Opportunity Information: Apply for P12AS10006
Apply for P12AS10006
- The National Park Service in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Understanding Automating Processing and Distribution of MODIS and AVHRR Satellite Image Products for Monitoring Landscape Processes in Alaska National Parks" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.945 Cooperative Research and Training Programs Resources of the National Park System.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jun 28, 2012 and posted on Jun 28, 2012.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 27, 2012. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $298,011.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $298,011.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.
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Opportunity Summary:
This grant opportunity is a National Park Service (NPS) cooperative agreement intended to continue an existing project with the University of Alaska Fairbanks under the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) program, which is designed to support partnerships for research, technical assistance, and education. The announced intent is to make a single award totaling $298,011, and it is explicitly described as a continuation of an existing agreement (J2141090006) that runs through September 30, 2013. Because the work is already underway, the NPS states that competing the award would disrupt continuity and could negatively affect completion of the ongoing effort.
The project is framed around the needs of the NPS Alaska Region, which includes a large network of park units spread across roughly 54.7 million acres and representing a wide range of ecosystems, geology, wildlife habitats, and climate conditions. To manage such a vast and dynamic landscape, the NPS relies on Inventory and Monitoring (IM) programs that track vegetation, wildlife, fish, coastal and glacial processes, and weather patterns. These monitoring programs are meant to help the agency detect ecological change over time and better understand drivers such as invasive species, land disturbance, wildfire, climate change, and other large-scale natural events. The overall purpose of this grant is to improve and modernize how satellite-based indicators are handled so park scientists can more efficiently measure landscape processes that matter for long-term stewardship.
At the center of the effort is a collaboration between the NPS Alaska Region IM program (AKRO IM) and the Geographic Information Network of Alaska (GINA), a University of Alaska Fairbanks program with established expertise in receiving, processing, managing, and distributing satellite imagery. The practical problem the project is trying to solve is that NPS ecologists have been using MODIS and AVHRR satellite products to evaluate conditions like lake ice onset and freeze-up, snow cover extent and timing, and the length and vigor of the growing season, but the workflows and data access are not as streamlined as they could be. By shifting key parts of data acquisition, processing, archiving, and online delivery to GINA, the project aims to reduce manual handling, standardize products, and create a more reliable pipeline for the recurring satellite datasets the monitoring program depends on.
The main technical deliverable is the acquisition, adaptation, and public distribution of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI, essentially a greenness/vegetation vigor indicator) and snow-related satellite products derived from AVHRR and MODIS sensors. The opportunity specifically calls out three target datasets/products to be incorporated and served through a centralized clearinghouse: (1) Greenness of the Conterminous U.S. and Alaska, (2) MODIS 16-day NDVI composite imagery, and (3) MODIS snow extent imagery products. While these data are already available at no cost from federal archives, they are distributed across multiple sources and not necessarily optimized for Alaska-specific needs, especially in terms of projections and other processing choices suited to high-latitude and polar-region mapping.
To address that, the project proposes pulling standardized AVHRR and MODIS NDVI and snow products from established repositories such as the USGS EROS Data Center, NASA’s Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC), and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). GINA would then reprocess the datasets using Alaska-appropriate parameters (including map projections commonly used for polar regions) and publish them online using Web Coverage Service (WCS) feeds, which are designed to let users access raster data in a standardized, machine-readable way. In effect, the plan is to build a centralized, automated system that expands GINA’s existing MODIS and AVHRR holdings while making the resulting products easier for NPS staff to discover, retrieve, and integrate into monitoring analyses.
A second major component is workflow automation beyond just hosting data. The announcement emphasizes that GINA and NPS will work together to automate steps that NPS staff had been doing manually to derive secondary image products and summary statistics. That matters because monitoring programs often require repeated computation of seasonal metrics and trend summaries across many years, large areas, and multiple park units. By automating these process flows, the project is intended to speed up routine monitoring tasks, improve consistency from one reporting cycle to the next, and reduce the risk of errors introduced through repeated manual processing.
Although the immediate operational beneficiary is the NPS Inventory and Monitoring program in Alaska, the grant also highlights broader public value. Because the datasets cover large spatial extents, the resulting NDVI and snow products are expected to be useful not only to NPS scientists and resource managers, but also to other agencies, researchers, and members of the public who need ready access to Alaska-focused greenness and snow information. In short, the project is positioned as an infrastructure and data-service improvement that strengthens long-term ecological monitoring in Alaska parks while also increasing availability of standardized, Alaska-optimized satellite products via the internet.
Key administrative details included in the notice are that it is a discretionary environmental funding opportunity issued by the National Park Service as a cooperative agreement, with no cost sharing or matching requirement. The funding opportunity number is P12AS10006, it anticipates one award at the full amount (floor and ceiling both $298,011), and eligibility is limited to public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, consistent with the planned partnership with the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The original posting date was June 28, 2012, with a closing date of July 27, 2012, and the notice provides a contracting contact (Tina Spengler) for access issues related to the full announcement.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1) What is this funding opportunity?
This is a National Park Service (NPS) discretionary environmental funding opportunity offered as a cooperative agreement under the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) program. The stated intent is to continue an existing project with the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) focused on improving how satellite-based indicators are acquired, processed, archived, and delivered for long-term ecological monitoring in Alaska parks.
2) What is the funding opportunity number?
The funding opportunity number is P12AS10006.
3) Is this a new project or a continuation?
It is explicitly a continuation of an existing agreement. The notice references an ongoing agreement (J2141090006) that runs through September 30, 2013, and explains that competing the award could disrupt continuity and negatively affect completion of work already underway.
