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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - NSF Solar Terrestrial (PD 98 1523)

1) What is the NSF Solar Terrestrial grant opportunity (PD 98 1523)?

NSF Solar Terrestrial (Funding Opportunity Number PD 98 1523) is a discretionary research grant program in the Science and Technology and other Research and Development category under CFDA 47.050 (Geosciences). It supports fundamental and applied research focused on how energy produced by the Sun is created, transformed, and transported through the heliosphere, and how that energy couples into and affects the near-Earth and terrestrial environment.

2) What is the main purpose of this program?

The program is designed to strengthen scientific understanding of the end-to-end Sun-to-Earth system. In practical terms, it targets the physical processes linking solar activity to conditions in space around Earth and to impacts on technological systems and the upper atmosphere.

3) What kinds of impacts or applications does the program connect to?

The research emphasis includes improving the ability to explain and anticipate space weather effects. These effects can include disturbances that influence satellites, communications and navigation systems, and other space-based or ground-based infrastructure, as well as impacts on the upper atmosphere.

4) What does "end-to-end chain from solar generation mechanisms to Earth impacts" mean in this solicitation?

It refers to research spanning the full pathway: how magnetic and mechanical energy are generated and stored in the Sun, how energy is released (including transient events), how it propagates outward through the solar wind and heliosphere, and how it ultimately interacts with Earth's magnetosphere and space environment.

5) What solar interior or long-term variability topics are included?

The solicitation includes research in helioseismology, the solar dynamo, and the solar activity cycle. It also includes investigations of how magnetic fields are generated, how they evolve over time, and how they emerge through the solar surface.

6) What active-Sun and eruptive-phenomena topics are included?

The program includes magnetic flux emergence, solar flares and eruptive activity, and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). It emphasizes understanding the physical mechanisms that trigger these events, govern their energetics, and determine how they evolve as they leave the Sun.

7) What heliospheric transport and particle-physics topics are included?

Covered areas include solar wind heating, solar energetic particles, and interactions with cosmic rays. This includes how the solar wind is accelerated and heated, how high-energy particles are produced and propagated, and how solar activity modulates energetic particle populations in interplanetary space.

8) Does the program support research on how the solar wind interacts with Earth's magnetosphere?

Yes. The opportunity explicitly includes coupled-system problems at the interface between the solar wind and Earth's space environment, including solar wind-magnetosphere boundary problems.

9) What specific boundary or coupling processes are mentioned?

The solicitation highlights how the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field couple into the magnetosphere, how boundary layers and reconnection processes operate, and how energy and momentum transfer can lead to geomagnetic activity.

10) Are certain research approaches preferred (theory, modeling, observations)?

The program indicates that work may span theory, modeling, observations, and data-driven approaches, as long as it advances understanding of the physical processes governing Sun-to-Earth energy transport and deposition.

11) What is the funding instrument for this opportunity?

The funding instrument is a grant.

12) Which federal agency sponsors this opportunity?

The sponsoring agency is the National Science Foundation (NSF).

13) What is the CFDA number and category associated with this program?

The program is listed under CFDA 47.050 (Geosciences) and falls within the Science and Technology and other Research and Development category.

14) Is there a fixed deadline to apply?

No fixed deadline is listed in the provided summary. Proposals are accepted on an open basis and may be submitted anytime.

15) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning it is generally open to any type of applicant entity, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications that may appear in the full program description.

16) Is cost sharing or matching required?

No cost sharing or matching requirement is specified in the provided information.

17) Where can applicants find the authoritative program details?

The listing points to the NSF program description for PD 98 1523 as the primary reference for authoritative details beyond the short summary.

18) Who should be contacted for technical issues with the electronic announcement?

For access or technical issues with the electronic announcement, the contact provided is NSF Grants.gov support at grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov.

19) What kinds of scientific outcomes is the program trying to improve?

It aims to improve scientific knowledge of solar and heliospheric dynamics and strengthen the ability to explain and anticipate space weather effects by advancing understanding of the physical processes across the Sun-to-Earth system.

20) Does the program focus only on the Sun, or also on near-Earth and terrestrial effects?

It covers both. The research scope includes solar energy generation and release, heliospheric transport, and coupling into Earth's magnetosphere and near-Earth space environment, including resulting effects on the terrestrial environment and technology-relevant disturbances.