On July 28, the National Center for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), in partnership with CPO’s Modeling, Analysis, Predictions and Projections (MAPP) program, the Ocean Acidification Program (OAP), Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), and the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS), announced a Fiscal Year 2022 Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) to understand multi-stressor impacts on marine ecosystems under climate change. NOAA is making $4 million available through this competition to fund one to two projects for up to four years in duration.
Climate change is exacerbating existing environmental stressors (e.g., hypoxia, harmful algal blooms, and ocean acidification) through changes to the fundamental drivers of ecosystems (e.g., temperature, precipitation, seasonal cycles, and biogeochemistry). Understanding how these multiple stressors interact and subsequently impact species, habitat assemblages, and ecosystems is critical for better management.
Information from this funding opportunity will improve place-based management of marine protected areas and enable the increased protection of these critical ecosystems under future climate scenarios.
This FFO was developed in partnership with CPO’s Marine Ecosystem Risk Team as a response to the sanctuary climate science needs identified during the National Marine Sanctuary Climate Change Science Priorities Workshop hosted by MERT in January 2021.
It represents a key milestone toward an overarching goal of the MERT initiative to provide climate research and modeling to reinforce and expand the application of climate science in National Marine Sanctuaries activities. MERT aims to ultimately improve long-term planning and management of the Sanctuaries System in support of NOAA’s Stewardship mission. For more information email cpo.mert@noaa.gov.
The deadline for letters of intent is October 4, 2021 and full applications are due January 18, 2022.