2016-fasmee-fon.docx

UNITED STATES

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

Fire and Aviation Directorate National Interagency Fire Center Lead Agency for the Joint Fire Science Program

Joint Fire Science Program The Joint Fire Science Program provides funding for scientific studies to address problems associated with managing wildland fuels, fires, and fire-impacted ecosystems.

Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriation Act for FY 1998 and subsequent years (P.L. 105-83; H.R. Report 105-163)

PROJECT ANNOUNCEMENT No. FA-FON0016-0004 Fire and Smoke Model Evaluation Experiment (FASMEE) (5 Task Statements)

CFDA No. 15.232 ISSUE DATE: September 11, 2015

JFSP Funding Opportunity Notice (FON) 2016-4

CLOSING DATE & TIME

November 13, 2015 5:00 p.m. MST

NOTE: There are many requirements specific to this FON please read requirements and templates carefully.

· Letters of support are required for this FON

· Specific requirements for C.V.s

· Note travel expectations in budget narrative template

· Projects funded from this FON must be completed by June 30, 2017. There will be no extension to this date.

Contact Information:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Legislative Authority: Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriation Act for FY 1998 and subsequent years (P.L. 05-83; H.R. Report 105-163).

B. Project Background Information: The Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) is a partnership of six federal wildland management and research agencies with a need to address problems associated with managing wildland fuels, fires, and fire-impacted ecosystems. The partnering agencies include the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service and five bureaus in the U.S. Department of the Interior: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Geological Survey.

For further background on the JFSP, those considering submitting proposals are encouraged to visit our website at www.firescience.gov C. Program/Project Objective: The U.S. Congress directed the Department of the Interior and the USDA Forest Service to develop a Joint Fire Science Program and Plan to prioritize and provide sound scientific studies to support land management agencies. Current priorities are identified as task statements in the Funding Opportunity Notice (FON).

D. Statement of Joint Objectives/Project Management Plan: The JFSP Governing Board and Program Manager will establish an oversight relationship with the Principal Investigator on each funded project. Projects will be required, at a minimum, to provide a written progress report annually.

E. Period of Project: Proposal must be completed by June 30, 2017. No extensions will be granted. See task statement for specific information.

SECTION II. AWARD INFORMATION

A. Expected Number of Awards: Approximately 5-7 B. Estimated Total Program Funding: Approximately $700,000 C. Award Ceiling: None D. Assistance Instrument: To be determined at a later date by the JFSP

SECTION III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. Eligible Applicants: The JFSP encourages proposals from all interested parties. All selected awardees must provide a valid Dun & Bradstreet number (D&B) http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform and have a current registration with the federal System for Award Management (SAM) www.SAM.gov.

B. Funding Cooperator: JFSP will enter into only one agreement per project with the PI institution or the funding cooperator institution. The PI institution or funding cooperator institution will be responsible for entering into sub-agreements with collaborating institutions. Budgets must be reviewed and approved by your Budget contact and your Agreements contact prior to proposal submission. JFSP will not provide additional funds to cover budget errors discovered after the proposal submission deadline.

Funds will be awarded through a federal agency, a university, or a non-governmental organization (NGO). Proposals that included budgeted funds to be spent by a federal agency and that do not have a federal PI must list a funding cooperator from the federal agency requesting funds. Similarly, proposals with a university or NGO PI that do not include funding for federal agencies do not need a funding cooperator and funds will route through the PI’s institution.

All proposals with a PI from other organizations, e.g., states or private business, or have any international funding, must also identify a funding cooperator from the United States to receive and process the funds. If the funding cooperator is from the Forest Service, the cooperator must be from a Forest Service research station. Please work with your station funding cooperator to ensure you meet the station requirements for submission. The Agreements contact and Budget contact must be from the funding cooperator’s institution.

Proposals where the PI or funding cooperator is an employee of a university or NGO will be funded directly by an award document (e.g., a cooperative agreement) between JFSP and the PI’s institution. The institution will be required to respond to a second non-competitive posting on grants.gov to initiate funding.

Upon receipt of a fully executed award document, the institution receiving funds from JFSP will be responsible for all sub-award transactions to cooperators or contractors related to the project. The end date and indirect costs for all sub-awards must match the end date and indirect costs in the original funding award document.

(See funding cooperator flowchart below)

C. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program has no matching requirements. However, contributed costs are desired and are an evaluation factor.

