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Geospace Observatory (GO) Canada – Science and Applications

Announcement of Opportunity

Publication date: June 30, 2014

Application deadline : August 25, 2014

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is pleased to announce an opportunity for the Canadian solar-terrestrial science and space weather forecasting communities to participate in Geospace Observatory (GO) Canada. GO Canada aims to advance knowledge of Canadian geospace and, in so doing, mitigate the impact of disturbances in geospace on the daily lives of Canadians. This Announcement of Opportunity (AO) is an initiative under the CSA Class Grants and Contributions program (G&C program) and is aimed at funding a number of projects that will carry out scientific investigations and develop models using observations of geospace above Canada. These investigations will improve understanding of the processes that generate space weather and support the development of models that will ultimately contribute to increases in the resilience of ground-, air-, and space-based infrastructure and related services to space weather impacts.

For more than 20 years, the CSA has supported the collection of data on geospace, the region of near-Earth space comprised of the thermosphere, ionosphere, and magnetosphere, through arrays of ground-based instruments. These observations began with the Canadian Auroral Network for the OPEN Program Unified Study (CANOPUS), continued as the Canadian Geospace Monitoring (CGSM) program, and have entered a new phase with GO Canada. The collection, analysis, and modelling of these data are central to the Canadian Space Environment Community Roadmap (aurora.phys.ucalgary.ca/doc/Canadian_Space_Environment_Roadmap_2009.pdf).

With this AO, the CSA solicits proposals for projects that will carry out scientific analyses and modelling using GO Canada data and other Canadian geospace data. GO Canada data (Appendix C.1) are those data acquired by instrument arrays deployed and operating with support in the form of contribution agreements awarded as a result of proposals received in response to a previous AO, the GO Canada – Instruments and Data AO. By using observations made simultaneously through a wide variety of instruments distributed across northern Canada, the supported projects will deepen understanding of the processes that generate space weather in ways that observations made by a single class of instruments cannot. The resulting analyses will help knit the GO Canada instrument arrays into a Canada-wide observatory for remote sensing the geospace environment.

As well as advancing knowledge of the geospace environment over Canada, the projects will develop or improve computational models that capture this deepened understanding and make it available to users. The models will be developed in consultation with the anticipated users in order to ensure that they have the greatest potential value in supporting delivery of their mandates. This close relationship between researchers and users will encourage the development of highly qualified personnel who are uniquely prepared to bridge the gap between solar-terrestrial science and applications that mitigate the impact of space weather.

In addition, this AO is consistent with the terms and conditions of the CSA G&C program to support Research, Awareness and Learning in Space Science and Technology – Research Component.

Please read the following thoroughly before submitting your application. It has been prepared to assist applicants through the application process and it outlines important elements, including mandatory criteria for eligibility, details on eligible projects, and the selection process. In the event of any discrepancies between this AO and the individual funding agreements governing a project(s), the latter document(s) will take precedence.

2. Objectives

The primary objective of the CSA's Solar-Terrestrial Science program is to improve understanding of the physical processes that generate space weather. The program is directed to generate improvements in understanding of these processes that support the development of accurate and reliable space weather forecasts as well as informing engineering and operations strategies to mitigate the impact of space weather. Together, these forecasts and strategies will improve the resilience of Canada's ground-, air-, and space-based infrastructure and related services to space weather impacts. GO Canada is the CSA initiative responsible for ground-based observations of the space environment, their analysis, and modelling in support of the Solar-Terrestrial Science program. The overarching objective of GO Canada is to observe and understand geospace as a coupled system. This high-level objective is further divided into two secondary objectives:

  1. To understand how coupling across geospace influences system-level structure and dynamics; and
  2. To understand the response of the ionosphere and thermosphere to magnetospheric drivers.

The relevance of the proposed project to the secondary objectives is assessed in the Benefits to Canada criterion of the Evaluation Criteria Scale (Appendix A).

The successful launches of the Canadian CASSIOPE (Cascade, SmallSat, and Ionospheric Polar Explorer) and European Space Agency (ESA) Swarm missions with their Canadian instrument payloads (ePOP on CASSIOPE and EFI on Swarm) make the second GO Canada objective particularly relevant during the operational phases of these missions. CASSIOPE, Swarm, and GO Canada make complementary observations of the same region of geospace and gather data that have the potential to significantly improve understanding of the physical processes that generate space weather.

The objective of this AO is:

In the above, "model" refers to representations of all or part of the geospace system that are expressed in computational form while "operational use" refers to uses that contribute to the mandate of a user's organization, with the exception of universities and post-secondary institutions. Two examples of models are physics-based numerical models of HF radio propagation that assimilate GO Canada data and parameterized models of GNSS scintillation derived from statistical analyses of GO Canada data. The objective supports the development of science and technology relevant to the priorities of the CSA, in two ways: through the advancement of scientific knowledge necessary to develop and improve the models and through the implementation of these advancements in Information Technology (IT) systems that embody the models.

3. Eligibility

3.1 CSA Priorities

The projects supported under this AO will contribute to the achievement of two CSA program activities:

Scientific Missions (1.1.1.3)

This Sub-Sub-Program encompasses the definition, design, technology development, and implementation of Earth orbit satellites dedicated to producing scientific data and information for research performed by Government of Canada (GoC) organizations or academia. Examples of this research are those pertaining to climate processes and space weather (solar winds and their interaction with the Earth's magnetic field). This Sub-Sub-Program is necessary to produce pertinent scientific data and information that allow GoC organizations to mitigate damage or avoid the disabling of critical ground and space infrastructure, such as pipelines, electricity networks and satellites that can sustain damage from the effects of solar winds. In addition, with their enhanced understanding of climate processes and the improved models made possible through this Sub-Sub-Program, GoC organizations are better able to provide weather and climate forecasting. Academia also uses the data and information produced through this Sub-Sub-Program to perform its own research.

This Sub-Sub-Program is delivered in collaboration with GoC organizations, along with the participation of Canadian industry, academia and foreign space agencies. This collaborative effort is formalized under contracts, grants, contributions and partnership agreements with national, public/private and international organizations.

Scientific Data Utilization (1.1.3.3)

This Sub-Sub-Program develops the utilization and validates the quality of Canadian and foreign space-based scientific data and derived information that address science questions, such as those related to our understanding of the Earth's climate system and magnetic field (magnetosphere). This Sub-Sub-Program involves the collaboration of Canadian scientists from GoC organizations and academia…

This Sub-Sub-Program engages the participation of the Canadian space industry, academia and GoC organizations' scientists, and is formalized under contracts and partnership agreements with national, public/private and international organizations. This Sub-Sub-Program is also funded through the Class Grant and Contribution Program.

From the CSA Report on Plans and Priorities (2014-15 Estimates), p. 24 and 30 (www.asc-csa.gc.ca/pdf/eng/publications/rpp-2014-eng.pdf).

3.2 G&C program Objectives

Projects supported under this AO will contribute to the achievement of the following objective:

3.3 Eligible Project

In addition to being linked to the AO objectives (Section 2) as evaluated by the evaluation criteria (Section 5.3), a proposal must demonstrate that the project satisfies the following criteria for eligibility:

For the purpose of this AO, Canadian geospace data is considered to be the data acquired by the following Canadian missions and projects: the GO Canada instrument arrays (Appendix C.1.), the ePOP instrument payload on the CASSIOPE mission (Appendix C.2), the EFI instruments on ESA's Swarm mission (Appendix C.3), and the Canadian ground-based observatories comprising part of NASA's THEMIS mission (Appendix C.4).

