Editor: Stephanie Kenitzer

Contributing Editor: Doug Stone

Copy Editor: Laurence Constable

Volume 23, Special Issue, April 2002
FY03 Budgets

Table of Contents

• Overview: Atmospheric and Related Sciences and Services—The News is Mixed, with Some Complexities
• Reaction So Far to the Administration’s Requests
• Summary of the Congressional Budget Process
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration FY03 Budget Summary

• NWS: National Weather Service Request is a Significant Increase over FY02
• OAR: NOAA’s Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Budget Essentially “Flat” for FY03
• NESDIS: National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service Slated for Budget Increase for FY03
• NOS: Program Terminations Decrease NOS Budget Request Substantially
• NMFS: National Marine Fisheries Service Budget Proposal Down

• NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise Program Receives Solid FY03 Budget Request
• Administration Requests $504 Million for Department of Energy’s Biological and Environmental Research Program for FY03
• President Requests $5.04 Billion for National Science Foundation in FY03
• Requests Down for Water Programs at U.S. Geological Survey but Cuts Expected to be Restored

Overview: Atmospheric and Related Sciences and Services—The News is Mixed, with Some Complexities

While the administration has provided for substantial increases in federal science and technology research and development (R&D) spending, most of the proposed increases would go to the Department of Defense (DoD) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The DoD, for example, would receive close to a 10% increase in its R&D budget; NIH close to 17%. The former is an outgrowth of the current military and strategic posture of the United States, and the latter a result of support for the life sciences within both Congress and the White House in recent years.

Given this focus on defense as well as the life sciences, funding requests by the administration for Fiscal Year 2003 (FY03) for the atmospheric and related sciences and services are mixed. The president’s overall funding requests are not especially encouraging, but within agency budgets, individual programs in a number of cases fare quite well.

NOAA, for example, is only slated for an overall 1.4% increase in funding, but atmospheric sciences and services do not fare that poorly. Part of a decrease in NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), for example, is the result of an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recommendation that moves the National Sea Grant College Program from OAR to the National Science Foundation (NSF). But there is a widespread belief that this decision will not stand—that the program will remain with OAR, and there are other elements of the National Weather Service (NWS); National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS); and OAR budgets that are positive.

OMB has recommended that NASA receive an overall increase of 5.3% for its research activities, though the Earth Science Enterprise (ESE) program is nearly flat-funded at a level of $1.6 billion. Some decreases in support are the result of natural decreases in financial support as programs wax and wane; others are simply the result of tight budgets and presidential priorities.

NSF’s proposed 5% increase over FY02 levels is somewhat deceptive, to the extent that approximately one third of it is a transfer of funds from other agencies, an example being the Sea Grant program. The reason for the proposed change is that the NSF has been judged to be one of the best managed agencies in the federal government, and it was evidently felt that some programs would be more effectively run there. Initially, OMB proposed moving some of the Smithsonian’s scientific research program to NSF, but it retreated under a firestorm of criticism.

That may happen with the Sea Grant program as the Science Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives has held a hearing on this transfer. Taking away these transfers, the actual proposed increase for NSF is approximately 3.4%. That is higher than the rate of inflation, but in truth it is not the large increase that the administration has trumpeted.

The Department of Energy’s Biological and Environment Research program (DOE BER) received a solid funding proposal this year in areas related to our sciences, a reason being that some of the programs implicate national security issues that are logically addressed by our national laboratories.

The president has drastically cut water programs within U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). But like last year, observers expect solid funding this year, as Congress restores appropriations to the programs.

Reaction So Far to the Administration’s Requests

Not long ago, the budget for the NIH and other life sciences research was doubled; it is now on a path to doubling again, and has come to far outstrip federal spending on science and technology R&D. This is a matter of some distress to the physical sciences community and even many in the life sciences, who believe that developments in such disciplines as physics, optics, and computer science underpin developments in the life sciences. Still, there is tremendous support for life sciences budget increases, and there is little doubt that the federal government will stay on the path to doubling in the next few years.

The consternation about federal spending on physical sciences is almost palpable. As a percentage of the nation’s GDP, such spending has been cut to close to half of what it was in 1960, and has declined even by approximately one third since 1985. Private spending on science and technology R&D has kept the total dollar amounts about the same, but private spending is, almost by necessity, focused on final product development; there is not the same level of speculative research with long-term payoffs (or even no payoffs) that, perhaps, the federal government alone is able to provide. So, the declining role of the federal government has—and will have—an effect on basic science and technology R&D.

In February, shortly after release of the president’s budget, the House Science Committee held a hearing, with the leaders of a number of federal agencies with important science and technology R&D portfolios as witnesses to answer questions and listen to the views of members of the committee. The witnesses were Dr. John Marburger, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP); Dr. Samuel W. Bodman, deputy secretary of the Department of Commerce; Dr. Rita R. Colwell, director of the NSF; and Dr. Bruce Carnes, chief financial officer of the Department of Energy.

The committee, of course, was respectful, but the overall tone of their comments showed deep concern with the president’s proposals. There was an understanding by members of the needs engendered by the war and the necessary increases in funding for the DoD. Research in the Defense Department was, of course, applauded, partly because of our military’s needs, but also because—like basic research in almost all areas of science and technology—it ultimately benefits other fields.

While the House Science Committee believes that the administration has chosen the appropriate priorities for the federal R&D budget, it is nonetheless concerned that the biomedical sciences are growing disproportionately to any other element of the R&D budget. Indeed, just the increase proposed for the NIH in FY03 is larger than the entire proposed research budget for NSF. While the committee supports the doubling of NIH, it is concerned that unless the needs of other agencies are addressed, many scientific opportunities will be missed and even health research itself will be retarded.