D. Scientific Integrity: Scientific integrity is vital to Department of the Interior (DOI) activities under which scientific research, data, summaries, syntheses, interpretations, presentations, and/or publications are developed and used. Failure to uphold the highest degree of scientific integrity will result not only in potentially flawed scientific results, interpretations, and applications but will damage DOI’s reputation and ability to uphold the public’s trust. All work performed must comply with the DOI Scientific Integrity Policy posted to http://www.doi.gov, or its equivalent as provided by their organization or State law

SECTION IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

A. Proposal Submission and Agency Contact All proposals must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. MST November 13, 2015, using the electronic submission process provided on the JFSP website (www.firescience.gov). Proposals should not be submitted in Grants.gov. There will be no exceptions to this closing date and time.

All proposals must meet all requirements in this FON (see especially Section IV. E below). Proposals that do not meet all requirements in this section will not be considered for funding.

Questions should be directed to:

Administrative questions:

Becky Jenison, Program Analyst Phone: 208-387-5958 Email: bjenison@blm.gov

Task statement questions:

B. Steps to Create and Complete a JFSP Proposal There are multiple steps necessary to create a JFSP proposal, some of which are dependent on prior steps. We recommend that investigators plan ahead, start early, and use the following process to create a proposal:

Step 1 – PI establishes profile, updates password

Step 2 – PI initiates proposal (select task, receive proposal #, enter proposal title)

Step 3 – Enter contacts (all contacts establish profiles, update passwords; PI assigns roles). Once the PI enters a contact they will have access to sign into the database and access the proposal

Step 4 – Investigators develop proposal (templates, requirements)

Step 5 – Complete budget (template, narrative)

Step 6 – Attach all documents (proposal, budget, budget narrative, data management plan, CVs, support letters, Step 7 – PI enters final details (project location, budget summary, start/end dates, abstract, project category)

Step 8 – Budget Contact and Agreements Contact certify review of budget and budget narrative

Step 9 – PI submits proposal (convert to Final Draft status first if not previously done)

Notes

· Many steps can be in progress concurrently

· All information, including attachments, can be saved as Draft and edited later

C. Background and Task Statement(s)

1. Description of FASMEE

1.1 FASMEE goals and objectives

The objective of the planned Fire and Smoke Model Evaluation Experiment (FASMEE) is to provide observational data necessary to evaluate and advance operationally used fire and smoke modeling systems and their underlying scientific understanding. FASMEE is targeting the following modeling areas as they provide operationally critical information:

· Fire growth;

· Fire effects, particularly fuel consumption and emissions;

· Coupled fire-atmosphere behavior, particularly fire behavior and plume development; and

· Smoke models, particularly those that provide smoke impacts.

The goal of FASMEE is to collect information that can be used to:

· Quantify operational modeling capabilities;

· Build confidence in operational modeling capabilities;

· Improve operational model application methodologies;

· Improve model parameterizations;

· Add capability to the models; and

· Validate the theory behind the models and model projections.

This will require a comprehensive field campaign designed to simultaneously measure fuels, fire behavior, plume development, consumption and emissions, and smoke chemistry.

1.2 Phases

FASMEE is designed to be conducted in two phases: a first organizational/planning phase (Phase 1) followed by the field campaign phase (Phase 2). FASMEE is currently in Phase 1, and this FON is designed to bring onboard scientific and modeling leadership to complete the comprehensive design for the Phase 2 field campaign. Phase 1 is expected to last until June 30, 2017, with Phase 2 occurring from 2017-2021. Burns are expected to occur during 2018-2020.

Phase 1 – Organization and Planning Phase 1 will develop the coordinated plan for the field campaign, including the observational study plan as well as specific incident command, burn decision, safety, logistics, and data management plan components. For the observational study design, Phase 1 will bring together both observational specialists across a variety of disciplines as well as modelers and model developers to collaboratively develop an integrated study plan for Phase 2.

Together the Discipline Leads and Modeling Leads identified through this FON, along with the current FASMEE Project Leads will form the FASMEE Scientific Leadership Team and be charged with designing the observational field campaign. Once it is designed, a separate Funding Opportunity Notice will request proposals from observational groups to meet the specifications required in the observational study design. The Scientific Leadership Team will work to merge selected proposals into a comprehensive and unified study plan and proposal for the Phase 2 field campaign. A decision to implement Phase 2 will be made based on the final study plan and proposal.

Overall, Phase 1 is expected to progress as follows:

· January 2016 - Discipline Leads and Modeling Leads identified, and Scientific Leadership Team formed

· Spring 2016 - Site selection narrowed, initial combined observational study plan developed, and pre-burn simulations performed

· Summer 2016 - Site selection finalized, refined observational study plan developed, and additional modeling simulations performed

· December 2016 - Second FON open for observational groups interested in the Phase 2 field campaign

· Spring 2017 - Phase 2 deliverables in complete draft form including observational study plan, Incident Action Plan, budgets, logistics plan, data management plan, and other components. All Phase 2 participants identified.

· June 30, 2017 - All Phase 1 deliverables complete and submitted for funding agency review and funding decisions.

