NSF 26-516: Geosciences Research: Atmospheric, Geospace, Earth, and Ocean Sciences (GEO Core)

Program Solicitation NSF 26-516

U.S. National Science Foundation Directorate for Geosciences

Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. submitting organization's local time):

     Proposals Accepted Anytime

Important Information and Revision Notes

This solicitation calls for proposals that were supported by several separate funding opportunities managed by the NSF Directorate for Geosciences.

Proposals must be prepared in accordance with the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG). Use the version of the guide that is in effect on the proposal's due date.

Summary of Program Requirements

General Information

Program Title:

Geosciences Research: Atmospheric, Geospace, Earth, and Ocean Sciences (GEO Core)

Synopsis of Program:

The NSF Geosciences Research solicitation supports foundational research projects that advance the frontiers of knowledge across all areas of the geosciences. This solicitation calls for proposals in three programs:

• Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences (AGS) Program;
• Earth Sciences (EAR) Program; and
• Ocean Sciences (OCE) Program.

These programs support projects that expand the frontiers of knowledge in science and technology. The programs encourage projects that advance research on Earth's atmosphere and the near-Earth space environment; solid Earth sciences and Earth surface processes; and all fields of ocean science. Projects may focus on foundational research in a specific domain or cover multiple disciplines. NSF is particularly interested in intellectually ambitious and potentially transformative foundational research. Proposals need not promise a near-term product, deployment, or commercial outcome, nor need they address later-stage development to be competitive.

NSF Priorities

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) supports foundational research that leads to scientific breakthroughs and opens new frontiers of human knowledge. NSF investments in scientific discovery underpin technological innovation across industries, strengthening U.S. economic competitiveness, enhancing national security, and improving quality of life for all Americans.

NSF's priority under this funding opportunity is to advance foundational research, spanning both incremental advances that build systematically on prior scholarship and bold, high-risk inquiries capable of reshaping entire fields. NSF places particular emphasis on projects that challenge prevailing paradigms, ask important questions, develop new theories or methods, create research tools or datasets that enable further research, or open new lines of inquiry. Proposals need not promise a near-term product, deployment, or commercial outcome, nor must they address later-stage development in a named technology priority to be competitive. NSF further recognizes that the most consequential discoveries increasingly emerge at the boundary between disciplines, and it therefore strongly encourages proposals that forge novel connections across scientific domains.

Within this mandate, NSF is especially interested in intellectually ambitious and potentially transformative research; work that creates opportunities for exceptional early-career investigators; and proposals that leverage emerging technologies, including AI, advanced computation, and automation, to make new modes, methods, or scales of science possible. The use of these tools should be scientifically justified rather than incidental. Beyond accelerating existing workflows, such tools open fundamentally new scientific questions, reveal patterns invisible to prior methods, and enable experimental and analytical capabilities.

To support this vision, NSF seeks proposals spanning a wide range of funding levels and project durations. NSF is working to expand opportunities at both ends of this spectrum, including rapid grants that allow researchers to quickly test exploratory ideas and longer, larger awards that provide sustained support for ambitious, transformative research. For preliminary or time-sensitive work, NSF encourages investigators to use mechanisms such as Planning Proposal, RAPID, EAGER, and RAISE (see Chapter II.F of the PAPPG for more information). Where longer awards would benefit the pursuit of ambitious, transformative research and reduce administrative burden on investigators, NSF encourages proposals requesting up to five years of support. Investigators may consider the options above, and others, outside of the project sizes and durations specified in this funding opportunity.

NSF welcomes submissions from all researchers, particularly those earlier in their careers and those working in the foundational research areas highlighted in the Administration's FY28 Research and Development Budget Priorities Memorandum. NSF also expects the highest standards of scientific rigor, transparency, reproducibility, research integrity, and adherence to tenets of Gold Standard Science in proposals, as appropriate for the field of science and research modality.

Cognizant Program Officer(s):

Please note that the following information is current at the time of publishing. See program website for any updates to the points of contact.