Other members agreed, and it was noted that the physical sciences often underpin the work in the life sciences. Hope was expressed that, even if such agencies as NSF are not “doubled,” they should be getting a higher level of support than they are under the president’s FY03 budget. This concern was bipartisan, with members on both sides of the aisle agreeing that increased funding for federal science and technology efforts across the board is crucial.

The House Science Committee released its recommendations, or “Views and Estimates,” on the FY03 budget on 26 March, stating that “science and technology are the keystones of our economic prosperity and national security.”

But advances in science and technology do not come cheap or without focused effort; nor are they solely the responsibility of the private sector… While the percentage of national R&D sponsored by the federal government has declined in recent years, the federal role remains essential. Indeed, as competitive pressures have led many industrial enterprises to focus research on projects with shorter-term benefits, longer-term research depends more than ever on federal support.

The committee’s Views and Estimates include the following:

• an endorsement of the administration’s “multiagency R&D priorities”—work on antiterrorism, networking and information technology, nanotechnology, and climate change;
• concerns about the balance of the federal R&D portfolio—that the biomedical sciences, and the NIH, in particular, are growing disproportionately to any other element of the R&D budget; however, the committee reaffirmed its commitment to doubling funding at NIH;
• a recommendation that the NSF budget be increased (exclusive of any transfers) by $420 million, or 8.8% over FY02 levels;
• a strong suggestion to restore funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), which helps smaller manufacturers modernize to remain competitive—the president’s proposed budget would end federal support for almost all MEP centers;
• concerns that the president’s proposed budget would cut DOE programs under the committee’s jurisdiction by 2.4%—the committee recommends instead that the budget use funding levels authorized under H.R. 4; and
• support for the president’s FY03, $15 billion funding request for NASA.

The Views and Estimates can be found on the Science Committee Web site at www.house.gov/science.

Summary of the Congressional Budget Process

The president’s proposed budget is not sacrosanct. While there will not be extensive changes in his proposals, Congress, mostly through the Appropriations Committee and its various subcommittees’ actions, will make changes in the budget, adding to or subtracting from specific programs and line items.

The first item of business is for the budget committees on both sides of Congress to develop an overall budget. It is then turned over to the full Appropriations Committees in both the House and Senate to allocate specific amounts to the 13 subcommittees overseeing various federal agencies and programs.

The committees then have to make decisions as to which agencies receive what funding—a difficult balancing act among the agencies and programs. Peculiar to the process, perhaps, is the fact that the various subcommittees—especially the ones related to our sciences and services—are, in effect, competing with other, completed unrelated, agencies and programs for funding. As an example, NSF’s funding allocations are handled in both Houses by the Veterans Affairs (VA), HUD, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee. As the name suggests, funding for NOAA programs is in effect balanced against the budget for the housing needs. Fortunately, the Chairs of the Committees on both sides of the “VA–HUD” subcommittee are Barbara Mikulski (D–Maryland) on the Senate side, and James Walsh (R–New York) on the House side, both supporters of NSF who understand its importance.

Funding for NSF—perhaps the foundational agency for basic science, technology, and mathematics research in the federal government—has grown by relatively substantial amounts in the past half dozen years. However, the increases have not been comparable to those of NIH, for example, and do not match the “doubling” that science and technology advocates have long hoped to achieve.

Therefore, within the committee, there will be a push and pull between and among advocates for housing, veterans benefits, and the NSF, among other agencies. The veterans have been famously successful on Capitol Hill for their success in expanding benefits, and that push has affected funding levels for NSF.

After the Appropriations Subcommittees make their allocations, they meet in conference committee (composed of representatives of both Houses) to work out differences. A duplicate bill is then produced for passage by both the House and the Senate and then sent to the president for approval or rejection.

This is necessarily a quick overview of the process, but it helps to outline the forces that are working—or can work—on the Appropriations Subcommittees.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration FY03 Budget Summary

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) FY03 budget request is $3.33 million, about $45 million below the FY02 enacted level. Nevertheless, there are some important program increases resulting from reallocations within line offices. Importantly, the president has requested a total of $129 million in adjustments to base (ATB). This represents an increase in ATBs of $4 million over FY02, but the really significant message is that there are proposed ATBs for the second consecutive year for the first time in recent memory. After many years of absorbing salary increases and other costs of doing business, which resulted in severely eroding NOAA’s capabilities, this is very welcome news.

Table of budget breakdown by NOAA line office.

NWS: National Weather Service Request is a Significant Increase over FY02

Overall NWS FY03 appropriations

The Weather Service’s request this year is something of a pleasant surprise, with an increase of approximately 7%. In part, this increase may reflect the positive view of the NWS at OMB, where Budget Director Mitch Daniels honored the NWS as an agency that exemplifies the use of performance measurements in management.

The NWS will continue in FY03 to focus on improving its core activities, including tornado lead times, flash flood warning accuracy, winter storm warning accuracy, the 48-hour hurricane track effort, and other measures of forecasting accuracy. These priorities will be addressed, according to NOAA by sustaining current services, of course, but also by replacing obsolete technology, infusing new technology, and working to enhance services provided to the public and its private partners.

Some NWS budget highlights.*

*Note that these figures do not all add up to total NWS funding. This is just an overview of highlights.

Some budget highlights include the following.

The administration’s request includes an increase in adjustments to base of $23.8 million to a total of $52.3 million in order to, among other things, fund pay increases and other mandatory increases in expenses so that other programs within the NWS are not squeezed to pay for these required expenditures.

This increase reflects a number of program changes, as follows.

Proposed funding for local warnings and forecasts—the bulk of the NWS budget—has been increased substantially, from $528.9 million to $568 million (largely covering current services), which reflects continuing modernization operations, including continuing AWIPS upgrades; continuing the radiosonde replacement program; procuring and using polar orbiting satellites and the follow-on geostationary weather satellites; as well improving data assimilation and numerical modeling activities.

