applications; Training
Allen Pope, Polar Cyberinfrastructure
Repository & Resource Page: https://www.nsf.gov/geo/opp/repository.jsp

22. IPA Opportunities
NSF Rotator Program &
DCL: OPP 18-001
We are always looking for
interested applicants for future
opportunities!
Photo: Lars Demant-Poort
Jennifer Mercer, Arctic Sciences Section Head

23. 2023 Field Logistics Planning
Photo: Stephen Nancy

24. COVID Considerations for the 2023 Field Season
• Moving away from quarantines and treating COVID
as an endemic disease to be managed: vaccination,
distancing, masking, & testing
• Fully vaccinated and boosted with bi-valent booster
available since Sept 2022
• Research teams are responsible for responding to an
outbreak in the field including costs incurred
• Researchers should have a written protective plan
describing mitigation measures to document
informed consent of the responsible institution and
team members
• Travelers should always follow national, state, local
and tribal travel restrictions
Renee Crain, Frank Rack, & Kate Ruck, Research Support & Logistics
Photo: Eitan Shelef

25. Summit Recapitalization
Renee Crain, Frank Rack, & Kate Ruck, Research Support & Logistics
NSF Vision: Develop Summit Station as a sustainable station that is
efficient, reconfigurable, and safe, with automated systems and
instrumentation:
• Provide scalability to allow for future project expansions or
reductions, depending on research demands
• Implement systems that allow for autonomous data collection
• Capability to winterize all infrastructure for unoccupied periods
and subsequently reactivate it, supporting science during periods
that are unoccupied

26. Imagery Analysis for Projects on Ice Sheet
For projects working on the ice sheet, NSF is
supporting remote sensing analysis reviews for
risk management
- Imagery collection should start at the proposal
stage to get imagery at the location during
summer for more than one year for the best
analysis
- CRREL will produce a report looking at locations
where projects will be working or traveling
- Projects should recognize their institution is
responsible for the activities under their award
- NSF has the final say about whether the location
is too risky for contractor-supported work

27. Arctic Community Engagement

28. OPP Arctic Community Engagement Initiative (ACE)
Resource Guidelines for Ethical Engagement
IARPC:
https://www.iarpccollaborations.org/principles.html
Circumpolar Inuit Protocols (ICC) for Equitable and
Ethical Engagement:
https://www.inuitcircumpolar.com/project/circumpolar-
inuit-protocols-for-equitable-and-ethical-engagement
OPP ACE Initiative encourages collaborations
• Research sites near local and Indigenous communities
or their lands
• Community engagement and outreach
• Co-production of Knowledge
Requesting a letter of collaboration from community
partners without timely and thoughtful consultation
is not tolerated
Consultation
Co-Management
Community-Based
Participatory
Research (CBPR)
Co-Production of
Knowledge
OPP ACE as a Continuum of Research Practices
Liam Frink, Arctic Social Sciences

29. IPA Opportunities
NSF Rotator Program &
DCL: OPP 18-001
We are always looking for
interested applicants for future
opportunities!
Photo: Lars Demant-Poort