Phase 2 – Field Campaign Once funded, the FASMEE field campaign will occur over calendar years 2018-2020 and involve multiple large (500+) burns across at least two locations. Field campaigns for each location are expected to occur in subsequent years with the first burn scheduled for the fall of 2018. One location is expected to be in the Southeastern U.S. and one location is expected to be in the Western U.S. or Canada. Multiple burns may be planned for each location. We expect one burn will be a stand replacement burn; other burns may be similar or spread over a gradient of intensities and conditions (e.g. fuel loading, fuel moisture, wind speed, terrain complexity) as best meets the goals of FASMEE. Please refer to the FASMEE Burn Plan document (available at http://fasmee.net) for more details. Phase 2 is expected to end, with all data submitted to the data repository, in 2021.

2. Role of this FON This FON is designed to bring onboard the scientific leadership required to create the FASMEE observational study plan, including Discipline Leads and Modeling Leads and their associated helpers. The overall observational study design will be developed as a cooperative product of the Scientific Leadership Team, with the Discipline Leads having primary responsibility for their discipline area, and the Modeling Leads having primary responsibility for producing pre-burn simulations and vetting the observational study design against their model results and model requirements. Discipline Leads and Modeling Leads selected through this FON will be funded only for FASMEE Phase 1.[footnoteRef:1] [1: FASMEE Project Leads (Ottmar, Brown, Larkin) are ineligible for this FON.]

Once the study design is complete the Scientific Leadership Team will work with the Joint Fire Science Program to develop a separate Funding Opportunity Notice open to all observational groups. If Phase 1 Discipline or Modeling Leads wish to apply for the Phase 2 Funding Opportunity Notice to participate in observational teams, alternative Discipline Leads will need to be identified at that time. Project Leads and Phase 2 Discipline Leads will not be eligible for the observational group FON, but will be funded through the separate logistical plan for Phase 2. Scientists interested in participating as a Lead in Phase 1, but not interested in continuing through Phase 2 as a Lead, are still encouraged to apply to this FON.

3. Discipline Leads - description and responsibilities There are four discipline areas identified in this FON (see Tasks 1-4):

· Fuels and consumption;

· Fire behavior and energy;

· Plume development and meteorology; and

· Smoke emissions, chemistry, and transport.

Proposals submitted under Tasks 1 through 4 are for Discipline Leads that will serve as part of the FASMEE Scientific Leadership Team and have primary responsibility for developing the observational study plan for their discipline area. One Discipline Lead will be selected for each area. Discipline Leads may identify additional personnel that will help with the study plan development, but the roles of these personnel should be well justified in the proposal, including identifying complementary expertise.

Discipline Leads are expected to fully participate as members of the Scientific Leadership Team, including working collaboratively with other Leads to develop an integrated observational study design. Discipline Leads will also validate this design against pre-burn model simulations provided by the Modeling Leads, and contribute towards development of the data management plan, the safety plan, and the scientific logistics plan. Scientific Leadership Team conference calls are expected to be monthly, and there are two site visits and three in-person project meetings planned.

Discipline Leads will be responsible for:

· Providing expertise to the Scientific Leadership Team for their discipline area;

· Reaching out to the larger scientific community in their area for additional information as needed;

· Proposing an observational study design for observations in their discipline area;

· Working in conjunction with the modelers and the rest of the Scientific Leadership Team to validate their proposed study design;

· Writing up the study design and creating a detailed set of required observational specifications;

· Helping develop a Funding Opportunity Notice to identify and select observational groups;

· Reviewing observational group proposals and integrating selected proposals into the final study plan; and

· Building the final Study Plan.

Discipline Leads should look at the observational specifications document (Appendix A) and include all relevant observations in their proposed plan as appropriate. Redundancies with observations listed for other Tasks will be resolved later.

In building their initial study design as part of responding to this FON, respondents are required to utilize the two conceptual burns described in the template. Respondents are also asked to detail what types of measurements and burns would work best for their discipline.

4. Modeling Leads - description and responsibilities Modeling Leads need to explicitly identify the models that they propose to support with leadership and expertise from the list in the task statement. One or more Modeling Leads will be selected so there is coverage of all of the identified models listed under Task 5.

Proposals under Task 5 are for Modeling Leads that will serve as part of the FASMEE Scientific Leadership Team and have primary responsibility for performing pre-burn simulations and vetting the observational design based on their model results and model requirements. Modeling Leads will be responsible for a specific set of models as identified in their proposal. Modeling Leads may identify additional personnel that will help with simulations, analysis, and study plan development, but the roles of these personnel must be justified in the proposal.