There has also been a requested increase of $4.7 million over FY02 for a total of $6.2 million to accelerate nationwide implementation of improved flood and river forecast services in the Northeast, Middle Atlantic, and Southeast portions of the U.S. The Advanced Hydrologic Prediction System (AHPS) program will also support continuing implementation of this program in the Ohio and upper Mississippi River basins to provide better predictions of river height and flood potential; deliver visually oriented products of high resolution to provide information in life threatening situations; update aging hydrologic forecasting infrastructure; and leverage other investments in atmospheric models and the observation system to enhance the accuracy of river forecasts and their implications for the loss of life and property, as well as economic effects of energy production and resource stewardship. AHPS extends river forecasts to 14 days and longer.

Additionally, the administration is requesting $2.5 million to begin a seven-year plan to improve the safety of U.S. aviation—and also to provide economic efficiencies—by providing state-of-the-art weather observations and forecasts that are responsive to the aviation industry. An average of 200 general aviation pilot fatalities are caused yearly by weather-related accidents, and over 70% of all air traffic delays are caused by weather. This appropriation would provide funding for production and delivery of pilot-friendly real-time depictions of weather hazards; a reduction in forecast errors, while increasing the precision of aviation parameters; and an improvement in weather training for air traffic controllers and pilots. The goal is a 10% reduction in weather-related delays, for a potential saving of $600 million.

In order to fund recurring maintenance of NWS Forecast Offices (NWSFOs), the administration is requesting $7.3 million this year, instead of the approximately $4 million last year, to address a $10 million backlog in maintenance functions at the facilities. There will also be an effort made toward preventative maintenance, as well as focusing on the most needed repairs, and it will help allow NWS to protect its $250 million capital investment in these facilities.

In all, it is requested that Systems Operation and Maintenance be funded at $93.3 million in FY03, an increase of $2.1 million over FY02 levels; included is $43.9 million for NEXRAD operations and maintenance, $8.7 million for ASOS operation and maintenance, $37.7 million for AWIPS operation and maintenance, and $3 million for the NWS telecommunications gateway backup. The last would be an entirely new expenditure, allowing the NWS to establish a telecommunications backup in a secure location.

NOAA is also requesting $1.4 million for operations and maintenance at the new Huntsville, Alabama, Weather Forecast Office. The forecast office will be established this year at the University of Alabama at Huntsville making use of the $3 million appropriated in FY02. The $1.4 million will pay for employee salaries, rent, and maintenance of facilities and operational equipment and supplies.

Under the NWS Procurement, Acquisition and Construction (PAC) account, the total request of $75.6 million is an increase of $4.8 million over the FY02 appropriation, though there is a $7.5 million decrease for the telecommunications gateway backup that reflects the completion of one-time costs associated with the planned acquisition and construction of infrastructure and facilities backup.

A total of $21.2 million is requested for FY03—an increase of $6.2 million over the FY02 appropriation—in order to maintain operations and maintenance of the NWS IBM SP System (Class VIII) and in order to transition to the next generation of a climate supercomputing system, which will be acquired and installed in FY02. The next generation of supercomputer will allow the NWS to improve the resolution and forecast accuracy of a number of prediction models by FY04. The resolution, for example, of medium-range forecast (global) models will be reduced from 80 km to 52 km, and the hurricane model from 18 km to 12 km. Additionally, this new investment will allow the NWS to improve its operational climate forecasting model that will incorporate ocean temperature and current influences.

A request has also been made to implement an operational backup system at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) for the NWS weather and climate supercomputer; currently, there is a potential single point of failure in this crucial system providing NWS watches and warnings. This request is part of NOAA’s Homeland Security Initiative but will also serve to support uninterrupted data and product delivery to NOAA customers, as this is the only computer system within NOAA able to run the highly complicated forecasting models in the required operational mode. In FY03, the system will be acquired and installed at a site yet to be selected.

For AWIPS, the administration is requesting to continue level funding for development activities. This will involve associated hardware upgrades and integration of improved NEXRAD data. Among other improvements will be the continued implementation of LINUX technology at WFOs and also the completion of implementation, and the commencement of operations of the AWIPS Network Control Facility backup facility in Fairmont, West Virginia, which will eliminate the danger of a single point of failure in this critical system.

Additionally, $2 million has been requested, for a total of $7 million, to continue with replacement and modernization of the radiosonde network; $8.2 million has been requested to maintain level funding of NEXRAD product improvement; and, $5.1 million has been requested for level funding of ASOS sensor improvement activities.

Finally, a total of $10.6 million has been requested for level funding for important facility modernization of forecast offices. For FY03, there are plans to construct a new WFO facility in Key West, Florida, as well as internal building improvements nationwide, and significant work at the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center, the facilities in Nome and Kotzebue, Alaska, and the new facility at Annette, Arkansas.

OAR: NOAA’s Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Budget Essentially “Flat” for FY03

A large part of the requested decrease in the administration’s budget request for FY03 at NOAA is in the OAR account, notably the shifting of the Sea Grant program from OAR to the National Science Foundation. However, there is also positive news in OAR, with substantial increases in severe weather prediction and climate research—the latter in line with the president’s projected Climate Change Research Initiative (CCRI) announced in June 2001. Details have not been provided, but at a NOAA budget briefing, the increased appropriations requests for climate research as well as observations and services, was described as a “down payment” on CCRI.

Overall NOAA OAR FY03 appropriations.

Some OAR budget highlights.*

*Note that these figures do not all add up to total OAR funding. This is just an overview of highlights.

Some budget highlights include the following.

