Editor: Jim Elliott

Contributor: Stephanie Kenitzer

Copy Editor: Marcie Bernstein

Volume 22, Special Issue, May 2001
FY02 Budgets

Table of Contents

• Disparate Views of the President’s R&D Budget
• NOAA FY02 Budget Request Suffers $60 Million Decrease from FY01
• National Weather Service FY02 Budget Request Calls for Increase of $34.8 Million
• NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Budget Request $9.6 Million Down from FY01
• NOAA’s NESDIS FY02 Budget Request Totals $738 Million
• National Science Foundation Requests $4.47 Billion for FY02
• NASA FY02 Budget to Provide Increase over FY01 Funding; Earth Science Budget Gets Smaller
• USGS FY02 Budget Request Decreases by Close to 8%
• Department of Energy’s Biological and Environmental Research Office Requests $443 Million for FY02

Disparate Views of the President’s R&D Budget

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the Office of the President, the American Academy for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Minority Staff of the House Science Committee have produced overviews of the President’s proposed budget on research and development. Each reflects the institution that produced it. The OMB attempts to put President Bush’s proposals in the most favorable light, focusing on substantial increases in biomedical and defense-related research and downplaying nearly flat funding and any cuts in other agencies. The AAAS and House Science Committee reports express disappointment in the federal funding of science and technology R&D and a lack of balance across disciplines.

The OMB report is entitled “Continued American Prosperity: Increased Investments in Science and Technology.” It claims that, while maintaining “fiscal discipline” by holding federal “discretionary” spending to an overall 4% increase, the President is proposing “a substantial increase for research and development for the government as a whole,” with a priority on basic research, math, and science education, as well as medical research. It also states that the budget will assist private sector R&D spending.

The report asserts that the President’s budget increases the federal commitment to R&D to a record high of $95 billion, a 6% increase from last year. This may be seen as a bit disingenuous, however, since that number includes large increases from the National Institute of Health (NIH), as well as Department of Defense (DOD) research and development and offers the caveat that agency totals “are subject to adjustment” in accord with an upcoming defense strategy review. Therefore, the proposed 6% provisional increase in basic research overall in the budget may very well be adjusted by agency, with more substantial cuts to come in R&D programs outside NIH and DOD.

Much of the nondefense increases in R&D, as the OMB report notes, are the result of an increase of $2.8 billion for biomedical research, keeping the NIH budget on course to double by 2003. The budget, according to the report, also provides for a commitment of at least $1 billion for math and science education and a call for making the private sector R&D tax credit permanent, which, presumably, would stimulate private R&D efforts. Specific percentage increases are not noted for National Science Foundation (NSF) and NASA, however, with the report only saying that there will be increases for FY02 for both agencies “following significant increases in 2001.” Proposed increases for these agencies, in fact, are below the rate of inflation, and another agency, the USGS, for example, has been cut by close to 8%. Other agency R&D budgets have similarly been slashed, in actual decreases in outlays (i.e., fewer dollars).

In perhaps somewhat defensive tones, the report states that grants from NIH directly benefit a broad variety of disciplines (which is true but does not make up for direct commitments to these other disciplines). But increases in these other areas are not specified; again, since in a number of cases, they are at least below the rate of inflation and often amount to actual decreases.

The AAAS report (available at http://www.aaas.org/spp/r&d) is highly critical of the President’s proposed R&D budget, as reflected in its title: “Bush Administration Proposes Cuts to Most R&D Agencies.” It notes that while there is an overall increase in the proposed budget for federal R&D spending, the entire increase in discretionary spending of 4% across the President’s budget is accounted for by The Departments of Defense, as well as NIH (along with an “emergency reserve”). All other federal agency R&D programs outside DOD and NIH are nearly flat or are declining in actual decreases in outlays.

According to AAAS, since DOD and NIH are the two largest sources of federal R&D funds, substantial increases for them in the President’s proposal allows overall federal R&D to increase in the President’s budget. Combined, they are to increase $6.3 billion, or 5.8%, over actual FY01 allocations, but since this is more than the overall $5.2 billion in federal R&D increases, other agencies would necessarily fare somewhat worse than last year. Indeed, the report notes, 7 of the 10 largest agencies funding federal R&D would see their funding actually decline in FY02 in real dollars.

The AAAS notes that the Clinton Administration sought to achieve a rough parity between defense and nondefense R&D—which they did by FY01—but the Bush Administration plans to “aggressively expand defense R&D investments,” which would upset this long, slow move toward parity. Even though DOD has not submitted a full FY02 budget yet, DOD is subject to a major review of spending priorities, with current figures consisting of “placeholders” that assume FY01 appropriations, plus inflation, along with an extra $2.6 billion in proposed allocations

With respect to NIH, AAAS notes that given the 13.5% increase requested by President Bush for FY02, and with annual increases over the past several years of more than 10% per year, the majority of federal basic R&D is now supported by that institution; in the current Bush budget proposal, in fact, 56% of it will come from NIH.

