The Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry (OCB) Program is soliciting proposals for OCB activities that will take place or begin during the 2019 calendar year. We seek proposals for OCB-relevant workshops and activities such as: scoping workshops, working groups, synthesis activities, intercomparison activities, training or other activities. To get familiar with OCB's current slate of activities, PIs are strongly encouraged to view the OCB website before preparing and submitting a proposal. If you have questions about the relevance, timeliness, appropriate format, etc. of a proposed activity, please contact the OCB Project Office for guidance. Please submit workshop proposals electronically to the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) by December 3, 2018 for consideration by the OCB Scientific Steering Committee (SSC). Please see below for further details on format of supported activities, budgets and application requirements. 

OCB seeks proposals for OCB-relevant workshops and activities as follows:

• Scoping workshops (~50-70 people) that bring together an appropriate body of expertise to foster discussions and build momentum within a specific OCB research area (previous OCB scoping workshops)
• Working groups (~8-12 members) to address targeted science goals/questions and develop products that benefit and engage the broader OCB community (current OCB working groups on OCB website under Activities > Small Group Activities)
• Synthesis activities to bring together existing data sets, model outputs, etc. to support and inform future research efforts
• Intercomparison activities to assess and build consensus on best practices (methodological, modeling, data analysis, etc.) for advancing OCB-relevant research
• Training activities (~30-50 participants plus instructors as needed) to build capacity in different areas of OCB research

Scientific Scope

OCB's overarching goal is to explore the ocean's role in the global carbon cycle and the response of marine ecosystems to environmental changes of the past (paleo), present, and future (prediction). Proposed activities should address one or more of OCB's current research priorities:

• Climate- and human-driven changes in ocean chemistry (e.g., acidification, deoxygenation, nutrient loading, etc.) and associated impacts on marine ecosystems
• Ocean carbon uptake and storage, including processes from the air-sea interface to the deep ocean
• Marine organism-mediated carbon cycling and export via the biological pump
• Benthic carbon cycle feedbacks, from shallow to deep-sea marine habitats
• Carbon cycling and associated biogeochemical fluxes and exchanges along the aquatic continuum, from rivers to the coastal ocean
• Marine organism response to environmental change, including molecular,

OCB especially encourages proposals that:

• Address new community guideposts such as NSF's Ten Big Ideas, the 2018 Decadal Strategy for Earth Observations from Space, and the Second State of the Carbon Cycle (SOCCR-2) Report
• Complement ongoing OCB-relevant community-based science programs and initiatives (e.g., EXPORTS)
• Strengthen collaboration with partner program communities such as SOLAS, IMBeR, U.S. CLIVAR, IOCCP, and GEOTRACES

Proposal Guidelines
Proposals should be a maximum of 5 pages in length and should explicitly address:

• How the workshop supports and advances OCB research and observational priorities
• Workshop products and outcomes that will benefit the broader OCB community

All proposals should include the rationale for and detailed description of the activity, a budget, and a budget justification. No salary support may be included in the budget. Budget should explicitly note and account for the anticipated number of participants in the proposed activity. Please note that due to U.S. federal funding sources, the OCB Project Office must prioritize support for U.S.-based activities and scientists. Please carefully consider and provide reasonable cost estimates for travel, catering/per diem, housing, meeting room and A/V costs, transportation, publications, etc. A good first estimate that takes all of these costs into account is ~$800-1,000 per person. If you are receiving support from another program or organization, please include a letter of support indicating their commitment and note the details in the budget.

Scoping Workshops and Training Activities
The maximum budget for scoping workshops and training activities is $70,000. These proposals should include preliminary logistical information concerning time frame and venue, as well as anticipated outcomes (reports, special journal volumes, etc.) and their benefits to the broader OCB community.

Other Activities
Other proposed activities should be a maximum duration of 2 years with a total target budget of $20,000-$30,000 to cover travel, analytical costs, shipping and publication costs, etc. We will consider larger budget requests if adequately justified. If the activity is a follow-on from a previous OCB activity, this connection should be explicitly made and PIs should address how this activity will serve the OCB community and further advance the scientific ideas put forth in the initial activity. Proposals should also include a draft timeline for the activity with target dates for products and outcomes, as well as anticipated OCB Project Office scientific and/or logistical support needs.

The OCB SSC will discuss and rank all proposals based on the following criteria: 1) Scientific merit (40%); 2) programmatic relevance (20%); 3) potential community impact (20%); and 4) timeliness with regard to OCB's current scientific priorities and previous activities (20%). Decisions will be announced in early 2019.