Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Colorado Plateau CESU | G19AS00106

Opportunity Information: Apply for G19AS00106

This grant opportunity, titled "Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Colorado Plateau CESU" (Funding Opportunity Number G19AS00106), is a US Geological Survey (USGS) Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK) effort to improve how snow albedo is measured and scaled across mountainous landscapes. The work centers on deploying an uninhabited aerial system (UAS) outfitted with radiation sensors to collect high-resolution observations of snow albedo, then using those observations to evaluate and compare satellite-based albedo estimates from MODIS and Landsat. The core scientific issue being targeted is the mismatch in scale between traditional ground measurements, which are typically point-based (for example, measurements collected at fixed weather stations), and satellite products that represent much larger pixels. By flying a sensor-equipped UAS, the project aims to fill the spatial data gap between these two worlds and make snow albedo validation more reliable, especially in complex terrain where albedo can vary sharply over short distances.

The project is designed to quantify "scale-dependent controls" on snow albedo, meaning it will examine what processes or landscape conditions drive albedo differences at different spatial scales. It will explicitly compare undisturbed montane snow conditions to post-fire environments, where burned vegetation and deposition of dark material can alter the reflectivity of the snowpack and accelerate melt. A key component is testing how well satellite products capture these patterns and whether biases appear when satellite pixels average over mixed land cover, variable slope and aspect, tree canopy, or burned patches. The outcome is intended to strengthen the link between detailed field observations and operational remote sensing products used in hydrology and snowpack modeling.

Field data collection is planned for two winter-spring seasons, with campaigns running from January through May in both 2020 and 2021. Work will be conducted across three headwater study areas in Montana, selected to represent contrasting conditions and management contexts. The first site, referred to as Namaste, is located on private land within the Yellowstone Club in southwest Montana. The other two sites are within Glacier National Park: one along the Going-to-the-Sun Road corridor, and another at Reynolds Creek. Reynolds Creek is highlighted because it experienced severe wildfire during the summer of 2015, making it an important post-fire case study for understanding how disturbances change snow reflectivity and how those changes propagate into water supply timing and magnitude.

Beyond the research questions, the opportunity places emphasis on practical, transferable methods. The project is expected to develop tools, techniques, and protocols that allow albedo to be captured efficiently over snow-covered terrain using UAS platforms. The intent is not only to produce a one-off dataset, but to generate a workflow that resource managers and decision makers can adopt for near-real-time monitoring, water resource forecasting, and improved interpretation of satellite products. In other words, the project is framed as both a scientific investigation and a capacity-building effort that can improve operational snow monitoring in mountain watersheds.

The funding mechanism is a discretionary cooperative agreement through the Department of the Interior, USGS, under CFDA number 15.808, within the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category. The opportunity anticipated a single award, with an award ceiling of $50,000. The posting was created on July 10, 2019, with an original closing date of July 26, 2019. Eligibility is listed as "Others" with additional clarification expected in the official eligibility text associated with the announcement.

Anticipated deliverables include spatially explicit geospatial products and publishable scientific results. Specifically, the project expects to produce digital surface models and gridded albedo datasets for each of the study sites, providing a detailed map-based record of snow reflectivity patterns over time. In addition, a peer-reviewed journal article is planned, focusing on how mountain snowpack albedo varies spatially and temporally and on the scaling problems that arise when fixed in situ measurements are used to validate coarser remote sensing products. Taken together, the datasets and methods are meant to improve the accuracy and usefulness of satellite albedo products in mountainous, and especially post-fire, landscapes where snowmelt dynamics are highly sensitive to changes in surface reflectance.

• The Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Colorado Plateau CESU" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.808.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 10, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 26, 2019. (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 $50,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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