************************************************************************ IERS Message No. 131 June 25, 2008 ************************************************************************ Calls for Proposals for IVS Analysis Centers and IVS Combination Centers Please find below two Calls for Proposals: 1. for IVS Analysis Centers, 2. for IVS Combination Centers. Please send any questions concerning these Calls to the address given below. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS) Call for Proposals for IVS Analysis Centers SUMMARY The IVS Directing Board solicits proposals for additional IVS Operational Analysis Centers and Associate Analysis Centers. Existing Associate Analysis Centers are encouraged to apply for becoming an Operational Analysis Center. The IVS is an international collaboration of organizations which operate or support VLBI components. Its primary objective is to foster VLBI programs as a joint service to support geodetic, astrometric, geophysical, and other research and operational activities. Proposers must provide their own financial resources to carry out the functions of the IVS Analysis Center and must indicate their organizational commitment in their proposal. As the IVS cannot provide financial resources, the commitment of organizations hosting the proposed Analysis Centers will be an important consideration in the proposal review. TASKS AND REQUIREMENTS Operational Analysis Centers: The IVS Correlator Centers regularly produce sets of delay observables from 24h network sessions and 1h single-baseline INTENSIVE sessions. The tasks of an IVS Operational Analysis Center consists of a timely solution of a complete set of these observations together with the generation of datum-free normal equations to be submitted to the IVS Data Centers for further combination. In addition, IVS Operational Analysis Centers are asked to perform regular quality control, to contribute to the IVS input to any ITRF activities, and to be able to perform reprocessing of the data (e.g., in case of model updates). A commitment is required that solutions in the form of datum-free normal equations are delivered throughout the year in a timely fashion for the IVS Analysis Coordinator or an IVS Combination Center to include this in its operational products. In addition, the scientific supervision at the Analysis Center should guide the activities for a continuous development of state-of-the-art procedures in close cooperation with the IVS Analysis Coordinator. Existing IVS Associate Analysis Centers, which would like to become an Operational Analysis Center, are encouraged to do so. Associate Analysis Centers: Associate Analysis Centers are committed to regularly submit specialized products using complete series or subsets of VLBI observing sessions. The analysis is performed for specific purposes as recognized by the Directing Board such as exploitation of VLBI data for new types of results, investigations of regional phenomena, reference frame maintenance, or special determinations of Earth orientation parameters. The Associate Analysis Centers place their final results in IVS Data Centers for dissemination to researchers and other users. They adhere to IVS recommendations for the creation of high-quality products and their timely archiving and distribution. Any deviations that an Associate Analysis Center makes from IVS recommendations are properly documented. PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS Proposers must use the standard form as the basis for the preparation of their proposals. The standard proposal form is available on the IVS Web (http://ivscc.gsfc.nasa.gov/) at ftp://ivscc.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/forms/opac-form.txt. Please download the proposal form and edit it to fill in the requested information. Descriptive text may be inserted in the form at the point it is requested or you may attach separate pages. The final length of the proposal should be no longer than a total of four pages, but two pages are preferred. The proposal form must be signed by a responsible individual committing the organization to participate in the IVS. After you have completed the proposal form, print it out, obtain the required signature, and send it via mail to the address below. We also request that you e-mail the proposal (without signature but with the signature name typed in) for archiving. The e-mail version may be in ASCII or you may attach a Word or PDF file. Proposals should be submitted by mail (with original signature) so that they are received by 1 September 2008. Mail proposals to: Dirk Behrend IVS Coordinating Center Director NVI, Inc./Goddard Space Flight Center Code 698 Greenbelt, MD 20771 USA E-mail: Dirk.Behrend@nasa.gov PROPOSAL DEADLINE AND REVIEW Proposals are due, at the location given above and via e-mail, no later than 1 September 2008. Proposals received by this date will be reviewed by the IVS Directing Board at its 20th meeting in Penticton, Canada on 13 September 2008. Successful proposers will be notified by October 2008. Proposals can also be submitted at any time after the given deadline. The IVS Directing Board will review those proposals in due time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS) Call for Proposals for IVS Combination Centers SUMMARY The IVS Directing Board solicits proposals for the installation and operation of IVS Combination Centers. The IVS is an international collaboration of organizations which operate or support VLBI components. Its primary objective is to foster VLBI programs as a joint service to support geodetic, astrometric, geophysical, and other research and operational activities. Proposers must provide their own financial resources to carry out the functions of the IVS Combination Center and must indicate their organizational commitment in their proposal. As the IVS cannot provide financial resources, the commitment of organizations hosting the proposed Combination Centers will be an important consideration in the proposal review. TASKS AND REQUIREMENTS The IVS Analysis Centers regularly submit session-based results of their analyses in the form of EOP time series and/or datum-free normal equations in SINEX format for 24h network sessions and 1h single-baseline INTENSIVE sessions. The tasks of the IVS Combination Center include quality control and a timely combination of these intermediate results to a final combination product (e.g., Earth Orientation Parameters, EOP). After consultation with the IVS Analysis Coordinator the combination results shall be released as official IVS products. The Combination Center is also expected to contribute to the generation of the official IVS input to any ITRF activities. A commitment is required that EOP are delivered throughout the year in a timely fashion for the IERS to include the IVS output in its operational products. In addition, scientific supervision should guide the activities for a continuous development of state-of-the-art procedures in close cooperation with the IVS Analysis Coordinator. PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS Proposers must use the standard form as the basis for the preparation of their proposals. The standard proposal form is available on the IVS Web (http://ivscc.gsfc.nasa.gov/) at ftp://ivscc.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/forms/comc-form.txt. Please download the proposal form and edit it to fill in the requested information. Descriptive text may be inserted in the form at the point it is requested or you may attach separate pages. The final length of the proposal should be no longer than a total of four pages, but two pages are preferred. The proposal form must be signed by a responsible individual committing the organization to participate in the IVS. After you have completed the proposal form, print it out, obtain the required signature, and send it via mail to the address below. We also request that you e-mail the proposal (without signature but with the signature name typed in) for archiving. The e-mail version may be in ASCII or you may attach a Word or PDF file. Proposals should be submitted by mail (with original signature) so that they are received by 1 September 2008. Mail proposals to: Dirk Behrend IVS Coordinating Center Director NVI, Inc./Goddard Space Flight Center Code 698 Greenbelt, MD 20771 USA E-mail: Dirk.Behrend@nasa.gov PROPOSAL DEADLINE AND REVIEW Proposals are due, at the location given above and via e-mail, no later than 1 September 2008. Proposals received by this date will be reviewed by the IVS Directing Board at its 20th meeting in Penticton, Canada on 13 September 2008. Successful proposers will be notified by October 2008. Proposals can also be submitted at any time after the given deadline. The IVS Directing Board will review those proposals in due time. ************************************************************************ IERS Messages are edited and distributed by the IERS Central Bureau. To subscribe or unsubscribe, please write to . Archives: http://www.iers.org/iers/publications/messages/ ************************************************************************