Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) | G23AS00324

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is this funding opportunity about?

This opportunity, issued by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) through the John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis, supports a research effort to design "A National Topographic Change Mapping and Monitoring System." The purpose is to outline a national-scale approach for routinely mapping and assessing three-dimensional (3D) changes to the Earth's surface across the United States over time.

What kinds of topographic changes are within scope?

The scope includes both natural and human-driven changes. Examples of natural processes include erosion, landslides, river channel migration, coastal change, subsidence, and volcanic or seismic deformation. Examples of human-driven impacts include mining, construction, reservoir operations, land grading, and other forms of landscape alteration.

Is the goal to produce a one-time map or an ongoing system?

The project is intended to go beyond a one-off study. It is meant to outline a system that could function continuously over time and serve the broader science and resource-management community with routinely updated information.

What is the central idea behind the project?

The central idea is to design a national-scale approach for routinely mapping and assessing 3D changes to the Earth's surface across the United States, including defining how data are assembled, how change is computed, how uncertainty is handled, and how results could be updated and distributed as part of a sustained capability.

Who is leading or sponsoring this work?

The opportunity is issued by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) through the John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis.

What type of award is this?

This is a discretionary financial assistance opportunity offered as a cooperative agreement. A cooperative agreement typically involves substantial USGS involvement during the period of performance, such as coordination with the working group, contributing expertise, or collaborating on deliverables.

What does "cooperative agreement" imply for how the project is carried out?

Based on the description provided, USGS is expected to have substantial involvement during the period of performance. This may include coordinating with the working group, contributing expertise, and collaborating on the project deliverables.

What is the overall project structure?

The project is structured as a working group effort intended to cover the full set of ingredients needed for a credible, nationwide topographic change capability. This includes data sources, change-detection methods, technical standards, uncertainty handling, and the link between technical outputs and real-world applications.

What are the main technical components the working group is expected to address?

The description emphasizes identifying and organizing needed data sources, selecting appropriate change-detection algorithms and technical standards, and addressing uncertainty rigorously so that mapped changes can be interpreted correctly. The work is also expected to consider temporal and spatial scales and connect mapping capabilities to applications.

Why are temporal and spatial scales emphasized?

Topographic change can occur rapidly or slowly, and it can be meaningful at local, regional, or national scales. The effort is expected to examine how time intervals between observations and spatial resolution affect the ability to detect and interpret change and to recommend how a national monitoring system should handle those tradeoffs.

What activities are planned under this opportunity?

Planned activities are described in four broad areas: (1) assembling multi-temporal remote sensing and elevation datasets from multiple platforms and historical records, (2) testing and applying methods for detecting and quantifying topographic change, (3) evaluating how spatial resolution and the time interval between observations affect change detection and interpretation and recommending how to address these tradeoffs nationally, and (4) producing data and tools aimed at delivering a multi-scale, continuously updated national 3D change map.

What kinds of datasets will the project use?

The project is expected to assemble multi-temporal remote sensing and elevation datasets drawn from multiple platforms and historical records. The emphasis is on repeated observations over time, not a single snapshot.

What will the project do about change-detection algorithms and methods?

The working group is expected to test and apply methods for detecting and quantifying topographic change, compare approaches, and demonstrate what works best under different conditions.

How will uncertainty be handled in the mapping and monitoring approach?

A stated goal is to address uncertainty rigorously so mapped changes can be interpreted correctly. The deliverables are expected to include how confidence and uncertainty are reported as part of the system blueprint.

What does the opportunity mean by "multi-scale" outputs?

It indicates that the envisioned change mapping products should be useful across different spatial extents (for example, local, regional, and national) and should be designed to support interpretation at multiple scales rather than a single fixed scale.

Is the project expected to produce tools and data products, or only a conceptual report?

Both are included in the description. The project will produce data and tools, with an explicit goal of delivering a multi-scale, continuously updated national 3D change map. The primary deliverable is also a conceptual model and an operational framework outline that serve as an implementable blueprint for a sustained national capability.

What is the primary deliverable?

The primary deliverable is a conceptual model for a national topographic change mapping and monitoring system, along with an outline for an operational framework. This includes a clear blueprint for datasets, change computation, uncertainty and confidence reporting, and how products can be updated and distributed.

What is meant by an "operational framework" in this context?

Based on the provided description, the operational framework outline is expected to describe how a sustained national capability could be run over time, including what datasets feed the system, how change is computed, how uncertainty and confidence are communicated, and how outputs are updated and distributed.

How does this project connect to real-world applications?

The work is expected to connect technical mapping capacity to real applications by clarifying how the resulting products could support science questions and practical decisions for the broader science and resource-management community.

What is the award ceiling?

The award ceiling listed for this opportunity is $100,000.

What is the CFDA number and category for this opportunity?

The opportunity falls under CFDA 15.808 and is categorized under Science and Technology and other Research and Development.

What is the funding opportunity number?

The funding opportunity number is G23AS00324.

When was this opportunity created?

The opportunity was created on 2023-03-23.

What was the original closing date?

The original closing date was 2023-04-24.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is restricted to applicants that are already participating partners in the Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program. This notice is tied to the Colorado Plateau CESU, so only affiliated partners within that unit are eligible to apply.

What is a CESU and why does it matter for eligibility?

CESUs are partnership networks that facilitate research, technical assistance, and education by connecting federal agencies with universities, tribes, and other qualified organizations. For this opportunity, eligibility is limited to partners affiliated with the Colorado Plateau CESU.

Does this opportunity apply to CESU partners nationwide or only a specific CESU?

It is tied specifically to the Colorado Plateau CESU, and only affiliated partners within that unit are eligible to apply.

What geographic area is the monitoring system intended to cover?

The described goal is a national-scale approach covering the United States, including a multi-scale, continuously updated national 3D change map.

What makes the envisioned change map "3D"?

The opportunity centers on three-dimensional (3D) changes to the Earth's surface, which implies using elevation and topographic data to detect and quantify changes in surface form over time.

Will the system incorporate historical records as well as new data?

Yes. Planned activities include assembling multi-temporal datasets from multiple platforms and historical records, indicating the effort is expected to incorporate past observations alongside more recent data.

What kinds of tradeoffs is the project expected to address?

The project is expected to evaluate tradeoffs involving spatial resolution and the time interval between observations, and to recommend how a national monitoring system should balance those factors to detect and interpret topographic change effectively.