PC-24-03: Characterization of Water Column Habitats to Understand Potential Impacts from Deepwater Energy and Mineral Development
ID: 353620Type: Posted
Overview

Buyer

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (DOI-BOEM)

Award Range

$520K - $820K

Eligible Applicants

Others

Funding Category

Environment

Funding Instrument

Cooperative Agreement

Opportunity Category

Discretionary

Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement

Yes

Original Source

https://grants.gov/search-results-detail/353620
Timeline
  1. 1
    Forecast Posted Not available
  2. 2
    Forecast Due Not available
  3. 3
    Posted Apr 18, 2024 12:00 AM
  4. 4
    Due May 29, 2024 12:00 AM
Description

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has posted a federal grant opportunity titled "PC-24-03: Characterization of Water Column Habitats to Understand Potential Impacts from Deepwater Energy and Mineral Development." This grant aims to fund the characterization of water column habitats to gain a better understanding of the potential impacts from deepwater energy and mineral development.

The pelagic ocean, which is the largest ecosystem on earth, remains poorly characterized and understood due to its vast size and dynamic nature. Most oceanographic programs focus on the surface ocean, while very little is known about the water column below the epipelagic zone (0-200m). However, important processes such as the biological pump, diel vertical migration, connectivity mechanisms, and food web dynamics occur throughout the water column.

As industries move to deeper waters of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), it is crucial to gather more information about potential impacts to these habitats, especially in sites of commercial interest. The study intends to integrate a complementary water column component into planned marine mineral and offshore wind-related research cruises. This can be achieved through traditional oceanographic equipment, supplemented by new techniques and technology.

The grant provides two cost-effective near-term opportunities for at-sea data collection in the fall of 2024. One opportunity is a NOAA-led benthic habitats AUV survey focused on areas of interest for offshore wind in northern California and southern Oregon. The second opportunity is a USGS-led multibeam and box core cruise assessing abyssal manganese nodules at the southern extreme of the OCS south of Hawai'i.

The study aims to develop species inventories throughout the water column in areas of potential commercial interest for floating offshore wind and critical minerals, particularly abyssal manganese nodules. It also seeks to assess other scientific programs that can provide relevant data, explain the regional distribution of organisms relative to oceanographic conditions, and provide recommendations for cost-effective and high-value sampling and sensor packages.

The grant is a cooperative agreement between BOEM and the University of Alaska-Fairbanks as part of the Alaska Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit. The award ceiling is $820,000, with a floor of $520,000. The close date for electronically submitted applications is May 29, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. ET.

For more information, contact Deja Bracey at deja.bracey@bsee.gov.

Point(s) of Contact
deja.bracey@bsee.gov
Files
Title
Posted
M24AS00332_Mini_SOW_PC-24-03_Midwater_4-18-24.pdf
4/19/2024
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