Modeling Leads are expected to fully participate as a member of the Scientific Leadership Team including working collaboratively with other Modeling and Discipline Leads in the development of an integrated observational study design and validating this design against pre-burn model simulations. Modeling Leads will also contribute towards the development of other aspects of the Phase 2 plan to be created during Phase 1 including the data management plan. Scientific Leadership Team conference calls are expected to be monthly, and there are three planned in-person project meetings. Site visits are optional.

Modeling Leads will be responsible for:

· Providing expertise to the Scientific Leadership Team for the specific set of models identified in their proposal;

· Performing pre-burn simulations using these models and guidance provided in the template;

· Using these results and working with the discipline leads to vet the observational design;

· Working in conjunction with the discipline leads and the rest of the Scientific Leadership Team in preparing the study design, including writing up the study design and creating a detailed set of required observational specifications;

· Reaching out to the larger scientific community in their area for additional information as needed;

· Helping develop a Funding Opportunity Notice to identify and select observational groups; and

· Assisting with building the final Study Plan.

Specific tasks expected of the Modeling Leads are:

· Perform simulations for each of up to eight identified potential burn sites;

· Help identify the best potential burn sites for validating their selected model(s);

· Provide simulation output to the various discipline leads;

· Work with the discipline leads to vet various observational plan ideas against the simulations;

· Once a final set of four burn sites are identified, perform an additional set of model runs to help prioritize potential prescription windows;

· Provide feedback on Phase 2 observational team proposals;

· Vet the final study plan;

· Help design the FASMEE data archive.

Pre-burn simulations are to be high-resolution, with the goal of resolving critical plume dynamics and the near-field plume structure. Multiple runs may be necessary to help identify prescription windows of interest. The pre-burn simulations will be archived within the FASMEE data archive.

Modeling Leads should look at the observational specifications document (Appendix A) and provide guidance on how these observations pertain to validating and improving their models.

In addition to working directly with the Discipline Leads on the FASMEE observational study plan, the Modeling Leads will be expected to work together to inter-compare their models and determine the areas of agreement and disagreement in their simulations. This work is expected to lead to a scientific journal publication to be written in late 2016.

5. Deliverables, timeline, and travel This section describes expectations for all proposals including specific expectations concerning the deliverables, timeline, and travel to be done for the project.

5.1 Deliverables

The main final deliverable is the completed study plan. It is intended that elements of the final study plan, especially the observational specifications, will be published as a peer-reviewed General Technical Report.

The study plan design is to be:

· Integrated, with a single comprehensive design representing all disciplines

· Detailed, with specific measurements including instruments, timing, location, and setup/tear-down plans

· Fully implementable, including

· Identifying the specific researchers and tasks that will perform the field campaign

· Specific budgets for each institution to be involved

· Validated in the sense of being found to be useful for the model evaluation objectives identified based on the pre-burn simulations done as part of Phase 1.

· Integrated with the Incident Action Plan and other safety documents

· Integrated with the Data Management Plan

Additional deliverables include:

· Draft Funding Opportunity Notice language;

· Observational specifications required for the Funding Opportunity Notice;

· Reviews of observational group proposals;

· Draft documents including Study Plan sections on each discipline, draft budgets, draft appendices of measurements by discipline, and other documents detailing the design for review, including their relationship to the current state of the science; and

· Additional summary documents needed to explain the design to the funding agencies.

5.2 Timeline

Projects will run through June 30, 2017. No extensions will be granted. The integrated final deliverables across all projects funded through this FON are required at that time. Intermediate deliverables will be required in advance of this date.

Project calls will be held monthly or more often as necessary.

The current timeline including interim deadlines is:

· January 2016 – Phase 1 Modeling Leads and Discipline Leads identified

· March/April 2016 – Phase 1 Modeling Leads and Discipline Leads funded

· Summer 2016 – Initial integrated study design developed and initial model simulations complete.

· October 15 2016 – Integrated draft Study Plan complete and Observational Group FON drafted

· December 1, 2016 – Observational Group FON released

· February 1, 2017 – Observational Group proposals received

· March 15, 2017 – Observational Group proposals reviewed

· May 1, 2017 – Complete, near final draft of all Phase 1 Deliverables, including integrated budgets

· June 30, 2017 – All Phase 1 deliverables complete.

5.3 Travel

Attendance at three project meetings is expected for all Leads. Additionally, discipline teams are expected to do at least two site visits in preparing the study plan. Travel should be budgeted accordingly. See budget narrative template for specific information.

6. Task statements Task Statement 1 - Fuels and consumption The Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) seeks proposals to select a Discipline Lead to guide the fuels and consumption discipline for the FASMEE project.

