Proposals invited by NCPOR for scientific research in the Arctic Region
National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Vasco-da-Gama, Goa-403804; an autonomous R&D institution under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India, and the designated nodal agency for the planning, coordination, and implementation of India's scientific research endeavours in the Arctic; has invited proposals for scientific research in the Arctic Region, 2024-25.
Research proposals have been invited from Indian nationals working in Indian research institutes or academic organisations having a sustained interest in pursuing frontline research, from April 2024 to March 2025 in the Arctic region. This call includes fully-funded field access (comprising travel, boarding/lodging, and DA as per the Government of India norms) to the high Arctic international research base Himadri located at Ny-Alesund, Svalbard. More details are given at www.ncpor.res.in
Research proposals are invited in the following fields: (i) Atmospheric Science with special reference to the study of aerosols, trace gases and precipitation over the Arctic (ii) Space sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics (iii) Marine Science: Dynamics and functioning of Arctic fjords (Kongsfjorden) (iv) Environmental Chemistry: Natural contaminants in food webs and long-range pollutants (v) Cryospheric studies: Snow and ice chemistry, glaciology (vi) Terrestrial ecosystems of the Arctic
Novel long-term scientific programs adding to the knowledge-base of the Arctic realm and enhancing India’s scientific credentials in polar research would get precedence. NCPOR encourages the submission of multi-institutional, interdisciplinary, and collaborative research proposals (network projects) addressing some key scientific questions pertaining to climatic variability and its consequences in the Arctic region. NCPOR may organise a brainstorming session for network projects to understand their logistical requirements and to provide critical scientific inputs.
Fieldwork period: This call is for two periods (i) spring and summer (April to September 2024) and (ii) autumn-winter (October 2024 to March 2025) in the Arctic. More details about the climate of the period is available in Appendix II at the Notification link. The field personnel will be deputed to the Arctic for the duration of 25 to 30 days in different batches as per the logistic availability.
Eligibility: The Principal Investigator (PI) as well as the co-investigator(s) (Co-PI), if any, should be from an Indian research or academic organization. The proposal should be endorsed by the PI’s and CoPI’s institute or university. The endorsement authority should make sure that the PI/Co-PI has necessary funds for sample processing and analyses. Complete programme, eligibility, and application information are available at https://ncpor.res.in/arctics
Project Proposal and deadline: Scientific research proposals in the prescribed format duly endorsed by the head of the organization should be emailed to arctic@ncpor.res.in to reach on or before 15th January 2024. In case of network project proposals, each participating institution should endorse the application form before submission. Hardcopies should be sent to ‘The Director, National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Headland Sada, Goa- 403 804’, in an envelope marked “Proposal for Scientific Research in the Arctic (2024-25)”. Ongoing proposals or PIs who had earlier accessed the field and wish to continue need to re-apply and must fill in the project assessment form along with the application.
NCPOR would assess the proposals for completeness and logistics feasibility. Duly complete and logistically feasible proposals would be sent for further review. Selected proposals will be sent to subject experts for peer review and recommendation. Communication of results to the PIs will be done by 15 February 2024. Recommended proposals would be called for proposal defense and final team selection meeting before a group of experts and the NCPOR scientific community in the 1st week of March 2024.
Director E-mail: arctic@ncpor.res.in Phone: 0832-2525590