A project may consist of several activities to attain its objectives or results. Any logical breakdown or combination of these activities can constitute a funded project. However, breaking down a project into numerous activities or sub-activities to obtain more than the maximum grant or contribution funding is not allowed for what is considered to be one project. Furthermore, even if the maximum funding for the project is not reached, the completion of a funded activity does not automatically guarantee funding of the remaining activities of the project.

3.4 Eligible Recipient

In order to be eligible, recipients must be Canadian universities or post-secondary institutions.

3.5 Eligible Application

In order to be eligible, the application must be the only application submitted by the principal investigator (PI) under this AO. If more than one application is submitted by a PI, none of the applications submitted by the PI will be retained.

4. Application

The purpose of the application is to gather sufficient information to evaluate the proposal and decide which proposals will receive funding from the CSA under this AO.

4.1 Requirements

All applicants must submit an application. The application must include the following:

The application form and supporting documents must be sent by registered mail to the CSA at the following address:

Geospace Observatory (GO) Canada AO
c/o John Manuel
Sun-Earth System Sciences
Canadian Space Agency
6767 Route de l'Aéroport
Saint-Hubert, Quebec J3Y 8Y9

The application package must be received at the CSA no later than 16:00 (EDT) on August 25, 2014.

It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that the application complies with all relevant federal, provincial/territorial and municipal laws. Applications sent by email will not be accepted. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

4.2 Proposals

The proposal is a detailed description of the proposed project that will be assessed according to the evaluation criteria. The proposal must include the sections identified below and must not exceed ten (10) pages in length; any additional pages will be removed. The section descriptions are provided to aid the applicants in writing their proposals. Note that each evaluation criterion is associated with one or more sections; when assessing a criterion, evaluators will be instructed to only consider the material in the associated section(s). The title page, table of contents, references, Data Management Plan, CVs, and letters are not included in the page limit.

Summary (approx. one page)

This summary is a self-contained description of the activity that would result if the proposal were funded. The summary must identify the project objectives, introduce the approach that will be used, and clearly demonstrate that the project is eligible under the terms of the AO. As far as possible, the summary should be understandable to a scientifically literate lay reader.

The information provided in this section will be used in determining whether the application satisfies the screening criteria (Section 5.2).

Scientific description (approx. three pages)

This section of the proposal describes the scientific objectives of the proposed project and the methodology that will be used. The description relates the research and approach to the current scientific and technical developments in the solar-terrestrial sciences, supported by references to the literature pertinent to the proposal. This section should also demonstrate the relevance of the research to the GO Canada objectives.

The information provided in this section will be used in assessing the following criteria (Appendix A): Benefits to Canada and Feasibility.

Application description (approx. three pages)

This section of the proposal describes the objectives of the proposed project as they relate to the development of applications for operational use and the methodology that will be put forward. The description is of the models and how they will be applied, relating the discussion to current modelling and application efforts in space weather and other application domains, supported by references to the literature pertinent to the proposal. This section also identifies the anticipated users and the potential of the models to contribute to the mandates of their organizations. Also included is a plan for knowledge and technology transfer, possibly developed in consultation with the anticipated users, that includes a description of how any intellectual property arising from the work will be managed. This section refers to the Data Management Plan (Appendix B) as necessary.

The information provided in this section will be used in assessing the following criteria (Appendix A): Results and Feasibility.

Resources (approx. two pages)

This section of the proposal describes the resources of the proposed project, including the team, complementary funding sources, and in-kind contributions, and how they will be managed. The description identifies the pertinent expertise, the roles, and the expected contributions of the team members to the project, referring to CVs as needed. Note that the team is limited to four (4) CoIs; any additional CoIs will be dropped from the provided list of team members. The description also includes a project work plan that describes how the research team and the project will be managed and the availability of the equipment and infrastructure as well as a discussion of the risks and strategies for their mitigation. This section refers to the Data Management Plan (Appendix B) as necessary; the description of funding sources and in-kind contributions refers to the Budget page of the application as needed.

The information provided in this section will be used in assessing the following criteria (Appendix A): Resources, Risk and Mitigation, and Feasibility.

4.3 Service Standards

The CSA has set service standards for the timely delivery of the acknowledgement of receipt, funding decision and payment processes.

Acknowledgement: CSA goal is to acknowledge receipt of proposals within one (1) week of receiving a completed application package.

Decision: CSA goal is to respond to the proposal with a decision regarding funding within ten (10) weeks of the closing date of the AO and to send a grant agreement for signature within two (2) weeks of formal approval of the proposal.

Payment: CSA goal is to issue payments within four (4) weeks of the successful fulfillment of requirements outlined in the grant agreement.

Compliance with these service standards is a shared responsibility. The applicant must submit all required documentation in a timely fashion.

5. Selection process

5.1 Evaluation Process

Only applications that pass the screening criteria (Section 5.2) will be considered further. Several evaluators could assess each application based on the evaluation criteria (Appendix A). Evaluators will be experts in the field relevant to the applications and may include representatives of the Canadian government, other governments, and non-government agencies and organizations. A final evaluation committee will be formed to provide a uniform final score and ranking of proposals. The method of ranking applications for selection is described below (Section 5.4).

5.2 Screening Criteria

Applications must satisfy the screening criteria. The screening process will determine if the application:

5.3 Evaluation Criteria

Only applications that have satisfied the screening criteria (Section 5.2) will be retained. Evaluators will assess the applications according to the following criteria:

5.4 Selection Method

To be considered responsive, an application must:

  1. satisfy the screening criteria (Section 5.2);
  2. achieve the specified minimum score for each evaluation criterion (Appendix A); and
  3. achieve the specified minimum total score.

Responsive applications will be ranked in descending order of their total scores, and the application(s) ranking the highest will be recommended for an award.

Before a final decision is made, program managers may seek input and advice from others, including but not limited to federal, provincial/territorial and municipal government agencies.

The determination of the amount of support will take into consideration CSA availability of funds, the total cost of the project as well as the other confirmed sources of funds invested by other stakeholders and the applicant.

5.5 Notification and Announcement

Applicants will be notified in writing regarding the decisions related to their application. Successful applications will be announced and posted on the CSA website.

6. Funding

6.1 Available Funding

Each application must include a budget to support the proposed activities and be based on an anticipated start date of November 1, 2014. No expenses may be incurred before the agreement is signed.

The total funding amount given in grant for each project will be no more than $180,000, over a period of 27 months. The overall number of grants awarded and their level will depend on the availability of funds; at the time of writing, the CSA intends to fund approximately eight applications. The CSA reserves the right to reject any proposals or to reduce the amount of the grants at its entire discretion. Approved proposals will be eligible for total government (federal, provincial/territorial, and municipal) assistance of up to 100% of total project costs of eligible recipients.

6.2 Complementary Funding

Complementary funds are funds provided outside of this grant application that are required for the project to achieve its objectives. Recipients are required to identify all sources of funding in their application and to confirm this information in a funding agreement if the project is selected for funding. In addition, upon completion of a project, the applicant will be required to disclose all sources of funding. To determine the amount of financial support it will offer, the CSA will consider the total project cost and funding from other stakeholders and the applicant.

For projects requiring more than 25% of complementary funds in relation to the total project cost, the CSA must have received from the applicant proof that such funds have been confirmed before the grant agreement is signed. If confirmation of funding from other sources is not received within twelve (12) weeks of the submission deadline, the CSA may disqualify the project.

6.3 Eligible Costs

Eligible costs are direct expenses associated with the delivery of the approved project that is required to achieve the results to which it relates. Expenses will be covered subject to the applicant signing a funding agreement, in the form of a grant, with the CSA.