The Principal Investigator from one selected proposal will participate as Discipline Lead for fuels and consumption in the FASMEE Scientific Leadership Team. Principal responsibilities include final responsibility for the fuels and consumption portion of the Phase 2 observational study plan, interim deliverables, and the participation in all project meetings and conference calls. The fuels and consumption Discipline Lead will need to closely collaborate with other Discipline and Modeling Leads to plan measurements. Additionally, the fuel and consumption Discipline Lead is expected to provide information needed to allow later potential follow-on fire effect studies.

Responsive proposals should include a conceptual observational study design that covers the needs outlined below and in Section 2.1 of Appendix A (FASMEE Observational Specifications). Proposed study designs should layout the overall sampling approach to be used, including placement and types of measurements and their spatial and temporal extent and resolutions split out by measurement platform (e.g. ground sampling, tower-based measurements, aircraft-based measurements). Proposed study designs do not need to list exact instrumentation, but are encouraged to include as much detail as needed to describe the intent and effect of the measurements listed.

For fuels and consumption, proposed study designs should include an initial comprehensive plan for the collection of gridded, three-dimensional pre-fire and post-fire characterization of all fuels that have the potential to consume (e.g., tree canopies, shrubs, herbs, downed wood, litter and duff) at spatial scales relevant to fires and models to be evaluated. Multi-scaled characterizations are expected with coordination between ground-based and remotely sensed imagery. Proposed study designs for this discipline must include:

A. Gridded fuel mapping and properties of pre-fire and post fire of all fuels occurring on the research site that have the potential to burn.

B. Coordinated ground-based sampling and remotely sensed datasets to provide spatial mapping of pre- and post-fire loads, gaps, fuel moisture and fuel consumption at temporal and spatial scales relevant to the models being evaluated.

C. Characterization of live and dead fuel properties (i.e., bulk density, surface area to volume ratios, packing ratio, specific heat and fuel moisture content) by particle size class along with modeling strategies to assign subsample fuel properties to gridded fuels.

D. Fuel consumption by combustion phase and duration by fuel bed component.

In addition to the proposed study design, proposals should include a discussion of how the proposed study design can be beneficial for model validation, evaluation, and development. Discussions are encouraged to be specific about the models benefiting from the proposed observations.

Other research questions that proposals are encouraged to address include:

· How can FASMEE contribute to creation of a system for describing fuels and vegetation that can scale across the wide range of spatial scales needed for decision support (from fine scales to 30-m+ aggregate fuels)?

· How can FASMEE support development of new protocols that can better capture both the aggregate information and sub-grid variability needed by the next-generation of fire behavior and fire effects models?

· How can FASMEE advance the ability of remote sensing to be used to cheaply create stand and forest scale fuels and vegetation maps for land management?

· How can FASMEE advance the ability to predict unburned areas within larger fires?

Additional research questions may be identified and addressed, but these must be justified in the proposal.

Respondents should be aware of the responsibilities, timelines, deliverables, and travel requirements listed in Sections 3 and 5 and budget accordingly.

Task Statement 2 - Fire behavior and energy The Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) seeks proposals to select a Discipline Lead to guide the fire behavior and energy discipline for the FASMEE project.

The Principal Investigator from one selected proposal will participate as Discipline Lead for fire behavior and energy in the FASMEE Scientific Leadership Team. Principal responsibilities include final responsibility for the fire behavior and energy portion of the Phase 2 observational study plan, interim deliverables, and the participation in all project meetings and conference calls. The fire behavior and energy Discipline Lead will need to closely collaborate with other Discipline and Modeling Leads to plan measurements. Additionally, the fire behavior and energy Discipline Lead is expected to provide information needed to allow later potential follow-on fire effect studies.

Responsive proposals should include a conceptual observational study design that covers the needs outlined below and in Section 2.2 of Appendix A (FASMEE Observational Specifications). Proposed study designs should layout the overall sampling approach to be used, including placement and types of measurements and their spatial and temporal extent and resolutions split out by measurement platform (e.g. ground sampling, tower-based measurements, aircraft-based measurements). Proposed study designs do not need to list exact instrumentation, but are encouraged to include as much detail as needed to describe the intent and effect of the measurements listed.

For fire behavior and energy, proposed study designs should include an initial comprehensive plan for the collection of fire behavior information designed to validate and improve fire behavior modeling at scales relevant for operational fire support. Proposed study designs should also include:

A. Full field coverage of fire progression, including flame dimensions and patterns within the flame zone.

B. Fire depth and spatial evolution over the fire event.

C. Measurement of the spatial and temporal evolution of heat flux.

D. Detailed coverage of fine scale processes in specific areas.

E. Measurements to provide closure of the fire energy budget at least in specific locations.

F. Measurement of pre-frontal heating of fuels via convection, radiation, and ember transport.

G. A description of the needed spatial and temporal resolution of all measurements.

H. Discussion of how these measurements may be important for model development and validation.

In addition to the proposed study design, proposals should include a discussion of how the proposed study design can be used for model validation, evaluation, and development. Discussions are encouraged to be specific about the models benefiting from the proposed observations.