• Atmospheric Sciences, email: atmos@nsf.gov
• Geospace Sciences, email: geospace@nsf.gov
• Life and Environments through Time, email: LET@nsf.gov
• Structure and Physics of the Solid Earth, email: SPSE@nsf.gov
• Water, Landscape, and Critical Zone processes, email: WaLCZ@nsf.gov
• Chemical Evolution of Solid, Earth and Volcanology, email: CESEV@nsf.gov
• Biological Oceanography, email: BioOCE@nsf.gov
• Marine Geology and Geophysics, email: MGG@nsf.gov
• Chemical Oceanography, email: CO@nsf.gov
• Physical Oceanography, email: PhysO@nsf.gov
• U.S. Sub-Seafloor Sampling, email: S3P@nsf.gov
• Ocean Technology and Interdisciplinary Coordination, email: OTIC@nsf.gov

Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s):

• 47.050 - Geosciences

Award Information

Anticipated Type of Award: Standard Grant or Continuing Grant or Cooperative Agreement

Estimated Number of Awards: 200 to 350

Anticipated Funding Amount: $110,000,000

Estimated program budget, number of awards and average award size/duration are subject to the availability of funds.

Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions

A. Proposal Preparation Instructions

• Letters of Intent: Not required
• Preliminary Proposal Submission: Not required
• Full Proposals:
  • For proposals submitted via Research.gov, PAPPG guidelines apply.
  • For proposals submitted via Grants.gov, NSF Grants.gov Application Guide guidelines apply.

B. Budgetary Information

• Cost Sharing Requirements:

  Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited.

• Indirect Cost (F&A) Limitations:

  Not Applicable

• Other Budgetary Limitations:

  Not Applicable

C. Due Dates

• Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. submitting organization's local time):

       Proposals Accepted Anytime

Proposal Review Information Criteria

Merit Review Criteria:

National Science Board approved criteria apply.

Award Administration Information

Award Conditions:

Standard NSF award conditions apply.

Reporting Requirements:

Additional reporting requirements apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.

I. Introduction

The NSF Directorate for Geosciences (NSF GEO) leads the NSF Geosciences Research solicitation. The solicitation supports foundational research projects through three programs: the Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences program; the Earth Sciences program; and the Ocean Sciences program. Projects enable transformative advances in knowledge across the geosciences.

Through this solicitation, the directorate invests in projects that reveal new information about Earth and its interaction with the sun. Projects will produce advanced computational models, new frameworks and observations, and innovative hypotheses to understand natural resources, environmental phenomena, and natural hazards. They will reveal complex processes deep beneath Earth's crust and throughout the ocean. They will study Earth's surface through the atmosphere to the near-Earth space environment.

NSF GEO support for basic research has repeatedly translated to concrete benefits for the American people. Beginning in the 1960s, NSF-funded researchers studied how the motion of raindrops, snowflakes, and storm systems reflected radio signals, helping to transform Doppler radar from an experimental instrument into the backbone of the national weather radar network. That same research now enables forecasters to detect storm rotation, estimate wind speed and direction, and provide earlier, more accurate warnings of tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods.

NSF GEO-funded foundational research on active fault systems, the development of seismic monitoring networks in oceans and on land, and advanced modeling capabilities have led to greater detection of earthquakes, tsunamis, and other hazards worldwide, improving infrastructure design and disaster preparedness. NSF GEO-funded high-resolution seismic and thermal tomography maps revealed deep, previously hidden thermal anomalies in the western United States, allowing commercial energy companies to more easily locate high-yield, deep geothermal reservoirs and enhancing grid stability.

Basic research on space weather forecasting has helped protect GPS, communications, electric power grids, and military systems from space weather disruptions, which can blow out regional electrical transformers and cause weeks-long blackouts. NSF-funded space weather models give power grid operators up to a 24-hour advance warning, allowing utility companies to safely reroute electricity, protecting household power grids, and preventing billions of dollars in economic downtime.

Since the 1950s, NSF-supported researchers have investigated how Earth's mineral resources form and evolve, from understanding the mobility and concentration of elements through geological systems to the physical and chemical conditions that control critical mineral formation. GEO research investments have led to new methods for recovering and purifying critical minerals from mine waste and byproducts, generating new domestic supply of critical elements essential for batteries, semiconductors, and defense applications.

II. Program Description

The NSF Geosciences Research solicitation calls for proposals supporting foundational research across all areas of the geosciences, including the atmospheric, geospace, Earth, and ocean sciences. The solicitation supports projects through three programs.

Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences (AGS) Program supports foundational research that advances understanding of Earth's atmosphere and the near-Earth space environment. Projects explore the physical and chemical processes that drive variability and coupling across these regions, spanning a wide range of spatial and temporal scales.

Earth Sciences Program supports foundational research that advances understanding of Earth's interior and surface processes, past and present. Projects address structure, physics, and chemical evolution of Earth's interior; water, landscape, and critical zone processes; and life and environments through time.

Ocean Sciences Program supports foundational research that advances all fields of ocean studies to increase understanding of the ocean basins and Great Lakes and their role in the Earth system. Fields include biological, chemical, and physical oceanography. Projects can address geological and geophysical processes of the ocean.

Projects may focus on foundational research in a specific domain or cover multiple disciplines. In cases where projects span multiple programs, investigators should select the program that best aligns with the project's primary focus.

Projects may use theory, observations, computation, field campaigns, and laboratory studies. Projects may include development, deployment, and operation of instrumentation and computing for observations, field work, and laboratory research. The programs encourage foundational research in the geosciences that lead to translational impacts, including innovations and patents, that benefit the American people. The programs support projects that involve collaborations with industry, national laboratories, international partners, and public-sector organizations. Projects may leverage research infrastructure – cyberinfrastructure or physical infrastructure – as appropriate.

Expanding Geographic and Institutional Range in the Geosciences

NSF GEO encourages proposal submissions from institutions in the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) jurisdictions. The directorate also encourages proposals from across a range of organizations.

Proposals should advance one or more of the following measures of success:

• Peer-reviewed publications and other scholarly outputs that advance knowledge in the geosciences
• Creation, curation, or expansion of publicly accessible data sets that enable further scientific research
• Development of new methods, tools, models, or instrumentation that improve the understanding of geoscience systems

Statutory Authority

NSF's organic statute (42 U.S.C. 1861, et seq.)

III. Award Information

Estimated program budget, number of awards and average award size/duration are subject to the availability of funds.

IV. Eligibility Information

Who May Submit Proposals:

The categories of proposers eligible to submit proposals to the National Science Foundation are identified in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), Chapter I.E. Unaffiliated individuals are not eligible to submit proposals in response to this solicitation.

Who May Serve as PI:

There are no restrictions or limits.

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization:

There are no restrictions or limits.

Limit on Number of Proposals Per PI or Co-PI:

There are no restrictions or limits.

V. Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions

A. Proposal Preparation Instructions

Full Proposal Preparation Instructions: Proposers may opt to submit proposals in response to this Program Solicitation via Research.gov or Grants.gov.

You must prepare your proposal according to Chapter II.D.2 of the PAPPG, unless this solicitation specifies different instructions. Always use the version of the PAPPG in effect on your proposal's due date.

• For proposals submitted via Research.gov, PAPPG guidelines apply.
• For proposals submitted via Grants.gov, NSF Grants.gov Application Guide guidelines apply.

In determining which method to utilize in the electronic preparation and submission of the proposal, please note the following:

Collaborative Proposals. All collaborative proposals submitted as separate submissions from multiple organizations must be submitted via Research.gov. PAPPG Chapter II.E.3 provides additional information on collaborative proposals.

1. Off-Site Safety Protocols: Proposals that include off-site work require a one-page description of protocols that address potential hazards, including dangerous, remote or unpredictable conditions that may impact participant safety. The Off-Site Safety Protocol should be uploaded as a 1-page document in the "Special Information and Supplementary Documents" section.
2. Use of Research Facilities: Proposals that require access to any community research platform in atmospheric, geospace, Earth and ocean sciences must file appropriate requests with the platform managers and upload a copy of the request as a supplementary document. Proposals that involve vessels from the Academic Research Fleet must include a University National Oceanographic Laboratory System Science & Marine Equipment (SME) request form as a supplementary document. Principal investigators for proposals that involve use of other research facilities should contact their relevant program for instructions and information on appropriate lead times for proposals.
3. Permits: Principal investigators are required to describe in the "Project Description" how permitting for collecting, destroying (if applicable) and importing/exporting samples will be addressed. If approval has been obtained, it should be included in the "Special Information and Supplementary Documents" section.
4. GEO Data Management and Sharing Requirements: In addition to the requirements for data management and sharing set forth in the PAPPG, NSF GEO requires that final data sets, metadata files, derived data products, relevant software/code, and physical samples be deposited in a long-lived and publicly accessible archive upon publication of results or within two years of collection, whichever comes first. How the proposal will meet that requirement must be described in the "Data Management and Sharing Plan." Where full compliance is impracticable or inadvisable, the plan must describe the extent of compliance and justify any limits on accessibility and sharing.

