NERC RoSES Challenge 3 Call Open to Applications

Through the Role of the Southern Ocean in the Earth System (RoSES) Competition, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) invites proposals to inform international climate policy on the role of the Southern Ocean (SO) carbon system in 21st century climate change. RoSES will bolster the UK’s capacity to credibly encourage other nations to strengthen their emission reduction ambitions through the five year review and ‘ratchet’ mechanism.

The overarching objectives of the RoSES programme are:

Challenge 1: Design and implement the optimal approach to assess the state, variability and climatic drivers of the contemporary SO carbon sink.

Challenge 2: Define, quantify and provide mechanistic understanding of the key processes controlling the rate of SO carbon uptake.

Challenge 3: Develop key policy-informing metrics of the integrated efficiency of the SO carbon sink and its role in 21st century global climate change.

For this Call, proposals are required to address the deliverables of Challenge 3:

Definition of the key metrics of the integrated efficiency and climate impacts of the SO carbon system, to feature in future global climate monitoring programmes.

Assessment of the consequences of contemporary changes in the SO carbon system for the stabilisation of atmospheric CO2 and global warming over the 21st century.

Successful Challenge 3 grants will be expected to have established a formal partnership with the UK Met Office to:

Inform the accuracy of the 21st-century climate projections of UKESM and other CMIP6 models developed for IPCC AR6 (ca. 2020), whiih will be used in defining international global climate policy.

Guide and support future developments of UKESM.

This opportunity is open to UK researchers and institutions eligible for NERC research grant funding. All proposals are required to involve a minimum of two eligible institutions. Proposals will also be expected to include a range of both senior and early career scientists. It is highly desirable for proposal teams to be interdisciplinary, and they should also work with international project partners where appropriate.

Up to £650,000 is available for this call to fund two research projects (at £325,000 each) to address Challenge 3. Proposals may be up to 36 months in duration and are expected to exploit the outputs from Challenges 1 and 2.

Full proposals must be submitted by 19 September 2019.

More information about this research funding opportunity and the application process is available on the RESEARCHconnect funding information platform. RESEARCHconnect provides up-to-the minute content, insight and analysis on research funding news and policy. To find out more about how RESEARCHconnect can keep you in the know, and subscription fees, contact us today.