Other research questions that proposals are encouraged to address include:

· How can FASMEE work with the Tactical Fire Remote Sensing Advisory Committee (TFRSAC) and the operational remote sensing community to advance sensing and calibration of remotely sensed fire detections, fire radiative energy, and burn scars?

· How can FASMEE work to bridge the scale difference between fine-scale laboratory experiments designed to advance fire behavior theory and coarse scale operational models?

· How can FASMEE work to advance methods and procedures for operational modeling where fine scale fuel measurements (such as those to be collected for FASMEE) are not available?

· How can FASMEE advance methods for measuring the amount and pattern of heat flux?

· How can FASMEE advance methods for measuring convective heat flux?

Additional research questions may be identified and addressed, but these must be justified in the proposal.

Respondents should be aware of the responsibilities, timelines, deliverables, and travel requirements listed in Sections 3 and 5 and budget accordingly.

Task Statement 3 - Plume development and meteorology The Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) seeks proposals to select a Discipline Lead to guide the plume development and meteorology discipline for the FASMEE project.

The Principal Investigator from one selected proposal will participate as Discipline Lead for plume development and meteorology in the FASMEE Scientific Leadership Team. Principal responsibilities include final responsibility for the plume development and meteorology portion of the Phase 2 observational study plan, interim deliverables, and the participation in all project meetings and conference calls. The plume development and meteorology Discipline Lead will need to closely collaborate with other Discipline and Modeling Leads to plan measurements.

Responsive proposals should include a conceptual observational study design that covers the needs outlined below and in Section 2.3 of Appendix A (FASMEE Observational Specifications). Proposed study designs should layout the overall sampling approach to be used, including placement and types of measurements and their spatial and temporal extent and resolutions split out by measurement platform (e.g. ground sampling, tower-based measurements, aircraft-based measurements). Proposed study designs do not need to list exact instrumentation, but are encouraged to include as much detail as needed to describe the intent and effect of the measurements listed.

For plume development and meteorology, proposed study designs should include an initial comprehensive plan for the collection of plume development and meteorology information designed to validate and improve coupled fire-atmosphere and plume development models at scales relevant to both operational fire behavior modeling and smoke modeling. Proposed study designs should also include:

A. Measurements of the state variables and their evolution within the plume.

B. The specific ambient weather conditions to be measured including:

i. Surface and upper level parameters; and

ii. Pre-burn and day of burn parameters.

C. A framework for measuring advective (vertical and horizontal) and radiative heat fluxes over the duration of the fire events.

D. Discussion of methods used to quantify turbulence.

E. Estimates of plume dimensions over time, including from simple techniques that can potentially be widely applied.

In addition to the proposed study design, proposals should include a discussion of how the proposed study design can be beneficial for model validation, evaluation, and development. Discussions are encouraged to be specific about the types of models benefiting from the proposed observations.

Other questions that proposals are encouraged to address include:

· How can FASMEE advance the underlying conceptual models of wildland fire plumes?

· How can FASMEE advance a new generation of improved plume models usable for operational smoke prediction modeling?

· How can FASMEE advance the operational coupling of coupled fire-atmosphere models with smoke models to improve smoke predictions?

· How can FASMEE advance the ability to correctly allocate smoke emissions between lofted emissions and non-lofted emissions?

· How can FASMEE help close the overall fire energy balance budget?

· How can FASMEE help develop simple and inexpensive protocols for measuring plumes that can be deployed widely?

Additional research questions may be identified and addressed, but these must be justified in the proposal.

Respondents should be aware of the responsibilities, timelines, deliverables, and travel requirements listed in Sections 3 and 5 and budget accordingly.

Task Statement 4 - Smoke emissions, chemistry, and transport The Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) seeks proposals to select a Discipline Lead to guide the smoke emissions, chemistry, and transport discipline for the FASMEE project.

The Principal Investigator from one selected proposal will participate as Discipline Lead for smoke emissions, chemistry, and transport in the FASMEE Scientific Leadership Team. Principal responsibilities include final responsibility for the smoke emissions, chemistry, and transport portion of the Phase 2 observational study plan, interim deliverables, and the participation in all project meetings and conference calls. The smoke emissions, chemistry, and transport Discipline Lead will need to closely collaborate with other Discipline and Modeling Leads to plan measurements.