4) How many awards will be made?
The announcement indicates an intent to make a single award.
5) What is the total funding amount?
The total announced amount is $298,011.
6) Are there minimum or maximum award amounts?
Yes. The notice indicates the funding floor and ceiling are both $298,011, meaning the anticipated single award is for that full amount.
7) Is cost sharing or matching required?
No. The notice states there is no cost sharing or matching requirement.
8) Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is limited to public and state-controlled institutions of higher education. This aligns with the planned continuation partnership with the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
9) What does the CESU program have to do with this opportunity?
The cooperative agreement is being issued under the CESU framework, which is designed to support partnerships for research, technical assistance, and education. In this case, CESU supports the collaboration between NPS and the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
10) What NPS program is the primary operational beneficiary?
The immediate operational beneficiary is the NPS Alaska Region Inventory and Monitoring (IM) program (AKRO IM), which tracks ecosystem change and landscape processes across Alaska park units.
11) What is the purpose of the project?
The overall purpose is to improve and modernize handling of satellite-based indicators so NPS scientists can more efficiently measure landscape processes important for long-term stewardship. The project focuses on reducing manual handling, standardizing products, and creating a more reliable pipeline for recurring satellite datasets used in monitoring.
12) Why is this project important for Alaska parks?
The NPS Alaska Region includes a large network of park units spread across roughly 54.7 million acres, representing diverse ecosystems and climate conditions. Inventory and Monitoring programs help detect ecological change over time and understand drivers such as invasive species, land disturbance, wildfire, climate change, and other large-scale natural events. The project is positioned as a practical upgrade to the satellite data workflows that support those monitoring needs.
13) Which organizations are collaborating on the work?
The project centers on collaboration between the NPS Alaska Region IM program (AKRO IM) and the Geographic Information Network of Alaska (GINA), a University of Alaska Fairbanks program with expertise in receiving, processing, managing, and distributing satellite imagery.
14) What problem is the project trying to solve?
NPS ecologists have been using MODIS and AVHRR satellite products to evaluate conditions such as lake ice onset and freeze-up, snow cover extent and timing, and the length and vigor of the growing season. The notice indicates workflows and data access are not as streamlined as they could be. The project aims to shift key parts of acquisition, processing, archiving, and online delivery to GINA to reduce manual work and improve reliability and consistency.
15) What satellite indicators and products are a focus of the project?
The main technical deliverables include normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) products (a vegetation greenness/vigor indicator) and snow-related satellite products derived from AVHRR and MODIS sensors.
16) What specific datasets/products are called out in the notice?
The opportunity identifies three target datasets/products to be incorporated and served through a centralized clearinghouse:
- Greenness of the Conterminous U.S. and Alaska
- MODIS 16-day NDVI composite imagery
- MODIS snow extent imagery products
17) If these satellite data are already free, why is this project needed?
The notice explains that while the data are available at no cost from federal archives, they are distributed across multiple sources and are not necessarily optimized for Alaska-specific needs. The project proposes centralized access and Alaska-appropriate reprocessing (including map projections commonly used for polar regions) so users can discover, retrieve, and use consistent products more easily.
18) Where will the project obtain the underlying satellite datasets?
The notice describes pulling standardized AVHRR and MODIS NDVI and snow products from established repositories, including:
- USGS EROS Data Center
- NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC)
- National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)
19) What does GINA do with the datasets after obtaining them?
GINA is expected to reprocess the datasets using Alaska-appropriate parameters (including polar-region map projections) and then publish them online. The intent is to expand GINA’s existing MODIS and AVHRR holdings and make the resulting products easier for NPS staff and others to access and integrate into analyses.
20) How will the data be delivered online?
The notice states the products will be published online using Web Coverage Service (WCS) feeds, which provide standardized, machine-readable access to raster data.
21) What is meant by a "centralized clearinghouse" in this context?
Based on the notice, the centralized clearinghouse is an online hub where the reprocessed NDVI and snow products are incorporated, organized, and served so users do not have to retrieve them from multiple separate federal archives or deal with inconsistent processing choices.
22) Does the project include automation beyond data hosting?
Yes. A major component described in the announcement is automation of steps that NPS staff had been doing manually to derive secondary image products and summary statistics, supporting repeated computation of seasonal metrics and trend summaries across many years and park units.
23) What benefits does the notice claim from automating the workflows?
The notice emphasizes that automation is intended to speed up routine monitoring tasks, improve consistency from one reporting cycle to the next, and reduce the risk of errors that can come from repeated manual processing.
24) Who is expected to use the resulting products?
While NPS scientists and resource managers in Alaska are the immediate users, the notice also highlights broader public value. Because the datasets cover large spatial extents, the resulting NDVI and snow products are expected to be useful to other agencies, researchers, and members of the public seeking Alaska-focused greenness and snow information.
25) What type of funding instrument is this?
It is a cooperative agreement issued by the National Park Service.
26) What are the key dates for the opportunity?
The original posting date is June 28, 2012, and the closing date is July 27, 2012.
27) What is the referenced agreement number for the ongoing project?
The notice references agreement J2141090006 as the existing agreement being continued.
28) What is the period of the referenced existing agreement?
The notice states the existing agreement runs through September 30, 2013.
29) Why does NPS state it does not want to compete this award?
The notice explains that work is already underway and that competing the award would disrupt continuity and could negatively affect completion of the ongoing effort.
30) Who is the contracting contact listed in the notice?
The notice provides a contracting contact: Tina Spengler. The stated purpose is to assist with access issues related to the full announcement.
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