The report does highlight what it regards as a bright spot: an 8.1% increase in the Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology Initiative. This commitment, however, as well as increases at DOD, NIH and Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (27.6% increase), stands out amid a litany of R&D cuts: 4.4% in the USGCRP (with cuts coming from a variety of sources, mostly NASA); 1.7% in NSF’s R&D budget; 3.3% in NASA’s R&D budget; 3.3% in the Department of Energy’s R&D budget (including a decrease of 8.2% in DOE’s BER program, important in the atmospheric sciences); 8.1% in Agriculture’s R&D budget; 6.1% in the Department of Commerce’s R&D budget; 6.2% in the Department of the Interior’s (primarily USGS) R&D budget; and, 6.1% in EPA’s R&D budget.

AAAS notes that even disciplines such as environmental science and computer science that have been favored in the1990s will likely decline with the President’s budget proposal.

According to AAAS, these cuts are the result of the Bush Administration’s focus on tax cuts, as well as priorities in DOD, NIH, and education. All programs, such as foreign aid, immigration, justice programs, national parks, and federal R&D, are in competition for the 4% total increase in discretionary spending over FY01. The result, effectively, is a squeeze on federal R&D spending across a number of agencies; and, in any case, the funds that are available are “crucially” dependent on continuing U.S. economic growth that is currently yielding a substantial budget surplus but is not guaranteed to continue.

In sum, the AAAS sees an upward trend in federal support for life sciences research; a decline for the physical sciences; and, a stagnation overall of federal support for engineering R&D.

The report issued by the Minority staff of the House Science Committee, “The President’s FY2002 Budget for Research and Development: An Analysis by the Minority Staff of the House Science Committee” (http://www.house.gov/science_democrats/archive/budget02.htm), is equally skeptical. It notes that, indeed, there will be an overall 6% increase in R&D, but makes it clear that only 3% of this is in the civilian sector, with 8% for the military. It identifies four major themes in the President’s R&D budget proposal.

According to the report, the President’s request reverses a trend toward parity between defense and nondefense R&D. Parity was almost reached in 2001, narrowing a gap that had defense R&D funded at nearly twice the rate of civilian R&D in 1987. The report laments this reversal, given the end of the cold war, and notes that only a large increase in the NIH budget request keeps civilian and military R&D spending nearly equal. These priorities “seem misplaced,” and, in speculation by the report author, may be the result of the fact the President has not filled the position of Presidential Science Advisor.

Furthermore, the report argues, the “imbalance” between R&D in the physical and biomedical sciences is “exacerbated,” even given a general warning by sources prominent in the field that the effectiveness of biomedical research depends at least in part on more balanced spending on the physical and biomedical sciences. It cites, among others, the National Association of Manufacturers; Allan Bromley, OSTP Director in the first Bush Administration; and Harold Varmus, former Director of the NIH. “But the message has gone unheeded in this White House,” according to the report, noting that the FY02 budget proposal provides a $2.751 billion increase for NIH, while other non-DOD R&D suffers a $1.2 billion reduction.

The report notes with approval the successful amendment in the Senate offered by Christopher Bond (R-Missouri) to the FY02 Budget Resolution that would increase funding for NSF, NASA, and DOE by $1.44 billion. This is regarded as a serious signal that Congress intends to stem the imbalance in federal R&D funding.

But according to the report, the failure of the President to appoint civilian science officials throughout the top levels of the government indicates a lack of interest in the funding of research necessary for future economic growth.

The report argues that there had been a growing consensus that NSF funding should grow at least at the same rate as that of NIH, having been put on a path to “doubling” in last year’s appropriations process. This principle is embodied in the Bond Amendment, statements from the Senate Appropriations Committee, and by a recent legislative proposal, H.R. 1472, calling for a “doubling” in civilian R&D spending, supported by 16 Members of the House Science Committee. A 5-year plan for such a “doubling,” according to the report, has been stopped in its tracks by a cut (of $55 million) in the President’s proposal for NSF’s R&D activities.

Finally, the report issued by the House Science Committee’s Minority staff claims that public–private partnerships in R&D “fare poorly” in the President’s budget proposal. The report endorses the concept that one of the great strengths of the U.S. economy is the ability of business, academia and government to form partnerships on the leading edge of science and technology R&D. It decries the idea that joint public–private sector efforts are examples of “corporate welfare.” It also argues that the President’s budget submission in fact supports this misguided view, however, given the termination of the Advanced Technology Program, cuts in cooperative energy efficiency programs at the Department of Energy and the “targeting” of the Partnership for a New Generation Vehicle program.

NOAA FY02 Budget Request Suffers $60 Million Decrease from FY01

President Bush has requested a FY02 budget of $3,152 million, a decrease of $60.8 million from the FY01 enacted levels. Within that funding level, NOAA proposes some realignments that allow for $370.0 million in program increases in critical areas such as infrastructure, severe weather prediction, coastal conservation, living marine resources and climate, Acting NOAA Administrator Scott Gudes explained during a briefing in Washington, D.C., on 11 April.

The budget request by line office shows (see specific details on NOAA line offices in related stories):

• National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS)—$738.0 million;
• National Weather Service (NWS)—$727.6 million;
• National Marine Fisheries Service—$734.2 million;
• National Ocean Service—$394.6 million;
• Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR)—$340.7 million;
• Office of Marine and Aviation Operations—$124.0 million; and
• Program Support—$237.2 million.