As a fundamental issue, OAR is requesting an adjustment to base to fund mandatory pay and inflation costs of $11 million, which will fully fund the FY03 federal pay raise of 2.6% and annualize the FY02 pay raise of 4.6%. It also includes $6.1M to support the administration’s proposal to fund all of the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) payments out of agency budgets. Adjustments to base are important to support fundamental activities at federal agencies; without them, other programs are squeezed to fund mandatory pay increases.

In program terms, perhaps the most important news is the proposed transfer of the Sea Grant program to NSF, and the increases in climate research. The administration has proposed moving the National Sea Grant College Program—with a proposed funding level in FY03 of $57 million, as compared to $62.4 million last year—from OAR to the National Science Foundation. A hearing has been held by the House Science Committee on this proposal, and the general sense in the affected community is that this is not a positive move. The administration has given the NSF high marks in management, which is believed to be the reason for this proposed program change, but there is broad opposition to the move, and it is quite likely that the Sea Grant program will remain with OAR.

On a positive note, climate research as a whole is proposed to be funded at $171 million, an increase of $20.8 million over the FY02 appropriation, with a focus on increasing the accuracy of modeling of weather and long-term climate change. Within this sum, $54.6 million has been requested for laboratories and joint institutes—an increase of $5.4 million over FY02 levels—with a focus on supporting the president’s climate initiative. Funding, for example, would increase by $1 million for the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory to a total of $5.7 million; by $800,000, totaling $6.8 million, for the Climate Diagnostic Laboratory; and by $1 million, for a total of $9.6 million, for the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory. New funding totaling $500,000 of these appropriations would go toward improving the observation system.

The complete request of $41.6 million for climate observations and services is $18 million above the FY02 appropriation. This funding will help support the first year of NOAA’s participation in the CCRI, a cross-cutting, interagency effort to advance the quality of outcomes and improved climate modeling capacity; it will also help further the climate observing system.

NOAA’s contribution to the Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) program will only be $2 million under the president’s proposal, a decrease of $1.75 million from FY02.

In the Weather and Air Quality Research Account, the administration is proposing total FY03 funding of $59.1 million, which is an increase of $3.6 million over FY02’s appropriation. This program is designed to improve the accuracy and timeliness of weather warnings and forecasts and provide the scientific basis for better air quality.

Within this program, laboratories and joint institutes would be funded at $48.1 million, which is $4.2 million over FY02 levels, an increase designed to recapitalize the operational scientific activities being conducted. Highlights include a total request of $11.9 million—$1.2 million over the FY02 appropriation—for activities including the NOAA Wind Profiler Network. The 35 wind profilers provide NWS with wind, temperature, and other surface measurements that are crucial to predict local conditions for issuances of forecasts, watches, and warnings. The funding is essentially for maintaining the condition of the network.

Another highlight is an increase of $900,000 to a total of $8.2 million above the FY02 levels for the Space Environment Center, which is solely responsible for data assimilation and forecasting for NOAA’s Space Weather Program, as well as ingesting, processing, verifying, storing, and disseminating data from other agencies through its operational system. Some of this funding is for adjustments to base, $400,000 is for the CSRS legislative proposal, and $200,000 is to recapitalize the program. The hope is that this funding would allow the program to improve forecasting of solar events that affect electrical power delivery, communications for high latitude airline flights and satellite communications by incorporating new data from NOAA and NASA satellites.

The administration is proposing that the U.S. Weather Research Program (USWRP) be funded in FY03 for $10 million, which is $300,000 less than in FY02. USWRP’s work focuses on improving hurricane landfall predictions, improving forecasts to assist in energy production management, and improving understanding of data used from advanced observing systems for improved numerical weather prediction. Base funding for 2003 is requested at a level of $3.9 million, $1.1 million over FY02’s level—$100,000 for adjustments to base and the CSRS, and $1 million for base operations. The $3.9M will support transition research and development to reach initial goals of improving forecasts of heavy inland perception associated with landfalling hurricanes; addressing the improvement of forecasts of heavy—often flood-producing—rains associated with hurricanes and tropical storms as they move inland. Initial investments will be made in improving atmospheric boundary layer observations along the coast and inland, regional and fine scale modeling, and model test and evaluation.

In addition, $6.1 million is requested for the USWRP for a pilot program in the Southeast to provide weather and hydrologic forecasts to help the energy sector of the economy. Were this program to be implemented nationally, according to NOAA, it would improve daily temperature forecasts by over 2°F, providing perhaps a savings of $1 billion yearly to the economy. It should be noted that this is a joint effort with the NWS.

Finally, to support other partnership programs, there is an FY03 request of $1 million—a decrease of $400,000 from FY02. The funding would go toward tornado/severe storm research, to develop new technologies for forecasting and detecting tornados and other kinds of severe weather and to disseminate this information to emergency managers, the media, and the general public. The initiative for FY03 primarily consists of the construction and research support for a phased array radar test bed at the NSSL in Norman, Oklahoma. A joint R&D program among NOAA, DoD, and FAA, it is designed to investigate the feasibility and benefits of using military phased array radars to improve the severe weather forecast and warning system; along with artificial intelligence–based decision support systems, it is possible that tornado lead times could almost be doubled from 12 to 22 minutes.

OAR is also requesting a total of $54.2 million for ocean, coast, and Great Lakes research. This is the account that has formerly held the National Sea Grant College Program, which has contributed to a total decrease of $83.5 million from the FY02 appropriation.

Finally, a highlight of the total $10.6 million request in OAR’s PAC account (which is a $17.2 million decrease from the FY02 appropriation), is a total request of $7 million for high performance computing and communications system at the GFDL. This continuing investment supports a large, scalable computer system to provide computing, storage, and analysis capabilities, along with model development and infrastructure support—all to advance climate research by leveraging intellectual and capital resources already in place at GFDL and in collaboration with other agencies and the academic community.

