Opportunity Information: Apply for M24AS00332
PC-24-03 is a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) grant opportunity focused on filling a major information gap about the mid-water (pelagic) ocean in areas where deepwater energy and mineral activities are expanding on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The central problem the program is trying to address is that while the pelagic ocean is the largest ecosystem on Earth, most routine monitoring and research tends to concentrate near the surface, where plankton and fish larvae are easiest to sample and are often most abundant. In contrast, large portions of the water column below the epipelagic zone are still poorly described, even though key processes happen throughout the full depth range, including carbon transport via the biological pump, daily vertical migrations that move animals and energy up and down the water column, broader connectivity among habitats, and complex food web dynamics. BOEM is looking to build baseline understanding of these water column habitats specifically in places that are of current or emerging commercial interest for floating offshore wind and for critical mineral resources such as abyssal manganese nodules.
Rather than funding a completely standalone expedition, this project is designed to be cost-effective by adding a complementary “mid-water” sampling component onto research cruises that are already planned for other purposes. The idea is to leverage ship time that is already funded and underway and integrate water column observations in a way that does not disrupt the primary mission of each cruise. The announcement highlights two near-term opportunities for at-sea data collection in fall 2024. One is a NOAA-led cruise (August 26 to September 16, 2024) aboard the NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada, primarily aimed at surveying benthic habitats with an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) in offshore wind areas of interest off northern California and southern Oregon. The second is a USGS-led cruise (September 10 to October 7, 2024) aboard the R/V Kilo Moana, which will use multibeam mapping and box cores to evaluate the abundance and composition of abyssal manganese nodules south of Hawaii at the southern extreme of the OCS. The program also anticipates additional opportunities in 2025 and beyond, and BOEM plans to work with the recipient to secure appropriate future cruise integration options as they arise.
From a methods standpoint, BOEM is emphasizing practical, proven oceanographic tools enhanced with newer biological and imaging approaches. Traditional Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) rosette casts are a core element because they provide physical and chemical profiles and also allow water sampling at depth. Those water samples can then be used for environmental DNA (eDNA) analyses to characterize the biological community present across different layers of the ocean. The announcement also points to integrating cameras and optical sensors with CTD operations to help visualize deeper pelagic habitats that are rarely imaged. To keep costs and scheduling impacts low, the mid-water work could be done during periods when the main cruise operations are finished for the day, or by attaching a smaller imaging/sensor package directly to an existing CTD rosette so that imagery and environmental measurements are collected during the same deployment without requiring extra “wire time.”
The scientific and management value is tied directly to impact assessment and risk reduction as offshore industries move farther offshore and into deeper waters. Baseline water column data are intended to help distinguish normal environmental variability from project-related change, which is essential for credible environmental reviews and long-term monitoring. For floating offshore wind, baseline information can inform understanding of risks such as altered behavior, attraction/avoidance, or displacement of organisms around floating structures and associated activity. For seabed mining and critical minerals, BOEM highlights concerns that mining could generate sediment plumes with uncertain consequences for mid-water ecosystems, meaning managers need solid pre-impact characterization of what organisms and conditions exist in the water column in the first place, and how those vary by region and depth.
The project objectives are framed around building foundational knowledge and producing practical guidance for future work. First, the study aims to develop species inventories throughout the water column in areas tied to potential commercial development, with particular attention to Pacific OCS regions relevant to floating offshore wind and abyssal manganese nodules. Second, it will assess and incorporate information from other relevant scientific programs that could support these goals, with the California Current Ecosystem (CCE) Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program given as a concrete example. Third, the work is expected to explain how organisms are distributed regionally and vertically in relation to physical and chemical drivers, linking community structure to measurable ocean conditions. Finally, a major deliverable is a set of recommendations for a relatively simple, high-value, and cost-effective “standard” mid-water sampling and sensor module that can be easily added onto future deepwater cruises, helping BOEM and partners scale up water column characterization without needing to reinvent the approach each time.
The key questions BOEM wants addressed align with those objectives: what pelagic community structure looks like in current and potential Pacific OCS regions of interest; which physical and chemical factors are shaping those communities in each region; and what standardized add-on midwater science package would provide the best return on investment for future deepwater research efforts. In practice, that means the project is not only about collecting data from a couple of cruises, but also about learning how to efficiently and consistently collect comparable mid-water observations across multiple future missions.