The eligible costs for grants under this AO are the following:

The applicant will be paid its authorized travel and living expenses, reasonably and properly incurred in the performance of the Work, at cost, without any allowance for overhead or profit, in accordance with the meal, private vehicle and incidental allowances specified in Appendices B, C and D of the Treasury Board Travel Directive (www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/hr-rh/gtla-vgcl/index_e.asp), and with the other provisions of the directive referring to "travellers" rather than those referring to "employees."

The CSA intends to organize an annual science or programmatic meeting to ensure that the GO Canada observations, science, and applications are of the highest possible value. An amount of $4000 per grant agreement must be budgeted yearly to allow the PI and/or team members to participate in the annual meeting. This amount is mandatory for each grant agreement, will cover transportation, lodging and boarding, and can only be allocated to that function.

7. Funding agreement

7.1 Payments

The CSA and the successful applicants (hereinafter referred to as the Recipients) will sign a funding agreement. This represents a condition for any payment made by the CSA with respect to the approved project.

Payments for grant agreements will be made in instalments as described in the signed agreement. Grant funding agreements will include a clause stipulating the obligation for the recipients to confirm, once a year in the case of multi-year agreements, their eligibility to the G&C Program Research Component and to inform the CSA in writing of any changes to the conditions used in determining their entitlement and eligibility to this Component.

7.2 Performance Measurement

The CSA requires the Recipient to report on certain elements relative to performance measurement of projects such as the following:

Knowledge

Capacity

Collaboration

As a courtesy, the CSA would like to receive a copy of publications arising from the work and to be informed in advance of significant press releases or media interest resulting from the work.

7.3 Conflict of Interest

In the funding agreement, the Recipient will certify that any former public office holder or public servant it employs complies with the provisions of the relevant Policy on Conflict of Interest and Post-Employment and the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector respectively.

7.4 Intellectual Property

All Intellectual Property that arises in the course of the project shall vest in the Recipient.

When applicable, the funding agreement will include a provision granting to the GoC a non-exclusive, irrevocable, world-wide, free and royalty-free licence in perpetuity to use or sub-licence the use of any such intellectual property contained in recipient's reports for non-commercial governmental purposes.

7.5 Organizations in Quebec

An organization in Quebec whose operations are partially or fully funded by the province of Quebec may be subject to An Act respecting the Ministère du Conseil exécutif, R.S.Q., Chapter M-30.

Under Section 3.11 and 3.12 of An Act respecting the Ministère du Conseil exécutif, R.S.Q., Chapter M-30 (hereinafter referred to as the Act), certain entities/organizations, as defined within the meaning of the Act, such as municipal bodies, school bodies, or public agencies, must obtain authorization from the Secrétariat aux affaires intergouvernementales canadiennes du Québec (SAIC), as indicated by the Act, before signing any funding agreement with the GoC, its departments or agencies, or a federal public agency.

Consequently, any entity that is subject to the Act is responsible for obtaining such authorization before signing any funding agreement with the GoC.

Applicants from Quebec must submit a signed M-30 Supporting Documentation Form with the application.

8. Privacy notice statement

The CSA will comply with the federal Access to Information Act and Privacy Act vis-à-vis applications received under this Component. By submitting your personal information, you are consenting to its collection, use, and disclosure in accordance with the following Privacy Notice Statement that explains how the applicant's information will be managed.

Necessary measures have been taken to protect the confidentiality of the information provided by the applicant. This information is collected under the authority of the CSA Class Grant and Contribution program to support the Research, Awareness and Learning in Space Science and Technology – Research Component, and will be used for the evaluation and selection of proposals, possibly by evaluators outside the country. Personal information (such as contact information and biographical information) included in the rejected proposals will be stored in a Personal Information CSA Bank for five years and then destroyed (Personal Information File no. ASC PPU045). Personal information included in the successful proposals will be retained along with the proposal results for historical purposes. These data are protected under the Privacy Act. According to the Privacy Act, the data linked to one individual and included in the proposal being evaluated can be accessed by the specific concerned individual who has rights with respect to this information. This individual may, upon request,

  1. be given access to his/her data and
  2. have incorrect information corrected or have a notation attached.

Applicants should note that for all agreements over $25,000, information related to the funding agreement (amount, grant or contribution, name of the recipient and project location) through this Component and the purpose of the funding will be made available to the public on the CSA website.

If you need additional information on privacy matters before sending your proposal, please contact Danielle Bourgie, Coordinator, Access to Information and Privacy, at the CSA:

Telephone: 450-926-4866
Email: danielle.bourgie@canada.ca

9. Enquiries

It is the responsibility of interested parties to obtain clarification of the requirements contained herein, if necessary, before submitting an application. At any point of the process, applicants are invited to share comments or suggestions with the CSA regarding the AO, the program or the process. Applicants can use the anonymous comments and suggestions box available at www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/funding-programs/grants-and-contributions-snapshot.asp#comments.

For any questions related to the AO, applicants may either use the comments and suggestions box or the email address lecedessetc-thegandccoe@asc-csa.gc.ca; questions received by either method are anonymized before being sent for evaluation and response. The questions and responses related to this AO will be posted on the CSA website in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section of the AO (Section 10). The CSA will respond to questions received before 8:00 (EDT) on August 11, 2014.

10. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Question 1: The AO says that the application package must be received at the CSA no later than 16:00 EDT on August 25, 2014. There are few methods of delivery that can guarantee reception at the CSA before the deadline. Would the CSA please change the deadline from a "received by" deadline to a "shipped by" deadline?

Answer 1: The CSA has chosen to use a "received by" deadline in order to facilitate scheduling of the evaluation process that will begin immediately after the AO closes. Using a "shipped by" deadline could put the evaluation schedule at risk and delay funding for successful proposals if an application package were to be shipped on time but delayed in transit and received significantly late. To ensure fairness to all applicants across Canada and keep to our reviewing schedule, we will accept applications that are shipped by the deadline, as long as the electronic version of the corresponding application is received by the 'received by' deadline, at lecedessetc-thegandccoe@asc-csa.gc.ca. The applicant may encrypt his email, in which case CSA will phone him for the decryption password.

Question 2: If a project uses, with permission, proprietary software or models developed at another institution, will it be necessary for these to be made public at the end of the project?

Answer 2: No. Such software and models are considered background intellectual property and remain the property of the owner. There is no obligation for the recipient to make the software or models public. A proposal's plan for knowledge and technology transfer should identify and describe how background and foreground intellectual property will be managed.

Question 3: Would it be possible to extend the deadline for submitting applications by one or two weeks?

Answer 3: A preannouncement for the AO was sent to the mailing lists for the Solar-Terrestrial and Atmospheric Sciences (anyone may subscribe to these lists by sending an email to join-solar-terrestrial-sciences@lyris.asc-csa.gc.ca or join-atmospheric-sciences@lyris.asc-csa.gc.ca respectively). The preannouncement said that the deadline for submitting applications would be six weeks after posting of the AO. Based on feedback received in response to the preannouncement, the CSA extended the deadline to eight weeks. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, there will be no further extensions.

Question 4: Is a sub-award to a secondary institution (Canadian university or post-secondary institution) an eligible cost? For example, if 70% of the work is to be done in the PI's group at Institution A and 30% in a CoI's group at institution B, can Institution A make a sub-award to Institution B for 30% of the funds?

Answer 4: A grant may not be divided by CSA. An applicant may have an agreement with a CoI to transfer funds to his institution. This is an eligible cost that can be budgeted under 'consultant services'. The nature of the services to be acquired shall be set out in the proposal estimates. Overhead cannot be charged by both institutions at the same time. The CSA reserves the right to approve only a portion of the consultant fees submitted.

Question 5: For a project to be eligible, it must make "… significant use of the data being acquired by at least two of the projects identified in Appendix C.1." Would AIM-DIA and AIM-EGPSA be considered as two projects or one project?

