ARCTIC-SPECIFIC OCEAN COLOR PRODUCTS | N00173 22 S RW01

Opportunity Information: Apply for N00173 22 S RW01

The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), under the Department of Defense, released a discretionary Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled "Arctic-Specific Ocean Color Products" (Funding Opportunity Number N00173-22-S-RW01). The aim is to support research that improves how satellite ocean color data are converted into practical, Arctic-tailored environmental products for U.S. Arctic waters, specifically the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. The driving motivation is that the Arctic is warming, the duration of ice-free conditions is expected to expand, and there is a growing operational and scientific need to monitor changing ocean conditions consistently over large areas. Satellite remote sensing is one of the few approaches capable of providing that kind of broad, repeated coverage, but existing global ocean color products are not performing reliably in the Arctic, particularly in nearshore and coastal zones.

A central issue highlighted in the FOA is that standard satellite algorithms were largely developed and tuned using observations from lower-latitude waters. Arctic coastal waters can be strongly influenced by river inputs and by materials released from thawing permafrost, and those materials can change the way water absorbs and scatters light. Because ocean color satellites infer water properties from light leaving the ocean surface, any shift in optical properties can translate into biased or incorrect estimates of biophysical variables. NRL notes that the optical characteristics of these permafrost-derived and river-transported materials are not yet well characterized, and prior limited studies already suggest that current global algorithms can be unreliable for Arctic waters. As a result, simply applying standard products in this region can produce misleading assessments of ocean conditions.

NRL is seeking proposals that develop Arctic-specific satellite data products for several key biophysical and optical parameters: chlorophyll-a (a common indicator of phytoplankton biomass and productivity), suspended particulate matter (which relates to turbidity, sediment transport, and water clarity), particulate organic carbon (an important component of the carbon cycle and ecosystem functioning), and diffuse attenuation of light in the water column (a measure related to how quickly light diminishes with depth, influencing primary production and underwater visibility). The FOA encourages creative and effective approaches, including re-parameterizing, re-tuning, or otherwise adapting existing ocean color algorithms so they better reflect the unique optical and biophysical conditions found in Arctic waters. The expectation is that proposed methods will explicitly account for Arctic-specific influences such as coastal inputs, permafrost-derived constituents, and other factors that can alter the regional water-leaving radiance signal used by satellites.

The practical end goal is to establish algorithms that can be applied routinely to data from current, widely used ocean color satellite sensors, explicitly mentioning VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) and OLCI (Ocean and Land Colour Instrument). In other words, the program is not just looking for a one-off study, but for approaches that can be operationalized into repeatable satellite product generation for the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. This emphasis suggests deliverables oriented toward usable processing methods, calibrated relationships, and validation strategies that can produce consistent parameter estimates over time and across the region.

Funding is expected to support one award, contingent on available funds, with an anticipated award ceiling of $185,000. The award instrument is a Cooperative Agreement (as defined at 31 U.S.C. 6305), which signals that NRL anticipates substantial government involvement in the project. That involvement is described as collaborative planning, management, and execution of the research, distinguishing the effort from a standard grant where the recipient operates more independently. The purpose is framed as supporting or stimulating basic and applied research of interest to NRL, rather than purchasing a product or service for direct government use, and the agreement is governed by the Department of Defense Grant and Agreement Regulations (DoDGARs). The period of performance is planned for three years.

Eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education. The FOA is associated with CFDA number 43.001 and falls under the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category. Proposals were required to be submitted electronically via Grants.gov; faxed or emailed submissions were not accepted. Key dates listed include a creation date of September 9, 2022, and an original closing date of September 19, 2022, with a note indicating that any resulting cooperative agreement needed to be in place by September 30, 2022.

• The Department of Defense, Naval Research Laboratory in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "ARCTIC-SPECIFIC OCEAN COLOR PRODUCTS" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 43.001.
• This funding opportunity was created on Sep 09, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 19, 2022 The resultant Co-Op, if any proposal is to be selected, must be in place by 30 SEP 2022.. (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 $185,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

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