2025 MONet Spring Soil Sampling Call
Submit Proposal* Updated January 20, 2025
The Molecular Observation Network Spring Samping call is now closed to small scope proposals. The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) received the maximum number of small scope proposals for the spring sampling season.
The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) is seeking proposal submissions for spring soil sampling contributions to EMSL’s Molecular Observation Network (MONet). Through this call, approved principal investigators (PIs) and their teams will collect soil samples during the spring and send their samples to EMSL for analysis. EMSL scientists will analyze soil cores using standardized workflows and generate a suite of advanced data products. These data products include high-resolution chemical composition of soil organic matter, measured using EMSL’s high-field Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometer; soil pore network parameters, measured using X-ray computed tomography (XCT); and annotated metagenome sequences, provided through a partnership with the Joint Genome Institute (JGI).
A list of all Soil Function Call data types is available for review.
We invite spring submissions from most ecoregions and land usage types. MONet soil sampling proposals for water-saturated soils to a depth of 30 cm or soils with overlying water will not be accepted. An Excel spreadsheet version of the ecoregions is available for review. Small scope proposals will be evaluated based on the guidance in this call, environmental compliance, and the validation of geographic field site locations. Large scope proposals require additional technical review. Review our related guidance. Proposal submissions that are not completed in entirety will be automatically rejected. PIs can only have one MONet project per year.
Proposals will be prioritized for acceptance in the chronological order in which they are received (proposals received first that pass review will be awarded first). The exception to this policy will be proposals that require exceptionally long environmental compliance review.
Proposal Submission and Timelines
Spring 2025 Sampling:
- Proposal Submission: January 2, 2025, to January 30, 2025
- Decision Notice: late February 2025
- Sampling Period: mid-March 2025 to May 2025
Soil Function Call decision notices will be communicated from emsl@pnnl.gov.
The full proposal calendar is available for review.
Proposal Types and Sample Submission
Small and large research teams are invited to submit proposals to the spring soil sampling call. We strongly encourage the submission of proposals that align with the MONet mission. Small project teams can submit a “Small Scope” Soil Function proposal for a maximum of 9 sample sets, while large project teams can submit a “Large Scope” proposal for 24 sample sets.
One sample set consists of 6 cores. This includes
- one 30 cm deep core for soil biogeochemical measurements (i.e., DNA, FTICR)
- top and bottom 10 cm segments will be analyzed
- one 30 cm deep core for physical measurements (i.e., XCT)
- four 10 cm deep cores to account for soil heterogeneity.
Submitted proposals must collect at least a portion of the requested samples during the corresponding quarter’s sampling period. All submitters are encouraged to indicate if open data resources (i.e., ancillary data complementary to the Soil Function Call data types) exist for their respective research sites.
| Small Scope | Large Scope | |
| Sample Sets |
≤9 Limited to sampling in one U.S. state |
24* Sampling can span multiple U.S. states |
| Eligible Dates for Sample Collection | Same quarter as call + subsequent 3 quarters | Same quarter as call + subsequent 3 quarters |
| Anticipated Number of Projects per Year | 17 to 25 projects (3 to 7 each quarter, except for winter) |
1 to 2 projects |
| Qualifying Criteria | Aligns with call guidance (no inundated or frozen soil) |
Requires open sharing of complementary data collected by the PI in publicly available and accessible repositories. Review technical criteria. |
| Call Closing Date | Closing date stated for the applicable quarter or as soon as the number of approved proposals exceeds the quarterly allocation, whichever occurs first | Closing date stated for the applicable quarter |
| Proposal Documentation | Request Form |
|
* Proposal authors should contact us at MONet@pnnl.gov in advance of submission if you are planning to prepare a large scope proposal.
Environmental Compliance
Because of PNNL’s contractual relationship with the U.S. Department of Energy, compliance with Federal, state, and local environmental regulations must be completed prior to approval of any application. EMSL will perform an environmental compliance review in collaboration with the PI. Proposals with a long compliance review may not fit the approval timeline of the specific requested quarterly call.
We ask PIs to please provide complete and accurate documentation and respond to compliance team requests as quickly as possible to help ensure a timely process. Please note that an access agreement needs to be appended to the request form for each landowner. An access agreement is a formal letter or permit indicating explicit access granted to the PI to sample soil by a manager/supervisor of their field sites. Failure to do so will result in an automatic proposal rejection.