Of the total requested for NESDIS, $131.6 was requested for Operations, Research and Facilities (ORF) and $606.3 million for Procurement, Acquisition and Construction (PAC). For NWS, the breakdown was $658.4 (ORF) and $69.1 (PAC). For OAR, $330.1 million ORF, $10.6 million PAC, and for OAMO, $89.1 million ORF, $19.5 million (PAC) and $15.4 million for Other.

The FY02 budget request includes several crosscutting initiatives, where programs are interrelated. The crosscutting initiatives include People and Infrastructure, $73.3 million; Maintain Satellite Continuity and Severe Weather Forecasts, $712.3 million; Coastal Conservation Activities, $284.4 million; Continuing Climate Services, $34.7 million; Modernization of NOAA Fisheries, $143.8 million, and Modernization of Marine Transportation System (MTS), $20.1 million.

Other key programs include Ocean Exploration, $14.0 million; Marine Environmental Research, $11.6 million; Estuary Restoration Act, $2.0 million; Commerce Administrative Management System, $19.8 million, and Marine Services, $63.8 million.

Under People and Infrastructure, funding requests include $12 million for NWS Weather Forecast Office construction and $4.6 million for maintenance of Forecast Offices, $3.6 million for Maintenance, Repair and Safety of NOAA laboratories and upgrades and repairs on two of NOAA’s research vessels, the Gordon Gunter and the Albatross IV.

Under Maintain Satellite Continuity and Severe Weather Forecasts, the budget requests include

• $65.0 million for Environmental Observing Services,
• $146.3 million for Polar Orbiting Satellites (current generation),
• $156.6 million for NPOESS,
• $293.3 million for GOES satellites,
• $1.2 million for the Commercial Remote Sensing Licensing Program,
• $31.4 million for Data and Information Services,
• $3.7 million for the U.S. Weather Research Program,
• $5.1 million for the Automated Surface Observing Systems,
• $5.9 million for the National Centers for Environmental Prediction Environmental Modeling Center,
• $3.0 million for Data Assimilation, and
• $0.8 million for the Joint Center for Data Assimilation.

The assimilation is the collection and processing of weather observations from a wide variety of sources for use in operational numerical weather prediction models. The Joint Center will assimilate data from NOAA, NASA, DOD and international sources for integration into NOAA’s operational models.

Under Continuing Climate Services, requests for funding include

• $3.0 million for a Climate Reference Network,
• $1.0 million for Improving the Availability of Climate Data and Information,
• $2.0 million for operations at NOAA’s Global Atmospheric Baseline Observatories,
• $5.0 million for ocean observations,
• $1.9 million for Regional Assessments and Outreach,
• $0.9 million for Weather–Climate Connection,
• $2.3 million to participate in a multiagency effort to study the carbon cycle,
• $7.3 million for improvements in the global operational ocean observing system that includes the deployment and maintenance of ARGO floats,
• $0.7 million for continued contributions of global change assessments, and
• $7.0 million (from the PAC account) for support of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory.

National Weather Service FY02 Budget Request Calls for Increase of $34.8 Million

The FY02 budget request for NWS totals $727.6 million, an increase of $34.8 million above the FY01 enacted level. Within that total, $658.5 million is for Operations, Research and Facilities (ORF) and $69.1 million for Procurement, Acquisition and Construction (PAC).

Under the request, NOAA asks for an increase of $24.3 million to fund adjustments to base for NWS operations and system accounts, which will cover the FY02 federal pay raise of 3.6%. It also will provide mandatory inflationary increases for nonlabor activities, including service contracts, field office lease payments and rent charges from General Service Administration (GSA). The base also was adjusted to transfer the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology to Program Support.

The agency is requesting an increase of $1.2 million to restore the FY01 rescission. The restoration is needed to sustain NWS warning and forecast services for the public.

The NWS requests a decrease of $3.3 million to reflect the completion of the following programs: the Cooperative Institute for Regional Prediction in support of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah ($0.6 million); acquisition and installation of NOAA Weather Radio transmitters at specified locations during FY01 ($1.9 million); Mt. Washington Observatory ($0.5 million), and the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network ($0.3 million).

In the PAC account, a requested decrease of $5.5 million for the completion of the Evansville, Indiana, Doppler radar project was made to reflect completion of onetime costs associated with the project during FY01.

NWS requests $1.7 million to sustain operations at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction’s (NCEP’s) Environmental Modeling Center (EMC), a move supported by a report by the National Research Council that noted “Almost all of the Nation’s operational weather and climate guidance products come from EMC, which does not presently possess the necessary resources to transfer many of the U.S. advances in observations and modeling to operations.”

It also requests $3.0 million to improve data assimilation and modeling at NCEP where the collection and processing of weather observations are used to develop operational numerical prediction models. These models serve as the foundation for all general weather forecasts (2 days and beyond), including aviation, marine, hurricane, rainfall, and severe weather.

The NWS requests $1.0 million for the continued implementation of the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS) in the Upper Mississippi and Ohio River Basin, focusing on high priority flood prone areas. The service has been tested successfully on major river basins in North Dakota, Iowa, Georgia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

The total requests of $84.1 million in Systems Operation and Maintenance (O&M) represents a $2.7 million increase over FY01. The Systems O&M total includes $40.0 million for NEXRAD O&M, $7.6 million for Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) O&M, and $36.5 million for AWIPS O&M.

