Transforming USGSs Ecosystems Observing Capacity with Long-range Autonomous Underwater Vechicles

The summary for the Transforming USGSs Ecosystems Observing Capacity with Long-range Autonomous Underwater Vechicles grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the Geological Survey, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

Transforming USGSs Ecosystems Observing Capacity with Long-range Autonomous Underwater Vechicles: This project will consist primarily of collection of and analysis of in situ and satellite data required to accomplish objectives 1-3 above. The in situ data will include water temperature, depth, underwater light transmission (suitable for calculation of extinction coefficient), photosynthetically active radiation, chlorophyll a, and acoustic backscatter and will be collected using an LRAUV developed by MBARI during summer 2016. The LRAUV will be shipped from MBARI in California to USGS Cheboygan Vessel Base in Cheboygan, MI, where assembly of the LRAUV and final preparation/testing will be conducted prior to deployment. The LRAUV will be deployed in Lake Michigan from a USGS vessel for approximately 26 days and will travel along programmed tracks. The LRAUV will be retrieved using a USGS research vessel, after which the data will be offloaded and the LRAUV will be disassembled and shipped to California. USGS researchers Warner and Esselman will additionally obtain MODIS satellite data for locations of the LRAUV track and estimate both chlorophyll a and primary production from these data. In situ data from the LRAUV will also be used to estimate relative abundance of zooplankton in three dimensions, which will be used to evaluate spatial coherence between zooplankton and primary producers. The intention is to use volumetric scattering from the LRAUV acoustic Doppler current profiler instrument as an index of zooplankton scattering.