Funding Wizard

The USGS National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program (NGGDPP) issues this annual Program Announcement for assistance to support preservation, cataloging of and access to geological and geophysical data and materials for research and education use and address the Department of Interior’s Secretarial priorities. This activity is authorized by Section 351 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-58, Sec. 351) which was amended by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (Public Law 117-58).

Authority: Public Law 99-591 (43 U.S.C. § 36(c)), the USGS Organic Act of March 3, 1879, as amended (43 U.S.C. § 31 et seq.), 16 U.S.C. § 1(a)(2)(j), 16 U.S.C. § 1(g), 16 U.S.C. § 5933, and 16 U.S.C. § 753(a) Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number 15.808

U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Powell Center is offering a funding opportunity for research on “A National Topographic Change Mapping and Monitoring System.” The project will design a national scale mapping system to enable an ongoing nationwide assessment of multi-scale 3D changes in the Earth’s surface, both natural and anthropogenic in origin, and to demonstrate its functional capabilities for the science community. The working group will address all aspects needed for a comprehensive national topographic change mapping and monitoring capability, including data, change detection algorithms and standards, uncertainty, temporal and spatial scales, and applications. The result will be a conceptual model for a national topographic change system and the outline for an operational framework. Activities will include 1) assembly of multi-temporal remote sensing data and multi-temporal elevation data from different remote sensing platforms and historical records; 2) test and apply topographic change detection and quantification approaches; 3) evaluate the importance of spatial and temporal scales and how-to best address these in a topographic mapping and monitoring system; 4) produce data and tools, including a multi-scale continuously updated national 3D change map.

The US Geological Survey is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research on improving discharge and water velocity monitoring of stratified flows through an engineered channel in a railroad causeway at Great Salt Lake (GSL) and to improve understanding of water column mixing. Essential components of the funding opportunity are student, faculty, and computational support to 1) conduct computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model simulations of conditions specific to the day and time USGS conducts field discharge measurements at the railroad causeway channel using a mechanical current meter and an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP); 2) assist USGS in analyzing velocity and discharge data measured via multiple instruments and model simulations to help reduce uncertainty associated with field discharge measurements and a potential index-velocity rating for reporting discharge on a near continuous basis; and 3) conduct CFD model simulations to evaluate water column mixing south of the causeway and work with USGS in determining deployment locations of one or more up-looking ADCPs to validate model simulations of mixing.

The USGS is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research on the abundance of feral horses on tribal nations within the USA. Abundance evaluations will be field-based and conducted across approximately 8 states. This funding opportunity is to conduct aerial surveys for feral horses in cooperation with Tribal Nations that request assistance. Tribal governments are largely underfunded and do not have ample resources to manage feral horse populations. Many tribal nations authorize “open range” for horses and several tribal ranges are denuded due to lack of precipitation and overuse by feral horses. In economic downturns, tribal lands often become “dumping grounds” for unwanted horses when hay prices become high and horse owners cannot afford to purchase feed. Likewise, many tribal lands have witnessed an increase in feral horse numbers as horses from illegal activities such as drug trade and bush track racing are left on the landscape when they are no longer useful. Tribal nations are in desperate need of assistance in development of management practices for feral horses, and the first requirement for creating a management plan is a robust abundance estimate.

The US Geological Survey (USGS), Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research in the development of pre- and post-processing solutions for hydrodynamic modeling in the Greater Everglades. The USGS conducts ecological and hydrologic research and monitoring in support of Greater Everglades restoration efforts throughout South Florida, in conjunction with its Federal, State, and local partners. Research conducted by USGS scientists, and their research partners advances the understanding of the Greater Everglades restoration and the potential influence of environmental change on ecosystem restoration. USGS’s research provides valuable information which contributes to decision-making during restoration. The USGS is offering this opportunity to CESU partners with the capability to use computer programming code to design workflows for adjusting and visualizing the inputs and outputs of a hydrodynamic model designed by the USGS, the Biscayne and Southern Everglades Coastal Transport (BISECT) model.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research on submarine and sublacustrine slope stability that will make use of newly collected sediment cores and high-resolution multibeam bathymetry and geophysical data from subduction zones. Specifically, seek to understand how the mechanical strength properties and source characteristics of marine and lake sediment influences slope stability along earthquake prone active margins through a cross-disciplinary collaboration. The USGS is interested in investigating the response of submarine and sublacustrine sediment to earthquake shaking by measuring the geomechanical properties of sediment samples collected along subduction zone margins and applying these parameters to numerical simulations of submarine/sublacustrine slope stability. Systematic characterization of seafloor/lakefloor sediments and comparison with submarine/sublacustrine landslide distribution will allow improved assessment of earthquake shaking proxies and ground motion hazard predictions. The goals of this study are part of the Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program (CMHRP) mission to identify and characterize coastal and marine geohazards (earthquakes, tsunamis, and landslides) and to develop probabilistic hazard assessments for the nation. In addition, results from this study will provide information and data valuable to the offshore wind energy industry as some of the study area falls within newly released lease areas.

U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Powell Center is offering a funding opportunity research on “Status of butterflies in the United States.” The project will conduct a systematic evaluation of trends in butterfly populations in order to better understand which species are at risk and why. Researchers are expected to estimate species and population-level trends, associate trends to butterfly traits, and determine impact of hypothesized environmental drivers. Life history traits such as body size, overwintering stage, and voltinism will be estimated and correlated with changes in climate and land use so as to develop initial plans for conservation in regions with high extinction risk.

The USGS is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner to collect data for developing a revised framework to predict mercury risk to managed freshwater ecosystems that account for both the biogeochemistry and microbiology. An emphasis of this research is placed on field measurements of two characteristic freshwater environments: arid-land reservoirs and subtropical wetlands. In these freshwater environments, mercury biomagnification in aquatic foodwebs is prevalent and water quality remains one of the biggest issues facing management and/or restoration efforts regarding mercury. A significant challenge to both scientists and resource managers is identifying how internal drivers (e.g., hydrologic and biochemical changes resulting from management or restoration efforts) and external drivers (e.g., climate change) influence the biogeochemical processes that result in the formation of methylmercury, a critical environmental transformation that precedes the exposure of organisms to mercury.

The US Geological Survey is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research in the following research area: investigation of the geographic distribution and abundance of invasive plants, focusing on both new and well established invasive species. The research will be used to improve assessments of risk, biogeographic patterns of invasive plants and their spread, and aid in decisions surrounding the management of invasive species.