The total request of $69.1 million in PAC represents an increase of $5.7 million over the previous year funding level. Under Systems Acquisition of $57.2 million, $5.1 million is for ASOS (an increase of $1.3 million over FY01), which will allow acquisition of 346 dewpoint sensors and 346 processors, deployment of 314 processors, and acquisition of 115 all-weather precipitation gauges.

NOAA requests $16.3 million for the AWIPS PAC account, which will allow NWS to complete a 3-year effort to develop and deploy software for the system. A total of $15.1 million is requested to continue operations and maintenance of the NWS (Class VII) Weather and Climate Supercomputer located at the Census Facility in Bowie, Maryland.

In FY02, NWS plans to improve weather forecasts by improving the resolution of the regional weather model from 22 to 12 kilometers (13 to 7 miles) and the global weather model from 75 to 55 kilometers (46 to 34 miles). It also will use the supercomputer to improve and expand operational climate forecasts and implement a new regional climate model and improve forecasts for El Niño and La Niña events and other climate oscillations.

The agency is requesting $8.3 million for the NEXRAD PAC account to continue the product improvement program; $7.5 million for NWS Telecommunications Gateway Backup–Critical Infrastructure Protection (currently, the NWS Telecommunications Gateway has no operational backup and is therefore a single point of failure vulnerable to natural disasters, human error, computer viruses, hacker attacks, and terrorism), and $5.0 million for Radiosonde Replacement Network (currently obsolete and nearing collapse, according to officials, risking widespread loss of data within the next 2 to 3 years).

In the construction area, NOAA requests $12 million to continue critical facility modernization efforts, an increase of $2.5 million over FY01. In FY02, the agency plans to finalize construction of the new Weather Forecast Office in Caribou, Maine, and complete the new Alaska Tsunami Warning Center at Palmer, Alaska, as well as complete modernization of the weather offices at Hilo, Hawaii, and Kotzebue, Alaska.

NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Budget Request $9.6 Million Down from FY01

NOAA’s OAR FY02 budget request of $340.8 million represents a level of funding $9.6 million less than the FY01 enacted level.

The request consists of

• program increases of $26.0 million,
• a reduction of $28.9 million for program terminations,
• $0.7 million to restore the FY01 rescission, and
• a decrease of $7.4 million in adjustments to base.

Under Operations, Research and Facilities (ORF), OAR requests $158.5 million for Climate and Air Quality Research, an increase of $14.4 million over the FY01 funding level.

For Climate Observations and Services, OAR requests $24.0 million, an increase of $13.0 million, to advance the Climate Services Program (an additional $1.6 million increase for a total of $3.6 million is requested for Procurement, Acquisition and Construction (PAC).

OAR also requests $1.9 million for regional assessments, education, and outreach; $0.7 million for climate change assessments; $0.9 million for Weather–Climate Connection to expand its diagnostic and modeling efforts to better understand subseasonal tropical variability and changes in the frequency, location, and intensity of extreme weather events over the United States; $2.3 million to establish a network of more densely spaced airborne and tall-tower-based sampling sites over North America as part of a multiagency effort to quantify, understand, and project the evolution of global carbon sources and sinks to better predict future climate; and $7.3 million for Ocean System for Improved Climate Services to implement and maintain a global ocean observing systems by enhancing its present components and establishing new ones.

For its atmospheric programs, it requests $51.8 million, an increase of $3.7 million over last year. Of that amount, $3.7 million is requested for the U.S. Weather Research Program (USWRP), an increase of $2.2 million over the FY01 funding. The USWRP is a cooperative effort among OAR, NWS, NESDIS within NOAA, plus NSF, NASA and the U.S. Navy and the university community.

The $3.7 million for UWWRP represents an increase of $2.2 million over FY01 enacted levels. USWRP will conduct research and development on experimental numerical model algorithms, provide field observational support, and support information and technology transfer to operations and services. High priority areas are hurricanes at landfall and optional mix of observations and Quantitative Precipitation Forecasts (QPF). The hurricanes at landfall area aims to extend hurricane track predictions up to 5 days, improve the accuracy of the hurricane landfall location, and improve the forecasts of hurricane intensity at landfall. Several field operations are planned for the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season. The QPF initiatives will aim to improve understanding of the use of data from advanced observing systems and thereby improve numerical weather predictions.

The agency requests $119.8 million for Oceans and Great Lakes Programs, a decrease of $2.5 million from FY01. The National Sea Grant College Program is supported at the FY01 funding level plus a small adjustment to base for a total funding of $62.4 million, and the National Undersea Research Program (NURP) is supported slightly above last year’s funding by a request for $13.8 million.

A request of $22.6 million is made for Marine Environmental Research, which includes $11.6 million for Marine Environmental Research and Coral Reef Watch, both of which realize a $0.5 million increase over last year. The agency requests $3.6 million for the Marine Aquaculture Program.

OAR also requests 14.0 million for Ocean Exploration, an increase of $10.0 million over last year’s funding. The exploration effort will focus on five areas: New Ocean Resources, $1.4 million; Exploring Ocean Acoustics, $1.4 million; America’s Maritime Heritage, $1.3 million; Exploring Ocean Frontiers, $5.0 million, and Census of Marine Life, $0.9 million.