NESDIS: National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service Slated for Budget Increase for FY03

The administration has proposed substantial increases in the budget for NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) this year. The increases are in a number of programs, prominently including ESOS, satellite command and control, as well as product processing and distribution, and the procurement of spacecraft, launches, and associated ground system changes for the current and future polar-orbiting satellite series and geostationery systems.

Overall NESDIS FY03 appropriation request.

Some NESDIS budget highlights.*

*Note that these figures do not all add up to total NESDIS funding. This is just an overview of highlights.

Some budget highlights include the following.

As an initial item, NESDIS is requesting an adjustment to base of $10.7 million to fund the FY03 federal pay raise and annualize the FY02 pay increase of 4.6%. In addition, a portion of this will support the administration’s proposal to fund all of the Civil Service Retirement System payments out of agency budgets.

The administration is requesting a program increase of $13.8 million over FY02 for a total request of $91.8 million for Earth System Observing System (ESOS) activity, which provides for polar orbiting and geostationary satellites, as well as the development, production, and distribution of products from these satellites to government and private users. Within this $91.8 million sum, there is a request for an increase of $4.7 million this year, for a total of $37.1 million, for satellite command and control, as well as homeland security. With regard to the former, there is an increase for normal operation of the satellite systems, as well as the ingesting and processing of satellite data, and the development of new product applications to maintain continuity of operations. Funds also are requested to secure critical satellite control facilities.

For product processing and distribution, the administration is requesting an increase of $6.7 million above FY02, for a total of $27.7 million. The Product Processing and Distribution Program processes and analyzes data from NOAA, DoD, and other Earth-observing satellites, as well as supplying data, interpretations, and consulting services to users. The program also operates, maintains, and serves as the lead agency for the search and rescue mission control center.

The increases will go toward reducing the risk of losing the continuity of critical satellite product processing and distribution capabilities, as well as funds to improve weather and hazards product processing and distribution. With respect to the latter, the increase of $2 million will be used to accelerate the deployment of these capabilities into operations and provide for their continued support.

An increase of $2.5 million for a total of $25.8 million has been requested for NESDIS product development, readiness, and application. This includes additional funds of $2.6 million over FY02 for the Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation to a total of $3.4 million. This is a joint project with NASA, OAR, and NWS to coordinate the effort to more completely realize the potential of the vast quantities of satellite data that are available, the result being better warnings and improved weather and climate forecasts in terms of accuracy and lead times.

The administration is also requesting $60.1 million for NOAA data centers and information services. This is a net decrease of $4.3 million from FY02. This decrease offsets increases in the Archive, Access, and Assessment Program and approximately level funding at the FY02 level for the Coastal Data Development and Environmental Data Systems Modernization Program.

There is a request of $43.3 million for the Archive, Access, and Assessment Program—a decrease of $1.3 million from FY02 levels—to improve the data center’s ability to ingest, process, and archive data, as well as rescue valuable environmental data.

Within this sum, however, NESDIS will begin new programs totaling $5.4 million including:

• $1.7 million for regional climate services and assessments delivery services to be nationally coordinated but regionally distributed; and eventually locally distributed. This will allow NESDIS to improve national, regional, and state linkages and make all these databases accessible in a timely way to reduce climate risk by leveraging opportunities afforded by better-coordinated climate services used by more than 3 million users of climate data each year.
• $1.6 million for the Next-Generation Environmental Program, to develop new Web-accessible climate information and statistics, primarily for use in the energy sector.
• An increase of $1.3 million has been requested for the World Ocean Database in order to update it to include new sources of data, as well as analytical and data management infrastructure in order to transition this program from a research to a sustained service mode.
• $500,000 is requested for extending America’s climate record (paleoclimatology). These funds would be used to gather important paleoclimatic records to reconstruct climate records before the era of weather and climate measurement instruments. The purpose would be to produce blended datasets of the instrumental, historical, and paleoclimatic periods.
• The administration is also requesting $300,000 to establish a long-term Solar X-ray Imager Archive, useful to mitigate space weather events, which result in an estimated business loss of $1 billion per year in telecommunications and power services, and also have potential health implications for astronauts.

In its Procurement, Acquisition, and Construction account, NESDIS is requesting $612.8 million for FY03. The bulk of this—$587.6 million—goes to satellite observing systems, which is an increase of $29.2 million over FY02 levels. This provides for a multiyear program of procurement of satellites, launches, and associated ground system changes. It includes POES, NPOESS, and the geostationary (GOES) system. Funding decreases or increases may reflect a number of factors, including where a program is in its lifespan, technical advances that allow NOAA to skip launching a particular satellite, or the unexpected longevity of a particular system.

The administration is requesting that funding for geostationary systems be decreased by $35.1 million, to $227.4 million, in FY03.

Funding in FY03 for polar-orbiting systems is $360.2 million. For the K–N series, $122.9 million is requested, a decrease of $15.6 million from FY02. For the NPOESS series, however, which will be a coordinated NOAA–DoD–NASA program, the administration is requesting an increase of $79.9 million for a total request of $237.3 million. Funding in FY03, it may be noted, will be used for the first full year of the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the NPOESS program.

The administration has also requested $3 million for EOS data archive and system enhancement in order to exploit the large amounts of new satellite-based environmental data becoming available; and to process, maintain, and distribute that data in a number of useful ways for the public and private sectors.

For homeland security, $2.8 million has been requested to provide backup capability for all crucial satellite products and services. Such efforts will begin in FY03. There has also been a request of $6 million for coastal remote sensing for observations of coastal areas, and certain hydrological and atmospheric processes.