Answer 5: The table titled GO Canada Instruments & Data Projects in Appendix C.1 lists all of the projects acquiring data. For the purposes of the AO, AIM-DIA and AIM-EGPSA are considered subprojects of the AIM project.

Question 6: Can proposals include researchers from universities or research institutions outside of Canada, as co-applicants?

Answer 6: A proposal may include CoIs from non-Canadian institutions. An application is associated with a single applicant.

Question 7a: The AO states that "Proposals must include a supplementary document of no more than three pages titled 'Data Management Plan'." Does this statement apply to projects that will not generate any data?

Answer 7a: All proposals must include a Data Management Plan describing how the proposal will conform to the GO Canada Data Policy (www.asc-csa.gc.ca/pdf/eng/funding-programs/funding-opportunities/ao/2013-ss-go-data-policy-eng.pdf). Projects that will not generate any data may indicate as such in their Data Management Plan. The Data Policy provides a definition for data that proposers may use to determine whether their projects will generate data that are subject to the Policy.

Question 7b: Is it expected that publications resulting from funded projects be made available as "open access" publications? In this case, depending on the journal, extra publication fees may be charged. Would these extra fees be considered an eligible cost?

Answer 7b: No, there is no such expectation; the CSA has yet to develop a policy on open access to peer-reviewed journal publications. Any additional fees charged for open access publication would be associated with publication and communication services and thus would be considered an eligible cost.

Question 8: Section 3.1 of the AO states that the projects supported will contribute to the achievement of two CSA program activities. The program activities mention "climate processes", "weather and climate forecasting", and "Earth's climate system". These terms normally refer to processes occurring in the troposphere/biosphere. For the purposes of the AO, should we instead interpret them as referring to processes occurring in space, for example, "space weather" and "space climate"?

Answer 8: The terms "climate processes", "weather and climate forecasting", and "Earth's climate system" used in Section 3.1 all have their normal meanings. Please note that projects supported under the AO are expected to contribute to the program activities identified in Section 3.1 while also remaining relevant to the GO Canada objectives identified in Section 2. The GO Canada objectives relate to processes occurring in geospace, not the troposphere/biosphere.

Question 9: Since GO Canada data are made fully, freely, and openly available, is it mandatory to include PIs of the GO Canada data projects as co-investigators or collaborators? Does a proposal need to include letters from PIs of the GO Canada data projects giving their consent to use the data?

Answer 9: It is not mandatory to include PIs of the GO Canada data projects as CoIs or collaborators in a proposal. Letters confirming the availability of the data are only required from providers of data that are not openly accessible, as defined in the GO Canada Data Policy (www.asc-csa.gc.ca/pdf/eng/funding-programs/funding-opportunities/ao/2013-ss-go-data-policy-eng.pdf).

Question 10: Where and how should applicants include a budget for the proposed activities?

Answer 10: Applicants should use the budget template provided in Section 8 of the application form. The application form is available through a hyperlink in Section 4.1 of the AO.

Question 11: Section 3.5 of the AO states that "... the application must be the only application submitted by the principal investigator (PI) under this AO." Does this condition prohibit the PI of a proposal from being a co-investigator (CoI) on other proposals?

Answer 11: No, this condition does not prohibit the PI of a proposal from being a CoI on any other proposal submitted under the AO. Please note that if more than one application is submitted by a PI, none of the applications submitted by the PI will be retained.

Question 12: Whose salaries and benefits would be considered an eligible cost under the funding agreement?

Answer 12: Salaries and benefits are an eligible cost for personnel with direct involvement in the project such as, but not limited to, engineers, scientists, technologists, researchers, project managers, students, and administrative assistants. The salaries and benefits associated with faculty at Canadian universities and post-secondary institutions are not an eligible cost. All eligible personnel must be employees on the institution's payroll.

Question 13: Section 4.2 states that the proposal must not exceed ten pages. However, adding the page limits for each section gives a total of nine pages. Could you please explain this discrepancy?

Answer 13: The page limits provided for each section are suggestions, not hard limits. Note that the proposal must not exceed ten pages in length; any additional pages will be removed.

Question 14: If a principal investigator or CoI holds a non-faculty position, could part of his/her salary be considered an eligible cost under the funding agreement?

Answer 14: Yes. Please see Answers 12 and 16 for further information.

Question 15: A visiting scientist from another institution is working at our university in a non-faculty position and intends to submit an application. The scientist is on the university payroll; would his/her salary and benefits be considered an eligible cost under the funding agreement?

Answer 15: Yes. Please see Answers 12 and 16 for further information.

Question 16: Could you please clarify the rules for principal investigator eligibility?

Answer 16: An eligible PI must:

  • hold a PhD obtained from a recognized institution;
  • be on the payroll of an eligible recipient (Canadian university or post-secondary institution); and
  • hold a permanent, term, or contract position at the recipient institution for the duration of the funding agreement.

These conditions must be satisfied at the time of application.

Question 17: Does the cover page count towards the proposals' ten page limit?

Answer 17: A cover page is not required as all the information is available on the form. If included, it will be ignored.

Question 18: Should a student, postdoctoral fellow, or research associate be listed as a team member if they receive salary from the project?

Answer 18: They all can be listed in the proposal, but understand only four of the total can be considered as CoIs, as mentioned in Section 6 of the application form.

Question 19: In the budget breakdown please explain the difference between the categories "Accommodation and meal allowances" and "Participation fees at conferences".

Answer 19: The conference budget must be broken down in "Accommodation and meal allowances", "Participation fees at conferences" to cover the conference registration fees, while the airfare and ground transportation must be included under "Travel". Treasury Board rates shall be used in reimbursing expenses.

Question 20: It is virtually impossible to include all the information asked for in the two pages allotted to the Resources section of the template.

Answer 20: The Form 100, or the common CV are not included in the ten page limit of this form.

Question 21: How is overhead calculated?

Answer 21: Overhead can be charged up to 10% of the total of all the eligible cost, before overhead. For example, on a requested funding of $180,000, the maximum overhead would be $16,364.

Appendices

Appendix A – Evaluation Criteria Scale

Scoring and weights

Each evaluation criterion below will be rated on a letter scale from A to D, with A being the highest score. A numerical weight is associated with each letter as indicated hereafter.

1. Benefits to Canada

Benefits to Canada criterion score

Max. 25
Min. 10

The potential for advancement of knowledge and technology in the solar-terrestrial sciences will be assessed on the following

Poor: The proposed project is barely relevant or not relevant to either GO Canada objective and includes few or no new concepts.(Score: D=0)

Average: The proposed project is relevant to one GO Canada objective and includes some new concepts with the potential to advance the solar-terrestrial sciences. (Score: C=10)

Good: The proposed project is relevant to both GO Canada objectives and includes original concepts with the potential for a significant advance in the solar-terrestrial sciences. (Score: B=18)

Excellent: The proposed project is highly relevant to both GO Canada objectives and includes highly original concepts with potential for a breakthrough in the solar-terrestrial sciences. (Score: A=25)

2. Results

Results criterion score

Max. 25
Min. 10

The quality and value of the results will be assessed on the following

Poor: The proposed project is inadequate in one or more of the above elements. (Score: D=0)

Average: The proposed project is acceptable with no major weaknesses in any of the elements listed above. (Score: C=10)

Good: The proposed project is strong in most of the elements listed above and acceptable in all. (Score: B=18)

Excellent: The proposed project is outstanding in all the elements listed above. (Score: A=25)

3. Feasibility

Feasibility criterion score

Max. 20
Min. 7

The feasibility of the research will be assessed on the following

Poor: The proposed project is inadequate in one or more of the above elements. (Score: D=0)

Average: The proposed project is acceptable with no major weaknesses in any of the elements listed above. (Score: C=7)

