Cooperative Agreement for Affiliated Partner with the Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU)

About this archived opportunity

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research in processing and analyzing of data from the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission. The project will advance hydrologic decision making from remotely sensed water surface elevation by making available water surface elevation data at unprecedented scales. Research Scientists in the Observing Systems Division have a wealth of knowledge specific to an ongoing study to process and analyze SWOT data for hydrological applications. This research will advance understanding through detailed assessments of SWOT data accuracy and the production of low-latency water resource monitoring data streams.This project creates a significant partnership between USGS and CESU researchers to address questions of mutual interest, such as (1) extracting water surface elevations from SWOT pixel cloud data and (2) automating the publication of water surface elevation for all resolvable waterbodies across the United States. These objectives are of considerable interest to scientists and resource managers for effective management and monitoring of water resources at the national, regional, and local scale. This project will provide opportunities to develop and expand current expertise, share expertise with federal scientists, and enhance the ability of all federal and academic partners to focus research on questions related to critical resource management decisions.This project will support the protection of life and safety by expanding the water resource monitoring network from a few thousand discrete locations to more than 1 million locations.As water resources are critical to harvest, extract, and process critical minerals and energy resources, this work aligns with:EO 14156 Declaring a National Energy Emergency (January 20, 2025)SO 3417 Addressing the National Energy Emergency (February 3, 2025)EO 14154 Unleashing American Energy (January 20, 2025)SO 3418 Unleashing American Energy