The agency is requesting $10.6 million in its PAC account, representing a decrease of $12.5 million from FY01 funding. Of the total, $7.0 million is requested for High-Performance Computing & Communications at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamic Laboratory in Princeton, New Jersey, and $3.6 million for a Comprehensive Large-Array data Stewardship System (CLASS), which represents a $1.6 million increase over last year

NOAA’s NESDIS FY02 Budget Request Totals $738 Million

NOAA’s NESDIS FY02 budget request totals $738.0 million, an increase of $98.0 million over the funding enacted in FY01.

Within that $738.0 million total, $131.7 million is requested in the Operations, Research and Facilities (ORF) account and $606.3 million in the Procurement, Acquisition and Construction (PAC) account.

NOAA requests an increase of $4.3 million to fund adjustments to base (ATBs) for base operations and system accounts to fund the FY02 federal pay raise of 3.6% and annualize the FY01 pay raise of 3.8%. It also requests a $0.3 million increase to restores the FY01 rescission and a decrease of $5.4 million to reflect termination of the Center for Special Data Research and Applications at Jackson State University, Mississippi, (-$2.5 million) and Regional Climate Centers (-$2.9 million). It is important to note that NOAA has repeatedly cut the Regional Climate Centers from its budget request only to have them restored by Congress.

In the ORF account, NESDIS requests $75.9 million for Satellite Observing Systems, an increase of $15.7 million over last year’s funding. This amount provides for the operation of current polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites, as well as production and distribution of satellite products. It also supports the continuation of Ocean Remote Sensing, Global Wind Demonstration, National Hazards Information Strategy and Environmental Observing Systems.

NESDIS is asking for an increase of $15.7 million in its Environmental Observing Systems account, raising the total request for FY02 to $68.9 million. This funding supports the operations of all of the NESDIS satellite systems, processing of satellite data, and the development of new product applications.

The agency requests $1.2 million for the Commercial Remote Sensing Licensing Program; $0.8 million for the Joint Center for Satellite Data Acquisition; $0.8 million for Coral Reef Monitoring; $0.3 million to study the requirements for backup responsibilities for critical sites and services in the event of a single point of failure; $55.8 million for Environmental Data Management Systems, a $9.0 million decrease from last year; and $43.4 million for Data and Information Services, a decrease of $5.2 million from FY01.

In the PAC account, NESDIS requests $596.1 million for Satellite Observing Systems, which provides multiyear procurement of spacecraft, launches, and associated ground system changes for the current series NOAA K-N of polar orbiters, NPOESS and GOES.

NESDIS also requests $146.3 million for NOAA Polar K-N, an increase of $9.6 million over last year. The request also includes funds necessary to complete the instruments for the European METOP satellites, which will replace NOAA’s morning polar orbiting satellite no earlier than 2003.

The NPOESS request is for $156.6 million, an increase of $83.4 million over last year’s funding. These funds provide NOAA’s share of the converged NOAA/NASA/DOD polar-orbiting program and also are needed to continue critical contracts on NPOESS program definition and risk reduction efforts, which include the NPOESS Preparatory Project.

For GOES, the request is for $293.3 million, an increase of $3.1 million over last year. These funds will be used to continue funding the firm fixed price contract for GOES N-Q spacecraft and launch services that was awarded in January 1998. The first in this series of satellites will be available for launch in the fall of 2002.

NESDIS also is requesting $4.6 million for Continuity of Critical Facilities for Satellite Operations to address deficiencies and risks associated with the infrastructure facilities of the NOAA environmental satellite command and control centers at Wallops Island, Virginia, and Fairbanks, Alaska.

National Science Foundation Requests $4.47 Billion for FY02

Overview

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced a $4.47 billion budget request for FY02—$56 million (1.3%) over 2001. The request highlights a math and science education partnership, interdisciplinary mathematics research, and increased financial support for graduate students. It also provides increased funding for four multidisciplinary priority areas: biocomplexity in the environment, nanoscale science and engineering, information technology research, and learning for the twenty-first century.

The FY02 request focuses $20 million on interdisciplinary mathematics to accelerate the expansion of mathematics into the other disciplines, including biological and social sciences, and to support fundamental research in mathematics and statistics.

The request also seeks a stipend increase for graduate students, from $18,000 to $20,500.

Within the priority areas, NSF plans a 16% increase for nanoscale science and engineering research, continuing its lead role in the multiagency effort; a 5.9% increase for biocomplexity in the environment; a 5% increase for information technology research; and a 3.3% increase for learning for the twenty-first century.

NSF will also provide more than $25.6 million to initiate a new group of science and technology centers across a broad range of disciplines.

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

* Does not include $121 million in FY01 and $144. million in FY02 from H-1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner Fees.

** 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.

Details of significance to the atmospheric sciences

AMS members who are at academic institutions should note that NSF will complete a study, with the assistance of U.S. academic research universities, to determine whether increasing the average NSF grant size and duration would produce greater efficiency in the research process. One focus will be an assessment of whether time spent in writing proposals detracts significantly from time that would otherwise be spent conducting research.

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 FY02 request of $558.54 million, a 0.6% decrease from FY01, 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 and National Space Weather Program; 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. The budget summary for GEO is shown in the table below.