Good: The proposed project is strong in most of the elements listed above and acceptable in all. (Score: B=14)

Excellent: The proposed project is outstanding in all the elements listed above. (Score: A=20)

4. Resources

Resources criterion score

Max. 20
Min. 7

The quality of the team and access to other funding sources and resources will be assessed on the following

Poor: The proposed project is inadequate in one or more of the above elements. (Score: D=0)

Average: The proposed project is acceptable with no major weaknesses in any of the elements listed above. (Score: C=7)

Good: The proposed project is strong in most of the elements listed above and acceptable in all. (Score: B=14)

Excellent: The proposed project is outstanding in all the elements listed above. (Score: A=20)

5. Risk and Mitigation

Risk and Mitigation criterion score

Max. 10
Min. 5

The project risks and the associated mitigation strategies will be assessed on the following

Poor: The proposed project is inadequate in one or more of the above elements. (Score: D=0)

Average: The proposed project is acceptable with no major weaknesses in any of the elements listed above. (Score: C=5)

Good: The proposed project is strong in most of the elements listed above and acceptable in all. (Score: B=8)

Excellent: The proposed project is outstanding in all the elements listed above. (Score: A=10)

Evaluation score

Total max. 100
Total min. 55

Appendix B – Data Management Plan

Proposals must include a supplementary document of no more than three pages titled "Data Management Plan"; this document is not included in the page limit of the proposal. This document describes how the proposal will conform to the GO Canada data policy (www.asc-csa.gc.ca/pdf/eng/funding-programs/funding-opportunities/ao/2013-ss-go-data-policy-eng.pdf), and must include:

The document must also include the following technical information:

The Data Management Plan will be reviewed as an integral part of the proposal.

Appendix C – Available Data

Appendix C.1 – GO Canada Data

The following data, referred to in this AO as "GO Canada data," are made publicly available with support in the form of contribution agreements awarded as a result of proposals received in response to the GO Canada AO for Instruments and Data (www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/funding-programs/funding-opportunities/ao/2013-ss-go-data.asp). Under these agreements, the data are made fully, freely, and openly available at the specified resolution or better, at the specified sampling or higher, and within the specified delays and timeframes. The CSA may be contacted regarding issues pertaining to data access for the duration of the agreements.

Any use of these data products in a publication or presentation shall include the following two acknowledgements: "The data used in this work were collected with the support of the Canadian Space Agency's Geospace Observatory (GO) Canada initiative.", as well as the acknowledgement made available at the relevant data landing page URL provided in the tables below.

GO Canada Instrument & Data Projects
Acronym Project Subproject PI Institution
ABOVE Array for Broadband Observations of VLF/ELF Emissions [none] Christopher Cully University of Calgary
AGO Auroral Geospace Observatory AGO Eric Donovan University of Calgary
REGO
AIM Arctic Ionosphere Monitoring DIA Thayyil Jayachandran University of New Brunswick
EGPS
AUTUMNX Athabasca University THEMIS UCLA Magnetometer Network Extension [none] Martin Connors University of Athabasca
CARISMA Canadian Array for Realtime Investigations of Magnetic Activity MLMA Ian Mann University of Alberta
HLMA
CARISMA Canadian Array for Realtime Investigations of Magnetic Activity ICM David Milling University of Alberta
NGEN
DNT Dynamics of the Neutral Thermosphere [none] William Ward University of New Brunswick
H+Storm Observatory for protons during storm-time [none] Brian Jackel University of Calgary
RIO Riometer Network RIO Emma Spanswick University of Calgary
IRIS
SuperDARN Super Dual Auroral Radar Network SAS Kathryn McWilliams University of Saskatchewan
PGR
INV

ABOVE

The PI will operate an array of eight VLF instruments, located at the following sites, or at equivalent sites with similar geographical spacing. Alternative sites may be sought to insure electromagnetic cleanliness, but sites may not be located within 150 km of each another.

Site, latitude, longitude and data available - ABOVE
SiteFootnote 1 Latitude Longitude Data availableFootnote 1
Athabasca 54.7° 246.7° summer 2014
Barrier Lake 51.03° 244.94° summer 2014
Camrose 53.02° 247.18° summer 2014
Fort McMurray 56.66° 248.79° summer 2014
Fort Smith 60.02° 248.05° summer 2014
Gillam 56.38° 265.36° summer 2014
Island Lake 53.856° 265.34° summer 2014
Pinawa 50.15° 263.96° summer 2014

From these instruments, the following data products will be derived and be made available at the data landing page, www.ucalgary.ca/above/data:

Data products that will be derived and be made available - ABOVE
Data name Description Sensitivity/ Resolution Bandwidth/ Sampling Format Delay
Stream0 broadband Raw timeseries data covering synoptic intervals 1 fT/Hz1/2 @ 2 kHz kHz CDF months
Stream0 amp/phase Amplitude/phase timeseries for remote transmitter monitoring 0.1 fT, 10 deg 10 samples/s CDF months
Stream1 broadband Spectrograms for monitoring natural emissions 1 fT/Hz1/2 @ 2 kHz 0.5 samples/s raw
CDF
real-time
<1 hour
Stream1
amp/phase
amplitude/phase time series for remote transmitter monitoring 0.1 fT, 10 deg 1 samples/s raw
CDF
real-time
<1 hour
10-minute spectra Stream0 data processed to give high resolution spectrograms in 10 minute intervals 1 fT/Hz1/2 @ 2 kHz 0.5 samples/s PNG months
Daily spectra Same as above, but with the images spanning a longer period 1 fT/Hz1/2 @ 2 kHz 0.01 samples/s PNG months

AGO (AGO/REGO)

The PI will operate all-sky imagers (AGO) and red line auroral imagers (REGO) located and operated as per the following table:

Site, latitude, longitude, instrument and data available - AGO
Site Latitude Longitude Instrument Data available
Athabasca, AB 54.7° 246.7° AGO yes
REGO yes
Fort Simpson, NT 61.8° 238.1° REGO 2014-05
Fort Smith, NT 60.0° 248.1° AGO 2014-06
REGO 2014-06
Gillam, MB 56.4° 265.4° AGO yes
REGO 2014-04
Pinawa, MB 50.15° 263.96° AGO yes
REGO yes
Rabbit Lake, MB 58.2° 256.3° AGO yes
Rankin Inlet, NT 62.8° 267.9° REGO 2014-07
Resolute Bay, NT 58.2° 256.3° REGO 2014-08
Saskatoon, SK 52.2° 253.1° AGO yes
Taloyak, NU 69.5° 266.4° REGO 2014-08

From these instruments, the following data products will be derived and be made available at data.phys.ucalgary.ca:

Data products that will be derived and be made available - AGO
Data name Description Resolution Sampling Format Delay
AGO Stream0 raw CYMG images 512×256, 16 bits, 164° FoV s PGM months
AGO Stream1 lossy compressed RGB images 256×256, 164° FoV s JPG real-time
Footnote 2
AGO Stream2 montages, keograms various various JPG daily
Footnote 2 Footnote 3
AGO Colour auroral movies movies generated after each night using Stream1 data same as Stream1 1 movie/day, frames @ Stream0 sampling MPEG daily
Footnote 2 Footnote 3
AGO Skymap geographic latitudes and longitudes of pixel corners (computed for 90 km, 110 km, and 130 km altitudes) 256×256, 164° FoV N/A CDF yearly
AGO Real-time colour mosaics Stream1 data from all sites combined into a nightly mosaic TBD 12 s JPG, MPEG real-time
Footnote 2
REGO Stream0 raw images 512×512, 16 bits, 164° FoV s PGM months
REGO Stream1 lossy compressed images 256×256, 164° FoV s JPG real-time
Footnote 2
REGO Stream2 montages, keograms various various JPG daily
Footnote 2 Footnote 3
REGO Colour auroral movies movies generated after each night using Stream1 data same as Stream1 1 movie/day, frames @ Stream0 sampling MPEG daily
Footnote 2 Footnote 3
REGO Skymap geographic latitudes and longitudes of pixel corners (computed for 90 km, 110 km, and 130 km altitudes) 256×256, 164° FoV N/A CDF yearly
REGO Real-time colour mosaics Stream1 data from all sites combined into a nightly mosaic TBD 12 s JPG, MPEG daily
Footnote 2 Footnote 3
AIM (DIA/EGPS)

