The purpose of this Cooperative Agreement is to collect data and conduct research in topics that serve the public interest relating to offshore sediment resources, coastal restoration and protection, and coastal resiliency, as well as meet BOEM MMP and Gulf states’ goal of a Gulf-wide OCS sediment inventory.
Donor Name: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
State: Mississippi
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 09/11/2023
Size of the Grant: $12,000
Grant Duration: 24 months
Details:
As a result of enhanced vulnerability to sea-level rise, frequent hurricane impacts, oil spills, and natural/anthropogenic reductions of sediment supply, understanding the availability, nourishment quality, and location of sand resources is imperative for sustainability and coastal resilience of the Mississippi coast. To support this need BOEM is interested in awarding a cooperative agreement to the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) to conduct a literature review and legacy data search, synthesis, and integration in the Mississippi Sound. Two previous cooperative agreements (M16AC00012 and M21AC00018) focusing on developing an understanding of the geologic evolution of late Quaternary deposits offshore Mississippi and delineating and developing volumetric reserve estimates of restoration quality OCS sediment resources have revealed a significant gap in coverage area in the western Mississippi Sound. In order to directly link into the geologic framework that will be produced from these two studies, it is necessary to map incised valleys from river systems through the Mississippi Sound area where they continue to the OCS. This is important as it will reveal which modern analogue systems are present on the shelf. The goal of this award is to support the existing cooperative agreements by focusing on an area offshore Mississippi/Louisiana that falls outside of the scope of both. This new analysis will help expedite the identification, characterization, and delineation of sand-rich lithosomes for estimating restoration-quality sand reserves on the Mississippi OCS.
Funding Information
- Award Ceiling: $12,000
- Award Floor: $12,000
- Length of Project Periods: 24-month project period with two 12-month budget periods.
Eligibility Criteria
- Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
- Single Source Justification: The Department of Marine Science at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) is uniquely qualified to perform this work by virtue of its flagship status for marine science research within the state and by its nationally recognized scope and depth of marine and coastal geology expertise. No other entity has the specialized expertise and ability to carry out a focused program of scientific research to support the understanding of the geologic evolution of the sediment resource needs of the State of Mississippi.
- This Program Announcement describes a specific project that may be awarded to the USM Department of Marine Science (BOEM partner in OCS sand resource evaluation in Mississippi) which maintains a permanent physical and functional presence in the State with access to the State and OCS study areas, possessing research facilities, research access, and requisite data gathering and processing equipment. These assets contribute to the necessary research while, at the same time, effectively inform and educate local communities as well as local, regional, and state government agencies to facilitate informed decision making on costal restoration and sediment resource issues.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