NESDIS is also requesting $13.4 million in FY03 for construction activity to ensure the country has the facilities and infrastructure to support its activities. This increase includes a request of $4.6 million, an increase of $1 million over FY03, for continuity of critical facilities for satellite operations, which will ensure the 99.9% data availability from NESDIS satellite systems and thus reduce the risk of service disruptions caused by failure of supporting facilities.

Finally, $8.9 million has been requested for FY03 to replace the NOAA satellite operations facility in Suitland, Maryland, involving the purchase and use of new buildings—as well as other, related, costs—to sustain continuity of operations during the relocation of NOAA activities.

NOS: Program Terminations Decrease NOS Budget Request Substantially

Overall NOAA National Ocean Service FY03 appropriation request.

The National Ocean Service (NOS) budget request for FY03 is substantially down at $411 million, compared with $506.7 million appropriated in FY02 and $596.9 million appropriated in FY01. The substantial projected decrease in the PAC account is largely responsible for this decrease. However, there are other decreases or program terminations, the latter representing $121 million, though there are a few increases in program activities.

Some NOS budget highlights.*

*Note that these figures do not all add up to total NOS funding. This is just an overview of highlights.

Some budget highlights include the following.

As with other NOAA accounts, there is a request for a substantial increase of $5.6 million this year in adjustments to base, making for a total of $12.4 million.

In navigation services, the request in FY03 is $122.2 million up from FY02 by $2 million—less than the rate of inflation but still an increase. This program supports a number of navigation “products and services” that ensure marine safety and improving the efficiency and competitiveness of U.S. commerce by, among other things, producing charts, tide predictions, and new products such as electronic navigational charts.

In the Ocean Resources Conservation and Assessment account, the FY03 request anticipates a substantial decrease from FY02 of $32.2 million. The program supports ocean and coastal monitoring and assessment, oil and hazardous material spills, and the science to make decisions about the protection and sustainable use of coastal and ocean resources. The decrease reflects program terminations and certain activities “rolled into” base programs, and other charges.

In FY03, the request for the Ocean and Coastal Management Program totals $140.5 million, $1.6 million above the FY02 appropriation $138.9 million. This program supports coastal states and territories to implement programs promoting the sustainable use of coastal zones, and designating and managing significant marine and estuarine areas. The total breaks down to $105 million for coastal management, and $35.6 million for ocean management.

Finally, the Procurement, Acquisition and Construction account is down substantially: a request in FY03 of $20 million from an appropriation in FY02 of $88 million. There is a substantial decrease in the National Estuarine Research Reserve, the National Marine Sanctuary Construction program, as well as various building and maintenance programs funded in FY02.

NMFS: National Marine Fisheries Service Budget Proposal Down

The Marine Fisheries Program has suffered some serious declines in recent years, especially in its Procurement, Acquisitions and Construction account but also in its other program areas, particularly funding related to the Pacific Coast Salmon Recovery Fund and Treaty.

As with other NOAA programs, there has been a request in FY03 for an adjustment to base to prevent program squeezes. In terms of increases, there have been modest requests for increases in the Fisheries Research and Management Services, the Protected Resources Research and Management Services, Habitat Conservation Research Management Services, and Enforcement and Survelliance Services accounts. There have been substantial decreases in FY03 requests for the Procurement, Acquisition and Construction account, and other items, including as noted above, the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund and the Pacific Salmon Treaty.

NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise Program Receives Solid FY03 Budget Request

The overall administration request for NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise budget is essentially flat funded, but if $62 million in congressional earmarks from FY02 are excluded, the $1.626 billion appropriation for that year becomes $1.564 billion—and the request for FY03 constitutes an approximately 4% increase. All said, with the exception of deferral of some missions within the Earth Explorers program, the administration’s request is quite positive.

Overall NASA Earth Science Enterprise FY03 appropriation request.

Some NASA Earth Sciences Enterprise budget highlights.

Some budget highlights include the following.

In the Major Development program, there are four primary items: EOS, EOS follow-on, EOS Data Information System, and Earth Explorers. The EOS program in the FY03 administration request, is receiving a major cut from $276 million to $172 million, but this is the natural result of a ramp down of the first series of EOS development (Aqua, IceSat, and SORCE). However, this has been more than offset by a major ramp up of the EOS follow-on: in NPP, Landsat Databuy, and Ocean Topography missions.

As for the EOS Data Information System program, the large decrease reflects the move of operations to the Mission Operations program ($176 million), and the removal of substantial earmarks ($36 million) that had been inserted in FY02 (and which may well be reinserted, despite the president’s campaign again them). Overall, then, with these changes, there has been a slight decline in program funding in real terms, that is, even before inflation is counted.

Earth Explorers is, perhaps, a somewhat different story. There has been a decline of $3.0 million in the FY03 request, which reflects the final year of COSMIC funding, the fact that Triana is going to storage, and the deferral of some missions or mission activities. However, this program represents a commitment to important future programs, and a more generous appropriation would have been preferred.

An increase in the FY03 request to $353.9 million from $340.6 million in the Earth Science Program science line item is a positive development. The increase reflects the additional science requirements associated with the first series EOS becoming operational, and funding increases reflect the additional needs for the distribution of data, as well as research and analysis.

Under applications, the decline in the FY03 request reflects to excision of approximately $32 million in congressional earmarks from FY03. Most of the earmarks, however, in one configuration or another, will undoubtedly be returned to this line item by congressional appropriators.

The decline from $101.8 million in FY02 to $87.3 million in the FY03 request for technology infusion, reflects the removal of $6 million in earmarks and also the EO-3 rephasing, one of the natural declines where funding is allocated over a number of years for a few complex projects. Increases may, in some cases, be disappointing, and decreases, in some cases, may be appropriate—and even more generous than expected.

A positive addition for FY03 is a proposed expenditure of $3.4 million for partial construction costs of a JPL flight projects building in Pasadena, California.