The PI will operate digital ionosondes (DIA) located at:

Site, latitude, longitude and data available - AIM (DIA)
Site Latitude Longitude Data available
Cambridge Bay 69.12° 254.97° yes
Eureka 79.99° 274.1° yes
Hall Beach 68.78° 278.74° yes
Iqaluit 63.73° 291.46° 2014-09
Pond Inlet 72.69° 282.04° yes
Resolute 74.75° 265.00° yes

From these instruments, the following data products will be derived and be made available at chain.physics.unb.ca/:

Data products that will be derived and be made available - AIM (DIA)
Data name Description Resolution Sampling Format Delay
Raw ionospheric drift Binary ionospheric drift data 50 m/s 30 s md1 (raw) <10 min
Raw ionogram Binary ionogram data km for height,
0.5 MHz for frequency
30 s md2 (raw) <10 min
Level 0 Drift data time series 50 m/s 30 s ASCII <20 min
Level 1 Ionogram, ionogram-derived data, and drift data km for height,
0.5 MHz for frequency,
50 m/s for drift
30 s SAO XML v5.0 <7 days

The PI will also make available measurements from the GPS stations (EGPS) located at:

Site, latitude, longitude and data available - AIM (EGPS)
Site Latitude Longitude Data available
Alert 82.3° 297.8° 2015-07
Arviat 61.11° 265.93° 2014-08
Coral Harbour 64.08° 276.09° 2014-08
Fort Churchill 58.76° 265.92° yes
Fort McMurray 56.66° 248.79° yes
Fort Simpson 61.76° 238.77° yes
Fort Smith 60.02° 248.05° yes
Gillam 56.38° 265.36° yes
Gjoa Haven 68.38° 264.49° yes
Grise Fiord 76.25° 277.46° 2014-08
Kugluktuk 67.49° 244.2° yes
Nanisivik 72.58° 275.64° 2014-08
Rabbit Lake 58.22° 256.31° 2014-08
Rankin 62.82° 267.89° yes
Repulse Bay 66.31° 273.87° 2014-08

From these instruments, the following data products will be derived and made available at chain.physics.unb.ca/:

Data products that will be derived and be made available - AIM (EGPS)
Data name Description Resolution Sampling Format Delay
Raw All data collected by the Septentrio
PolaRxS PRO GNSS receivers with the following record types and intervals:
IQCorr (20 ms)
MeasEpoch (1 s)
MeasExtra (1 s)
ReceiverStatus (10 s)
ChannelStatus (10 s)
GPSNav (onChange)
as per SBF Reference Guide (above provides GNSS signals at 1 Hz and 50 Hz signal data for ISMR)
N/A 50 Hz SBF (Septentrio Binary Format) < 1 day
Level 0 Derived from L1 (1575.42 MHz) and L2 (1227.60 MHz) signals: pseudo-range (C1, P2); carrier phase (L1, L2), Doppler (D1, D2), and signal strength (S1, S2) N/A Daily: 30s
Hourly: 30s
Highrate 1s
Daily navigation data
RINEX 3.0 (Receiver Independent Exchange) < 10 nm
Level 1 Time, satellite identification, several amplitude and phase scintillation indices, 15s Total Electron Content (TEC) values, code-carrier divergence, carrier-to-noise density ratios, as well as spectral slope and strength N/A min ISMR (ASCII Ionospheric Scintillation Monitor Record) < 10 min
AUTUMNX

The PI will deploy and operate fluxgate magnetometers at the following sites. Alternative sites in Northern Quebec, with similar locations and spacing may be sought, in case of incompatibility or increased difficulty in the deployment.

Site, latitude, longitude and data available - AUTUMNX
Site Latitude Longitude Data available
Akulivik 60.80° -78.20° autumn 2014
Inukjuak 58.46° -78.10° autumn 2014
Ivujivik 62.42° -77.91° autumn 2014
Puvirnituq 60.03° -77.28° autumn 2014
Roberval 48.5° -72.25° summer 2014
Schefferville 54.8° -66.9° summer 2014
Sept-Îles 50.2° -66.4° summer 2014
Umiujaq 56.53° -76.55° autumn 2014
Val-d'Or 48.1° -77.8° summer 2014
Wemindji 53.00° -78.80° autumn 2014

From these instruments, the following data products will be derived and be made available at autumn.athabascau.ca:

Data products that will be derived and be made available - AUTUMNX
Data name Description Resolution Sampling Format Delay
Level 0 3-component magnetic field 10 pT Hz RMD (raw) real-time (~15s)
Level 1 3-component magnetic field 10 pT Hz IAGA-2002 (ASCII) real-time (~15s)
Real-time plots Time series and dynamic spectra N/A N/A PNG real-time (~15s)
CARISMA (MLMA/HLMA)

The PI will operate the following fluxgate magnetometers, which are already operational:

Site, latitude, longitude and data available - CARISMA (MLMA/HLMA)
Site Code Latitude Longitude Data available
Back BACK 57.707° 265.794° yes
Contwoyto CONT 65.754° 248.75° yes
Dawson City DAWS 64.048° 220.89° yes
Eskimo Point ESKI 61.106° 265.95° yes
Fort Chipewyan FCHP 58.769° 248.894° yes
Fort Churchill FCHU 58.763° 265.92° yes
Fort McMurray MCMU 56.657° 248.79° yes
Gull Lake GULL 50.061° 251.739° yes
Island Lake ISLL 53.856° 265.34° yes
Little Grand Rapids LGRR 52.035° 264.537° yes
Ministik Lake MSTK 53.351° 247.026° yes
Norman Wells NORM 65.257° 233.311° yes
Osakis OSAK 45.871° 264.917° yes
Oxford House OXFO 54.929° 264.713° yes
Polson POLS 47.664° 245.791° yes
Rabbit Lake RABB 58.222° 256.32° yes
Taloyoak TALO 69.54° 266.45° yes
Thief River Falls THRF 48.027° 263.635° yes
Vulcan VULC 50.367° 247.02° yes
Wells Gray WGRY 51.883° 239.974° yes
Weyburn WEYB 49.693° 256.2° yes

From these instruments, the following data products will be derived and be made available at www.carisma.ca:

Data products that will be derived and be made available - CARISMA (MLMA/HLMA)
Data name Description Resolution Sampling Format Delay
Hz ASCII 3-component magnetic field 25 pT Hz ASCII daily
Hz ASCII 3-component magnetic field 25 pT Hz ASCII daily
8 Hz CDF 3-component magnetic field 25 pT Hz CDF daily
1 Hz CDF 3-component magnetic field 25 pT Hz CDF daily
1 Hz ASCII (real-time) 3-component magnetic field 100 pT Hz ASCII real-time
Real-time plots Plots of the components of the incoming data stream for each site and on a component basis for the entire array. N/A N/A PNG 4 min
Canadian auroral indices CU, CE, CL The indices provide a Canadian Proxy for the global auroral indices AE, AU and AL. N/A 1 min PNG, ASCII daily
Pc1 dynamic spectra Dynamic spectrograms of the Pc1 pulsation band. N/A N/A PNG daily
Pc5 dynamic spectra Dynamic spectrograms of the Pc5 pulsation band. N/A N/A PNG daily
Plasma density profiles Magnetospheric plasma density profiles generated by automated analysis. N/A N/A PNG daily
CARISMA (ICM/NGEN)

