Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with North Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit | G22AS00112

Opportunity Information: Apply for G22AS00112

This funding opportunity is a discretionary cooperative agreement offered by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), specifically through its Wetland and Aquatic Research Center (WARC). It is aimed at supporting applied research that strengthens coastal ecosystem restoration planning by improving the scientific tools used to evaluate how restoration actions affect estuarine conditions. The work is centered on hydrodynamic and water quality modeling, with an emphasis on producing practical, decision-ready outputs that restoration planners and resource managers can use to anticipate tradeoffs and outcomes before projects are built or modified.

At the core of the project is the development of an innovative, high spatial resolution, process-driven modeling system that couples hydrodynamics (how water moves through estuaries, canals, and wetlands) with water quality processes (such as nutrient transport, mixing, and conditions that influence overall water quality). Because the model is described as process-driven and coupled, the intent is not just to map patterns but to represent the underlying physical and biogeochemical mechanisms that control water movement and the fate of nutrients and related constituents. By using high spatial resolution, the model is expected to capture fine-scale features that often matter in coastal systems, such as canal-wetland connectivity, localized flow paths, and gradients in water quality that can be missed with coarser tools.

A major purpose of the effort is to assess and predict how coastal restoration actions could change estuarine water quality under future environmental scenarios. The opportunity explicitly calls out climate change and sea-level rise, signaling that the modeling system should be capable of running scenario-based simulations that reflect changing boundary conditions, altered hydrology, and shifting coastal dynamics. This future-looking component is meant to help managers understand whether restoration outcomes remain effective under plausible future conditions, and to support adaptive management strategies that can be adjusted as conditions evolve.

The expected benefits of the project are framed around improved understanding and improved decision-making. USGS is looking for a modeling capability that helps regional scientists and restoration planners better understand the processes controlling water quality and nutrient transport, particularly in canals and adjacent wetlands and across varying environmental conditions. In practice, that means building a tool that can clarify when and why nutrients move, where water quality hotspots may emerge, how restoration designs influence circulation and flushing, and what management levers might reduce undesirable effects. The emphasis on ecosystem-based decision-making suggests the results should be usable in real planning contexts where multiple objectives and constraints need to be balanced, rather than being purely academic.

Eligibility is restricted to organizations that are official partners in the North Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program. This opportunity is issued under the broader CESU framework, which is designed to create partnerships that deliver research, technical assistance, and education tied to federal natural resource priorities. Because the award mechanism is a cooperative agreement rather than a standard grant, applicants should expect substantial federal involvement during the project, such as collaboration on scope, data sources, modeling decisions, review of deliverables, or coordination with agency stakeholders.

Key administrative details from the notice include the funding opportunity number (G22AS00112), the assistance listing/CFDA number (15.808), the activity category (Science and Technology and other Research and Development), and the issuing agency (USGS). The original posting date is listed as January 5, 2022, with an original closing date of February 4, 2022. The award ceiling is $158,838, and the eligible applicant category is labeled as "Others," which in this context is narrowed by the requirement that applicants be CESU partners within the North Atlantic Coast CESU network.

• The Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with North Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit" 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 2022-01-05.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-02-04. (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 $158,838.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for G22AS00112

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