B. Budgetary Information

Cost Sharing:

Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited.

C. Research.gov/Grants.gov Requirements

You can submit proposals in response to this solicitation through Research.gov or Grants.gov, unless otherwise noted.

Information on how to prepare and submit proposals is available on the Submitting Your Proposal page on NSF.gov.

VI. NSF Proposal Processing and Review Procedures

Information on NSF's proposal processing and review procedures is available on the Overview of the NSF Proposal and Award Process page on NSF.gov.

A. Merit Review Principles and Criteria

All NSF proposals are evaluated through use of the two National Science Board-approved merit review criteria:

• Intellectual Merit, which encompasses the potential to advance knowledge.
• Broader Impacts, which encompass the potential to benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific, desired societal outcomes.

Information on NSF's merit review principles and process can be found on the How We Make Funding Decisions page on NSF.gov.

B. Review and Selection Process

Proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation will be reviewed by Ad hoc Review and/or Panel Review.

After a proposal passes an initial compliance check, it will be reviewed by an NSF Program Officer. In most cases, three or more external experts will also review it (either as ad hoc reviewers, panelists or both).

Visit the Overview of the NSF Proposal and Award Process page for more information on the proposal review and selection process.

In alignment with Executive Order 14332 (Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking), all else being equal after merit review, NSF may give preference to institutions with lower indirect cost rates.

VII. Award Administration Information

A. Notification of the Award

Notification of an award is made to the submitting organization by an NSF Grants and Agreements Officer.

B. Award Conditions

Information on NSF award conditions can be found on the Award Terms and Conditions page on NSF.gov and Chapter VII of the PAPPG.

Administrative and National Policy Requirements:

Information on administrative and national policy requirements can be found on the National Policy Requirements for Recipients of NSF Awards page on NSF.gov.

Consistent with the requirements specified in 2 CFR § 200.332, recipients of NSF awards must adhere to the requirements for pass-through entities in establishing and managing subawards issued ensuring alignment with Administration and NSF policies and priorities.

In alignment with Executive Order 14332 (Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking), proposers should be aware that NSF awards offered under this funding opportunity may include termination for convenience provisions.

C. Reporting Requirements

Unless your award notice says otherwise, NSF requires the principal investigator of every grant to submit annual project reports and a project outcomes report for the general public. For complete reporting requirements, see Chapter VII of the PAPPG.

Annual and final project reports shall include data and sample management activities as designated in the Data Management and Sharing Plan. Data and sample management activities shall also be included in the Project Outcomes Report and products shall be indexed in the NSF Public Access Repository (NSF-PAR).

VIII. Agency Contacts

For questions related to the use of NSF systems contact:

• Research.gov: NSF IT Service Desk at rgov@nsf.gov or 1-800-381-1532. The Service Desk is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday (except for federal holidays).

For questions relating to Grants.gov contact:

• Grants.gov: The Grants.gov Contact Center at support@grants.gov or 1-800-518-4726. (Contact if the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) has not received a confirmation message from Grants.gov within 48 hours of submitting an application.)

IX. Other Information

For information on NSF directorates, programs and funding opportunities, go to NSF.gov.

About the National Science Foundation

The U.S. National Science Foundation is an independent federal agency created by the "National Science Foundation Act of 1950." More information about NSF can be found on NSF.gov.

Location: Randolph Building, 401 Dulany Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 General Information (703) 292-5111 TDD (for the hearing-impaired): (703) 292-5090

Privacy Act and Public Burden Statements

The information requested on proposal forms and project reports is solicited under the authority of the "National Science Foundation Act of 1950," as amended. More information can be found on the Privacy Act and Public Burden Statements page on NSF.gov.