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 FY02, $70.63 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 FY02, NCAR will focus on research on earth’s natural cycles, including climate system modeling and the operation of the computation facilities for the Climate Simulation Laboratory; projects within the U.S. Weather Research Program (USWRP) and the National Space Weather Program (NSWP), which aim to achieve a better understanding and improved predictive capability of costly and disruptive storms on earth and in space; and continued development of observational and computational capabilities.

GEO actively participates in and contributes to the Foundation’s four priority areas. Following are the areas with the most prominent atmospheric activities:

Biocomplexity in the Environment (BE). In FY02, GEO will provide $23.0 million to support the NSF-wide BE competition and a set of coordinated activities in environmental science, engineering, and education that advance scientific knowledge about the connection between the living and nonliving earth system. The term “biocomplexity” refers to the dynamic web of often surprising interrelationships that arise when living things at all levels interact with their environment.

These funds will enable the initiation and enhancement of four interdisciplinary activities:

• Planetary ecology focuses on understanding the earth’s marine and terrestrial ecosystems and their evolution, and the interaction of the biosphere with earth system processes.
• Planetary metabolism aims to understand the links and feedbacks among the earth’s physical, chemical, geological, and biological, as well as social, systems; how they have evolved; and how they affect the planet’s biosphere and geosphere.
• Planetary energetics and dynamics attempts to understand the links between physical and biochemical processes by focusing on energy exchange. This includes an effort to understand, mitigate and predict natural hazards—for example, hurricane genesis and storm track, and energetic processes in the upper atmosphere.
• Earth observatories will make sustained time series observations to understand the temporal evolution of environmental systems.

Information Technology Research (ITR). In FY02, GEO will provide $10.9 million to support information-based activities that focus on

• development of comprehensive coupled models that include ensemble forecasting, nesting, and/or data assimilation techniques to understand the complex interactions taking place in the earth system;
• development of tools for knowledge discovery, visualization, and interpretation of large-scale heterogeneous datasets; and
• extension of local networking and computing capabilities in support of large-scale modeling and database activities in the geosciences.

Nanoscale Science and Engineering. In FY02, GEO will support Nanoscale Science and Engineering at a level of $6.80 million for activities that include: support for crosscutting studies aimed at understanding the distributions and behavior of nanoscale structures throughout the earth, atmosphere, and oceans, as well as, development of heavily instrumented interdisciplinary earth system observatories that include platforms to detect and characterize nanoscale particles and their interactions throughout the atmosphere and oceans.

Continued funding for the development of a high-altitude environmental research aircraft (HIAPER) has not been supported in the FY02 request. Congress has provided funds for HIAPER in the last two budgets, but further funding is required to bring the aircraft to operational status.

NASA FY02 Budget to Provide Increase over FY01 Funding; Earth Science Budget Gets Smaller

President Bush’s FY02 budget request would boost NASA funding by $258 million, or 1.8%, over FY01 funding and provide a total of $14.5 billion for the space agency. The FY02 budget request provides slight increases for most NASA enterprises with the exception of Earth Science. Funding for Earth Science would decline by $200 million to $1.27 billion.

The President’s Earth Science budget request for FY02 is $1.515 billion and reflects a net change in funding for Earth Observing Systems (EOS) as peak funding for the first series of EOS declines and funding for formulation of next decade missions ramps up.

FY00 was the best year yet for the agency’s Earth Science program, as measured by the contributions to the list of top science discoveries worldwide. They included mapping the pattern of thinning and thickening of the Greenland Ice Sheet, publishing a 20-year record of North and South polar sea ice extent, and observing a Connecticut-sized iceberg break off from the Antarctic ice sheet.

Much of that work was made possible by NASA-sponsored scientific research and the first elements of the EOS series of satellites, including Landsat 7, QuikSCAT, Terra, and ACRIMsat. In February 2000, NASA flew the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, and the agency is using the data to produce the most accurate elevation model of the earth’s land surface between 60°N and 56°S. This will be of great use not only to scientists but also to civil engineers who are working to improve aviation safety in mountainous areas and the manage potential flood hazards.

Over the next 3 years, NASA will complete the deployment of the EOS system. Later this year, it expects to launch Aqua, which will make the most accurate measurements yet of atmospheric temperature and humidity—the kind of data that will enable scientific discoveries leading to weather predictions to be extended from three to five days out to seven days.

ICEsat will make the first detailed topographic maps of the world’s great ice sheets. Other missions will extend key data records of ocean topography and solar irradiance that are essential to seasonal and decadal climate prediction.

Smaller complementary missions will study earth system phenomena never before studied globally from space. The development of the EOS Data and Information System (EOSDIS) is nearly complete. In FY00, EOSDIS provided more than 8 million data products in response to 1.5 million requests.

Five EOS successor missions are planned as part of the FY02 budget. A Global Precipitation Mission will build on the success of TRMM and provide the first global observations of rainfall. Ocean Topography and ocean surface wind missions will succeed the EOS-era Jason and SeaWinds, respectively, providing continuing measurements that are proving essential to forecasting and monitoring El Niño and hurricanes. Atmospheric ozone/aerosol and solar irradiance missions will extend EOS-era measurements of two key factors (atmospheric chemistry and incoming solar energy) that help distinguish natural from human influences on climate change.

NASA Administrator Dan Goldin explained, that the agency is “taking a pause, as we absorb the wealth of data being returned from the first set of Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites. This year the President is proposing more funds for the follow-on generation of spacecraft.”