On the administrative side, this opportunity is not an open competition. It is a single-source cooperative agreement to the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) through the Alaska Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU). Because it is a cooperative agreement, BOEM scientists are expected to have substantial involvement in developing and/or conducting the study, rather than acting only as a pass-through funder. The overhead rate associated with the Alaska CESU is listed as 17.5%. The funding opportunity number is M24AS00332, the CFDA (assistance listing) number is 15.423, the activity category is Environment, and the instrument type is a cooperative agreement. The opportunity shows an award ceiling of $820,000, with an original closing date of May 29, 2024, and a creation date of April 18, 2024.Apply for M24AS00332
- The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "PC-24-03: Characterization of Water Column Habitats to Understand Potential Impacts from Deepwater Energy and Mineral Development" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.423.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2024-04-18.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-05-29. (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 $820,000.00 in funding.
- Eligible applicants include: Others.
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PC-24-03 (BOEM) Grant Opportunity FAQs
What is the PC-24-03 grant opportunity?
PC-24-03 is a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) grant opportunity focused on filling a major information gap about the mid-water (pelagic) ocean in areas where deepwater energy and mineral activities are expanding on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).
What problem is BOEM trying to solve with this opportunity?
BOEM is addressing the mismatch between how important the pelagic ocean is (it is the largest ecosystem on Earth) and how limited routine monitoring can be below the surface. Most regular sampling happens near the surface (epipelagic zone), while large portions of the water column below that remain poorly described, even though critical processes occur throughout the full depth range.
Why does BOEM care specifically about the mid-water (pelagic) zone?
The opportunity emphasizes that key processes occur across the entire water column, including carbon transport through the biological pump, daily vertical migrations that move animals and energy up and down, connectivity among habitats, and complex food web dynamics. Understanding these mid-water habitats is needed to build credible baselines in areas of offshore development interest.
Which offshore industries are driving the need for this research?
The baseline work is tied to areas of current or emerging commercial interest for floating offshore wind and for critical mineral resources, including abyssal manganese nodules.
Is this project intended to fund a standalone research expedition?
No. The project is designed to be cost-effective by adding a complementary mid-water sampling component to research cruises that are already planned and funded for other purposes.
How will BOEM keep this project cost-effective?
The concept is to leverage ship time that is already funded and underway and integrate water column observations in a way that does not disrupt the primary mission of each cruise. The announcement describes approaches like conducting mid-water work when primary cruise operations are finished for the day, and/or attaching a smaller imaging/sensor package to an existing CTD rosette to avoid additional "wire time."
What near-term cruise opportunities are identified for fall 2024 data collection?
The announcement highlights two opportunities in fall 2024: a NOAA-led cruise aboard the NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada (August 26 to September 16, 2024), and a USGS-led cruise aboard the R/V Kilo Moana (September 10 to October 7, 2024).
What is the NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada cruise and where will it operate?
This NOAA-led cruise runs from August 26 to September 16, 2024. Its primary mission is surveying benthic habitats with an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) in offshore wind areas of interest off northern California and southern Oregon. The BOEM project would add a mid-water sampling component to complement that mission.
What is the R/V Kilo Moana cruise and where will it operate?
This USGS-led cruise runs from September 10 to October 7, 2024. It will use multibeam mapping and box cores to evaluate the abundance and composition of abyssal manganese nodules south of Hawaii at the southern extreme of the OCS. The BOEM project would integrate mid-water sampling alongside that work.
Will there be additional cruise integration opportunities beyond 2024?
Yes. The program anticipates additional opportunities in 2025 and beyond, and BOEM plans to work with the recipient to secure appropriate future cruise integration options as they arise.
What methods and tools does BOEM emphasize for mid-water sampling?
BOEM emphasizes practical, proven oceanographic tools enhanced with newer biological and imaging approaches. Core elements include Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) rosette casts for physical and chemical profiling and for collecting water samples at depth, paired with environmental DNA (eDNA) analyses and integration of cameras and optical sensors to help visualize deeper pelagic habitats.
Why are CTD rosette casts considered a core element of the approach?
CTD rosette casts provide physical and chemical profiles through the water column and allow water sampling at depth. Those collected water samples can then be analyzed using eDNA to characterize biological communities across different ocean layers.