Under mission operations, the $47.6 million appropriation for FY02 has been increased to $247.8 million as a request for FY03. This reflects the fact that EOSDIS operations amounting to $176 million have been moved to this line item. In addition, $42 million for the ground network from HEDS has been moved to this line item. TOPEX, UARS, and ERBS, however, are not being funded.

Finally, under Mission support, the $288.4 million appropriated in FY02 has been increased to a request of $317.9 million for FY03, an increase of $29.5 million. This reflects, among other things, institutional support costs, including increases for retirement program funding; ground network support at Goddard Space Flight Center; and additional funding for increases in security costs.

Administration Requests $504 Million for Department of Energy’s Biological and Environmental Research Program for FY03

Although the administration budget request for the Department of Energy’s Biological and Environmental Research Program (BER) for FY03 is only $504 million, as compared to the FY02, appropriation of $570M, a 9% increase is requested for BER’s Life Sciences Program and a 7% increase is requested for the Climate Change Research Program (formerly called the Environmental Processes Program).

The explanation for the increases in spite of the decreases is that the FY02 appropriation included over $70 million of one-time congressional earmarks, primarily in the medical science area, and $11 million for construction. The FY03 request eliminated the $70 million for congressional add ons, and no new construction is being proposed.

Overall BER FY03 appropriation request.

Specific BER FY03 budget request (numbers rounded).

The BER’s Life Science Program request for FY03 is $210.9 million, nearly $18 million above the FY02 appropriation. In BER’s Life Science Program the Genome to Life subprogram request for FY03 is $36.7 million, an increase of $15.2 million. The Genome to Life program offers promise for major advances in energy supply, greenhouse gas mitigation, environmental cleanup, and biothreat detection. The Life Science Human Genome Program will focus on sequencing of the chromosomes 5, 16, and 19.

The Environmental Remediation Program request is $109.5 million, approximately $5 million below the FY02 appropriation. The major changes in the Environmental Remediation Program, which focuses on developing strategies for bioremediation of metals and radionuclides at DOE sites, are in the transfer of the Environmental Management Science Program, $29.9 million in FY03, and the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, $5.8 million in FY03, from the DOE Office of Environmental Management to BER.

The large decrease in the request in FY03 for the Medical Application and Measurement Science Program (from $122.9 million in FY02 to $45.8 million in FY03) reflects the elimination of a large number of the congressional earmarks in FY02.

BER Climate Change Research Program (in thousands).

By the end of FY03, BER’s Climate Change Research Program will increase the realism of the parallel coupled climate model by increasing the spatial resolution of the atmospheric model to 1.4° and the ocean and sea ice model to approximately 0.7°, which will be a higher resolution than any fully coupled climate model currently available to assess climate change. Improvements in computing software and the development of improved algorithms needed to effectively exploit the new computing technology are also planned.

In FY03, BER will continue the partnership with the Advanced Scientific Computing Research program. BER will increase the emphasis on data assimilation methods.

The BER ARM research request for FY03 is $13.3 million, the same as the FY02 appropriation. By the end of FY03, this program will deliver a more realistic representation of clouds for incorporation in atmospheric general circulation models. The improved representation of clouds will result in a 10% reduction in the uncertainty in calculations of the atmospheric energy budget and improve the accuracy and precision of climate models used to simulate and predict the effects on climate of atmospheric increases in energy-related greenhouse gases and aerosols.

An increase in ARM infrastructure funding (from $27.3 million in FY02, to $31.4 million in FY03) will support new instrumentation and ARM site staff for additional user support at the ARM sites and ARM data archive to allow the replacement and maintenance of ARM instruments and needed user support for scientists who use the ARM data or the ARM sites for field research.

Funding for the AMR Unmanned Aerial Vehicle program will remain the same as last year at $2.7 million. The program will conduct one major field campaign in conjunction with the ARM program to provide high altitude measurements of cloud properties and radiation budget.

The atmospheric science budget is expecting only a minor increase, from $12.5 million in FY02, to $12.6 in FY03. In the next fiscal year, BER will continue the Tropospheric Aerosol Program (TAP) to quantify the impacts of energy-related aerosols on climate, air quality, and human health. In FY03 the Atmospheric Sciences subprogram has requested $12.6 million, compared to $12.5 million in FY02. The program will, in general, focus on the evaluation of preliminary findings from field measurement campaigns in both atmospheric chemistry and environmental meteorology.

BER’s Terrestrial Carbon Processes and Ocean Sciences program funding also remains steady in the administration’s FY03 request at $13.7 million. By the end of FY03, the program will deliver quantitative estimates of net annual carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems at five of the AmeriFlux network sites. The program will also deliver regional-scale estimates of the terrestrial carbon budget for three regions in North America such as the deciduous forest region of the eastern United States.

BER will participate in the Climate Change Research Initiative research area to understand the North American carbon cycle by expanding the AmeriFlux network of research sites to allow regional extrapolation of net carbon exchange measurements. The appropriation request is $2.9 million.

As part of the BER Carbon Sequestration Research Program, requesting $8.6 million in FY03, university scientists will continue research on the effects of iron fertilization on plankton communities in the ocean and begin field experiments. The Southern Ocean is the largest high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll region in the world. The joint DOE–NSF Southern Ocean Iron Enrichment Experiment (SOFeX) will help scientists understand the potential to enhance ocean carbon sequestration through iron enrichment. Results from SOFeX, which will study the export of particulate organic carbon below the mixed layer in high- and low-silicate waters following the experimental addition of iron to a large area of the surface ocean will be analyzed and published, delivering data necessary to understand and assess the efficacy of using iron fertilization to enhance carbon sequestration in the ocean.