Responsive proposals should include a conceptual observational study design that covers the needs outlined below and in Section 2.4 of Appendix A (FASMEE Observational Specifications). Proposed study designs should layout the overall sampling approach to be used, including placement and types of measurements and their spatial and temporal extent and resolutions split out by measurement platform (e.g. ground sampling, tower-based measurements, aircraft-based measurements). Proposed study designs do not need to list exact instrumentation, but are encouraged to include as much detail as needed to describe the intent and effect of the measurements listed.

For smoke emissions, chemistry, and transport, proposed study designs should include an initial comprehensive plan for the collection of smoke emissions, chemistry, and transport information designed to validate and improve smoke modeling at scales relevant to operational smoke prediction. Proposed study designs should also include:

A. The characterization of smoke emissions at or near the source (include non-lofted smoke emissions).

B. Measurements and methodology needed for smoke plume evolution for evaluation of smoke plume and dispersion modeling.

C. Relationship among within plume concentration profiles and meteorological variables.

D. Physical and chemical evolution of smoke throughout the lofting plume.

E. Description of needed vertical and horizontal profile transects starting at the fire source and extending down-wind.

F. Characterization of smoke impacts such as:

i. Non-lofted smoke in nearby drainages;

ii. Nighttime smoke settling; and

iii. Downwind surface concentrations.

In addition to the proposed study design, proposals should include a discussion of how the proposed study design can benefit model validation, evaluation, and development. Discussions are encouraged to be specific about the models benefiting from the proposed observations.

Other research questions that proposals are encouraged to address include:

· How can FASMEE advance the estimation of emissions and lofting smoke from satellite products?

· How can FASMEE advance the modeling of nighttime detrainment of smoke in valleys and advance the understanding of smoke drainage flows and pooling?

· How can FASMEE advance our ability to correctly allocate lofted and non-loft smoke emissions?

· How can FASMEE be used in conjunction with laboratory experiments to better characterize smoke emissions by phase from various fuelbed types?

· How do emissions components and ratios vary over the lifetime of a fire and across fire scales?

· How can FASMEE improve the estimation of uncertainties in emission production models?

· How can FASMEE help inform the sensitivities and uncertainties in operational models of PM2.5?

· How can FASMEE develop information useful for air resource advisors, air regulators, and public health officials in creating better health advisories for both firefighters and the public?

Additional research questions may be identified and addressed, but these must be justified in the proposal.

Respondents should be aware of the responsibilities, timelines, deliverables, and travel requirements listed in Sections 3 and 5 and budget accordingly.

Task Statement 5 - Modeling leads The Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) seeks proposals to select FASMEE Modeling Leads for specific models listed below.

Principal Investigators from selected proposals will participate as Discipline Leads for various models in the FASMEE Scientific Leadership Team. Principal responsibilities include pre-burn simulations to evaluate the Phase 2 observational study plan, other interim deliverables, and the participation in all project meetings and conference calls. Modeling Leads will need to closely collaborate with Discipline Leads to develop a validated observational study plan.

FASMEE will use the results of pre-burn simulations to help select burn locations and ignition methodologies, and to help refine the observational plan in order to ensure that the data collected will be of value in validating specific models. A wide range of model simulations will be performed by the existing FASMEE project team as part of Phase 1 including fire behavior modeling, fuel consumption and emissions modeling, and smoke dispersion modeling. Modeling Leads will:

· Provide modeling expertise;

· Do pre-burn simulations for their identified models; and

· Work with the observational Discipline Leads and FASMEE Project Leads to vet the draft and final study plans.

Responsive proposals need to identify one or more of the following models that will be covered by their proposal (listed alphabetically):

A. DAYSMOKE plume model B. FIRETEC coupled fire-atmosphere model C. WFDS coupled fire-atmosphere model D. WRF–FIRE coupled fire-atmosphere model E. WRF-CHEM (preferentially WRF-FIRE-CHEM) coupled photochemical model

Note that model simulations using other relevant models will be executed by the Phase 1 Project Leads. Modeling Leads selected through this FON will also need to coordinate with these model results to fully meet Phase I planning needs.

Respondents are asked to detail their modeling system(s), and to examine the applicability of their modeling system(s) to two hypothetical burn sites as described in the template. (Note: these are not the specific FASMEE burn sites, but are selected to be representative of potential burn types/sites.)

Specific questions to be addressed in the proposal are:

· What are the key issues facing these types of models?

· How can the observational campaign proposed by FASMEE address these issues?

· What kind of burn sites, fire types, and fire conditions would work best for collecting data to address these issues?

· How can the pre-burn simulations be used to improve the observational design and specifications for FASMEE?

Respondents should be aware of the responsibilities, timelines, deliverables, and travel requirements listed in Sections 4 and 5 and budget accordingly.