Goldin also said, “And, as you can see, there is a significant level of funding—$1.4 billion dollars—to get the follow-on missions going.” That total includes $130 million in 2002, a 136% increase over 2001, according to budget documents.

Because NASA is reorganizing its accounts, this year the request is presented in two versions —one that reflects the reorganized accounts and another that shows funding for programs as organized under the current fiscal year to enable comparisons.

In presenting the budget at a briefing at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., on 9 April, Goldin said, “The President has challenged NASA to examine its priorities to ensure that our workforce and institutions are most effectively focused on those key efforts that are most important to moving the country forward in the pursuit of science and technology discoveries. We will support the President.”

However, Goldin admitted that the agency faces some tough decisions. “The President fully expects NASA to live within the requested funding levels and is aware that doing so will require some difficult decisions,” he explained.

Among those decisions are ones to downsize or phase out the Rotorcraft program, and to cut funding for the Pluto and the Solar Probe missions. However, the agency plans to spend $310 million in 2002 to develop new propulsion methods that will reduce travel time to distant planets.

NASA would get $2.1 billion for the International Space Station (ISS) in 2002 under the budget request; however, it requires NASA to curtail future spending on the project, including canceling planned sections of the station so as to absorb an estimated $4 billion cost overrun expected over the next 5 years.

Even with the restraints, the agency plans to begin about 50 new programs, projects that include research on an aircraft that can change its shape in flight, much like a bird that stretches and contracts it wings and feathers to optimize its performance in the air.

The Bush proposal would inject an additional $548 million over the next 5 years into NASA’s Mars exploration program. The 2002 budget also provides funds that would allow NASA to upgrade and add a new antenna to its Deep Space Network to better handle communications with interplanetary spacecraft. It also supports technology investments necessary to keep a planned Mars sample return mission on track for a 2011 launch.

Another NASA account that would drop slightly is Biological and Physical Research, which covers scientific experiments in space. Funding for that account would decline by about $22 million in 2002 to $291 million.

The President’s mandate to NASA also called for a set of “management reform goals” which encourage NASA to “aggressively pursue space shuttle privatization opportunities” and otherwise cut operating costs by relying more heavily on private industry.

The accounting changes mandated by the White House added a new wrinkle to the 2002 budget. Mission Support, previously a separate account, will now be absorbed into Human Space Flight and Science, Aeronautics and Technology budgets. Including the $2.7 billion in Mission Support funding, NASA’s Human Space Flight account—which includes ISS and shuttle programs—would swell to nearly $7.3 billion. The Science, Aeronautics and Technology account—which includes nearly every other major NASA program—would increase by nearly $1 billion to $7.19 billion.

* Funding transferred from Mission Support.

USGS FY02 Budget Request Decreases by Close to 8%

The Administration has proposed a substantial cut in all but one of the major programs of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), with a total FY02 proposed appropriation of $813.4 million, compared to an enacted FY01 appropriation of $882.8 million. That is a decrease of close to 8% in total funding.

There are proposed reductions in programs for National Mapping; Geologic Hazards, Resources, and Processes; Water Resources Investigations; and, Biological Research. Total programmatic decreases are $90.4 million. There is also a decrease of $2.69 million in an adjustment for emergency supplemental spending, while there is an increase in Science Support and Facilities, as well as an increase in overhead of $23.66 million. The last item, however, is in funded out of program resources

Hydrologic programs at the USGS have taken the largest cuts among all USGS programs. The rationale offered by USGS officials was that the Survey had to take cuts given the overall Administration budget and, while the hydrology programs are viewed as important, they were viewed as perhaps somewhat less important than other programs. In some cases, according to a USGS spokesperson, other agencies were using the information and should therefore probably be paying for it.

Particularly hard hit was the streamgauge program, which is used by the National Weather Service for flood prediction (and by other agencies for a variety of purposes). In FY01 the program did well as a result of a congressional “earmark” (funding for a particular program specifically mandated in language included by Congress in the appropriations legislation) for the funding, with an increase of approximately $5 million last year.

This year, the Administration insisted that all earmarks be removed from appropriations bills, and so the streamgauge program was cut by the same amount ($5 million)—from a total of roughly $15 million. It remains to be seen whether the Administration can enforce the elimination of earmarks, since by definition there is support for them on Capitol Hill.

Also cut substantially in the President’s proposal is the National Water Quality Assessment Program. Eighteen “study units” in various river basins have been eliminated by the $20 million decrease in funding (from approximately $65 million in the President’s budget), down to 24 (ideally, there would be 59) with the rationale that they benefit entities outside the Department of Interior which should therefore contribute funds or partner with USGS. The proposed budget also decreases the Water Resources Research Institutes by approximately $5.5 million; Toxic Substances Hydrology Research by approximately $10 million, and the Ground Water Resources Program by approximately $2 million.

It should also be noted that global change research in the Geologic Division would be reduced by $3 million.

Department of Energy’s Biological and Environmental Research Office Requests $443 Million for FY02

Overview

The Administration is requesting a budget of $442.9 million for the Department of Energy’s Biological and Environmental Research Office (BER) for FY02. The BER’s Environmental Processes program, which funds atmospheric, oceanic, and terrestrial science, budget request is for $129.5 million—$235 thousand less than FY01. The BER’s Life Science program request is $186 million—$6 million less than FY01; the Environmental Remediation program request is $66 million—$5 million more than in FY01; and Medical Application and Measurement Science, $51 million—$45 million less than in FY01. Construction is increased to $10 million.

