Paleo Perspectives on Present and Projected Climate | 22 612

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the Paleo Perspectives on Present and Projected Climate (P4CLIMATE) opportunity?

P4CLIMATE is a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant opportunity focused on using paleoclimate evidence to improve scientific understanding of today’s climate and to better anticipate future climate change. The program emphasizes that instrumental records and modern climate models typically cover a relatively short time window, so they may miss longer-term variability, abrupt shifts, tipping points, and threshold behavior that are visible in longer paleoclimate archives.

What is the main purpose of using paleoclimate evidence in this program?

The goal is to extend climate knowledge beyond the last century by using evidence preserved in geological records and environmental archives. This longer perspective helps reveal multi-decadal to millennial variability and provides a broader range of climate outcomes than short instrumental datasets alone.

What kinds of paleoclimate archives or proxy records are relevant to P4CLIMATE?

P4CLIMATE highlights data preserved in archives such as sediments, ice, corals, tree rings, speleothems, and other proxy sources. These records can extend climate reconstructions far beyond modern observational periods.

Which NSF directorate and divisions support P4CLIMATE?

P4CLIMATE is an interdisciplinary, cross-division initiative within NSF’s Geosciences (GEO) Directorate. It is supported by multiple NSF units: the Division of Atmospheric and GeoSpace Sciences (AGS), the Division of Earth Sciences (EAR), the Division of Ocean Sciences (OCE), and the Office of Polar Programs (OPP).

Is P4CLIMATE intended to be interdisciplinary?

Yes. The solicitation is designed to encourage proposals that integrate expertise, datasets, and methods across atmospheric, Earth, ocean, and polar science domains. Examples include combining proxy reconstructions with climate model experiments, linking ocean and atmospheric dynamics, or synthesizing regional records into coherent pictures of past climate states and transitions.

What are the two main research themes in P4CLIMATE?

The program is organized around two themes: (1) Past Regional and Seasonal Climate, and (2) Past Climate Forcing, Sensitivity, and Feedbacks.

What does the “Past Regional and Seasonal Climate” theme focus on?

This theme targets reconstructions and analyses that resolve how climate varied across specific regions and seasons in the past, not only global annual averages. It includes work on phenomena such as drought patterns, storm tracks, monsoons, sea ice extent, ocean circulation, temperature gradients, and precipitation seasonality under different boundary conditions, and how those behaviors relate to current risks.

What does the “Past Climate Forcing, Sensitivity, and Feedbacks” theme focus on?

This theme focuses on what drove past climate change and how the climate system responded. It may include studies of greenhouse gases, solar variability, volcanic aerosols, ice sheets, land surface changes, and ocean circulation, and what past shifts reveal about climate sensitivity and feedbacks (for example, water vapor, clouds, carbon cycle responses, and cryosphere interactions).

Does P4CLIMATE expect projects to include both observations and modeling?

Yes. A key expectation is that proposals use observational and modeling approaches in complementary ways, so past evidence can be translated into constraints on processes that matter for future projections.

What types of observational work are described as relevant under P4CLIMATE?

Examples include collecting new proxy records, improving dating and calibration, compiling existing datasets, and developing synthesis products that enable broader inference rather than producing isolated records.

What types of modeling work are described as relevant under P4CLIMATE?

Examples include paleoclimate simulations, data-model comparison, data assimilation, isotope-enabled modeling, sensitivity experiments, and other techniques that connect past climate evidence to processes important for understanding and projecting climate change.

What does NSF mean by an emphasis on “synthesis” in this solicitation?

The solicitation emphasizes integrative results that go beyond single records or stand-alone studies. Synthesis can involve reconciling datasets, testing mechanisms, integrating regional records, and producing broader inference products that strengthen understanding of climate dynamics across timescales relevant to long-term planning.

How is this opportunity categorized (CFDA and topic area)?

The opportunity is offered as a discretionary grant under CFDA 47.050 and is categorized under science and technology and other research and development.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, which generally indicates that a wide range of applicant organizations may apply as long as they meet NSF’s standard requirements.

How often is the P4CLIMATE solicitation run?

The solicitation is run annually.

What is the closing date listed for this opportunity?

The listed closing date is 2024-10-21.

Are proposals with Arctic fieldwork allowed under P4CLIMATE?

Yes. For polar research, the Office of Polar Programs (OPP) will accept proposals submitted to this solicitation with or without fieldwork in the Arctic.

Are proposals with Antarctic fieldwork allowed under P4CLIMATE?

No. OPP will accept proposals under this solicitation only if they do not include Antarctic fieldwork. Proposals that include Antarctic fieldwork are directed to NSF’s separate annual solicitation dedicated to Antarctic fieldwork proposals.

What kinds of climate behaviors is P4CLIMATE especially interested in capturing?

The program highlights climate behaviors that may not be fully captured by short instrumental records alone, including multi-decadal to millennial variability, abrupt shifts, tipping points, and threshold behavior.

How does P4CLIMATE connect past climate studies to present and future climate questions?

P4CLIMATE is intended to bring paleoclimate records and paleoclimate modeling into direct conversation with questions that matter for present-day understanding and future projections. By using deep-time perspectives, projects can illuminate mechanisms behind abrupt or extreme changes and strengthen scientific foundations for anticipating thresholds, feedbacks, and regional impacts in a warming world.