D. Budget and Funding Policy

1. Funding Cooperator Proposal may require a funding cooperator. See Section III.B above.

2. Indirect Costs The JFSP Governing Board recognizes the need of agencies and organizations participating in the program to recover reasonable indirect costs. However, cost effectiveness of the individual projects is a determining factor in the final selection process. JFSP has an approved indirect cost rate exception that limits proposals to a maximum of twenty (20) percent of the direct costs for each institution. Proposals requesting funds for indirect rates higher than twenty (20) percent will not be considered. This memo can be found on the JFSP website at this link: http://www.firescience.gov/documents/BLM_Iindirect_cost_rate_exception_signed.pdf The maximum indirect rate that a funding cooperating institution may charge for pass-through costs is ten (10) percent. Proposal funding through a federal funding cooperator must reflect either the prevailing indirect rate for the cooperating federal agency or the JFSP maximum limit of twenty (20) percent, whichever is less. Unrecovered indirect costs can be used as contributed funds in the budget.

Pass-through costs are charged only by the PI institution or funding cooperator institution for administrative costs associated with managing sub-agreements. Pass-through costs are limited to ten (10) percent of the sub-agreement direct charges.

(See indirect cost example below) Indirect costs example

Scenario

· The PI is from a university or federal agency (lead institution)

· Co-PI is from a cooperating university or NGO (cooperating institution)

· The calculated expenses in the Budget for the lead institution are $200,000 (salary, fringe benefits, travel, equipment, etc.)

· The calculated expenses in the Budget for the cooperating institution are $40,000

Calculation of indirect costs

1. Cooperating institution

Note: If there are multiple cooperating institutions this calculation would be performed for each institution.

2. Lead institution

3. Total Budget = $244,800 + $48,000 = $292,800

Points of emphasis

· Lead institutions can include pass-through costs for each cooperating institution in their Budget

· Pass-through costs are calculated based on the total Budget for each cooperating institution, including the indirect costs calculated by the cooperating institution

· Cooperating institutions do not include pass-through costs in their Budgets

· Institutions should use their negotiated indirect cost rates with their cooperating institutions, but cannot exceed JFSP maximums

3. SBIR Costs Certain proposals may be required to pay a percentage of the project’s costs into the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. Proposals where the funds are transferred to a Forest Service institution and subsequently award a portion of the total budget to a non-federal entity through a sub-agreement or sub-contract may be required to pay the prevailing rate of the total funds awarded externally to the SBIR program. Check with your Agreements contact to determine if this applies to your proposal and to determine the current rate.

4. Equipment Policy Investigators are encouraged to contribute equipment to conduct studies funded by JFSP from existing equipment inventories. Contributed equipment should be included as “contributed costs” in JFSP budget spreadsheets and on the budget tab.

If necessary equipment is not available, JFSP will partially or fully fund equipment needed to conduct research funded by JFSP. If newly purchased equipment has an expected lifespan extending beyond the life of the project, the owner of the equipment is expected to contribute a portion of the purchased equipment costs in approximate proportion to the remaining lifespan. E.g., if a needed piece of equipment costs $1,000 and will have a 50% lifespan at the end of the project, then the owner of the equipment is expected to contribute $500.

In no case will JFSP pay more than $5,000 for a piece of equipment. If a new piece of equipment costing more than $5,000 is needed for the proposed project, proposal investigators are expected to contribute the remaining costs in excess of $5,000.

This criterion is to be applied for each and every piece of equipment.

5. Salary Policy Salaries of permanent full-time employees are not covered by JFSP and must be provided by your institution. This includes university faculty on 12-month tenure-track appointments.

JFSP will provide funding for part-time, temporary, term employees, post-doctoral employees, graduate, or undergraduate students. JFSP will cover salary for employees on a 9-month appointment, but only for the months they are not funded by their institution and only for the time focused on their JFSP project. JFSP will not pay salary for other personnel to fill in for employees working on a JFSP project.

Stipends are normally funded, but tuition and other university fees will not be funded.

6. Budget Budget spreadsheet and narrative must be reviewed by your Budget contact and your Agreements contact to ensure all costs have been included and the budget is correct including indirect charges. JFSP will not provide additional funds to cover errors discovered after the proposal submission deadline.

Budget spreadsheet must use the provided template and have a separate worksheet for each institution requesting or contributing funds including contracts. Budget narratives must detail all costs in the budget spreadsheet. We highly suggest you use the format provided in the example for the budget narrative. Funded proposals will be closely scrutinized for allowable and reasonable costs before award is issued.

The Budget contact and Agreements contact must sign in to the JFSP system and certify the budget is correct and they understand their role in receiving funds and facilitating agreements. Proposals cannot be submitted by the PI if both contacts have not completed this task in the database. (See screen print below)

Proposals will be funded via Inter-agency agreement, cooperative agreement, or budget…