Literally all of the congressional add-ons in FY01 are eliminated in the budget request. The large decrease of $45 million in Medical Application and Measurement Science results primarily from elimination of a large congressional add-on in FY01.

Most of DOE’s Science programs are essentially level funded for FY02 after elimination of the congressional add-ons. The total request for FY02 for Science is $3.18 million. In FY01 the actual budget was $3.16 million. Over 60% of the DOE Science budget is for basic research—35% at DOE’s National Laboratories and 28% at universities and research institutions.

Environmental Processes program

The Environmental Processes program supports four areas of research: Climate and Hydrology; Atmospheric Chemistry and Carbon Cycle; Ecological Processes; and Human Interactions. The budget request for these four areas is shown in the table below. The research is focused on understanding the physical, chemical, and biological processes affecting the earth’s atmosphere, land, and oceans and how these processes may be affected, either directly or indirectly, by energy production and energy use, primarily by the emission of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel combustion.

The BER Environmental Processes program (minus the carbon sequestration element) represents DOE’s contribution to the U.S. Global Change Research Program. The National Institute for Global Environmental Change is integrated throughout the four programs and has requested funding of $8.763 million in FY02.

Climate and Hydrology

The budget request for Climate Modeling for FY02 is $27.10 million—an increase of $1.9 million. BER plans to continued to develop, improve, evaluate and apply the best coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation models that simulate climate variability and climate change over decades to centuries. The goal is to achieve statistically accurate forecast of future climate over regions as small as river basins using ensembles of model simulations. BER will emphasize research to develop and employ information technologies that can quickly and efficiently work with large and distributed datasets. BER will continue to fund the multi-institutional research consortia established in FY01 to further develop comprehensive coupled global circulation models. BER will also continue to enhance the partnership with the Advanced Scientific Computing Research program and increase the computing resources for climate simulation.

The budget request for the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (ARM) for FY02 is $40.9 million—$27.4 million for support of the ARM infrastructure and $13.5 million for research support of about 50 principal investigators.

University scientists form the core of the ARM science team that networks with the broader academic community as well as with the scientist at the DOE National Laboratories and with federal scientists at NASA, NOAA, and DOD. The principal goal of ARM is to develop an improved understanding of atmospheric radiative transfer processes and to formulate better parameterizations of these processes in climate predictions models.

The ARM infrastructure program develops, supports, and maintains the three ARM sites and associated instrumentation. ARM will continue to operate over 200 instruments at the Southern Great Plains site and will continue limited operations at the Tropical Western Pacific and the North Slope site in Alaska. ARM will also continue to conduct intensive field campaigns during FY02.

Atmospheric Chemistry and Carbon Cycle

The Atmospheric Science program budget request for FY02 is $12.6 million—no change from FY01. The program acquires data to understand the atmospheric processes that control the transport, transformation, and fate of energy-related chemicals and particulate matter, emphasizing the processes relating to new air quality standards for tropospheric ozone and particulate matter, and relationships between air quality and climate change.

In FY02 BER will continue the Tropospheric Aerosol Program to quantify the impacts of energy-related aerosols on climate, air quality, and global change research communities in cooperation with other federal agencies and DOE’s offices. The congressional directed program to study visibility in the western states has been eliminated.

The budget request for the Terrestrial Carbon Processes and Ocean Sciences Program is $13.7 million in FY02—about $1.0 million more than in FY01. The program will continue supporting the successful AmeriFlux Program, including the measurements of carbon flux and water vapor exchange at approximately 25 sites across North America. In FY02, funding is increased to support the refinement and testing of carbon cycle models to be used to estimate potential carbon sequestration under a variety of climatic conditions. The focus of the ocean science element is on using microbiology tools to determine the linkages between the carbon and nitrogen cycles involving marine microbes.

The budget request for FY02 for Carbon Sequestration Research Center is $8.6 million, essentially the same as FY02. The program will continue support in FY02 for two carbon sequestration research centers. One center, led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Argonne National Laboratory, and involving six universities and research institutions, focuses on terrestrial sequestration. The other center, led by Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, along with six universities focuses on ocean sequestration. Also, in university scientists will continue research on the effects of iron fertilization on plankton communities in the ocean and begin field experiments.

Ecological Processes

The budget request for the Ecological Processes Program for FY02 is $12.4 million, approximately $1.0 million more than FY01. The program will continue the six Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment experiments 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. Experiments will be conducted to explore changes in the elevated productivity of terrestrial plants exposed to increased CO₂ concentrations. National Institute for Global Environmental Change will support experimental studies to document how climate warming and increasing CO₂ levels in the atmosphere affect biophysical processes in terrestrial ecosystems.

Human Interactions

The budget request for FY02 for Human Interactions is $8.1 million essentially the same as for FY01. The integrated Assessment Program 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 trade of emission permits. NIGEC will support research to develop and test new methods involving the use of large regional databases and coupled climate impact–economic models to conduct integrated assessments of the effects of climate change on regionally important resources in the United States.