Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Chesapeake Watershed CESU | G20AS00100

Opportunity Information: Apply for G20AS00100

The Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Chesapeake Watershed CESU opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G20AS00100) is a discretionary U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) funding call under the Department of the Interior. It is structured as a cooperative agreement, meaning the recipient should expect substantial collaboration with USGS staff during the project rather than operating completely independently. The program sits within the Science and Technology and other Research and Development category (CFDA 15.808) and was designed to support applied coastal science that improves how flood hazards are assessed and communicated, particularly by accounting for how coasts physically change over time.

At its core, the project is focused on understanding and quantifying how geomorphic change affects coastal flood hazards. "Geomorphic change" here refers to the evolving shape and elevation of the coast, including processes like shoreline retreat or advance, barrier island migration, beach and dune evolution, and other landscape adjustments that can either amplify or reduce flooding impacts. The USGS is seeking research that connects these natural dynamics to flooding risk in a way that improves next-generation modeling and resilience planning.

The first major objective is to produce regional assessments of historical coastal vertical land motion using the latest in situ and remote sensing data. Vertical land motion includes subsidence or uplift of the land surface, which can strongly influence relative sea level and therefore flood frequency and severity. The emphasis on both in situ and remote sensing datasets signals a need to synthesize ground-based measurements (such as geodetic observations) with satellite- or airborne-derived products to generate robust, spatially coherent estimates of how land elevations have been changing.

The second objective is to incorporate those vertical land motion rates into future coastal flooding assessments. This is an important step because many flood hazard products can understate risk when they assume land elevation is static. By explicitly integrating measured and spatially variable land motion into forecasting and scenario-based flooding analyses, the work aims to improve estimates of where and how often flooding may occur, and how those patterns may shift in coming decades.

A third objective is to develop research approaches that incorporate natural system evolution into future coastal flood hazard assessments and coastal resilience strategies. The opportunity highlights beach and barrier island systems as examples, pointing to the need for methods that treat these environments as dynamic rather than fixed boundaries. This could involve approaches that couple geomorphic models with hydrodynamic flood models, or frameworks that update topography and coastal configurations over time to reflect erosion, overwash, inlet formation, dune building or loss, and other coastal behaviors that influence surge and wave-driven flooding.

The fourth objective is strong emphasis on deliverables that reach the broader scientific and practitioner communities: writing reports and publishing papers in peer-reviewed journals on integrating geomorphic change into coastal flood modeling systems, including the applications and results. This signals that USGS is not only seeking project-specific findings, but also reusable scientific approaches, documented methods, and evidence-backed results that can be referenced and adopted by others working in coastal hazards and resilience.

The fifth objective focuses on coordination and knowledge transfer through meetings with the USGS coastal hazards team. These meetings are intended to align on future strategies, troubleshoot scientific or technical issues as they arise, and support publication and dissemination of outcomes. In practical terms, this implies an iterative, collaborative project rhythm with regular communication and joint problem-solving, consistent with a cooperative agreement structure.

In terms of logistics and scale, the opportunity anticipated a single award (Expected Awards: 1) with a maximum award amount (ceiling) of $240,000. The opportunity was created on June 16, 2020, with an original closing date of June 30, 2020, indicating a short application window at the time. Eligibility is limited to a CESU partner under the Chesapeake Watershed CESU framework, with the notice listing eligible applicants as "Others" and directing applicants to eligibility clarification in the full announcement text.

Overall, this grant opportunity is best understood as targeted support for a partner institution within the CESU network to advance coastal flood hazard science by explicitly integrating two often underrepresented drivers of risk: (1) vertical land motion that changes coastal elevation relative to the sea, and (2) geomorphic evolution of beaches, barrier islands, and other coastal landforms that reshapes how water and waves propagate inland. The expected outcome is not only improved regional assessments and modeling workflows, but also publishable science and a closer integration of research results into USGS coastal hazards activities and future resilience planning efforts.

• The Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Chesapeake Watershed CESU" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.808.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 16, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 30, 2020. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $240,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for G20AS00100

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