# Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with the Californian Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit

Source: https://welltoldgrants.com/grants/g27as00090-cooperative-agreement-for-affiliated-partner-with-the/  
Official notice: https://www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/364194

> Geological Survey is offering grants of up to $480,000 (at least $1) to the applicants described in the notice. It expects to make one award worth $480,000 in total. Applications close on December 23, 2026.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Opportunity number | G27AS00090 |
| Agency | Geological Survey |
| Status | Open |
| Deadline | December 23, 2026 |
| Award ceiling | $480,000 |
| Award floor | $1 |
| Expected awards | 1 |
| Total funding | $480,000 |
| Cost sharing | not required |
| Assistance Listings | 15.808 |

## Who can apply

- Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

This financial assistance opportunity is being issued under a Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) Program. CESU"s are partnerships that provide research, technical assistance, and education. Eligible recipients must be a participating partner of the Californian Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit.

## What the grant funds

The USGS is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research in carbon cycling in seabed mineral environments. Seabed minerals may contain economically significant concentrations of valuable metals and rare earth elements which are essential to transportation, technological products, and defense and national security applications (i.e., critical minerals; Energy Act, 2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 2025; Hein et al., 2013, 2020). Of particular interest are manganese nodule fields throughout the abyssal Pacific Ocean, including in some U.S. EEZs, which have garnered attention over recent decades as potential areas for deep-sea mineral mining. Still, much more research is needed to understand the environmental settings where these minerals occur, how they form, and potential implications of extraction. This is crucial information for EO 14241, 14285, 14272 and SO 3417. Carbon cycling is a key component of baseline environmental conditions within offshore resource systems. Sedimentary organic carbon is the primary food source at the base of deep sea food webs, and disturbance from marine mining could significantly alter carbon cycles and decrease benthic microbial and faunal activity. Benthic and midwater plumes generated by marine mining activities may further impact carbon cycling and biologic activity. From a mineral resource assessment perspective, sedimentary organic carbon plays a key role in manganese nodule formation and metal enrichment, though the carbon content, composition, and mechanisms to influence nodule formation remain unknown. The role of organic carbon in metal preservation for sediment covered seafloor massive sulfide systems is also a frontier science question. Sedimentary organic carbon can also be altered to oil or gas by high temperatures and/or pressures below the seafloor, sometimes co-occurring with seabed minerals at hydrothermal systems. Understanding these processes informs OCSLA 1953 & 1978, and SO 3418. Despite this importance, carbon cycling in marine mineral systems has received little attention, and fundamental science questions remain regarding how organic carbon cycling varies globally among nodule fields with differing sediment organic carbon content.

## Questions people ask

### Is G27AS00090 still open?

Yes. Closes December 23, 2026 (46 days left).

### Who can apply for Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with the Californian Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit?

Geological Survey accepts applications from the applicants described in the notice. The notice adds further conditions, so read its eligibility section.

### What is the deadline for Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with the Californian Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit?

Closes December 23, 2026 (46 days left). Confirm the date and time in the official notice on Grants.gov.

### How much funding is available?

Awards of up to $480,000 each. About $480,000 in total for one award.

### Who has won U.S. Geological Survey Research and Data Collection grants before?

The largest recipients over five fiscal years were Trustees of the Colorado School of Mines, University of Alaska Fairbanks, California Institute of Technology. The program made 1,128 awards worth $629 million in that time.