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A new funding opportunity for core geoscience research

Collage of earth science images.

Effective Aug. 17, 2026, the U.S. National Science Foundation Directorate for Geosciences (NSF GEO) published a new funding opportunity titled, Geosciences Research: Atmospheric, Geospace, Earth, and Ocean Sciences (GEO Core).

This solicitation calls for proposals in three programs:

GEO Core will continue to support the breadth of geoscience research topics, including those that cut across traditional disciplinary boundaries. This new funding opportunity simplifies the submission processes by consolidating and soon replacing 15 funding opportunities, which will be archived no later than Sept. 25, 2026:

Principal investigators may submit to any of the active funding opportunities until Sept. 25, 2026, or submit to GEO Core, which welcomes proposals at any time throughout the year. From Sept. 26, 2026, onward, only GEO Core will be accepting proposals. The NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) contains specific guidance for developing and submitting proposals.

GEO Core programs

GEO Core comprises three programs, which together cover the breadth of science that was offered through the 15 programs that are being archived.

Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences Program

The 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.

This program consolidates and will replace the funding opportunities of the Atmospheric Cluster and Geospace Cluster, as well as the Solar, Heliospheric, and INterplanetary Environment (SHINE), Geospace Environment Modeling (GEM), Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions (CEDAR) and Facility and Instrumentation Request Process (FIRP) programs.

Earth Sciences Program

The 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.

This program consolidates and will replace the funding opportunities of the Water, Landscape, and Critical Zone Processes (WALCZ), Life and Environments Through Time (LET), Structure and Physics of the Solid Earth (SPSE) and Chemical Evolution of the Solid Earth and Volcanology (CESEV) programs.

Ocean Sciences Program

The 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.

The program consolidates and will replace the funding opportunities of Marine Geology and Geophysics (MGG), Physical Oceanography (PO), Chemical Oceanography (CO), Biological Oceanography (BioOCE) and Ocean Technology and Interdisciplinary Coordination (OTIC) programs. It includes the NSF U.S. Subseafloor Sampling Program.

NSF Office of Polar Programs

The NSF Office of Polar Programs (NSF OPP) is now part of the NSF Office of Research Infrastructure. For more information on NSF OPP programs, please visit the OPP funding search page.

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