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The National Marine Fisheries Service Southeast Region (Fisheries Southeast Regional Office) is seeking proposals under the Gulf of Mexico B-WET Program. The Gulf of Mexico B-WET program is a competitive, environmental education, grants program that promotes locally relevant, experiential learning in the K-12 environment. Funded projects provide Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs) for students, related professional development for teachers, and help to support regional education and environmental priorities in the Gulf of Mexico. 

The purpose of this document is to advise the public that NOAA/NOS/National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science/Competitive Research Program, in partnership with NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, is soliciting proposals under the Regional Ecosystem Prediction Program for a project up to five years in duration to conduct research to improve the understanding of population connectivity of key mesophotic coral ecosystem species in the Hawaiian Archipelago. This information will be used to improve the ability of resource managers to proactively develop strategies to manage and protect poorly understood mesophotic coral ecosystems and provide insight into regional ecosystem connectivity. Funding is contingent upon the availability of Fiscal Year 2019 Federal appropriations. If funds become available for this program, one project is expected to be supported for up to five years, with an approximate annual budget of up to $1,000,000.

Grants will fund projects related to the Waitt Foundation mission of supporting sustainable fishing and marine protected areas (MPAs). This includes sub-themes of: Scientific Research - Includes natural science or social science projects. For example, collecting baseline data before coastal development or MPA establishment, or studying fishery effects of a natural (e.g. tsunami) or man-made (e.g. oil spill) disaster. Policy - Includes opportunistic projects around unique public policy windows, such as preparation of policy analysis and support of experts' efforts to inform decision makers on upcoming government actions. For example, a cost-benefit analysis of proposed fishing regulations, or travel expenses for a delegation of scientists to educate elected officials. Management - Includes enforcement and infrastructure support. For example, stop-gap funding to increase enforcement capacity in light of a sudden uptick in illegal dynamite fishing, or training personnel to enforce new regulations about to go into effect. Communications - Includes raising public awareness and engaging stakeholders, including advertizing by a 501(c)3 group around a public policy moment. For example, a PR blitz (e.g. billboards or radio adds) to educate the public in advance of government action on an ocean conservation measure, or training local people to become citizen scientists or enforcement tipsters.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) through the Marine Minerals Program (MMP) is offering a cooperative agreement opportunity to conduct research to serve the public interest in offshore sand resources, coastal restoration, and coastal resiliency. The overall goal of this study is to collaborate on the development of a feasibility study investigating the viability of recovering economically valuable hard minerals from offshore sand deposits during beach nourishment dredging operations. Although the study will focus on known sand deposits in federal water offshore of the Delmarva Peninsula, methodologies and conclusions should be generally applicable to all nearshore Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) hard minerals. This Program Announcement describes a cooperative agreement that may be awarded to the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy (DMME). This is not an open solicitation for proposals. The OCSLA (43 USC 1345)authorizes the use of cooperative agreements with affected States to meet the requirements of OCSLA, including sharing of information, joint utilization of available expertise, formation of joint monitoring arrangements to carry out applicable Federal and State laws, regulations, and stipulations relevant to outer continental shelf operations both onshore and offshore. All awards are premised on receipt of an acceptable proposal.

NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration & Research (OER) is soliciting proposals for ocean exploration in waters under U.S. jurisdiction, including the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and areas mapped by, or of interest to, the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) Project. Presently, important marine habitats and living and non-living resources are neither fully explored nor characterized. OER's intent is to address these knowledge gaps and support growth in the Nation's Blue Economy by soliciting ocean exploration proposals that focus on:

The NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) invites applications for the establishment of a North Atlantic Regional Cooperative Institute (CI). The proposed CI will serve a critical function at the juncture of the interdependent global and regional observing systems in the North Atlantic Ocean and those of the Northeast U.S. Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem (NEUS LME). In so doing, the Institute will link basin-scale climate observations to ecosystem-scale monitoring, assessments, and decision making. Broad scale climate observations will also be integrated into to the Global Ocean Observation System. The intent of this CI is to expand and improve our ability to collect, deliver, and use ocean information to study the effect of climate change on various spatial scales including regions, LMEs, and the Nation.

Complete information, including the full Funding Opportunity Announcement, can be found on the EERE Exchange website - https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/ The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is issuing, on behalf of the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled "Water Power Technologies Office 2019 Research Funding Opportunity." This FOA addresses priorities in the following Areas of Interest: Area of Interest 1: Hydropower Operational Flexibility Area of Interest 1a: Quantify Hydropower Capabilities for Operational Flexibility Area of Interest 1b: Operational Strategies for Increasing Hydropower Flexibility Area of Interest 2: Low-Head Hydropower and In-Stream Hydrokinetic Technologies Area of Interest 2a: Modular Technologies for Low-Head Hydropower Applications Area of Interest 2b: Modular Technologies for River Current Energy Converter Applications Area of Interest 3: Advancing Wave Energy Device Design Area of Interest 4: Marine Energy Centers Research Infrastructure Upgrades Complete information can be found on the EERE Exchange website - https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/

The Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program provides support for master's and doctoral degrees in oceanography, marine biology, maritime archaeology, and all other science, engineering, social science, and resource management disciplines involving ocean and coastal areas, and particularly encourages women and members of minority groups to apply. Individuals who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents, or citizens of U.S. territories, and are applying to or have been accepted to a graduate program at a U.S. accredited institution, may apply. Prospective scholars do not need to be enrolled in a graduate program at the time of application, but must be admitted to a graduate level program in order to be awarded this scholarship. Scholarship selections are based on academic excellence, letters of recommendations, research and career goals, and financial need. Applicants must have a cumulative 3.30 grade point average to be eligible to apply and maintain a minimum cumulative and term grade point average of 3.30 for every term and for the duration of their award. Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarships may provide, subject to appropriations, yearly support of up to $42,000 per student (a 12-month stipend of $30,000 in addition to an education allowance of up to $12,000) and up to $10,000 of support for a 4-6 week program collaboration at a NOAA facility. Based on available funding, completion of one (1) program collaboration may be required for every doctoral scholarship award, with a second recommended, but not required. For master's degree level scholars, completion of a program collaboration is strongly recommended but is not required. The Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship funds cannot be used toward research costs.

The Maritime Administration, Office of Environment is issuing this request for proposals (RFP) for projects that demonstrate shipboard energy conservation or efficiency measures. Background: Over the past several years, the Maritime Administration (MARAD) has been partnering with government agencies, industry, and academia on efforts to reduce vessel and port emissions, as well as efforts to support the use of alternative fuel and energy sources. Currently, MARAD would like to focus on exploring and supporting proposals focused on shipboard energy efficiency and conservation. This RFP is specifically seeking to provide cost share funding through a cooperative agreement(s) for one or more proposals that offer the potential for advancement and improvement of energy efficiency for marine vessel operations. The MARAD cost share will not exceed 50% of the total project cost. Collaborative partnerships with other entities such as industry, ports, maritime organizations, and state or local governments are highly encouraged. This announcement is an expression of interest only and does not commit MARAD to make any award. The total amount of funding under the RFP will be up to $400,000.

DARPA seeks innovative proposals for new systems that employ natural or engineered marine organisms as sensor elements to amplify signals related to the presence, movement, and classification of manned or unmanned underwater vehicles (M/UUV). The Persistent Aquatic Living Sensors (PALS) program will leverage or develop living organisms as sensor transducers, and pair them with a detector and analysis suite to produce deployable sensor systems able to provide timely information on vehicle activity across a wide variety of maritime environments.

The NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is seeking proposals under the Great Lakes Bay Watershed Education and Training Program (B-WET). The Great Lakes B-WET Program is a competitive grant program that supports existing, high quality environmental education programs, fosters the growth of new, innovative programs, and encourages capacity building and partnership development for environmental education programs throughout the entire Great Lakes watershed. Successful projects provide Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs) for students and related professional development for teachers, while advancing regional Great Lakes education priorities. The Great Lakes B-WET program is funded through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. It is anticipated that approximately $800,000 may be available in FY 2020 to fund eligible applications. NOAA anticipates making approximately 12 to 17 new awards. The total Federal amount that may be requested from NOAA should not exceed $80,000. The minimum Federal amount that should be requested from NOAA is $30,000. Applications requesting Federal support from NOAA for more than $80,000 or less than $30,000 may not be considered for funding.

DARPA seeks innovative proposals for new systems that employ natural or engineered marine organisms as sensor elements to amplify signals related to the presence, movement, and classification of manned or unmanned underwater vehicles (M/UUV). The Persistent Aquatic Living Sensors (PALS) program will leverage or develop living organisms as sensor transducers, and pair them with a detector and analysis suite to produce deployable sensor systems able to provide timely information on vehicle activity across a wide variety of maritime environments.

The NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is seeking proposals under the Great Lakes Bay Watershed Education and Training Program (B-WET). The Great Lakes B-WET Program is a competitive grant program that supports existing, high quality environmental education programs, fosters the growth of new, innovative programs, and encourages capacity building and partnership development for environmental education programs throughout the entire Great Lakes watershed. Successful projects provide Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs) for students and related professional development for teachers, while advancing regional Great Lakes education priorities. The Great Lakes B-WET program is funded through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. It is anticipated that approximately $800,000 may be available in FY 2019 to fund eligible applications. NOAA anticipates making approximately 12 to 17 new awards. The total Federal amount that may be requested from NOAA should not exceed $75,000. The minimum Federal amount that should be requested from NOAA is $25,000. Applications requesting Federal support from NOAA for more than $75,000 or less than $25,000 may not be considered for funding.