How does environmental DNA (eDNA) fit into this work?
eDNA is proposed as a way to characterize the biological community present at different depths using water samples collected during CTD operations, helping build species inventories and understand community structure throughout the water column.
What role do cameras and optical sensors play in the project?
The announcement points to integrating cameras and optical sensors with CTD operations to help visualize deeper pelagic habitats that are rarely imaged, supporting baseline characterization of mid-water ecosystems.
How will the project minimize disruption to the primary missions of the host cruises?
The opportunity describes integrating mid-water observations so they do not interfere with the cruise's main objectives, for example by conducting sampling during downtime after daily primary operations, or by collecting imagery and environmental data during the same CTD deployment via an attached imaging/sensor package to avoid extra deployment time.
What is the management value of collecting baseline mid-water data?
Baseline water column data help distinguish normal environmental variability from project-related change. This supports credible environmental reviews, impact assessments, risk reduction, and long-term monitoring as offshore industries move farther offshore and into deeper waters.
How can this baseline information support floating offshore wind decision-making?
For floating offshore wind, baseline information can inform understanding of risks such as altered behavior, attraction or avoidance, or displacement of organisms around floating structures and associated activity.
How can this baseline information support critical minerals and seabed mining considerations?
For seabed mining and critical minerals, BOEM highlights concerns that mining could generate sediment plumes with uncertain consequences for mid-water ecosystems. Managers need strong pre-impact characterization of mid-water organisms and conditions, and how those vary by region and depth.
What are the main objectives of the project?
The objectives include: (1) developing species inventories throughout the water column in areas tied to potential commercial development, especially Pacific OCS regions relevant to floating offshore wind and abyssal manganese nodules; (2) assessing and incorporating information from other relevant scientific programs that could support these goals (with the California Current Ecosystem Long-Term Ecological Research program cited as an example); (3) explaining regional and vertical distributions of organisms in relation to physical and chemical drivers; and (4) producing recommendations for a relatively simple, high-value, cost-effective standard mid-water sampling and sensor module that can be added to future deepwater cruises.
What key scientific questions does BOEM want the project to address?
The key questions include: what pelagic community structure looks like in current and potential Pacific OCS regions of interest; which physical and chemical factors shape those communities in each region; and what standardized add-on mid-water science package would provide the best return on investment for future deepwater research.
Is the project only about collecting data on the two 2024 cruises?
No. In addition to collecting data, the project is intended to develop an efficient and consistent approach for collecting comparable mid-water observations across multiple future missions, including recommendations for a standardized add-on sampling and sensor module.
What is meant by a "standard" mid-water sampling and sensor module?
The announcement calls for recommendations for a relatively simple, high-value, cost-effective package of sampling and sensors that can be easily added to future deepwater cruises. The intent is to scale up water column characterization without having to reinvent the approach each time.
Is this funding opportunity open to all applicants?
No. This opportunity is not an open competition. It is a single-source cooperative agreement to the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) through the Alaska Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU).
What does "single-source cooperative agreement" mean in this context?
Based on the announcement, it means BOEM is making the award as a cooperative agreement (not a standard grant) to a specific recipient (UAF via the Alaska CESU), rather than running an open competitive solicitation.
What does it mean that the instrument type is a cooperative agreement?
The announcement notes that, because this is a cooperative agreement, BOEM scientists are expected to have substantial involvement in developing and/or conducting the study, rather than acting only as a pass-through funder.
What is the overhead rate associated with the Alaska CESU for this opportunity?
The overhead rate listed for the Alaska CESU is 17.5%.
What is the funding opportunity number and assistance listing (CFDA) number?
The funding opportunity number is M24AS00332, and the assistance listing (CFDA) number is 15.423.
What is the activity category for this opportunity?
The activity category is Environment.
What is the award ceiling for PC-24-03?
The opportunity shows an award ceiling of $820,000.
What are the key posted dates for this opportunity?
The opportunity has a creation date of April 18, 2024, and an original closing date of May 29, 2024.
Which geographic regions are emphasized for baseline characterization?
The opportunity emphasizes Pacific OCS regions relevant to floating offshore wind (including areas off northern California and southern Oregon) and regions relevant to abyssal manganese nodules (including areas south of Hawaii at the southern extreme of the OCS).
Which external scientific program is specifically mentioned as relevant to incorporate?
The announcement gives the California Current Ecosystem (CCE) Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program as a concrete example of a relevant scientific program to assess and incorporate.
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