Remote Sensing of Alluvial Sandbar Dynamics in Grand Canyon | USGS 16 FA 0280

Opportunity Information: Apply for USGS 16 FA 0280

The grant opportunity titled "Remote Sensing of Alluvial Sandbar Dynamics in Grand Canyon" (Funding Opportunity Number USGS 16 FA 0280) is a discretionary funding announcement issued by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) under CFDA 15.808. The award is offered as a cooperative agreement, meaning the recipient would be expected to work in close coordination with USGS staff and that USGS would likely have substantial involvement in the technical direction, data coordination, or project execution compared with a standard grant. The opportunity is explicitly labeled as non-competitive, which typically indicates it is intended for a specific partner or a narrowly defined set of applicants rather than being open to broad competition.

The focus of the project, as indicated by the title, is the use of remote sensing methods to study the dynamics of alluvial sandbars in the Grand Canyon. Alluvial sandbars are sand deposits formed and reshaped by river flow; in the Grand Canyon, these features are especially important because they influence shoreline habitat, recreational camping beaches, sediment storage, and river corridor geomorphology. Remote sensing in this context generally refers to techniques that measure and map the river corridor from airborne, satellite, or ground-based platforms, such as aerial photography, LiDAR, photogrammetry, multispectral imagery, or other surveying and imaging approaches. A project like this would typically aim to measure how sandbars change over time, quantify erosion and deposition patterns, and support monitoring and management decisions related to sediment resources in the Colorado River system.

Administrative details provided in the source data show the announcement was created on 2016-06-23 and had an original closing date of 2016-07-07, indicating a short application window consistent with many non-competitive cooperative agreements. The award ceiling is listed as $83,000, which sets the maximum anticipated federal funding amount for the agreement. The opportunity category is listed as "Discretionary" and the funding activity category as "Other," suggesting it does not fall neatly into a standard formula program bucket and is instead issued for a specific project need. Eligible applicants are described simply as "Others," a broad label that can include non-federal entities such as universities, nonprofit organizations, research institutions, or other partners, though the non-competitive designation strongly implies the intended recipient or partnership arrangement was predetermined.

Overall, this opportunity represents a targeted USGS-funded research and monitoring effort to apply remote sensing tools to understand and track changes in Grand Canyon sandbars, organized through a cooperative agreement structure with substantial agency involvement and funded up to $83,000 during the 2016 cycle.

• The Geological Survey in the other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Remote Sensing of Alluvial Sandbar Dynamics in Grand Canyon" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.808.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-06-23.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2016-07-07. (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 $83,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for USGS 16 FA 0280

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