Funding

Discipline(s): Ocean Sciences

The Division of Ocean Sciences (OCE) at the National Science Foundation (NSF) requests proposals from eligible U.S. institutions to provide a Scientific Ocean Drilling Coordination Office (SODCO).

This Coordinating Office will work with Principal Investigators (PIs) in the selection of suitable, academically or commercially available drilling and coring platforms to collect sub-seafloor samples, make sub-seafloor measurements, and install long-term borehole observatories. It is anticipated that SODCO will be supported by the NSF Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) through a Cooperative Agreement of up to five years duration with the possibility of renewal for up to an additional five years.

SODCO may work with the commercial drilling community or other drilling organizations from the United States or abroad to determine the type and availability of drilling platforms and services that may be available for NSF-funded scientific projects that require ocean drilling. SODCO will have the expertise to generate requests for bids to provide the drilling services as needed. SODCO is expected to play a proactive role in the ocean science community to encourage innovation in drilling technologies and methods in response to scientific community needs and will help guide the development of new drilling designs as requested by the ocean science community.

And Project Length: up to $8M per year for up to 5 years, pending availability of funds.

Proposals are due July 30.

See the full solicitation at this link.