Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Gulf Coast CESU | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Gulf Coast CESU funding opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G14AS00131) was a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) discretionary research award released under the CESU partnership program to support science and technology research and development. The core purpose of the project was to fund research leading to the development of a simple, low-cost photometer device that can measure pH with high accuracy, with particular relevance to coastal and estuarine monitoring where conditions can shift between freshwater and seawater salinities. The award was structured as a cooperative agreement, meaning the USGS expected to be substantively involved during the project rather than acting only as a pass-through funder.

The scientific motivation centers on ocean acidification. Roughly one quarter of human-released carbon dioxide is taken up by the ocean each year, and when CO2 enters surface waters it drives chemical reactions that increase hydrogen ion concentration, lowering pH. This shift has broad impacts: it reduces calcium carbonate saturation states (which affects organisms that build shells or skeletons), changes the chemical forms (speciation) of many compounds in seawater, and has been linked to a wide range of biological effects. Because of those cascading consequences, reliable pH observations are widely viewed as essential context for modern biogeochemical studies and for tracking environmental change. The problem, as described in the announcement, is that collecting pH data at broad spatial scales and at fine time resolution has been difficult, especially in dynamic coastal systems.

A key barrier identified in the notice is instrumentation. High-accuracy spectrophotometric pH systems are typically expensive, which limits widespread deployment. ISFET pH sensors can also be costly and may require frequent calibration to maintain performance. Traditional glass electrode pH probes are comparatively inexpensive, but they often drift, require frequent calibration, and can be unreliable, especially in challenging field conditions. The grant therefore targets a practical technology gap: an inexpensive, versatile, photometer-based approach capable of delivering accurate pH measurements across the salinity gradients common in estuaries and coastal waters, while also reducing calibration burdens and enabling broader monitoring coverage.

Administratively, the opportunity anticipated a single award (Expected Awards: 1) with an estimated total funding amount of $45,062. The listing shows no stated award ceiling or floor (both recorded as 0), and it did not require cost sharing or matching funds. The CFDA number associated with the program was 15.808 (U.S. Geological Survey Research and Data Collection). Eligibility was limited to organizations that were already participating partners of the Gulf Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program, reflecting the CESU model in which research, technical assistance, and education are carried out through established federal-academic and other partner networks rather than open competition to the general public.

In terms of timing, the opportunity was posted on August 4, 2014, with an original and current closing date of August 15, 2014, and it was archived on November 4, 2014. The announcement directed applicants to Grants.gov for full details and listed a USGS contact for access issues: Faith Graves (703-648-7356, fgraves@usgs.gov).

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