NSF Geosciences Core Solicitation replaces FIRP Solicitation
Starting September 1, 2026, the Geosciences Core Solicitation will replace the Facility and Instrumentation Request Process (FIRP) solicitation. The new solicitation streamlines NSF proposal requirements and changes how investigators request access to facilities and instrumentation, including the Lower Atmosphere Observing Facilities (LAOF) and the Community Instruments and Facilities (CIF).
FIRP will epxire August 31, 2026. Statements Of Interest, FIRP Tracks, and prescribed budgets and timelines will no longer apply, but facility requests will still be required.
Explore NCAR-managed Lower Atmosphere Observing Facilities for your field research
EOL manages and operates a portfolio of multi-user national facilities that are sponsored by NSF. The NCAR-managed Lower Atmosphere Observing Facilities include:
These specialized facilities and instrumentation can be requested to carry out the scientific field work associated with the investigation of a wide range of geophysical phenomena.
Summer wraps up with research showcase from EOL SUPER and NESSI Interns
🔷 Meet the four students and discover what they accomplished this summer
Spring 2026 Radar Technology Community Workshop
Report Published June 2026
Conference Resources Available
Atmospheric instrument hitches ride on Antarctic planes
The Southern Ocean plays a fundamental role in the global carbon cycle, yet air-sea fluxes of CO2 in the region, and their driving processes, are highly uncertain. The Southern Ocean Carbon Gas Observatory (SCARGO) is an NSF Office of Polar Programs funded study led by NSF NCAR in collaboration with NOAA, CIRES, CWorthy, and Earth Sciences New Zealand.
NSF NCAR EOL Field Project Page
Record-Breaking Winds confirmed for Hurricane Melissa
As Hurricane Melissa approached Jamaica on October 28, 2025, a NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft equipped with an NSF NCAR AVAPS™ dropsonde system released a series of high-precision Vaisala dropsondes into the storm. Just before one sonde reached the ocean surface, it captured an extraordinary 252-mph wind gust—the strongest ever recorded by a dropsonde. This moment underscores the vital partnership between NOAA’s hurricane reconnaissance mission and NSF NCAR’s leadership in dropsonde technology. Other News sources
Photo: NOAA/NESDIS/STAR GOES-19 satellite image
EOL in the News
Read stories and articles about the incredible work by EOL staff and our suite of requestable Lower Atmosphere Observing Facilities (LAOF).
