This competitive grant program focuses on: “water problems and issues of a regional or interstate nature beyond those of concern only to a single State and which relate to specific program priorities identified jointly by the Secretary (of the Interior) and the (water resources research) institutes.”

OBJECTIVES:

1. Promote collaboration between the USGS and university scientists in research on significant national and regional water-resources issues. Proposals exhibiting substantial collaboration between the USGS and the applicant are strongly encouraged. Collaborative proposals should describe in detail the respective roles of the USGS and the applicant in the proposed work. It is anticipated that in FY2023 the USGS will have internal funds available for modest support of USGS scientists on selected proposals.
2. Promote the dissemination and application of the results of the research funded under this program, both to the scientific community and to the general public.
3. Assist in the training of scientists in relevant water-resource fields. Proposals that include a strong educational component (student support) are encouraged, as are those from early-career faculty.

2023 104G General RESEARCH PRIORITIES:

Ongoing research needs include improving and enhancing the nation’s water supply and availability, as well as promoting the exploration of new ideas that address or expand our understanding of water problems. Proposals are sought in the following specific areas of inquiry; levels of priority are not assigned, and the order of listing does not indicate the level of priority:

National-scale evaluation of water budget: Retrospective or predictive analyses using hydroclimate-forcing data sets, with emphasis on CONUS404, which was developed in a USGS-NCAR collaboration. Additional guidance includes 

• Emphasis on prediction of water-budget components through a variety of interpretive approaches.
• Incorporation of how uncertainty in hydroclimate-forcing propagates to water budget components.
• Consideration of both retrospective and projected conditions.

Rasmussen, R.M., Liu, C., Ikeda, K., Chen, F., Kim, J., Schneider, T., Gochis, D., Dugger, A., and Viger, R., 2023, Four-kilometer long-term regional hydroclimate reanalysis over the conterminous United States (CONUS), 1979-2020: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9PHPK4F.

Socieoeconomics: Integrate ongoing USGS research and data collection in order to assess socioeconomic and ecological vulnerability to compounding extreme events and develop adaptation measures. This proposed project should undertake new research (e.g., Water Use and Social and Economic Drivers Program) to understand the vulnerability of urban (e.g., trans-basin diversions), agricultural (e.g., reservoir management), and ecological (e.g., endangered species) water-use sectors to drought and compounding hazards such as wildfire. Additional guidance includes: 

• Providing a quantifiable portfolio of risk for water-use sectors (including ecological and socio-economic) 
• Developing climate futures and planning scenarios for relevant institutions: management, communities, other institutions

PROPOSALS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR FUNDING:

1. Proposals for research on health effects involving human subjects.
2. Proposals for research involving oceanography (estuarine research proposals are acceptable).
3. Proposals submitted by an Institute or Center that has not met reporting requirements on a previous award by the USGS.
4. Proposals that do not comply with the terms of this Announcement.
5. Proposals for research that do not meet the listed Research Priorities.

MAXIMUM AWARD: $310,000

ANTICIPATED AWARD START DATE: January 1, 2024

AWARD DURATION: 1-3 years