The PI will operate the induction coil magnetometers (ICM) that are already deployed at the following sites:

Site, latitude, longitude and data available - CARISMA (ICM)
Site Code Latitude Longitude Data available
Dawson City DAWS 64.048° 220.89° yes
Fort Churchill FCHU 58.763° 265.92° yes
Fort Smith FSMI 60.017° 248.05° yes
Island Lake ISLL 53.856° 265.34° yes
Ministik Lake MSTK 53.351° 247.026° yes
Pinawa PINA 50.199° 263.96° yes
Rabbit Lake RABB 58.222° 256.32° yes
Thief River Falls THRF 48.027° 263.635° yes

From these instruments, the following data products will be derived and be made available at www.carisma.ca:

Data products that will be derived and be made available - CARISMA (ICM)
Data name Description Resolution Sampling Format Delay
100 Hz ASCII 2-component (horizontal) magnetic field. 0,05 pT 100 Hz ASCII 1 day
20 Hz ASCII 2-component (horizontal) magnetic field. 0,05 pT 20 Hz ASCII 1 day
100 Hz CDF 2-component (horizontal) magnetic field. 0,05 pT 100 Hz CDF 1 day
20 Hz CDF 2-component (horizontal) magnetic field. 0,05 pT 20 Hz CDF 1 day
Dynamic spectrograms Summary plots of the power spectral density as a function of time using 20 Hz data. N/A N/A PNG 1 day
Audible spectra 20 Hz data transposed into the audible frequency range and converted to a stereo audio file. N/A N/A FLV 1 day
Ellipticity plots Spectrograms of the ellipticity of the wave polarization ellipse. N/A N/A PNG 1 day
Polarization plots Spectrograms of the azimuthal angle of the major axis of the wave polarization ellipse. N/A N/A PNG 1 day

This project also includes measurements from fluxgate magnetometers (NGEN) located and deployed as per the following table:

Site, latitude, longitude and data available - CARISMA (NGEN)
Site Code Latitude Longitude Data available
Chetwynd CHET 55.707° 238.4° Sep-15
Dease Lake DEAS 58.445° 229.99° Sep-15
Ministik Lake MSTK 53.351° 247.026° Sep-14
Prince Albert PALB 53.25° 254.25° Sep-15

And produce the following data products, available at www.carisma.ca/data_carisma_nextgen:

Data products that will be derived and be made available - CARISMA (NGEN)
Data name Description Resolution Sampling Format Delay
100 sps ASCII 3-component magnetic field pT 100 Hz ASCII 1 day
8 sps ASCII 3-component magnetic field pT Hz ASCII 1 day
1 sps ASCII 3-component magnetic field pT Hz ASCII 1 day
1 sps ASCII (real-time) 3-component magnetic field 100 pT Hz ASCII real-time
Real-time plots Plots of the components of the incoming data stream for each site and on a component basis for the entire array. N/A N/A PNG 4 min
Canadian auroral indices CU, CE, CL The indices provide a Canadian Proxy for the global auroral indices AE, AU and AL N/A 1 min PNG, ASCII 1 day
Pc1 dynamic spectra Dynamic spectrograms of the Pc1 pulsation band. N/A N/A PNG daily
Pc5 dynamic spectra Dynamic spectrograms of the Pc5 pulsation band. N/A N/A PNG daily
Plasma density profiles Magnetospheric plasma density profiles generated by automated analysis. N/A N/A PNG daily
DNT

The PI will operate instruments located and deployed as per the following table:

Site, latitude, longitude, instrument and data available - DNT
Site Latitude Longitude Instrument Data available
Eureka 80° -86° Field-widened Michelson interferometer (ERWIN II) yes
Oxygen red line Fabry-Perot interferometer summer 2014
Spectral airglow temperature imager (SATI) yes
All-sky airglow imager (PASI) yes
VHF meteor wind radar (SKiYMET) yes
Resolute 75° -95° Multi-emission Fabry-Perot interferometer yes
All-sky airglow imager yes
VHF meteor wind radar (SKiYMET) yes

From these instruments, the following data products will be derived and be made available at the CANDAC website www.candac.ca/:

Data products that will be derived and be made available - DNT
Data name Description Resolution Sampling Format Delay URL
Raw ERWIN II (Eureka) Winds (Doppler shifts) in all four cardinal directions and vertically at ~97 km, ~93 km, and ~87 km 1-4 m/s 5 line-of-sight winds/45s ASCII 3 days www.candac.ca/ERW-YEU
Processed ERWIN II (Eureka) Winds (Doppler shifts) in all four cardinal directions and vertically at ~97 km, ~93 km, and ~87 km 1-4 m/s horizontal wind at three heights/10min ASCII 7 days www.candac.ca/ERW-YEU
Raw Fabry-Perot (Eureka) Winds (Doppler shifts) in all four cardinal directions at ~230 km m/s 1 line-of-sight wind/4min ASCII 3 days www.candac.ca/FP-YEU
Processed Fabry-Perot (Eureka) Winds (Doppler shifts) in all four cardinal directions at ~230 km m/s horizontal wind/15 nm ASCII 7 days www.candac.ca/FP-YEU
Processed SATI (Eureka) Temperature and emission rate in the O2(0-1) band emission
layer at ~92 km and the Q branch of the OH Meinel (6,2) band emission layer at ~87 km.
2 K temperatures at 2 heights/4 nm ASCII 7 days www.candac.ca/SATI-YEU
Processed all-sky imager (Eureka) Airglow images targeting sodium (593nm), hydroxyl (700-900nm with a notch at 859-876 nm), N+ (428 nm), oxygen green line (558 nm) and oxygen red line (630 nm). N/A – images are Schott noise limited 1 image/45 s PNG 7 days www.candac.ca/ASI-YEU
Processed radar (Eureka) VHF meteor wind radar which provides profiles of the meridional and horizontal wind between 82 and 97 km. 4 m/s standard deviation of means horizontal wind profile at 5 "mesopause" heights/90 minute-means. ASCII 7 days www.candac.ca/RDR-YEU
Raw Fabry-Perot (Resolute Bay) Winds (Doppler shifts) in all four cardinal directions and vertically at ~230 km, ~97 km, and ~87 km. 5 m/s line-of-sight wind 1 line-of-sight wind/4 nm ASCII 3 days www.candac.ca/FP-YRB
Processed Fabry-Perot (Resolute Bay) Winds (Doppler shifts) in all four cardinal directions and vertically at ~230 km, ~97 km, and ~87 km. m/s horizontal wind/15 nm ASCII 7 days www.candac.ca/FP-YRB
Processed all-sky imager (Resolute Bay) Airglow images targeting sodium (593 nm), hydroxyl (700-900 nm with a notch at 859-876 nm), O2 (865 nm), oxygen green line (558 nm) and oxygen red line (630 nm). N/A – images are Schott noise limited 1 image/45 s PNG 7 days www.candac.ca/ASI-YRB
Processed radar (Resolute Bay) VHF meteor wind radar which provides profiles of the meridional and horizontal wind between 82 and 97 km. 4 m/s standard deviation of means horizontal wind profile at 5 "mesopause" heights/90 minute-means. ASCII 7 days www.candac.ca/RDR-YRB
H+Storm

The PI will operate 6 meridian scanning photometers (MSP):