The purpose of this document is to advise the public that NOAA/NOS/NCCOS is soliciting applications for the NOAA RESTORE Science Program for projects of five years in duration with the option for a five year, non-competitive renewal award for high performing projects. This funding opportunity invites applications that propose to identify, track, understand, and/or predict trends and variability in the Gulf of Mexico's living coastal and marine resources and the processes driving them. Funding is contingent upon the availability of funds in the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund. It is anticipated that final recommendations for funding under this Announcement will be made in June 2019, and that projects funded under this Announcement will have a September 1, 2019 start date. Total funding for this competition will be approximately $15 million over five years and approximately six projects may be funded. The minimum individual award amount is approximately $500,000 over five years (an average of $100,000 per year) and the maximum individual award amount is approximately $7.5 million over five years (an average of $1.5 million per year). An additional $15 million may be available for five year, non-competitive renewals for high performing projects

The Environmental Studies Program (ESP) of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is offering a cooperative agreement to complete studies on the movements of low trophic level feeding elasmobranchs, such as Manta birostis.The purpose of this study is to understand movements, site fidelity and behavioral ecology of understudied highly migratory species, such as M. birostris, and the associated risk of interaction with BOEM permitted activities.Innovative methods will be used including, but not limited to: autonomous sensor platforms and improved animal bourne telemetry techniques which can relay data from neighboring animals, and/or which leverage the target species as mobile oceanographic platforms.Under the Use of Cooperative Agreements authority (43 U.S.C. §1457b), to enter into cooperative agreements with a state or political subdivision (including any agency thereof), or any not-for-profit organization.The general goals of this project is to understand movement drivers and site residency and fidelity of M. birostis, as it relates to sand shoals, particularly in the Canaveral Shoals, Florida Atlantic Coast region.Specifically, the objectives of this study are to understand the movement ecology of M. birostis in the US OCS and the impact fine scale behavior has on the risk of interaction with marine mineral activities, especially preventative trawling.

The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation is inviting applications for its Postdoctoral Program in Environmental Chemistry, which provides a principal investigator with an award of $120,000 over two years to appoint a postdoctoral fellow in environmental chemistry. The program aims to support innovative fundamental research in the chemical sciences or engineering related to the environment. Examples include but are not limited to the chemistry associated with the climate, the atmosphere, aquatic or marine settings, toxicology, soil, or groundwater. Also of interest are chemistry-related energy research (renewable sources, sequestration, etc.), and new or green approaches to chemical synthesis and processing, both with a clearly stated relation to the environment.

Wildlife Acoustics' mission is to support efforts in conservation and environmental stewardship. We want to enable those involved in animal biology, research and conservation to do their best work easily and quickly. To that end, Wildlife Acoustics has established a grant program to support bioacoustics research efforts from chiropteran, avian, terrestrial, amphibious and marine wildlife, to everything else in between.

Depending on appropriations, NOAA National Sea Grant College Program (NOAA Sea Grant) expects to have available a total of $7,000,000 to $11,500,000 across fiscal years 2018, 2019 and 2020 as part of the Sea Grant National Aquaculture Initiative (NAI). As part of the NAI, this competition is designed to foster the expansion of a sustainable U.S. ocean, coastal and Great Lakes aquaculture sector by addressing one or more of the following priorities: (a) supporting the development of emerging systems or technologies that will advance aquaculture in the U.S., including projects that will help stimulate aquaculture production by nascent industries; (b) developing and implementing actionable methods of communicating accurate, science based messages and information about the benefits and risks of U.S. marine aquaculture to the public; and (c) increasing the resiliency of aquaculture systems to natural hazards and changing conditions

Climate variability and change present society with significant economic, health, safety, and security challenges. As part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) climate portfolio within the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), the Climate Program Office (CPO) addresses these climate challenges by managing competitive research programs through which high-priority climate science, assessments, decision support research, outreach, education, and capacity-building activities are funded to advance our understanding of the Earth's climate system, and to foster the application and use of this knowledge to improve the resilience of our Nation and its partners. Through this announcement, CPO is seeking applications for 6 individual competitions in FY21. Several of these competitions are relevant to high-priority climate risk areas CPO is organizing some of its activities around to improve science understanding and/or capabilities that result in user-driven outcomes in four initial risk areas: Coastal Inundation, Marine Ecosystems, Water Resources and Extreme Heat

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is focused on providing the essential and highest quality environmental information vital to our Nation's safety, prosperity and resilience. Toward this goal, the agency conducts and supports weather and climate research, oceanic and atmospheric observations, modeling, information management, assessments, interdisciplinary decision-support research, outreach, education, and partnership development. Climate variability and change present society with significant economic, health, safety, and security challenges and opportunities. In meeting these challenges, and as part of NOAA's climate portfolio within the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), the Climate Program Office (CPO) advances scientific understanding, monitoring, and prediction of climate and its impacts, to enable effective decisions. Within this context, CPO manages competitive research programs through which NOAA funds high-priority climate science, assessments, decision support research, outreach, education, and capacity-building activities designed to advance our understanding of the Earth's climate system, and to foster the application and use of this knowledge to improve the resilience of our Nation and its partners. CPO supports research that is conducted across the United States and internationally. CPO's climate research portfolio is designed to achieve a fully integrated research and applications program. We meet this objective through a focus on climate intelligence and climate resilience, in support of NOAA's goals.