BER’s Ecological Processes budget will increase slightly in FY03 to $13.9 million, from $12.4 in FY02. The program will continue the six Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) experiments in Arizona, Minnesota, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Nevada, and Tennessee to improve understanding of the direct effects of elevated carbon dioxide and other atmospheric changes on the structure and functioning of various types of terrestrial ecosystems. The increase in FY03 will support core operational costs at FACE sites to allow additional users at the sites by enabling the sites to be operated and maintained so as to attract a broader community of scientific users.

The Integrated Assessment Program (requesting $8 million, same as in FY02) will continue to support research that will lead to better estimates of the costs and benefits of possible actions to mitigate global climate change. The new emphasis will be to improve the integrated assessment models to include other greenhouse gases as well as carbon dioxide, carbon sequestration, and international trading of emission permits. The president’s request for the Climate Change Research Program within BER of $138 million for FY03, reflects a modestly substantial increase in the overall commitment from FY02 of $129 million and continues increases from FY01, when the appropriation was approximately $126 million. Within the Climate Change Research Program, individual programs are at least flat funded, with some receiving substantial increases in their FY03 requests.

President Requests $5.04 Billion for National Science Foundation in FY03

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced a $5.04 billion budget request for FY03—$240 million (5%) over FY02. The request highlights increased financial support to the following levels for graduate students ($37 million, involves a stipend increase for graduate students, from $21,500 to $25,000), the second year of a five-year investment in math and science education partnership ($200 million), and a basic research portion of the administration’s new multiagency Climate Change Initiative ($15 million). It also provides increased funding for six multidisciplinary priority areas: interdisciplinary mathematics to accelerate the expansion of mathematics into the other disciplines ($60 million), complex interactions in society ($10 million), the fourth year of biocomplexity in the environment ($79 million, 36% over FY02), nanoscale science and engineering, information technology research ($286 million, 3% over FY02), and learning for the 21st century ($185 million, 27.5% over FY02).

Overall NSF budget.

It should be noted that, although the Major Research Equipment account will increase by 9% to $126 million, there are no funds allocated for the continuation of the development of the midlevel jet to be added to the NSF research aircraft fleet operated by NCAR.

Funding levels for the NSF’s appropriation accounts of most interest are shown in the table below.

^*Totals do not add due to rounding and consideration of only certain accounts.

The support for grant scientific activities is contained in the Research and Related Activities account. Support for educational activities, including the AMS Education Program is provided from the Education and Human Resources account.

The primary support for atmospheric science research in the United States is provided by the NSF Geosciences (GEO) activity, which also supports research in the earth and ocean sciences. Basic research in the geosciences advances scientific knowledge of the earth and advances our ability to predict natural phenomena of economic and human significance, such as climate change, earthquakes, weather, fish stock fluctuations, and disruptive events in the solar–terrestrial environment.

The FY03 request of $691 million, a 13.4% decrease from FY02, will support the operation and enhancement of national user facilities as well as fundamental research across the geosciences, including emphases on the U.S. Weather Research Program (USWRP) and National Space Weather Program (NSWP); the U.S. Global Change Research Program; the Biocomplexity in the Environment priority area, and research on the key physical, chemical, and geologic cycles within the Earth System, as well as the other five NSF-wide priority areas mentioned above. The budget summary for GEO is shown in the table below.

NSF geosciences budget.

Within the Atmospheric Sciences budget, there is support for grants activities (atmospheric sciences research support) and for the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). In the grants programs, there will be continued support for biogeochemical cycles, especially the carbon and water cycles; new environmental modeling; the USWRP and the NSWP; and the next-generation upper-atmospheric radar system.

In FY03, $73.6 million is requested for the operation and maintenance of observational and computer facilities at NCAR. NCAR is a world-renowned center for atmospheric research that makes facilities available—including supercomputers, instrumented research aircraft, and ground-based portable observing systems—to scientists at universities, NCAR, and elsewhere. In FY03, NCAR will focus on: research on the earth’s natural cycles, including climate system modeling and the operation of the computation facilities for the Climate Simulation Laboratory; projects within the USWRP and the NSWP, which aim to achieve a better understanding and improved predictive capability of costly and disruptive storms on the earth and in space; and continued development of observational and computational capabilities. The reduction in the support for NCAR is primarily due to the completion of the refurbishment of the mesa laboratory, which cost has $4 million per year for the past 3 years.

Requests Down for Water Programs at U.S. Geological Survey but Cuts Expected to be Restored

In recent years, the water programs at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have been something of a political football: the administration proposes substantial cuts in a number of the programs, and then Congress restores the funding. That is true for FY03, as well, with an FY03 request of $177.8 million, down from $205.8 million in FY02. A part of that decrease reflects cuts in the stream gauge program, which the NWS uses in exercising its responsibility for flood forecasting. As is the case with last year, however, it is expected that these proposed cuts will be restored by Congress.

Overall water programs budget.

Some USGS Water Program budget highlights.

Some budget highlights include the following.

Perhaps of most interest to members of AMS is the National Streamflow Information Program. This is a cooperative program that depends on tribal, local, state, as well as other federal agencies in addition to USGS for funding. The stream flow forecasts, which are produced by the NWS and based on USGS stream flow data, provide better flood warnings and improved drought management, as well as information for communities to better plan for their water supplies. There are a number of other uses that would be affected by the administration’s plan to cut $2.1 million from the FY02 appropriation of $14.3 million, which would eliminate USGS funding for about 130 stream gauges already in operation.

The USGS is the backbone of the stream gauge program, which provides the infrastructure to collect and disseminate stream flow information in a timely, reliable, and usable form. The federal involvement ensures that stream gauges in place will be maintained, for the timely information they provide but also long-term information that is important to climate records. As a result, even if local partners discontinue funding, the program may be maintained and benefits continue to accrue.