Timetable for UK Time Applications
UK EISCAT Special Programme Time is awarded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), whose (NERC) Atmospheric Radar Facilities Sub-Committee (NARFSC) considers applications for time on the Mainland and the Svalbard Radars. Such applications may be made for new experiments or for a further award of time to existing experiments. There are two time application rounds each year, in February and August. The closing date is the fifteen day of each month, and the result should be known within three weeks. Once awarded, UK EISCAT time is normally available for immediate use. However, the rules of the EISCAT Scientific Association state that time on the EISCAT facilities must be booked by the tenth day of the month before the month in which it is to be used. This means that time awarded cannot be booked until the month after the application was considered and cannot used until the month after that. This situation is summarised in the table below. One should note that the "Result Known by" date is approximate. The actual date will depend on factors such as the workload of the panel members and the number of applications to be considered in a particular round. All other dates are exact.| Round | Application to be in by | Result Known by | Earliest Date by which Time can be Booked | Earliest Date when the Experiment can be Run |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February | 15 February | 7 March | 10 March | 1 April |
| August | 15 August | 5 September | 10 September | 1 October |
It can be seen from the table that, for each round, only a few days separate the date by which the result of an application is expected from the earliest date by which time can be booked on the EISCAT facilities. Every effort will be made to book time during this interval for experiment time approved at that round. It must, however, be borne in mind that this might not prove possible - especially if there is a delay in the approval process or if a weekend falls during the interval between the two dates. Those wishing to run in an experiment in April or October are therefore advised to submit any application for time, respectively, to the preceding August or February round.
The above information can also be presented this information in the form of the latest round at which application for time can be made for an
experiment which is to run in a particular month of the year. This is done in the second table, which should enable experimenters to decide when
an application should be submitted. One should note that for April and October two rounds are listed. This follows from the statement
made in the previous paragraph. Of the two rounds, one is that by which experimenters are advised to submit applications; the other is the latest
possible round by which application can be made.
| Period when Experiment to be Run | Advised Latest Round at which an Application for Time should be Made | Latest Possible Round at which an Application for Time can be Made |
|---|---|---|
| January - March | August of Previous Year | August of Previous Year |
| April | August of Previous Year | February of Current Year |
| May - September | February of Current Year | February of Current Year |
| October | February of Current Year | August of Current Year |
| November - December | August of Current Year | August of Current Year |
From this table, it can be seen that an application for time needs to be made some months before the experiment is expected to run. In an emergency it might, for some months, be possible to consider an application over a shorter timescale. One should not, however, assume that this will be so. Advance warning should be given whenever a shorter timescale is required.