Site, latitude, longitude, instrument and data available - H+Storm
Site Latitude Longitude Instrument Data available
Athabasca, ABFootnote 4 54.7° 246.7° FESO 2014-09
CGSM MSP yes
Fort Smith, NT 60.2° 248.05° CGSM MSP yes
Gillam, MBFootnote 4 56.4° 265.4° CGSM MSP yes
Pinawa, MB 50.2° 264.0° CGSM MSP yes
Saskatoon, SK 52.2° 253.1° FESO 2014-11

From these instruments, the following data products will be derived and be made available at data.phys.ucalgary.ca:

Data products that will be derived and be made available - H+Storm
Data name Description Resolution Sampling Format Delay
Raw instrument Raw data consist of photometer count rates. Both instrument types use narrow-band (1-2 nm) filters to acquire 486.1 nm "signal" and at least one nearby "background" channel. Additional instrument health and housekeeping data are also stored. No calibration corrections are applied, so these data are not appropriate for scientific studies. Native resolution (544 elevation angles) 30 s binary real-time
Keogram plots Keograms spanning 1 hour and 1 day intervals for near real-time monitoring and quick-look data browsing. Contrast may be automatically adjusted, so they are not suitable for quantitative analysis. N/A 30 s PNG near real-time
UT day Raw instrument data for each UT day, generated daily Native resolution 30 s binary h
Homogenized Raw instrument data for the entire array for each UT day, generated daily Native resolution 30 s binary h
Calibrated instrumental Calibrated instrument data providing physical units, including elevation and azimuth for each bin and apparent brightness in Rayleighs. Use may require some experience with optical photometry. Native resolution 30 s CDF, ASCII h
Calibrated homogenized Merged calibrated instrument data bringing together data from all instruments onto common spatial and temporal grids. These are intended for general use. Native resolutionFootnote 5 30 s CDF, ASCII h
RIO (RIO/IRIS)

The PI will operate an array of Riometers (RIO) and of Imaging Riometers (IRIS) from the following sites, with the corresponding deployment dates:

Site, latitude, longitude, instrument and data available - RIO
Site Latitude Longitude Instrument Data available
Athabasca, AB 54.7° 246.7° IRIS yes
Churchill, MB 58.7° -94.2° Riometer yes
Dawson, YT 64.1° -139.5° Riometer yes
Flin Flon, MB 54.8° 258.2° IRIS 2015-04
Fort McMurray, AB 56.7° -111.4° Riometer yes
Fort Simpson, NT 61.8° -121.4° Riometer yes
Fort Smith, NT

60.0°

-111.9° Riometer yes
IRIS yes
Gillam, MB 56.4° -94.6° Riometer yes
IRIS 2016-05
Goose Bay, NL 53.3° -60.5° Riometer 2014-08
Island Lake, MB 53.8° -94.6° Riometer yes
IRIS 2016-04
La Loche, SK 56.3° 250.7° IRIS 2015-03
Pinawa, MB 50.2° -96.0° Riometer yes
IRIS yes
Prince-George, BC 53.9° -122.7° Riometer 2014-08
Rabbit Lake, MB 58.2° -103.7° Riometer yes
IRIS 2015-09
Rankin Inlet, NU 64.5° -92.1° Riometer yes
Russell, MB 50.8° 258.8° IRIS 2015-05
Saskatoon, SK 52.2° 253.5° IRIS 2014-07
Taloyoak, NU 69.5° -93.5° Riometer yes
Whitehorse, YT 60.7° -135.1° Riometer 2014-08

From these instruments, the following data products will be derived and be made available at data.phys.ucalgary.ca:

Data products that will be derived and be made available - RIO
Data name Description Resolution Sampling Format Delay
IRIS
raw
Raw imaging riometer output and instrument metadata, generated hourly 0,01 V 1 s binary <1 hour
IRIS UT day Raw imaging riometer output and instrument metadata for each UT day, generated daily 0,01 V s CDF, ASCII <1 day
IRIS combined array Raw imaging riometer output and instrument metadata for the entire array for each UT day, generated daily 0,01 V s CDF <1 day
IRIS real-time plots Cross-project real-time data plots, content TBD 0,01 V s PNG near real-time
IRIS baselined UT day Baselined and dB converted data derived from IRIS UT day data 0,1 dB 1 s CDF, ASCII <3 months
IRIS combined absorption Baselined and dB converted data for the entire array generated from IRIS baselined UT day data 0,1 dB 1 s CDF <3 months
Riometer raw Raw riometer output and instrument metadata, generated hourly 0,01 V 1 s binary <1 hour
Riometer UT day Raw riometer output and instrument metadata for each UT day, generated daily 0,01 V 1 s CDF, ASCII <1 day
Riometer combined array Raw riometer output and instrument metadata for the entire array for each UT day, generated daily 0,01 V 1 s CDF <1 day
Riometer real-time plots Cross-project real-time data plots, content TBD 0,01 V 1 s PNG near real-time
Riometer baselined UT day Baselined and dB converted data derived from Riometer UT day data 0,1 dB 1 s CDF, ASCII <3 months
Riometer combined absorption Baselined and dB converted data for the entire array generated from Riometer baselined UT day data 0,1 dB s CDF <3 months
SuperDARN (SAS/PGR/INV)

The PI will operate these 3 SuperDARN radars and provide the following data products at the specified URL.

Site, latitude, longitude and data available - SuperDARN
Site Latitude Longitude Data available
Inuvik, NU 68.4° -133.5° yes
Prince-George, BC 53.9° -122.7° yes
Saskatoon, SK 52.2° -106.5° yes
Data products that will be derived and be made available - SuperDARN
Data name Description Resolution Sampling Format Delay URL
Level 0 Real-time monitoring of line-of-sight velocity, spectral width, and elevation angle 10 m/s velocity, 10 m/s spectral width, 1 dB power, 45 km range 3-7 s bitmap (TBD) 10 min TBD
Level 2 FITACF files containing line-of-sight velocity, spectral width, backscattered power, and the elevation angle of arrival of the signal for every range gate along every beam. Many other parameters, such as uncertainty estimates, are also included.  10 m/s velocity, 10 m/s spectral width, 1 dB power, 1-3 deg elevation, 45 km range  3-7 s fitacf 2 weeks TBD
Mapping software

General purpose analysis software

  • Altitude Adjusted Corrected Geomagnetic Coordinate (AACGM) system
  • International geomagnetic reference field Radar Software Toolkit (RST)
  • SuperDARN data analysis software
 N/A  N/A  N/A  N/A vt.superdarn.org/tiki-index.php?page=software

Appendix C.2 – ePOP Data

Information about the ePOP instrument payload on the CASSIOPE mission and the data available, and how to access it, may be found at the ePOP website, mertensiana.phys.ucalgary.ca/data.html.

Appendix C.3 – Swarm Data

Information about the EFI instruments on ESA's Swarm mission may be found at the EFI website, efi.phys.ucalgary.ca/. Once the EFI data are released, access will be "free and open" for all users after registering at ESA's PI Community website, https://earth.esa.int/web/guest/pi-community; users may also contact eohelp@serco.com for guidance.

Appendix C.4 – THEMIS-C Data

Information about the Canadian ground-based observatories comprising part of NASA's THEMIS mission and the data available may be found at the THEMIS website, themis.ssl.berkeley.edu/instrument_asi.shtml (All-Sky Imagers) and themis.ssl.berkeley.edu/instrument_gmags.shtml (fluxgate magnetometers). The Canadian observatories are located at Athabasca, Chibougamau, Fort Simpson, Fort Smith, Gillam, Goose Bay, Inuvik, Kapuskasing, Kuujjuaq, Pinawa, Rankin Inlet, Sanikiluaq, Snap Lake, Taloyoak, The Pas, and Whitehorse.

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