Funding for a UK-US projects to develop and incorporate new representations of key processes regulating ocean carbon storage for use in global models.

The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is partnering with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to deliver the following two calls:

• Multiple Model Assessment of Biological Influence on Ocean Carbon
• Biological Influence on Ocean Carbon: Novel Modelling Approaches

Funding is available for UK-US projects to develop and incorporate new representations of key processes regulating ocean carbon storage in contrasting global models. The aim is to assess and investigate the biological influence on ocean carbon for the Biological Influence on Future Ocean Storage of Carbon (BIO-Carbon) research programme, and NASA’s Export Processes in the Ocean from Remote Sensing (EXPORTS) programme.

The ocean stores huge amounts of carbon dioxide that would otherwise be in the atmosphere. Marine organisms play a critical role, but emerging evidence indicates that global coupled ocean atmosphere models are not fully accounting for their impact. BIO-Carbon and EXPORTS will deliver the new understanding of biological processes necessary to push beyond the state-of-the-art, to provide robust predictions of future ocean carbon storage.

BIO-Carbon and EXPORTS aim to deliver a fundamental understanding of the key biological processes that are relevant globally. By encapsulating this new knowledge in a robust modelling framework, it will allow examination of the resulting feedback on future predictions for how global ocean carbon storage may change. Additionally, it will provide new parameterisations of key processes for inclusion in the next generation of global models and emergent constraints to identify clearly erroneous forecasts.

Projects are required to have a project lead based in a UK research organisation eligible for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funding (ie approved higher education institutions, research council institutes, independent research organisations, public sector research establishments and Catapults). NERC individual eligibility rules also apply; individuals can be at any career stage.

Project co-leads must be based in the UK or the US. US project co-leads must be affiliated with a US institution at the time of application submission.

The full economic cost (FEC) of the UK component can be up to £625,000 for the Multiple Model Assessment of Biological Influence on Ocean Carbon call, and up to £312,500 for the Biological Influence on Ocean Carbon: Novel Modelling Approaches call. NERC will fund 80% of the FEC. The duration of this award is up to 24 months. The maximum cost of the US component across these opportunities is up to $1 million.

There is a two-stage application process consisting of a mandatory Notification of Intent proposal followed by a full application.